I’m really excited
to be here today! You guys are a really great ward but its nice to see people
in the audience that I know. I’m so grateful for all my family and friends who
came visiting. I am assuming some of you have no idea who I am so I thought I
would take a quick minute to introduce myself. I am Julie Hamilton, the
youngest of Mark and Holly’s 6 children, making Jared my oldest brother. I
haven’t been in this ward much since they moved here because I have been
attending school at Brigham Young University-Idaho where I have completed my
degree in Social Studies Education, and I am so excited to be done! I have been
called to serve in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission where I will gladly serve
and preach the gospel for 18 months. The Bishop has asked me to speak on
service, to do this I will be using personal stories along with scripture based
references and conference addresses to teach and emphasize the importance of
Christ-like service to all of God’s children here on earth.
Rendering Christ-like service in any capacity brings an unusual joy into our lives. It is often hard to comprehend how giving of your time or energy without receiving immediate benefits could increase your own joy, yet it does. Our Savior has asked all those who believe on His name to serve. He stated, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”[1] As disciples, or followers of Christ we must actively spread the love of Christ to individuals through lending a hand. Our Lord has stated that our works define who we are. Therefore, if our desire is for others to know Christ through our own works, then our works must be good, simple, and pure. Through serving we help others come to know their own potential and worth as we spread the love of God.
Rendering Christ-like service in any capacity brings an unusual joy into our lives. It is often hard to comprehend how giving of your time or energy without receiving immediate benefits could increase your own joy, yet it does. Our Savior has asked all those who believe on His name to serve. He stated, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”[1] As disciples, or followers of Christ we must actively spread the love of Christ to individuals through lending a hand. Our Lord has stated that our works define who we are. Therefore, if our desire is for others to know Christ through our own works, then our works must be good, simple, and pure. Through serving we help others come to know their own potential and worth as we spread the love of God.
Unfortunately
selfless service is not always an “easy” to do. It is often difficult to put
aside our own wants and desires to assist others in need, not because we don’t
want to help them, we just simply get busy and sometimes its hard to step back
and see the bigger picture. Luckily, we can always look to our Master Teacher
and Exemplar Jesus Christ to see how to live a life with the big picture in
mind. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught in his April 2009 conference address, “Our
Savior gave Himself in unselfish service. He taught that each of us should
follow Him by denying ourselves of selfish interests in order to serve others.”[2] As
we come to know our Savior on a more personal level, we are better able to see
the true purpose of life and setting aside our own wants and desires for the
good of others becomes easier.
As we study the
life of Jesus Christ we see the countless acts of service He rendered. During
our study of His service we should take time and consider how we might serve in
that same Christ-like manner. Then as we contemplate these acts of service we
should seek for opportunities to put our new knowledge into action. For this
talk I have tried to do just that. Please excuse me if my examples and
applications are not perfect, but I will walk you all through some of my own
thoughts and applications of Christ-like service learned from the scriptures. John
chapter 2 tells the story of Christ’s first documented miracle of turning the
water into wine. According to the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible Christ
asked His mother, “Woman, what wilt thou have me to do for thee?”[3] We
too should actively seek opportunities to serve those around us by asking what
we can do to help. In prayer we can emulate the Savior by asking our Father in
Heaven, “Father, what wilt thou have me to do for thee?” It is good to ask for
promptings to serve, but it is best to follow these promptings immediately so
we can be the Saviors hands on earth when He needs us to help others.
I was a bit
confused when I was reading this and noticed that Mary does not tell Jesus what
she wanted him to do. The scriptures do not include Mary’s response to her
Son’s question regarding what help she needed, perhaps she did not give an
answer. In this story we see the Lord gave aid even without her explicitly
stating what she needed. We do not know whether or not she gave an answer but I
think there is a very important lesson we can learn from this example. There
will be times when we ask others, “what wilt thou have me do for thee” and an
answer will not come. Does this mean we shouldn’t serve? Well of course not!
Certainly there will be times when we will serve without the recipient asking
for help or knowing exactly what they need. In these cases we must follow the
counsel of Sister Burton, the General Relief Society President, and “First
observe, then serve.” We must try our best to determine the needs of an
individual through prayer, promptings, and knowledge we have available. By
doing so our lives will be enriched as we see the Lord working through us to
bless the lives of others as He prompts our heart and minds on how to best
help. Likewise those whom we serve will be able to see how they are loved,
cared for, and that others are willing to help.
