Savouring Little Things: Discovering your Personal Ministry

Jeremy and I were asked to speak to our new ward (congregation...ours is over 400 people) a week ago. We were given the subject of Service to Others. I thought I would share our notes from our talks here. I need Jeremy to type his out, but here is mine. I've added some pictures to make it a little more interesting to read. :)

I think we can all think of people in our lives who have showed love or kindness to us in some way. We look back at these times with smiles in our hearts because nothing is more wonderful than the feeling that someone cares. There is something awesome that happens between people when they extend or receive acts of kindness, whether great or small.

I was so inspired by the bishopric message that was on the ward newsletter this month, about service. I loved how it mentioned that we are in a partnership with God when we serve others.

In preparing this talk, I was led to a BYU devotional speech given in 2007 by Bonnie Parkin, who was the Relief Society General president at the time. I love it so much.

She titled the talk, Personal Ministry: Sacred and Precious.

I love that idea: We each have our own "personal ministry"

She told a story about Neal Maxwell.

"Some years ago, at the conclusion of a Utah Board of Higher Education meeting, Elder Neal Maxwell submitted his resignation. He said he needed to do so to make time for his personal ministry. Most of the board members assumed he was referring to his apostleship. However, he explained that his personal ministry was different than his apostleship. His personal ministry was to comfort fellow cancer patients."

We often speak about the Savior’s ministry. But have you ever wondered if you have a personal ministry? I have.

She goes on to explain:

"Each of us has a personal ministry. I believe we received our personal ministry in the pre-mortal world. It was divinely given and lasts a lifetime."

She then quoted President Kimball:

"While we do not now remember the particulars (of the assignments we were given (in the pre-mortal world) this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles!"

Wow, what a thought.

How can we know what was entrusted to us at that time? As we accept callings, and love and obey the Lord, our personal ministry unfolds. It is a sacred and precious thing. It embraces the people who come and go across the path of our life. It extends beyond our temporary callings as presidents, counselors, secretaries, teachers, and so on. It is illuminated by our patriarchal blessings. And while each of our ministries is unique, they allow us to become extensions of the Lord’s love.

I'm kind of lucky because my patriarchal blessing gives me a lot ideas for my personal ministry. It talked in detail about serving a mission, which made that decision easy. Also, in my blessing I was blessed with "an understanding and caring heart that is concerned about the great iniquities that exist throughout the world, where children are needing help, and that I would have a desire to help resolve such situations."

I always wondered how I would fulfill that part of my blessing.

When our fifth child was just a baby, a lot of impressions came my mind about adopting a child from another country. Over the course of several weeks, Jeremy and I talked about it and eventually had the courage to start praying about it. The answers came powerfully, so we started the process of a home study. During this time, I stumbled upon a website that advocates for children who are born with special needs, mostly in Eastern Europe and Asia. I learned that their parents are encouraged by doctors and pretty much everyone, to give up their babies, to be raised in baby homes, and later in mental institutions where their basic needs are met, but nothing more. There simply is no place for them in a society that deems them as worthless. They are literally hidden away, after moving from the baby homes, their hope of adoption over.

I found out that there were many people in America who were discovering these precious, though discarded gems through the Internet and adopting them into their families. I would read their blogs and I was so moved.

My patriarchal blessing was key in giving me the courage to explore the idea of adopting one, and eventually two of these sweet children. Once the idea came to mind, it was very much like the seed that is mentioned in the Book of Mormon in Alma 32.

Verse 28:

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

And that's exactly what happened. Any stereotypes that we had, were replaced with an insatiable desire to have an absolutely awesome kiddo who sports an extra chromosome, as one of our own. I poured over the pictures of these children, looking into their longing eyes, feeling their hurt.

After a few days of looking, I found Anya's picture.

The spirit said, "this is your daughter." She honestly looked familiar to me! Jeremy and the kids felt the same way when they were introduced.

Why do I share this story?

Not because our ministry is "amazing." We just happened to entertain a prompting and the process that is discussed in Alma 32 happened. The more we prayed, the more the idea grew and swelled within us. The Lord reassured us through The Spirit that everything was going to work out just fine, and that this was part of our personal ministries.

Now, they are both "just one of the kids" and have given us, and will continue to give all of us, so much more than we can possibly give them.

I have learned through this experience how unique each of us are in the things that motivate us to serve, or how we do it. The Holy Ghost is key to pursuing our personal ministry.

Every interaction we have is an opportunity to minister and nurture. The Bible Dictionary says, “The work of the ministry is to do the work of the Lord on the earth—to represent the Lord among the people.”

Most opportunities to minister aren't planned. I love how Christ ministered. So much of his acts seemed almost incidental, happening while He was on His way to somewhere else—while He was doing something else. He gave us the perfect example of how to minister as you go about life.

President Hunter taught:

We have the responsibility to learn of him, the things he taught and the things he did during his earthly ministry. Having learned these lessons we are under commandment to follow his example.

Like Him, we can go and do likewise if our hearts are open to those opportunities. We read in the Book of Mormon that "by small and simple things, great things are brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)

I found out yesterday that the church has a new website. Vinyard.lds.org, where you can choose things to do online if you have a few minutes, or an hour or two. Things like helping someone from another country to practice English over Skype, or helping with research, photography or writing. Even moms who stay home can squeeze something like this in during nap time.

One more quote from Sister Parkin's talk:

We can increase our participation with the Lord through prayer and even fasting for others. This helps us become aware of the great power the Lord grants us to make a difference for our brothers and sisters. In short, we can initiate and partake in small miracles on behalf of others—miracles that we are uniquely prepared to do, and that only we can do.

Wherever and whenever we are ministering, we are sharing God’s love. Then, as He always does, both the giver and the receiver are blessed. May I suggest that finding your personal ministry begins with making a decision about a consistent way of being: a way that seeks to nurture, to be entirely helpful—not just now and again, but always. Ultimately, it is a decision to further consecrate ourselves to the Lord, to more fully take upon ourselves His name—to do as He did. Making this decision deepens our connectedness to one another and to the Lord. Such a responsive way of being is who we really are—from before this life.

I want to testify that our personal ministries are sacred. They allow us to help the Lord. To be His hands and feet.

What a privilege that is. I pray that we can each learn what those things are that we can do for someone else, that only we can do. I invite each of us to ask God to help us discover these things.