“Take Care of Each Other,” Friend, July 2018
From the First Presidency
Take Care of Each Other
By President Henry B. Eyring
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Adapted from “Inspired Ministering,” Ensign, May 2018, 61–64.
Illustration by Casey Nelson
In the early days of the Church, many people were moving into the city of Nauvoo. The Prophet Joseph Smith needed a way to take care of them. So he organized wards. Then, when the Saints started moving across the plains toward Utah, they were organized into companies. This helped them take care of each other better.
My great-grandpa got sick on the trail west. He was too weak to walk. Two women were sent from the nearby company to help him. They saved my great-grandpa. He got better and walked the rest of the way to Utah with one of the women by his side. They fell in love and got married. He was my great-grandpa Henry Eyring. She was my great-grandma Maria Bommeli Eyring.
Years later, people said it must have been hard for her to travel so far. But Great-Grandma said, “Oh no, it wasn’t hard. While we walked, we talked the whole way about what a miracle it was that we had both found the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the happiest time I can remember.”
Today, wards help us take care of each other. We succeed when we love each other more than we care about ourselves. The Spirit can help us know what is best for the person we are trying to help. The Spirit can help us feel charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47).
I am grateful for the love of the Lord, which He so generously gives us.
Getting to Know President Henry B. Eyring
He was born on May 31, 1933, in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
His nickname is Hal.
When he was a boy, church was held in their home.
President Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th President of the Church, and his wife, Camilla, were his uncle and aunt.
He played basketball in high school.
He studied physics in college, then studied business.
He spent Sundays serving in church callings instead of studying.
He met his wife, Kathleen, while they were students at Harvard University.
He liked making breakfast and baking bread with his six children.
He served in the U.S. Air Force.
Before he became an Apostle, he worked as a university professor.
He used to be president of Ricks College (now called BYU–Idaho).
He enjoys drawing and painting interesting people and places. (He painted this!)
He served in the First Presidency with President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson.
He dedicated a temple in El Salvador and rededicated temples in Argentina, Mexico, and Utah.
He was set apart as Second Counselor in the First Presidency on January 14, 2018.