Ministering to Our Fellow Travelers

Doctrine and Covenants 81–83

July 19–25

a woman comforts another woman in a wheelchair

“Succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5).

President Thomas S. Monson: An Example of Ministering

Age when called as bishop: 22

Number of ward members: over 1,000

Number of widows in his ward: 85

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared how Bishop Monson cared for the widows: “Many may know that young Bishop Monson took a week of his personal vacation time every Christmas season to visit all of those eighty-five widows in his ward. Many may not know that for the first several years the gift he would take them was one of the … hens raised and dressed out by him in his own poultry coops.”¹

Bishop Monson recalled how he helped an elderly couple who needed to paint their home: “In a moment of inspiration I called, not upon the elders quorum or upon volunteers to wield paint brushes, but rather, following the welfare handbook, upon the family members who lived in other areas. Four sons-in-law and four daughters took brushes in hand and participated in the project.”² This inspiration helped the family reconnect and better care for each other.

“We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey.”³—President Thomas S. Monson