As I was preparing
for this talk I tried to look back on a time where I was able to serve someone
who hadn’t necessarily asked me for help. I remembered an experience I had on a
specifically cold night it Rexburg. To help put this into perspective,
yesterday it was about 16 degrees here in Sandy and it was -20 degrees in
Rexburg. And I’m really excited because it was 66 degrees in Georgia, but
that’s just a side note! I mean freezing night in Rexburg. This particular
semester my college ward Bishop had challenged me to pray for service opportunities
and then act upon the promptings, it was a challenge I accepted and am so glad
that I did. This freezing night was a Thursday and I was rather bored waiting
for my roommates to come home so we could hang out. As I was waiting for my
roommates I had the thought “go to the store.” I took a second and wondered if
there was anything I needed, I was a bit confused once I decided there wasn’t, so
I went back to my very productive activity. As I continued staring out the
window at the snowing parking lot for someone to come home the thought came
again. “Go to the store.” This time I listened, I decided I would drive to the
store and buy a delicious candy bar, hoping at some point I would learn why I
felt I should go there. As I drove to the store I watched to see if I noticed
anyone walking, because I always tried to give someone a ride home so they
wouldn’t have to walk with their groceries. This time I saw a sweet Chinese
girl carrying more than her weight in groceries getting ready to cross the
street. I pulled over and asked if I could give her a ride, in her broken
English she told me “Yes Please Yes.” As I drove her back to her apartment I
learned it was her second week in America and she didn’t know her roommates
well enough to ask them for rides. Meeting Ming was such a fun experience; I
got her contact information and introduced her to my roommate from Hong Kong
who helped her get more involved in the international organizations on campus. It
would have been very easy for me to not follow a simple thought of going to the
grocery store. I didn’t know Ming personally, nor did she ask me for a ride.
However, I am so thankful that I did follow that prompting because I was able
to meet a sweet girl and save her from the long walk to her apartment in the
freezing cold carrying groceries. By more importantly I am thankful to have
gained a stronger testimony that Heavenly Father cares about all of His
children, and if we ask Him “Father, what wilt thou have me do for thee” He
will give us ways to help. We need to act upon these immediately, because if we
don’t, as selfish as it sounds, we will miss out on the great joy which comes
from serving and being on the Lords errand.
President Thomas
S. Monson encourages us to seek to lift one another through service. He stated,
“Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and
then go and do.”[4] As
we pray for service opportunities they will come, however, if we do not act
upon these promptings and opportunities it will eventually become harder and
harder to recognize them as promptings of the Spirit. We should never be afraid
or embarrassed to ask a neighbor or friend “what wilt thou have me to do for
thee?” Everyone could use a helping hand at times, and by being the Lords hands
in their life you will bring joy into their life as well as yours.
In Matthew chapter
25, the next scripture block I have decided to focus on, the Savior teaches us
the importance of service and why we serve. In this parable Christ returns to
the earth and separates the righteous and wicked. Christ speaks to the
righteous and welcomes them into the Kingdom of heaven. Versus 35-40 capture a
simple yet profound conversation between the righteous and the Lord. It reads:
35)
For I was an hungred,
and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger,
and ye took me in:
37)
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred,
and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
40) And
the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto
one of the least of
these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.
As we serve those
around us we are actually serving the Lord. I love verse 40 when it says “one
of the least of these my bretheren” because to me it is saying “any one of my
brothers or sisters.” We are all children of God, which means all people on the
earth are our brothers and sisters. We ALL matter. The Lord finds joy when we
serve any one of them. When He says “one of the least of these” I think how
much He loves each one of us. He wants us all individually to be served and
taken care of. His sheep are numbered and He knows them by name, He wants them
to be watched after on a personal level. President Monson extends this same
desire as he says, “We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our
encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. … We are the Lord’s
hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children.
He is dependent upon each of us.” As children of God, and more specifically
Disciples of Christ we must always be ready and willing to serve when the
opportunity arrives. We can serve at work, the bus stop, school, a neighbors
home, church, the store, and wherever we are there are service opportunities.
I’d like to tell a
recent Christmas Miracle story that happened to my sister-in-law Lindsey.
