All Are Needed in the Body of Christ

By Sister J. Anette Dennis

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

We can help build a worldwide sisterhood that is healthier, more resilient, and more connected because of our covenant relationship with God.

All of us want to feel that we have a place and that we belong and are needed in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. We can help each of our sisters and brothers, no matter what age or circumstance, feel that they have a place and belong and are needed as well. We are all children of heavenly parents and thus spiritual sisters and brothers. Those connections to each other are vitally important.

When we enter into a covenant relationship with God, it not only deepens and enhances our relationship with Him but also affects our relationship with His other children—our spiritual siblings. Inherent in the covenants we make with God, beginning with baptism, is our responsibility to love and care for each other.

The Problem of Loneliness

The U.S. surgeon general, the chief health educator for the United States, shared this statement about the importance of relationships: “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight. … Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues. … Together, we can build a [society] that’s healthier, more resilient, less lonely, and more connected.”

Together we can help build a worldwide sisterhood of all ages that is healthier, more resilient, less lonely, and more connected because of our covenant relationship with God and our responsibility to one another as disciples of Jesus Christ.

As our Savior has said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Connections with Each Other

We can help slow the epidemic of loneliness by creating welcoming and safe spaces within our congregations and especially within our Relief Societies, where all can feel the Lord’s love because they are surrounded by our love.

Our experience at church is meant to provide those vital connections with the Lord and with each other that are so needed for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. There is great strength in unity and beauty in diversity; all are needed in the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–27). Just as giant redwood trees interlock their roots and are able to withstand the forces of nature because they stand together, we need to link arms, stand together, and strengthen each other through the storms of life.

When we truly get to know those who we feel are different than us, we realize we have more in common than we thought. Each person has so much to contribute, so many beautiful and diverse life experiences that can bless our lives. Listening to others’ stories and seeking to understand them will change our hearts, and the judgment and fear we may have had toward some can be replaced by feelings of gratitude to have them in our lives.

The Lord can help us see other people as He sees them, and He can fill our hearts with love, enabling us to lift, comfort, laugh with, cry with, and foster belonging in those around us. He’ll help us know what is needful and how to be a blessing to others on their journey.

Of course, there is only One who can fully understand and perfectly empathize. As part of His atoning sacrifice, He suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; … [taking] upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11) so that we could be assured we are never truly alone.

Each of us is called to love and minister to our Heavenly Father’s children as the Savior would. We partner with Him in blessing others so that both they and we can more fully feel the love of our Savior. Let us link arms and joyfully walk each other home. I testify that this is a sacred work we are all called to do.