Matthew 20:26 – 28

            Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

            And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant;

            Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

Matthew 25:31 – 46 (40)

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.

 

Mosiah 2:17 – 18

            And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.

Behold, ye have called me your king; and I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?

 

            Mosiah 4:16, 19, 21

            And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

            For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon that same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

            And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.

 

            The message of these passages of scripture is clear: they are a call to serve God’s children.

Joseph F. Smith said that "Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift and ameliorate the condition of mankind, it is our mission to do it, it is an essential part of our religion to do it" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1917, 4).

In the last session of General Conference, Elder Jeffery R. Holland said that

“…each of these conferences marks a call to action not only in our own lives but also on behalf of others around us, those who are of our own family and faith and those who are not…

As surely as the rescue of those in need was the general conference theme of October 1856, so too is it the theme of this conference and last conference and the one to come next spring. It may not be blizzards and frozen-earth burials that we face this conference, but the needy are still out there—the poor and the weary, the discouraged and downhearted, those "[falling] away into [the] forbidden paths" we mentioned earlier, and multitudes who are "kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." They are all out there with feeble knees, hands that hang down, and bad weather setting in. They can be rescued only by those who have more and know more and can help more. And don't worry about asking, "Where are they?" They are everywhere, on our right hand and on our left, in our neighborhoods and in the workplace, in every community and county and nation of this world. Take your team and wagon; load it with your love, your testimony, and a spiritual sack of flour; then drive in any direction. The Lord will lead you to those in need if you will but embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been taught in this conference. Open your heart and your hand to those trapped in the twenty-first century's equivalent of Martin's Cove and Devil's Gate. In doing so we honor the Master's repeated plea on behalf of lost sheep and lost coins and lost souls.

            Elder Don R. Clarke also spoke in the last session of General Conference. His talk was on how to become an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I quote from his talk:

“I have learned that a person does not need to have a Church calling, an invitation to help someone, or even good health to become an instrument in God's hands. How then do you and I become instruments in God's hands? The prophets and the scriptures teach us how.

“First of all, we must have love for God's children. When the lawyer asked the Savior, "Master, which is the great commandment?" the Savior replied:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

"This is the first and great commandment.

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:36–39).

The missionary experiences of the sons of Mosiah also help us understand how to become instruments in God's hands. The sons of Mosiah were willing to step outside their surroundings and do that which was uncomfortable. Had Ammon not been willing to journey into a foreign land, inhabited by a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people, he never would have found and helped Lamoni and his father, and many Lamanites may have never learned about Jesus Christ

“In their pursuit to help their Lamanite brothers, the sons of Mosiah also learned the importance of fasting and prayer: "They fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth" (Alma 17:9). Do we really want to be instruments in God's hands? If so, our desire will permeate our prayers and be the focus of our fasts.

“We also need to be receptive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, for when we desire to be an instrument in the hands of God, we can receive revelation. The prophet Alma the Younger tells us of revelations that he received: "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it . . . yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy" (Alma 29:9). Alma had received revelation of what to do.”

Interestingly, many of the things Elder Don R. Clarke has stated that will help us in becoming an instrument in the Lord’s hands will also help us gain a testimony. In General Conference, Elder Uchtdorf listed four things that will help us gain a testimony.

First, we must have the desire. Just as to serve, we must first have a love of God’s children and a desire to serve them, so too to gain a testimony, we must have the desire to gain one, even if it is just a desire to believe.

 Alma 32:27

“God promises us divine help even if we have only a desire to believe, but it has to be a true and not a pretended desire.”

Elder Uchtdorf also mentions the scriptures: “Search the scriptures. Have questions; study them out; search in the scriptures for answers. Again, the Book of Mormon has good advice for us: "If [you] give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart" through diligent study of the word of God, the good seed "will begin to swell within your breasts" if you will not resist with unbelief. This good seed will "enlarge [your] soul" and "enlighten [your] understanding" (Alma 32:28).”

We must also do the will of God, and keep the commandments, again, even if we feel uncomfortable in doing so. “When we bear testimony, we declare the absolute truth of the gospel message. In a time when many perceive truth as relative, a declaration of absolute truth is not very popular, nor does it seem politically correct or opportune.” But, “our firm conviction of gospel truth is an anchor in our lives; it is steady and reliable as the North Star.”

Elder Uchtdor tells us that we must fast and pray, and be sensitive and open to the promptings of the Spirit, for a testimony “is a gift of the Spirit, a witness from the Holy Ghost that certain concepts are true.” The prophet Alma said: “Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? /Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things myself.” (Alma 5:45-46

 Elder Uchtdorf tells us that: “A testimony is a most precious possession because it is not acquired by logic or reason alone, it cannot be purchased with earthly possessions, and it cannot be given as a present or inherited from our ancestors. We cannot depend on the testimonies of other people. We need to know for ourselves. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know for himself or herself with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected, living Son of the living God" ("Fear Not to Do Good," Ensign, May 1983, 80).

“A testimony provides proper perspective, motivation, and a solid foundation on which to build a life of purpose and personal growth. It is a constant source of confidence, a true and faithful companion during good times and bad. A testimony provides us with a reason for hope and gladness. It helps us cultivate a spirit of optimism and happiness…. A testimony motivates us to choose the right at all times and in all circumstances.

Brothers and sisters, it is my prayer that we may all gain a testimony, that we may all be moved to act in the Lord’s name, and to help his children. We cannot sit idly on the fence and wait for our salvation and the salvation of others to come. We must rise from the dust, shake of the chains with which we are bound, and come forth out of obscurity. I pray that you have felt the spirit, that it has touched your heart, and brought you your soul the desire to act in the name of the Lord.