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Ministering—“That Ye Love One Another; as I Have Loved You”
April 2026 general conference
8:56

Ministering—“That Ye Love One Another; as I Have Loved You”

By Sister Kristin M. Yee

Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

Ministering is truly loving and caring for others as the Savior would. It is a way of being; it is the way of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In my first general conference message, I briefly shared how the transformative power of the Savior’s Atonement changed my father.

Today I would like to tell you a little more about how that change began. My father hit a very low point in his life when two ministering brothers began to visit him. One of them invited my father to come with him and his wife to the temple. He accepted the invitation. Each week they picked him up and drove to the next city to worship and serve in the house of the Lord. This continued for three years. Then my dad decided to become a temple worker.

I remember seeing changes in my father during that time. He became aware and attentive to the needs of others. He took better care of his health. He began to care about His relationship with God and subsequently all the relationships in his life. The change was real. He now had the Spirit with him, and I felt it.

Bless this ministering couple for helping my dad. They didn’t judge him for where he was in his life. They walked with him and helped him to develop his relationship with God. They are still my father’s closest and dearest friends.

Because these humble and devoted disciples of the Savior quietly ministered to a seemingly lost and dejected man, my family and I have been eternally blessed.

When we choose to minister in our inspired assignments and our daily interactions, we are helping to bless someone’s father, someone’s sister, someone’s son. When we minister, we are helping to answer each other’s prayers. We are the Savior’s hands. Oh, how I am grateful for all those who have blessed families like mine by ministering with compassion.

I know the Lord is aware of you and your struggles as you strive to keep your covenants and minister to others. He has promised blessings and divine help for you and your family as you exercise your faith to serve Him.

We may not be able to fix difficult or heartbreaking circumstances as we hope; some changes are not ours to make. But we can choose to love and minister as the Savior would.

Ministering by the Spirit invites the Savior’s healing into our lives and the lives of those we minister to. I often find peace, clarity, healing, and purpose when I minister. I find the Savior when I minister. This is by divine design.

Ministering is truly loving and caring for others as the Savior would. It is a way of being; it is the way of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not a program or a checklist; ministering is the essence of who God is and who we can become as we follow Him.

We are not called to or released from ministering. It is part of fulfilling the covenants we made at baptism and in the temple. We covenanted to take upon us the Savior’s name—becoming as He is as we sacrifice and consecrate our lives to Him. When we minister as He would, we begin to think, feel, and love as He would.

Our Father in Heaven carries out His eternal work by ministering to the individual needs of His children one by one. The Savior showed us this pattern often during His mortal ministry as He compassionately blessed, healed, and cared for “the one.” He invites us to do likewise—to minister in individual and personal ways, ways that help us to feel the love of God. When we feel loved and seen by Him, it changes everything. And when we bless the one, we bless the whole.

The Savior shows us the ultimate individuality of God’s love through His atoning sacrifice and the divine capacity He has to heal and minister to you and me on an intimate level.

Jesus Christ chose to suffer for our sins and to atone in indescribable agony that we might be saved and receive divine succor. All this He did without the assurance that we would love Him in return. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is the kind of love He has for you and me. And this is the kind of love He desires us to have for each other: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” We can demonstrate our love for Him by keeping His commandments and ministering to others while they and we are yet imperfect.

We’ve been sent here to learn to love God and each other as the Savior did—to love in sacrificial and transformational ways, ways that will bring our greatest happiness. Through the Savior’s Atonement we can come to love in ways that may feel impossible. Elder Quentin L. Cook taught, “Our love of God and our fellow man is the ultimate test of the condition of our spirit.”

Choosing to minister isn’t always convenient or comfortable. It requires sacrifice, faith, vulnerability, and trusting things will work out as we let God prevail. When we pause and choose to care for someone over something, His Spirit and love can enter in and we can receive the peace and perspective that we really need.

A young sister shared that she often feels nervous about ministering because she doesn’t know how others will respond. I asked how she works through that. She smiled and said, “I go—and it usually turns out much better than I thought.” She exercises faith, and the Lord helps her.

As we minister in faith, we do not go alone. The Lord will be with us. He will “provide [the] means whereby [we] can accomplish the thing which he has commanded”—including the blessing of God’s priesthood power as we keep our covenants and His priesthood authority to represent Him through our assignment. The Lord knows the hearts of those we minister to. He loves them and He loves you. He will help you to bless them in the ways they need.

Think of the significance of our ministering assignments. Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies receive revelation from the Lord to extend inspired assignments to you and me—assignments to represent Him and labor with Him in caring for God’s children. As President Jeffrey R. Holland taught, we are invited to give “the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, … drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees.”

