"Be With and Strengthen Them"

In April 2018 General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R Holland had the opportunity and assignment to explain the shift from visiting and home teaching to ministering and to help us understand how and why to minister to those around us. In the four months since this change was announced, what changes have you noticed or promoted in your care for others? How have your efforts to minister changed you? What additional changes are still needed for you to be a better and more Christ-like minister? Below are some of the thoughts shared during class on Sunday. We'd love to hear and learn from even more people! Please share your insights and experiences with us in the comments below!

• When we truly minister, we are thinking about sisters more, praying for them often, and looking for ways to serve them and better meet their needs. As Elder Holland taught, there should be "more care and concern, not less."
• Ministering can meet the needs of not only the sister being served but also the sister who ministers.
• Ministering allows more creativity in the way we interact and serve. 
• Shared experiences create lasting friendships.
• Ministering encourages more personal responsibility, which is Christ's way of doing everything; more flexibility means there are fewer excuses.
• Ministering interviews are a vital way to share information with the Relief Society presidency and ultimately the bishop to allow him to know and care for the entire ward; he can't do it all alone, so we need to do our part. Elder Holland taught that "those interviews are absolutely crucial. Without that information the bishop will have no way to receive the information he needs regarding the spiritual and temporal conditions of his people."
• Ministering provides an opportunity to develop more meaningful relationships that are genuine and respectful. Meaningful relationships "are built on compassion, sincere efforts, and 'love unfeigned'[D&C 121:41] ... A relationship takes time to develop. ... Building meaningful relationships requires us to go beyond the superficial" to discuss "feelings, beliefs, goals, and concerns."[Ensign, August 2018]
• A Elder Holland explained, ministering is an invitation to "mature personally ... individually rising above any mechanical, function-without-feeling routine to ... heartfelt discipleship."
• Becoming a better minister involves learning how to shift from being needy to being giving.
• It's important to remember that we each go through different seasons in life and will each have many opportunities to both serve and be served.
• Becoming a better minister requires us to be honest about our own limitations; we need to learn to work with where we currently are and give up stereotypes and impossible expectations.
• Ministering is all about communication: communication between ourselves and God about our abilities, weaknesses, willingness, and opportunities to serve; communication with our companion and the sisters we are assigned to minister to; and communication with the Relief Society presidency to honestly discuss our abilities and limitations, the relationships we are building, and the needs of the sisters we serve.
• Ministering can seem daunting; becoming a better minister may involve seeking a new perspective and learning to magnify our current abilities instead of trying to be someone else.
• We can minister to others by being conscious of them even in small ways: say hi, smile at someone, forgive instead of taking offense, etc.
• Being a good minister means accepting people (including ourselves) without judgment.
• We should strive to make ourselves available to minister and give of our time when we're needed, not just when it's convenient.
• Elder Holland taught that the "primary purpose in this ministering idea will be, as was said of the people in Alma's day, to 'watch over their people, and ... nourish them with things pertaining to righteousness.'[Mosiah 23:18]".