Lindsey is a great example to me and all those around her, of how to love
everyone you meet and always be willing to serve. While at Walgreens a few days
before Christmas Lindsey noticed the young woman in front of her in line
checking out. She could tell this woman was buying her Christmas gifts and
doing her best give a wonderful Christmas to those she loved. Being the loving
bubbly person Lindsey is, she and this woman entered into a wonderful
conversation about the holidays and getting Christmas shopping done. Her new
friend told Lindsey she had everything she needed, except the most important
gift. The most important gift was a chocolate orange for her mother, the same
gift her grandmother, who had recently passed away, had given her mother for
years. In hopes that Lindsey would know where to buy one she asked, “do you
have any idea where I can get a chocolate orange?” Just that morning a coworker
of Lindsey’s had given her a chocolate orange. Lindsey had put it in her purse
and forgotten about it until that moment. I’m sure smile on Lindsey’s face stretched
from ear to ear as she replied, “Sure I do! Right here in my purse, its still
wrapped and in perfect condition. Would you like it?” and handed the chocolate
orange to her new friend. In that moment, Lindsey was able to serve helping to
usher in a wonderful Christmas miracle because of her great love and desire to
help anyone in need.
As we have
Christ-like love in our hearts we are more willing to extend aid to others, we
are also more ready to do so when the occasion arises on a moments notice. In Sister
Burton’s address “First Observe, then Serve” in the October 2012 Ensign, there
is a story of a six-year-old who understood the Saviors call for us to serve all
the children of God. The child tells of an experience of helping others, they
said, “When I was chosen to be a class helper, I could choose a friend to work
with me. I picked [a boy in my class who bullied me] because he never gets
chosen by others. I wanted to make him feel good.”[5]
This child knew service should be given to everyone. We should all follow this
child’s example by serving everyone around us, not just our friends.
Another way we can
serve all of our Heavenly Fathers children is through temple service. The great
news of the gospel and call to serve does not only apply to the living, but
also the dead. As we do family history work we are serving those on the other
side to prepare them for the opportunity to accept the gospel. In the temple we
can stand as proxy for individuals to receive their saving ordinances and be
sealed to their families. I have absolutely loved the opportunity I had to go
to the temple often these past months in preparing to serve a mission. I know the sacrifice of my time is truly
minimal in the grand scheme of things when I consider the great blessings
individuals can receive when I go and do their work in the temple. It was such
a blessing to be able to assist children of God on the other side. I was always
reminded of the love God has for us and why He asks us to serve.
As members of the
church we have lots of different opportunities to serve. If you go on LDS.org
and search for service there is a webpage that lists service opportunities by
the amount of time you have. Whether its 5 minutes or full time the church has
so many different ways you can go out and serve. For the next 18 months I am choosing
to serve full time as a missionary where I will be given countless chances to
perform acts of service and preach the gospel. A scripture which truly motivates
me to “go and do” is John 21:15. It reads:
15 ¶So when they had dined, Jesus saith
to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He
saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him,
Feed my lambs.
When making the
decision to go on a mission I took me a long time. I always wondered what I
would do if the Savior asked me “Julie, lovest thou me more than these?” Or more
personally, “Julie, do you love me more than your great job opportunities, more
than traveling, more than relaxing, and so on.” It was easy for me to answer
“Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” What was a little harder was
responding to His call “Feed my lambs.” We can feed his lambs in many different
ways. We can feed them at home, we can feed them at work, we can feed them
every where. I have chosen to feed them In Atlanta Georgia. Sometimes I wonder
if I am being a little selfish now that I have decided to go because I know my
family and I will be blessed greatly as I give my life to the Lord for 18
months. Now that I have made the decision and my mission is so close I can’t
imagine not going and serving the Lord and giving Him all I have for 18 months.
I know it will be very hard, but I also know, like all service, it will be more
rewarding then imaginable. When we serve we get to be filled with the love of
Christ and see it in others. We start to see people differently, we start to
see them as the true Sons and Daughters of God they are as we preform selfless
service on their behalf.
I am thankful for
the Gospel in my life for it brings the most joy I could ever imagine. I am so
thankful it blesses us with service opportunities so that we are able to be
filled with the love of Christ. I know God lives. He loves us. It is my prayer
that we will all search for service opportunities and respond to His plea to
“Feed [His] lambs.”
[1]
John 13:35
[2] Dallin
H. Oaks, “Unselfish Service,” Ensign May 2009
[3] JST
John 2:4
[4] Thomas
S. Monson, “They Pray and They Go,” Ensign, May 2002, 51.
[5]
Linda K. Burton, “First Observe, Then Serve,” Ensign, Oct 2012
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