If you want to feel grounded, gain a sense of divine belonging, and make a real difference in the world, I invite you to follow the Savior and minister in His name. Never was the need greater than now for souls to be lifted, strengthened, and healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. “So many of us desperately need to feel of His love.” As His disciples, you and I have the covenant blessing and responsibility to bring the Savior’s love and relief to all of God’s children. When we offer His love and belonging to others, we will find it ourselves. The Savior promised, “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

The Savior did not limit His ministering to His family and close associations. He ministered to all and invites us to do the same. We receive ministering assignments to grow our capacity to love others and to ensure no one is forgotten. We pray for them, care for their needs, and strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

I believe our Father in Heaven wants you to be happy. He loves you. His work, including ministering, is designed to bring you and me the greatest joy we can experience.

I testify that ministering not only “brings forth the blessings of heaven,” it is the way of heaven. I testify that Jesus Christ lives. As we emulate His sacrifice by loving and ministering as He would, we will be blessed to find our own joy, healing, and relief in Him. We will become even as He is. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

  1. See Kristin M. Yee, “Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 37.

  2. See Matthew 22:37–39; 1 John 4:21.

  3. Jesus teaches that when we serve “the least of these,” we are serving Him directly, acting as His hands in the world (see Matthew 25:35–40). “As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Are My Hands,” Liahona, May 2010, 68).

    “Often the best humanitarian outreach is to those closest to us in everyday acts of kindness. … Thank you for expressing your testimony of Jesus Christ by being His gentle hands, His nimble feet, His listening ears, His kind-speaking lips” (Camille N. Johnson, “As His Covenant Daughters, We Are a Conduit Through Which Jesus Christ Provides Relief” [Relief Society devotional, Mar. 17, 2024], Gospel Library).

  4. See Doctrine and Covenants 31. “Faithful members of the Church can find comfort in knowing that they can lay claim to the promises of divine guidance and power, through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and the privileges of the priesthood, in their efforts to help family members receive the blessings of salvation and exaltation” (David A. Bednar, “Faithful Parents and Wayward Children: Sustaining Hope While Overcoming Misunderstanding,” Ensign, Mar. 2014, 31).

  5. See Jeremiah 29:12–14; John 14:21; 2 Nephi 26:13.

  6. “Ministering brothers and sisters are not called, sustained, or set apart. Their service is part of the covenant they made at baptism (see Mosiah 18:8–11)” (General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 21.2.1, Gospel Library).

  7. “During the endowment ordinance, you will be invited to make certain covenants with God. These covenants are:

    • Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep Heavenly Father’s commandments.

    • Law of Sacrifice, which means sacrificing to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.

    • Law of the Gospel, which includes exercising faith in Jesus Christ, making and honoring essential covenants with God, enduring to the end, and striving to love God and our neighbor.

    • Law of Chastity, which means abstaining from sexual relations outside of a legal marriage between a man and a woman, which is according to God’s law.

    • Law of Consecration, which means dedicating our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to building up Jesus Christ’s Church on the earth” (“About the Temple Endowment,” temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

    “The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of [humankind]; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King,—the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions” (James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord [1912], 100).

    “We covenant to give of our resources in time and money and talent—all we are and all we possess—to the interest of the kingdom of God upon the earth” (Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple [2002], 35).

  8. See Mosiah 5:5–12; 18:8–10; Moroni 4:3.

  9. See 3 Nephi 27:27.

  10. See notes 7 and 21.

  11. See Moses 1:39.

  12. See 3 Nephi 27:21. “A hallmark of the Lord’s true and living Church will always be an organized, directed effort to minister to individual children of God and their families. Because it is His Church, we as His servants will minister to the one, just as He did. We will minister in His name, with His power and authority, and with His loving-kindness” (Russell M. Nelson, “Ministering with the Power and Authority of God,” Liahona, May 2018, 69).

  13. “When you are truly ministering, you follow your feelings to help someone else experience more of the Savior’s love” (Russell M. Nelson, “Sisters’ Participation in the Gathering of Israel,” Liahona, Nov. 2018, 69).

  14. A wise bishop once said to me, when I was an overwhelmed Young Women president of 53 young women, “When you bless the one, you bless the whole.”

