When We’re Helping, We’re Happy

From an interview with Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis of the Seventy; by Lindsay Stevens

Thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion (D&C 24:7).

My mother taught me from a very young age to be hardworking and to serve others. When I was six years old, my family helped in building a new chapel in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Back then, ward members and construction missionaries built the chapels for wards and branches.

I remember going with my family to help build the chapel. I carried bricks from one place to another. I poured water on top of bricks. I carried tools from one workstation to another. I remember working hard and knowing that my hard work would help others.

My mother was a great example of hard work. As I grew up she always involved me in helping at home. She was also always helping others. She served in the Relief Society and other charitable organizations. Even as she got older, she still sewed clothes for disabled children and helped raise money for their needs.

King Benjamin taught, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). If we decide that we are going to serve God in our lives, then we must decide to serve our fellow man.

When I went to Primary, I loved to sing, “When We’re Helping” (Children’s Songbook, 198). I try to teach my children that when we help we should do it with a smile. There are many ways you can help in church, even when you are young. You can help by setting up chairs, organizing hymnbooks, being reverent, and cleaning up. There are many ways we can help, and when we’re helping, we’re happy.

Illustration by Brad Clark