President Nelson asked her to report to the church membership on how the church has been responding to humanitarian needs over the last couple of years.
“Our individual efforts don’t necessarily require money or faraway locations but they do require the direction of the Holy Spirit.”
As I begin listening to this my heart wells up just listening to the first story of the thank you cookies. The thing is, it’s not that anything about the story is particularly remarkable—there are constantly situations of great suffering; there are constantly those who reach out to help as best they can (not individuals and institutions); there are constantly those who survive the situations until they find themselves in a more stable situation (with or without help)—so why am I touched? My best guess is simply that it brings me joy to hear of lives being blessed.
The Church of Jesus Christ is under divine mandate to care for the poor. It is one of the pillars of the work of salvation and exaltation.
This is true both institutionally and individually. Individuals are limited in what they can give directly but they need to think in terms of caring for the poor in the way they consider their societies, not just in what they can give. We are often too callous and judgemental with regard to policy even as we give generously with our individual means.
We have all seen recent images in the news: thousands of evacuees being flown from Afghanistan. Many arrived at air bases or other temporary locations in Qatar, the United States, Germany, and Spain before continuing to their final destinations. Their needs were immediate, and the Church responded with supplies and volunteers. At Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the Church provided large donations of diapers, baby formula, food, and shoes.
Some of the Relief Society sisters noticed that many Afghan women were using their husbands’ shirts to cover their heads because their traditional head coverings had been ripped off in the frenzy at the Kabul airport. In an act of friendship that crossed any religious or cultural boundaries, the sisters of the Ramstein First Ward gathered to sew traditional Muslim clothing for Afghan women. Sister Bethani Halls said, “We heard that women were in need of prayer garments, and we are sewing so that they can be [comfortable] for prayer.”
I love instances where people absolutely forget their differences to care for each other.
Speaking of the Church’s humanitarian efforts, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once remarked: “Prayers are answered … most of the time … by God using other people. Well, I pray that He’ll use us. I pray that we’ll be the answer to people’s prayers.”
As baptized members of the Church, we are under covenant to care for those in need. Our individual efforts don’t necessarily require money or faraway locations; they do require the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willing heart to say to the Lord, “Here am I; send me.”
Let me conclude by repeating the question Jesus asked His Apostle Simon Peter: “Do you love me?” The essence of the gospel is contained in how we answer that question for ourselves and “feed [His] sheep.”
Feeding His sheep is important but so is encouraging others to feed His sheep and to notice His sheep with us.
With great reverence and love for Jesus Christ, our Master, I invite each of us to be a part of His magnificent ministry, and I pray He’ll use us.
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