  15. See Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–11.

  16. See 2 Nephi 9:20–23; Alma 7:11–12.

  17. Romans 5:8.

  18. John 13:34.

  19. See John 14:15.

  20. See Matthew 5:44; 22:34–40; Mark 12:31; 2 Nephi 26:30.

  21. See Doctrine and Covenants 138:12–14; Moses 5:6–8.

  22. See Matthew 5:44; Mark 12:31; Moroni 7:45–47.

  23. Quentin L. Cook, “Being Prepared to Meet the Savior” (First Presidency’s Christmas devotional, Dec. 8, 2024), Gospel Library.

  24. “The incomprehensible suffering of Jesus Christ ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood, but it did not end the importance of sacrifice in the gospel plan. Our Savior requires us to continue to offer sacrifices, but the sacrifices He now commands are that we ‘offer for a sacrifice unto [Him] a broken heart and a contrite spirit’ (3 Nephi 9:20). He also commands each of us to love and serve one another—in effect, to offer a small imitation of His own sacrifice by making sacrifices of our own time and selfish priorities. In an inspired hymn, we sing, ‘Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven’” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Sacrifice,”Liahona, May 2012, 19; quoting “Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 29).

  25. See Matthew 6:33.

  26. See Isaiah 41:10.

  27. 1 Nephi 17:3.

  28. See quote in note 12; see also Russell M. Nelson, “Spiritual Treasures,” Liahona, Nov. 2019, 76–79; Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 95–98; General Handbook, 3.6.

  29. “Ministering sisters and brothers represent the Lord” (General Handbook, 21.1).

    “Priesthood authority is the authorization to represent God and act in His name. … All Church members can exercise delegated authority as they are set apart or assigned to help accomplish God’s work” (General Handbook, 3.4).

    “Authority is delegated to Church members to serve as ministering brothers and ministering sisters. This occurs when they are assigned under the bishop’s direction by the elders quorum president or Relief Society president” (General Handbook, 3.4.3.2).

    “Priesthood keys direct women as well as men, and priesthood ordinances and priesthood authority pertain to women as well as men. …

    “In [a] notable address, President [Joseph Fielding] Smith said again and again that women have been given authority. To the women he said, ‘You can speak with authority, because the Lord has placed authority upon you.’ He also said that the Relief Society ‘[has] been given power and authority to do a great many things. The work which they do is done by divine authority.’ And, of course, the Church work done by women or men, whether in the temple or in the wards or branches, is done under the direction of those who hold priesthood keys. Thus, speaking of the Relief Society, President Smith explained, ‘[The Lord] has given to them this great organization where they have authority to serve under the directions of the bishops of the wards … , looking after the interest of our people both spiritually and temporally’ [“Relief Society—an Aid to the Priesthood,” Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1959, 4, 5].

    “Thus, it is truly said that Relief Society is not just a class for women but something they belong to—a divinely established appendage to the priesthood.

    “We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be?” (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood,” Liahona, May 2014, 49, 50–51).

  30. See Alma 18:32.

  31. See 2 Nephi 32:5.

  32. See Jacob 5:71.

  33. Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be With and Strengthen Them,” Liahona, May 2018, 103.

  34. See notes 8 and 12.

  35. Gary E. Stevenson, Facebook and Instagram, Feb. 8, 2021, facebook.com/stevenson.gary.e, instagram.com/garyestevenson.

  36. “Now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

    “Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things” (Mosiah 18:8–9).

    “Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.

    “You can overcome the spiritually and emotionally exhausting plagues of the world, including arrogance, pride, anger, immorality, hatred, greed, jealousy, and fear. Despite the distractions and distortions that swirl around us, you can find true rest—meaning relief and peace—even amid your most vexing problems” (Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 96).

  37. Matthew 16:25.

  38. See Luke 10:29–37; Doctrine and Covenants 112:11.

  39. “Ministering sisters and brothers have the following responsibilities for the individuals and families assigned to them:

    • Help them strengthen their faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

    • Help them prepare to make and keep sacred covenants with God as they receive ordinances. As needed, help parents prepare their children to receive ordinances and keep covenants.

    • Discern needs and provide Christlike love, caring, and service. Offer help and comfort in times of spiritual or temporal need. Discuss needs during ministering interviews and at other times.

    • Help them become spiritually and temporally self-reliant.

    “For more about the responsibilities of ministering sisters and brothers, see James 1:27, Mosiah 23:18, and Doctrine and Covenants 20:47, 59” (General Handbook, 21.1). See also Doctrine and Covenants 20:53.

  40. See 2 Nephi 2:25.

  41. See Moses 1:39.

  42. “The greatest joy you will ever experience is when you are consumed with love for God and for all His children” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 11).

  43. “Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 29.

  44. See 3 Nephi 27:27.