The following is a Sacrament talk I gave on 22 September 2019. I was given the talk “First Observe, Then Serve” by Linda K. Burton as my starting text.
After Alma, one of King Noah’s priests, was cast out from the royal court, he hid himself. While in hiding, he repented of the things he did as a member of King Noah’s court. As a way to pay restitution, he began teaching some people covertly the words of Abinadi the prophet, the same words that had changed his own heart.
He taught them about the future, about our resurrection, and about how Jesus would redeem us through his power, sufferings, and death. As people believed the words he taught in private, they would gather in a place called Mormon. This is where Alma would hide from Noah’s patrols during the day. It’s also where he would teach the people as they gathered there, presumably at night.
After several days, eventually a large number of people had gathered to hear his teachings. On one particular day, he taught them about redemption, about faith in the Lord, and about repentance. After he had finished his sermon, somehow he was able to discern that those present desired to join God’s fold.
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, . . . and are willing to mourn with those [who] mourn; and comfort those [who] stand in need of comfort . . . ; if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
Mosiah 18:8–10
Alma knew they were ready to be baptized once he could see within them—among other things—a desire to bear each other’s burdens, mourn with the mourning, and comfort those needing comfort. He knew that a prerequisite to being baptized was a desire to selflessly help others, and he saw that in those who had gathered to hear him teach.
And he was right. Because after he asked them this, they responded by clapping their hands for joy and confirming, “This is the desire of our hearts.”
And so it is with each of us. When we are baptized, we should have already cultivated within our own hearts a desire to selflessly help others: to bear their burdens, mourn with them, and comfort them. When we have cultivated that desire within ourselves, it’s how we know we’re ready for baptism. That desire is what prepares us for the actual covenant, which—according to Alma’s words I read earlier—is to serve Jesus and keep his commandments.
Keeping his commandments seems self-explanatory, but how do we serve Jesus, especially when he is not with us?
Serving Jesus
In his final sermon, King Benjamin taught us “that when [we] are in the service of [our] fellow beings, [we] are only in the service of [our] God.” (Mosiah 2:17). To illustrate this teaching, he asked, “if I, whom ye call your king, do labour to serve you, then ought not ye to labour to serve one another?”
Serving others
In a parallel teaching on the Mount of Olives, Jesus taught his disciples the parable of the sheep and the goats, where the Son of Man shall, in the last days, separate the nations of the world as a shepherd separates their sheep from the goats. According to the parable, those counted as sheep are those who, when the King was hungry, fed him; when he was thirsty, quenched him; when he was a stranger, hosted him; when he was naked, clothed him; when he was sick, visited him; and when he was imprisoned, ministered to him.
In the parable, those counted as sheep fail to understand when it was that they did these things, asking the King,
“Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?’
Matthew 25: 37–39
And the King in the parable, in response, assured them, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (v. 40) Contrastingly, he admonished those counted as goats, claiming they failed to feed him, quench him, host him, clothe him, visit him, or minister to him; and when they asked when, he likewise responded, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” (v. 45)
King Benjamin counselled us to teach our children “to love one another and to serve one another.” (Mosiah 4:15) He also counselled us to be an example to our children by “[succoring] those [who] stand in need of [our] succor . . . administer[ing] of [our] substance unto [those who] standeth in need; and . . . not suffer[ing] that the beggar putteth up his petition to [us] in vain, and turn him out to perish.” (v. 16) In parallel to the parable of the sheep and goats, King Benjamin further taught us that we “should impart of [our] substance to the poor, [everyone] according to that which [they] hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their [need].”
In the land of Mormon, where Alma taught the people, was what Mormon referred to as a “fountain of pure water” (Mosiah 18:5). It was here where Alma baptized those in attendance: about 200 people.
Coming into God’s fold
One of the things the gathered people desired was to come into God’s fold and to be called his people. We often equate this with baptism, that when we are baptized, we are automatically part of God’s fold and are his people. But Alma’s story seems to indicate there is more required of us before we can be part of God’s fold or be called his people.
After baptizing all these people, Alma ordained several priests, one for every 50 people who had been baptized. He instructed these priests to preach to the baptized, teaching “them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (v. 18) More specifically, he counselled them to teach faith in the Lord and repentance. As well, he counselled them that the group should have no contention, that “their hearts [should be] knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” (v. 21) It was only then, Mormon says, that “they became the children of God.” (v. 22)
On the day of Pentecost, when Jesus’ apostles in the Holy Land were filled with the Holy Ghost and began speaking in tongues, people gathered to hear the apostles speaking in their own language. They were confounded, amazed, and marvelled. Peter preached to them all, then invited them to repent and be baptized. Three thousand people took his invitation to heart and were baptized. After their baptism, they were taught together continually by the apostles, prayed together, broke bread together, and together saw many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
All things in common
These saints were “together” in every sense of the word. They “had all things in common”. (Act 2:44) They sold all that they had and gave it to others, according to their need. And as they continued each day, they did so with “gladness and singleness of heart”. (v. 46)
One day, Peter and John were on their way to the temple for the prayer hour. When they arrived at the temple gate, they noticed a man who could not walk and who was begging. Peter healed him, helped him up, and the man entered into the temple for prayer, walking and leaping, as well as praising God. As people coming for prayer saw this, they wondered with amazement at what took place. Peter, discerning their amazement, began preaching to them. Many of those gathered ended up being touched by Peter’s words: about 500, in fact.
