“Ministering to Our Fellow Travelers,” Liahona, July 2021
Come, Follow Me
Ministering to Our Fellow Travelers
July 19–25
Illustration by J. Beth Jepson
“Succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5).
President Thomas S. Monson: An Example of Ministering
Age when called as bishop: 22
Number of ward members: over 1,000
Number of widows in his ward: 85
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared how Bishop Monson cared for the widows: “Many may know that young Bishop Monson took a week of his personal vacation time every Christmas season to visit all of those eighty-five widows in his ward. Many may not know that for the first several years the gift he would take them was one of the … hens raised and dressed out by him in his own poultry coops.”1
Bishop Monson recalled how he helped an elderly couple who needed to paint their home: “In a moment of inspiration I called, not upon the elders quorum or upon volunteers to wield paint brushes, but rather, following the welfare handbook, upon the family members who lived in other areas. Four sons-in-law and four daughters took brushes in hand and participated in the project.”2 This inspiration helped the family reconnect and better care for each other.
“We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey.”3 —President Thomas S. Monson