Transcript

The Savior said, "Unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them." Leaders continually strive to help less-active members return to Church activity and enjoy the blessings of the temple. As you watch this elders quorum president, consider the less-active members in your quorum. How can you help them take the next steps towards Church activity and temple attendance?

This is the story of one of the Savior's servants, an elders quorum president in Sheffield, England. Like thousands of Melchizedek Priesthood leaders around the world, he follows the Savior by ministering to the members of his quorum and their families, one by one. Brother [INAUDIBLE], he'd been in and out of activity, mainly in inactivity for as long as I can remember, so for a good 20 years. I went inactive for all the wrong reasons, and I was inactive for quite a long time. And as soon as he came back, I started working with Keith and his family. I'd go visit them as a home teacher to help them in coming back. At the same time, Keith was a priest, so I worked with him very closely in preparing him to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. Once he received the Melchizedek Priesthood, he was called into the elders quorum presidency, so he was my second counselor. And so I was able to keep an even closer eye on him and really work with him and encourage him. Do you have anything that John and I can do for you? I'd like you guys to give me a blessing. All right, then. That's all right. We state you by your full name, again by the authority, which is the Melchizedek Priesthood, and we seal the anointing that's taken place on her head. And then you give her a blessing as dictated by the Spirit. Being able to give a blessing is a privilege, to act in the name of Jesus Christ, to be able to do His work. And once he'd received the Melchizedek Priesthood, it was working with him and setting the goal for him to receive his own endowment and be sealed. He attended the temple preparation classes. And as soon as he held a temple recommend, we went and did baptisms. He helped me to prepare. In fact, he phoned the temple, made the appointments for us. So I was able to go through all the stages of his preparation and give him that support and guidance as he went through the different stages of the endowment, and then go witness him and his wife be sealed as a family. So serene and peaceful. It's not like being anywhere on earth. It's like midway between here and heaven, I should imagine. Our family's got a lot closer since we started back at church. And there's no way I'm ever going to stop going to church again. While ever I'm breathing, I'm going to be there. I felt proud, but not in a boastful way. I felt proud that Heavenly Father would have been pleased with the work that I'd done in working with them and encouraging them and supporting them.

What did you observe about the way this quorum president ministered to Keith and his family?

You may want to pause to reflect on what you have learned.

You may have observed he lived worthy to recognize that the Lord had been preparing Keith and his family to return and followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost to reach out to them. He established a relationship with them by spending time with them, learning about them, and understanding their needs and desires. He ministered to them by visiting, listening, comforting, blessing, and helping them fully participate in their ward family. He introduced Keith to the joy of priesthood service by letting him learn his priesthood duties, recommending him for a calling and giving him priesthood assignments, and helping him exercise the priesthood as a husband and father.

He helped awaken in Keith and his family a desire to make temple covenants and prepared them by teaching them and helping them make plans and arrangements to go to the temple and receive temple ordinances.

Whom will you assign, teach, inspire, and engage to minister to other quorum members and their families in this same way?

One by One

Description
Elders quorum presidents can receive inspiration to assist in reactivation efforts.
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