Peter and John were imprisoned for their preaching. Ultimately, those who imprisoned them “let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them.” (Acts 4:21). After Peter and John returned to those who believed their words, they all praised God “with one accord” (v. 24). After they had finished praising God, the place where they had all assembled shook, and “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (v. 31).
According to their need
The author of the book of Acts referred to these people as being “of one heart and of one soul”, so much so that none of them considered their possessions to be their own; to them, “they had all things common” (v. 32). In fact, those who did own property sold that property and brought the money from their sales to the apostles, who then distributed the collective money to everyone according to their need. (v. 35)
After Jesus left the peoples of the Americas, these people lived together in harmony. 4 Nephi teaches us that they had no contentions and that they, too—like their Old World counterparts—had all things in common. There were no rich and poor, no bond and free; “they were all made free”. (v. 3) “The love of God . . . [dwelt] in the hearts of the people.” (v. 15). There was no envy, no strife, no lying, no stealing, no killing. There were no separate peoples: “they were in one, the children of Christ”. (v. 17)
Being united
From all these examples, we clearly see that for us to be counted as God’s people, to be part of his fold, we must be united. And we cannot be united as long as inequity exists. As long as others are poor while we are not, we cannot be united. As long as others are sick while we are not, we cannot be united. As long as others mourn while we are not, we cannot be united. As long as others struggle spiritually while we are not, we cannot be united.
Solving inequity
But how do we address this inequity? How do we feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick, minister to the imprisoned, and enrich the poor?
When visiting the Americas, Jesus taught the people gathered at Bountiful, “the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Ne. 27:21). During the Last Supper, after washing his apostles’ feet, Jesus proclaimed:
“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”
John 13:14–16
Loving like Jesus
Mormon reminded us that “charity is the pure love of Christ” (Moro 7:47). During the Last Supper, Jesus commanded his apostles, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Charity is more than just donating to the poor. Christ did more than give to the poor. To have charity is to love as Jesus did. Jesus loved unconditionally. He loved people he wasn’t supposed to love. He loved Samaritans, who he, as a Jew, was supposed to hate. He loved the leper, who he was supposed to consider unclean. He loved the adulterer, who he was supposed to declare sinful. He loved those who mocked him, who tortured him, who killed him.
For Jesus, showing love was more than just healing others.
Jesus showed love when, rather than condemn, he saw a second chance. Jesus showed love when he performed the labour of a house servant while washing his apostles’ feet. Jesus showed love when he accepted service done to him, such as when Mary of Bethany anointed his feet and washed them with her hair. Jesus showed love when he wept with those who mourned Lazarus’ death, even though he knew he was about to revive him.
If we are to serve God through serving others, and we serve others through showing love as Jesus did, how do we gain this love? King Benjamin taught:
“Remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, . . . humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come. . . . And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this, ye shall . . . be filled with the love of God.”
Mosiah 4:11–12
Humility
Humility, it appears, is the key to having the love of Christ. It is only through humility that we can be selfless. And it is only through selflessness that we can develop deep, unconditional love for others.
It is only through humility that we can set aside money we would spend on frivolousness so others may have a loaf of bread. It is only through humility that we can set aside Netflix so we can help someone move. It is only through humility that we can set aside scrolling through our phone so that we can listen to the words of a broken heart. It is only through humility that we can set aside the football game so our shoulders can catch the tears of someone who has lost their faith.
Judging others
Without humility, it would be impossible for us to withhold judgement from those who need our help, and judging others inhibits our ability to serve them. Consider this counsel from King Benjamin:
“Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just. . . . Whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; . . . are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have? . . . If God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.”
Mosiah 4:17
For us to say of the beggar, “They’ve brought this upon themselves”, or “They’ll just spend it on drugs or alcohol”, or “They’re just lazy” positions us as judge. We compare their situation to ours: we’re prosperous because we laboured for it, we don’t struggle with addiction because we made good choices, we’re not lazy because we work hard. And if we consider our life to be better than theirs—if we consider ourselves more deserving of the bounty that God placed on the earth for all—then we lack humility and selflessness. The moment we put conditions on our charity is the moment our love is no longer unconditional. And that pride and selfishness is a stumbling block to the unity we need to be numbered in God’s flock, to be numbered among his people.
Bearing others’ burdens
To all those who labour and are heavy laden, Jesus said, “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.” He did not say, “Your heavy burden is your fault.” He said, “Take my yoke upon you.” He did not say, “Carry your own yoke.” He said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28–30) This is literally what Alma meant when he said, “[Ye] are willing to bear one another’s burdens”. That is the example we must each follow.
To show Christlike love, we must be aware of those who are heavily burdened: those who are financially burdened, who are emotionally burdened, who are spiritually burdened. Then we must be willing to yoke ourselves to them. Because others once yoked themselves to us so that our burden may be light, we must use our easy yokes and light burdens to take the weight off the drooping, heavy shoulders of others.
In 2009, President Thomas S. Monson counselled us in General Conference:
“We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness?—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”
Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?”
May each of us develop the humility sufficient to be filled with the love of God, as King Benjamin promised. Then may each of us use that humility and love to lift others out of their darkness, not because we are better than them, but because someone once lifted us out of ours. And once all of us are out of darkness and free from heavy burdens, maybe we, too, might finally experience what it is like to have all in common, to have no bond nor free, to be of one heart and soul.
