Elder Uchtdorf emphasized this principle: “While it is important to have our thoughts inclined toward heaven, we miss the essence of our religion if our hands are not also inclined toward our fellowman.”
And then; “In a similar way, our spiritual progress is inseparably bound together with the temporal service we give to others.”
Then he recounts the experience of Spencer W. Kimball and his request for money to help with the recovery of a flood in the Duncan Valley in Eastern Arizona. “This isn’t a program of ‘give me’ they said. This is a program of ‘self-help’” The other side of the story was that the Church didn’t send money, they sent three great men who didn’t just “tell” they showed how the program worked. They taught the people the principle and the people built the fences and moved the hay and whatever activities that were needed to overcome the challenge. They did it in the Lord’s way and that is he way we must learn.
Since this was a talk given to the Priesthood of the world, he wanted both the Melchizedek and the Aaronic Priesthood to be involved in caring for those in need. It is not temporal, it is spiritual. The young men from my Father's Ward helped clean up the yard of my parents home. Yes, the yard looked much better after their service, but the blessing was not limited to Dad and Mom, it entered the hearts of the Aaronic Priesthood youth which is part of the process of preparing us to receive life eternal. It demonstrated to them a part of life they will need, that of Self-Reliance. They could do this thing for ones in need and therefore they can themselves be self-reliant in their own account.
Having served in the Welfare Program for a three year period, I was blessed by the spirits of our members who came to the Storehouse to learn and to help and then to serve those in need.
It is not for us to just make a monetary contribution to this program, it is for us to be involved in solving the problems of need that surround us each day in whatever part of the world we happen to be. Rich or poor, we need each other.
Remember the great promise from the Book of Isaiah: “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually.”
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Follow the Prophet!
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