Priesthood Leader Message
Ministering: A Way to Establish the Church in the Hearts of the Saints
Christlike service arises from heartfelt love for the Saviour and from love for those whom He has given us an opportunity to help.
Our Heavenly Father’s plan anticipates that we should come on earth, be tested, and try to qualify to go back and live again in His presence. Every human being who lives, or who has ever lived, on the earth will have the opportunity to receive salvation, or eternal life, which means to become like God, and to live eternally as a family in His presence.
Without help from our Heavenly Father, it would be difficult for us to obtain immortality and eternal life, which is why He sent His only begotten Son to redeem us through His atoning sacrifice. In John 3:16, we read: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Since the time of the Old Testament, our Heavenly Father has called prophets to lead His people, as found in Amos 3:7, which reads: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Through the prophets, He conveys his message to His children.
We have a living prophet today whom we all sustain. In April 2018, the Lord revealed to His prophet what He wanted for His people, and President Russell M. Nelson spoke of the implementation of ministering in these words: “We will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others.”1 We know there are two major differences between ministering and the home or visiting teaching that we used to do in times past, namely:
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Heartfelt love for one another, and
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Inspiration
Heartfelt love for one another
“Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf in a 2009 general conference address.2
And serving is helping those who need help. Christlike service arises from heartfelt love for the Saviour and from love for those whom he has given us an opportunity to help.
This work of serving others is governed by the two great commandments: to love God and love our neighbour, as can be found in Matthew 22:37–39. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all the soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Obedience to these commandments allows us to experience more peace and joy in this world. If we love and serve the Lord, and love and serve our neighbour, we will naturally experience more joy which comes to us in a perfect way.
“Loving God and loving our neighbors is the doctrinal foundation of ministering; home-centered, Church-supported learning; . . . and the work of salvation on both sides of the veil. . . . All these things are based on the divine commandments to love God and to love our neighbors,” said Elder M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles3.
Love is more than just a feeling; when we say we love our brothers and sisters, it means we want to help them. Matthew 20:26–27 reads as follows: “But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
“And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant”.
After posing the question, “How do we become true disciples of Jesus Christ?”, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf stated that the Saviour himself answered this question when he said: “If you love me, keep my commandments”.4 This is the substance of what it means to be a true disciple of the Lord.
Those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ walk with Him and keep His commandments. In Mosiah 15:14, we read: “And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!” Ministering brings peace, joy, and good tidings to those who feel lonely and abandoned. We need to teach our children love towards family, towards our brothers and sisters, and towards their neighbours.
Inspiration
We establish the Church in the hearts of our brothers and sisters when we minister properly. One day, while serving as the Lubumbashi Stake president, the Spirit of the Lord prompted me to give a ring to a friend from the Lubumbashi Second Ward. I had these promptings all day long, and I finally resolved to call him as I arrived at work. Here is what happened: “He shouted, ‘President, I am surprised that you call me at this very moment! I have just had a discussion with a Protestant pastor who appeared to be convincing me! Your phone call has fortified me. This is a proof that we are in the true Church of the Lord.’ I answered him: ‘My brother, we are members of the Church of the Lord; it is his Church, we need to stand fast in spite of all hardships we may be experiencing in life. We are from the Church of the Lord, no one can separate us from His love, and no one can change that’.”
This phone call helped my brother to stand firm with an increasing faith in the Lord, since he had only been a member of the Church for two years.
In Doctrine and Covenants 42:14, we read: “And if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” It is appropriate that we should seek the Spirit, because ministering is in keeping with the Spirit of the Lord. As ministering brothers and sisters, may we all live in such a way as to be able to feel the Spirit of the Lord in everything we do so that we may be inspired.
Alma and his brothers helped bring the Zoramites back to the Lord, and they ministered unto them. Since Alma knew that the task was not easy, he called upon his brothers and said the following prayer: “O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.
“Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee” (Alma 31:34–35).
Through prayer, we receive support from our Heavenly Father, and we will have strength enough to fulfil what the Lord expects of us, His children.
I would like to conclude my address with a scripture found in 2 Nephi 32:8–9, which reads as follows: “And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if you would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
“But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”
We know that ministering is done through inspiration; wherefore, as parents, we are invited to teach our children how the Lord responds when we do the things He has asked us to do. In D&C 82:10, we read, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”
Brethren and sisters, I know Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God, the Lord has preserved him to be an instrument in His hands at this time. In April 2018, the Lord revealed to the prophet the revelation on ministering, and in October 2018 two other revelations on Come, Follow Me and on the change in the duration of Sunday worship with a focus on home worship came. At that point we did not even know that this world would be devastated by a global pandemic, that the doors of our meetinghouses would be closed and that each father would be organizing Sacrament at home. We give thanks to the Lord for directing His Church today on earth through a living prophet, Russell M. Nelson.
Pungwe S. Kongolo was called an Area Seventy in April 2018. He is married to Séraphine Mugo Ngwezya. They are the parents of two children. Elder and Sister Kongolo reside in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.