“Ministering as First Responders,” Liahona, June 2025.
Ministering as First Responders
Like first responders at the scene of a crisis, we can bring help and comfort, but we can’t heal. We can, however, love and care for our brothers and sisters and lead them to Christ, the Master Healer.
My daughter Abby is a paramedic, and in her line of work no two days are the same. Each call she receives is unique and requires a different response. Her work is unpredictable and takes place in an uncontrolled environment. She doesn’t treat people in a sterile hospital room surrounded by specialized equipment but can often be found manually pumping someone’s heart on the side of the freeway, intubating a person on a bathroom floor, delivering a baby in the back of a car, bandaging wounds, splinting broken bones, or administering medication.
She immediately assesses what is needed and then does the best she can with the knowledge she has. When a situation is out of the ordinary and there is a question about what should be done, she calls to speak with a doctor for additional instructions.
Although Abby’s job as a first responder is very important, she doesn’t heal people and then send them home well and whole. Her job is to provide first aid, care, and comfort until people are stable enough to be transported to the hospital, where doctors can use their specialized skills to treat the injuries and illnesses and begin the healing process.
We Too Are First Responders
As I’ve thought about our role as members of God’s Church in the gathering of Israel, it has occurred to me that, like Abby, we are first responders. Each person we encounter has unique challenges, and each requires a different response. Caring for our brothers and sisters doesn’t take place in a predictable, controlled environment. We are working with real people and real-life situations, and it can be messy.
Like a first responder, we must assess needs and then respond the best we know how with the knowledge we have. When a situation is out of the ordinary and we’re not sure what to do, we too can call for additional instructions by praying to receive guidance through the Spirit to know the course of action we should take. We can ask our leaders, like the Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies, for help as well.
In Mosiah 18, Alma talks about the righteous desires of those who come into the fold of God: to bear one another’s burdens, mourn with those who mourn, comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God (see verses 8–9). When I have been at a low point in my life, feeling abandoned and like the heavens were closed to me, and someone has shown up to sit with me, cry with me, or listen to me, I have felt God’s love through that person and received a witness that He is aware of me and my situation.
We often think that standing as a witness means sharing our beliefs with others and testifying of the truth, and sometimes that’s exactly what the Spirit leads us to do. But this isn’t always the first thing people need when they are in difficult situations. When Abby comes upon someone in cardiac arrest, it’s probably not the ideal time to begin a discussion on healthy eating habits and exercise. Her job isn’t to judge how they ended up where they are or to determine who deserves her care. If a person is in need, she gives them aid.
Just as Abby doesn’t heal people and send them on their way, neither can we make people whole, fix them, or save them. Our role is vitally important: it is to love and care for our brothers and sisters and lead them to Christ, the Master Healer, who can do the healing and saving.
It is easy to feel helpless in our ministering when we encounter those with burdens so heavy, complicated, or unfamiliar, or whose sins are so great, addictions so enslaving, pain and sorrow so intense, or faith so weak that we don’t know how to help them. We will be frustrated when we try to fix or change people because it’s not something we have the power to do for others. As Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “The Savior’s job is to heal. Our job is to love—to love and minister in such a way that others are drawn to Jesus Christ.”
We are first responders.
Each person we encounter has unique challenges, and each requires a different response.
Photograph of young women by Judith Ann Beck
Our Job Is to Love Others
When Alma talks about comforting those who stand in need of comfort, there is no asterisk, addendum, or qualifier that says, “Comfort those who stand in need of comfort as long as they share your beliefs, dress like you, are free of sin, or live a lifestyle you approve of.” As first responders, it is not our job to judge others or to determine if they are worthy of our love and care. Our instructions are very clear:
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“Love one another” (John 13:34).
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“Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).
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“Let every man esteem his brother as himself” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:25).
The Prophet Joseph Smith said:
“The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs. …
“If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.”
My parents exemplified this love in so many ways. They had a large family, with many grandchildren, some of whom chose to step away from the Church or follow paths that diverged from its teachings. Yet, to my knowledge, my parents never criticized, coerced, or tried to change their grandchildren in an effort to “save” them. They left judging and saving to the Savior and simply loved them. Their home was a place where everyone felt welcomed and safe, regardless of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or political or world views.
Grandchildren could tell them about anything and be themselves around them without fear of rejection. My parents spent time with them, listened to them, and built relationships with them.
In the days leading up to my mother’s passing, I witnessed her grandchildren—most now in their 20s and 30s—weeping as they gathered around the bed of their cherished grandmother. This small white-haired woman, along with my father, had ministered to them, valued them, welcomed them, and loved them without conditions. My parents were faithful Latter-day Saints who understood that loving others, even when their beliefs or choices differ from our own, doesn’t diminish our faith or change our beliefs. We lose nothing by loving all of God’s children.
This doesn’t mean that we ignore teaching the importance of obeying God’s commandments. As President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, taught: “To balance our commitments to love and law we must continually show love even as we continually honor and keep the commandments. We must strive to preserve precious relationships and at the same time not compromise our responsibilities to be obedient to and supportive of gospel law.”
As first responders and disciples of Christ, we can love as He loves and create safe places for those around us—in our relationships, our homes, our neighborhoods, and our church. These are places where people can find love, acceptance, and inclusion, and where they can become acquainted with the Savior, who has the power to heal, forgive, save, and make all things right.
The author lives in Utah, USA.
Photograph by Carol Christine Porter