Ministering Message (May 2021)

One of the faithful members of our quorum copied me on an email he sent to his ministering companion. I would like to share a portion of this email with you, as I feel there are several great lessons taught within.

I’m so happy to have you as my companion ministering brother. I hope you and your family are well. I’m sorry that we don’t yet get to go out together to visit our families. I hope that we will soon see the pandemic decline. Till then I guess we will just have to stay in touch with our families the best we can. I’m making calls to our assigned families. I was wondering if you would be willing to email them in the next few days?

I was thinking that you could. 1. Remind them that we’re thinking about them. 2. We hope they are well and are sorry we can’t yet visit them in their homes. 3. We are aware that we have new restrictions on church attendance for the next few weeks. It means we won’t have opportunities to attend sacrament services in person. I guess we will just have to be patient. 4. While we are not able to meet you in person, we will be praying for you that you will continue to be well and be comforted and strengthened from this difficult time. We will continue to keep you in our prayers and hope you will let us know if there are other ways we can bless you.

Lessons I learned from this email:

(1) This brother knows he is responsible for ministering to his assigned families but also to his companion. If we believe there is inspiration in the families we are assigned to, then there must also be inspiration in who our companion is. Which means God wants us to minister to them as well. This brother is ministering to his companion by expressing concern, love, and confidence.

(2) This brother does not dwell on how limiting the current restriction are on their ministering efforts. Instead, he suggests ways they can bless others with the means they have.

(3) This email is for a young man who is new to ministering. Therefore, wisely, this brother gives a specific invitation with suggested details on how to fulfill this assignment. He understands the necessity of leading the younger generation by word and example (D&C 84:106).

(4) They are conveying to their families that as ministering brothers they are “thinking about” and “praying for” them. These are two of the keys to receiving inspiration on how to be a blessing in other lives. If we do not take the time to do these things, our Father in Heaven will have a difficult time giving us those impressions we need to true Christlike ministers.

I am grateful for the brother who sent this email and his excellent example of service.