This month my Relief Society lesson was on "The Second Great Commandment" by President Russell M. Nelson.
This talk is less of a traditional talk, and more of a summary and statistics report of the service the Church has provided worldwide - which is great information; but I struggled turning it into a lesson. I felt inspired to separate all of the examples into broader categories and ask my fellow sisters to share ideas and examples of service in those categories at a local level.
We started off by identifying the first and second great commandments: 1. Love God with all your heart. 2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Of these two commandments, President Nelson said, "When we love God with all our hearts, He turns our hearts to the well-being of others in a beautiful virtuous cycle."
Service can sometimes be stressful for me, because I want to do it perfectly or make a big impact. And the examples given in this talk, while amazing acts of service, did just that. So, with the goal of putting everyone in the right frame of mind, I brought in Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson's talk "The Needs Before Us." She said:
"I think that sometimes it's easy to miss some of the greatest opportunities to serve others because we are distracted or because we are looking for ambitious ways to change the world and we don't see that some of the most significant needs we can meet are within our own families, among our friends, in our wards, and in our communities. We are touched when we see the suffering and great needs of those halfway around the world, but we may fail to see there is a person who needs our friendship sitting right next to us in class...
...What good does it do to save the world if we neglect the needs of those closest to us and those whom we love the most? How much value is there in fixing the world if the people around us are falling apart and we don't notice? Heavenly Father may have placed those who need us closest to us, knowing that we are best suited to meet their needs."
At this point, one sister expressed that for moms of young kids, taking care of our families and raising our children is service. She also said that giving someone a genuine smile or sitting with them and talking with them at church is service.
I introduced the service categories we would be discussing: 1. Financial assistance, 2. Food, water, etc., 3. Spiritual/Emotional. In reference to all types of service, President Nelson said, "This assistance is offered to recipients regardless of their church affiliation, nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, or political persuasion."
Financial Assistance
Deuteronomy 15:11 "For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto they brother, to they poor, and to thy needy, in thy land."
Notice that the verb used is command. It is a commandment to care for the poor. President Nelson shared two examples in his talk: 1. The Church donated labor and modest financial assistance to the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand that had been devastated by a shooting. 2. Back in the '80's fast offerings in Ethiopia totaled above what was needed, and the surplus sent elsewhere, leading to the creation of Latter-day Saint Charities.
When discussing financial assistance at a local level, I gave the example of a sister in the ward and I who babysit each other's kids for free. We don't keep a tally to make sure it's even, we just do it to help each other out. Another sister emphasized that we do help locally and globally with our fast offerings. That money starts local is then sent to the next need. We don't know exactly where our fast offerings go, but we know they are helping someone.
Food, Water, etc.
Matthew 25:35-36, 40
"For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
When we serve others, we are serving Christ. One sister shared that a couple of years ago when there were fires in Spanish Fork Canyon, the houses closest to the mountain had to be evacuated. The Red Cross set up tents for people to stay in, but no one came because everyone was invited to stay in the house of someone else nearby. Another sister shared the idea of providing a spiritual or emotional shelter, where when people visit our homes they can feel the Spirit, and receive peace and comfort from the rest of the world.
The Church has donated wheelchairs, water, and emergency supplies. There are 124 Bishop Storehouses worldwide. Vision care and newborn care is available to those in need; and the helping hands program provides first responders to disaster relief. At a local level we talked about compassionate service, which covers so much.
Spiritual/Emotional
Mosiah 18:8-9
"...as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light.
Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life."
We spent this section going into depth on what it means to mourn and comfort. A couple of sisters shared how it comforts them when people are able to know and understand how they are feeling. That led to a follow up question: How do we mourn with or comfort someone who is going through something we haven't? We talked about providing a listening ear free of judgment and advice. We talked about using the Spirit to guide us on how to serve someone.
At the end of his talk, President Nelson said:
"Giving help to others - making a conscientious effort to care about others as much as or more than we care about ourselves - is our joy. Especially, I might add, when it is not convenient and when it takes us out of our comfort zone. Living that second great commandment is the key to becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ."
This statement summarizes what I was trying to emphasize during this lesson: Our love of God and each other leads to service. We should allow ourselves to serve when it might appear inconvenient or be uncomfortable, because we will grow in that experience; and serving with the right heart will bring us joy.
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