Recently, I visited my parents in my hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. As I usually do when I go home every few years, I attended a sacrament meeting at the same church building I went to during my early childhood and adolescence. I love seeing the familiar faces of the past, including Young Women leaders, seminary teachers, and other caring adults who were part of my community of faith during childhood and adolescence. Now, as an adult, I recognize the sacrifice of time they made to serve in their callings and be a part of my life. My heart swells with the memories of those who blessed my life, and my cup overflows with gratitude for the people in my ward community who helped me become the person I am today.
Loving wards can strengthen families
One of the beautiful parts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being a member of a ward family. Uniquely, members of the Church gather in congregations, called wards, based on the geographical location in which they live. In my ward in Toronto, Canada, we have people from all over the world who attend our congregation. We are diverse in almost every aspect of life yet unified in our love for Jesus Christ and His gospel of love.
During my first summer in Toronto, I was navigating work while my two children were home from school. Prior to moving to Canada, I had been a teacher and conveniently had summer holidays off alongside my kids. My heart was heavy with the weight of being unable to be with them for the fun things of the summer. But people in my ward family volunteered to entertain them with beach days, hiking days, and baking days. The service my ward family gave that summer blessed my life immensely and will be something I always remember.
This summer, when my father-in-law passed away after his courageous battle with cancer, I wrote thank-you notes to people who had come to help during our family’s time of loss. Many were from the local ward family in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. With each note, I wanted to say so much more than mere words would allow. The gift of each meal, each kind word, each act of service and support meant more than the givers would ever know. Here in Toronto, my family was blessed by loving members of our ward family who sent words of love, brought food, watched our dogs, and planned a birthday outing just to show their love. Each small act of kindness exemplified their love for us, and we were reminded of the love that our heavenly parents have for us at a time when we longed for their loving embrace.
We need and bless each other throughout life
One of my great heroes of faith, Melissa Inouye, is known for her groundbreaking scholarship on the global history of Christianity. Before her premature death this year, she often spoke of the importance of church community and shared her personal testimony of the value of the local ward. She wrote, “What I see the Church offering me is the opportunity to learn to follow Christ and participate in the redeeming processes of error, repentance, and growth by engaging with my sisters and brothers in the gospel. It is the opportunity to think globally and act locally, to think locally and act globally.” (Trent Toone, “Latter-day Saint scholar, historian, writer, Melissa Inouye, dies at age 44,” Church News, April 24, 2024)
The opportunity to think and love locally is precisely what we read about in the Book of Mormon. In Mosiah 18:8-9, we read that those who are baptized “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—” Being part of a community of faith is at the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are meant to love each other. When one part of the body is suffering, the entire body needs aid.
The second great commandment
President Nelson has promised, “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.” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2019, 100)
President Nelson’s words teach that joy comes as we care for others. I’ve often been amazed at how the words of a hymn ring true, “Savior, may I learn to love thee, Walk the path that thou hast shown, Pause to help and lift another, Finding strength beyond my own.” (“Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Hymns, no 220)
Somehow, in my feeble ways of trying to serve or at times when I’m not too sure how I’ll be able to do something, I find strength beyond my own. Whether it is in the 5-day marathon with the young women at Young Women’s camp, the late-night drive taking youth home from a dance or a visit to a ministering sister during a busy week, I always seem to find more strength when I choose to love and serve. As President Nelson promised, my heart is always full of joy because of the strength that comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Loving each other is the key to happiness
I echo the words that Sister Chieko Okazaki shared from former executive assistant to the Young Women general board, Carolyn Rasmus, who wrote, “Faith is the unifying factor that created a common bond between me and … sisters around the world, with our next-door neighbors or with the person seated beside or behind or in front of you. We are sisters and brothers of a common faith. It is our faith, I believe, that not only brings us together, but which will, in the end, be the only thing that really matters.” (Chieko Okazaki, LDS Living Magazine, June 25, 2023)
I am thankful to be part of a community of faith with brothers and sisters whose diversity brings great strength in unity as we love and care for each other. I treasure the gift of love I have received from my ward family, and I strive to show love as the Savior would to the people in my community of faith.