Brothers and Sisters, Thank you for joining with us for stake conference this weekend. We love you and so appreciate your love and support. Last night for the adult session I shared the following. Thank you for allowing me to share it again for our message this week. One of my favorite stories, parables, of Christ's is the parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. As I prepared I came across this from Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. (You may have to read it more than once as I did to get the full impact of what he shares.) Chapter 26 Who Is My Neighbor? "The parable with which our Lord replied to the lawyer’s question is rich in interest as a story alone, and particularly so as an embodiment of precious lessons. It was withal so true to existing conditions, that, like the story of the sower who went forth to sow, and other parables given by the Lord Jesus, it may be true history as well as parable. The road between Jerusalem and Jericho was known to be infested by highway robbers; indeed a section of the thoroughfare was called the Red Path or Bloody Way because of the frequent atrocities committed thereon. Jericho was prominent as a residence place for priests and Levites. A priest, who, out of respect to his office, if for none other cause, should have been willing and prompt in acts of mercy, caught sight of the wounded traveler and passed by on the far side of the road. A Levite followed; he paused to look, then passed on. These ought to have remembered the specified requirement of the law—that if one saw an ass or an ox fall down by the way, he should not hide himself, but should surely help the owner to lift the creature up again. If such was their duty toward a brother’s beast, much greater was their obligation when a brother himself was in so extreme a plight. Doubtless priest as well as Levite salved his conscience with ample excuse for his inhumane conduct; he may have been in a hurry, or was fearful, perhaps, that the robbers would return and make him also a victim of their outrage. Excuses are easy to find; they spring up as readily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside. When the Samaritan came along and saw the wretched state of the wounded man, he had no excuse for he wanted none. Having done what he could by way of emergency treatment as recognized in the medical practice of the day, he placed the injured one upon his own beast, probably a mule or an ass, and took him to the nearest inn, where he tended him personally and made arrangements for his further care. The essential difference between the Samaritan and the others was that the one had a compassionate heart, while they were unloving and selfish. Though not definitely stated, the victim of the robbers was almost certainly a Jew; the point of the parable requires it to be so. That the merciful one was a Samaritan, showed that the people called heretic and despised by the Jews could excel in good works. To a Jew, none but Jews were neighbors. We are not justified in regarding priest, Levite, or Samaritan as the type of his class; doubtless there were many kind and charitable Jews, and many heartless Samaritans; but the Master’s lesson was admirably illustrated by the characters in the parable; and the words of His application were pungent in their simplicity and appropriateness." We may not run into individuals on our way who have been attacked by robbers and left for dead but we do have opportunities in our day-to-day travels, in our day-to-day wanderings, and our day-to-day activities, to be with individuals who need a loving hand, a kind heart, friendly words, a lift to help. It is our opportunity to provide what is needed, to reach out, to lift, to help. As sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, he gives us wonderful opportunities to serve, to minister, to care for those around us. It's not our place to decide who should receive what, but it is our place to freely serve and to freely give, freely care for and lift and support and help anyone we can and in any ways we can. It could be big or could be small. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to do so. The chorus from one of my favorite Primary songs, I'm trying to be like Jesus: Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, For these are the things Jesus taught. Back in the day, home and visiting teaching seemed somewhat rigid, visit the home and deliver a message. With Ministering we've been given such wonderful flexibility. It's so open and can be so natural. Mission song As a missionary, or mission song was a different rendition of As I Have Loved You: 'Here in Jamaica, sharing the gospel, teaching my brother to love another. By this shall we find Christ's true disciples as we show love one to another.' Through ministering we hear of Service happening all around. Widows and widowers are being visited. Young mothers are being assisted with their little ones. Meals are prepared and given. Yards are being cleaned up, grass mown, trees trimmed, weeds pulled. Letters, texts, and emails of love, encouragement, and support are being sent. Loaves and loaves of bread and dozens and dozens of rolls and cookies are being delivered. Jams and Jellies of all sorts shared. Families are being checked on. All manner of assistance is being rendered. Through actions the gospel is being taught. Testimonies are shared. Love is given. Joy is felt. God is happy and we are happy. I know as we help our brother or sister on the 'wayside' of life, share our time and talents to those around us and truly love one another we will be blessed in ways we can only know by trying. Bless you in your ministering efforts. As Christ taught the lawyer, ''Go, and do thou likewise." Washington Utah Stake Presidency President Noel Jackson
Stake Presidency First Counselor