"The Importance of Ministering"
My dear brothers and sisters, what a wonderful and special blessing we have to serve the children!!! The longer I am in my calling, the more I understand how vitally important our callings are.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit with a sister who was a member of the Primary General Board about 10 years ago. Her husband is currently serving as a bishop at the MTC, so she is heavily involved in serving with him there.
As I was visiting with her I confided in her that sometimes I feel like I invest so much time and effort in my calling and I wonder if it even makes any difference. She grabbed both of my arms and said, “I need to tell you something.” She then proceeded to tell me about an experience she had at the MTC.
As the missionaries come into their ward, they have a group meeting with them and they have a list of questions each missionary has to answer out loud to help them get to know each other better. Some of the questions are along the lines of “when did you gain your testimony” and “when did you decide to serve a mission.” She told me of a young man who shared an experience he had in Primary. He told them that one day in Primary, before he was even old enough to be baptized, the Primary President said, “Each of you has to decide today whether or not you are going to serve a mission,” and she looked each one of them in the eyes as she said this. With tears running down his face he told the group that even though he was not old enough at that time to be baptized, the Spirit bore witness to him that he was to be a missionary and he knew from that day on that this is what the Lord would have him do.
She said that many of the missionaries speak of gaining their testimonies in Primary. It was very humbling for her, also, because she realized that these missionaries who were now bearing their testimonies of Primary had actually BEEN in primary when she was on the General Primary Board, and their theme had been about the importance of helping primary children gain a testimony. She bore her testimony to me of how important our callings are in serving the children.
When we went to our training in Salt Lake City by the General Primary Board they talked about how our callings as members of presidencies are very ADMINISTRATIVE, but it is also our responsibility to MINISTER.
So how do we best fulfill this dual role? The keys to this are to prepare spiritually, minister, and to teach the gospel.
We need to prepare spiritually. We have given each ward a copy of our stake goals for Primary this year. Our theme is to help our children go from having a testimony to becoming “truly converted.” We feel that the only way to successfully have this happen with the children is if the LEADERS are truly converted. We have discussed this in many meetings and as we have met individually with each ward.
I would like to spend time this evening concentrating on the topic of “ministering.” I think that in addition to being “truly converted,” we need to be truly united. Pres. Topham has stressed this very strongly in his ward conference talks. “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” Our unity begins in our presidencies. As you have seen in our presentation tonight, in a well-functioning presidency meeting each person is given an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings. Each person’s feelings and ideas are listened to with respect and attention. There is not one person who dominates or has total power – you are a team.
At our training in Salt Lake we were taught that “When you bear your testimonies to each other your hearts are united.” (Sis. Lifferth) As a primary presidency we have personally found this to be true. On our way to the meetings one of our sisters bore a beautiful testimony of some trials she has gone through lately and how the Spirit helped her to overcome her obstacles. Other stories were shared that day, and it truly did increase our love and appreciation for each other.
As Tammy mentioned, in Mosiah 18:21 it talks about “having (our) hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” How is the unity in your presidency and with your teachers? Does each person feel that they are valued and that their opinions matter? Do we allow each person to fulfill their callings, including learning from their own mistakes? Or do we tend to micromanage others who serve under our stewardship?
As you build unity and friendship in your presidency, this will filter down to your teachers and other primary workers. You will be more inclined to include them in your circle of love and care.
Pres. Thomas S. Monson has said that, “Love is the catalyst that causes change. Love is the balm that brings healing to the soul.” We need to make sure that our interactions with other Primary workers always resonate with love, even when gentle correction is required.
We have a responsibility to minister to the primary teachers and leaders. We feel that one area that is frequently overlooked is the need to minister to our nursery leaders. It is very important for presidency members and also members of the BISHOPRIC to occasionally visit the ward nursery and visit with the teachers that are serving there. Nursery leaders often feel like they have disappeared into a “black hole.” We want to make sure that ALL of our teachers and primary workers know of our love and concern for them.
As members of presidencies we have a responsibility to minister to the children and their families. This should be happening not only at church, but through visits to the homes of the children, showing love and concern for them as we see them in society, and by praying for them. We need to make sure that we are spending time in each of our presidency meetings concentrating on the needs of the children and teachers in our wards.
We also need to make sure that we are taking time to minister to our OWN families!!! We are concerned about making sure that we are teaching the gospel to our primary children and caring for THEIR spiritual needs, but are we caring for the spiritual needs of our OWN children?? Are we taking time for family prayer, family home evening, and scripture study?? Are we taking time to ENJOY them?
In 3 Nephi 17:23 the Savior tearfully tells the people to “Behold your little ones.” As the people looked they saw the angels encircle their children and minister to them. Sis. Cheryl Lant has reminded us that WE are angels, here to encircle the children and minister to them, at home as well as in Primary. The Lord has put a great trust in us.
I want you to know that we pray for you and for the children of the stake. We are so pleased and grateful for the love and efforts that we see you give to these children. The children of this stake are so blessed to have you as their leaders.
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