Faithful Friends

By President Henry B. Eyring

First Counselor in the First Presidency

From “Faithful Friends,” Ensign, July 2010, 4.

Image

President Henry B. Eyring

One of the great tributes the Savior can give is to call us “friends.” You remember His words from the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants: “And again I say unto you, my friends, … I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power” (D&C 84:77).

We become His friends as we serve others for Him. He is the perfect example of the kind of friend we are to become.

Each of us who has made the baptismal covenant has promised to follow His example to bear one another’s burdens as He would.

You have many opportunities to be a friend for Him. It may be as you walk on a dusty road. It may be as you look for a place to sit at church. If you are watching, you will see someone carrying a heavy burden. It may be a burden of sorrow or loneliness.

Living prophets of God have asked us to be faithful friends to those who come into the Church as converts and to go to the rescue of those who have drifted away. We can do it, and we will do it if we always remember the Savior.

And, in time and in eternity, we will feel the joy of being welcomed to the company of His faithful friends. I pray for that blessing for all of us and for those we will serve.

Illustrations by Jennifer Tolman, Phyllis Luch, Robert Barrett, Beth Whittaker, Dilleen Marsh