Ministering—“That Ye Love One Another; as I Have Loved You”
Open talk in Gospel LibraryIdeas for Opening the Lesson
- Begin by inviting class members to quietly think of someone who ministered to them or their family during a difficult time. Ask a few willing participants to briefly share what that person did and why it mattered. This can help the class feel immediately that ministering is personal, Christlike, and life-changing.
- Start with Sister Yee’s story about her father. Summarize how two ministering brothers consistently helped him over several years and how that changed his life and blessed his family. Then ask the class, “What do you learn about ministering from this story before we discuss anything else?”
- Write on the board: “Ministering is not a program or a checklist.” Invite class members to discuss what that statement means and how it differs from a more casual or task-oriented view of caring for others. This can set the tone for a deeper discussion about covenant discipleship.
- Invite class members to read aloud John 13:34 and then compare it with Sister Yee’s message. Ask, “What did Sister Yee teach us about loving others as the Savior loved us?” This opening helps center the lesson on Jesus Christ rather than on mechanics alone.
- Begin with a brief personal inventory. Ask class members to ponder two questions silently: “Who may need the Savior’s love through me right now?” and “How have I felt the Savior’s love through others?” After a moment, invite discussion. This can help the lesson move quickly from ideas to action.
Topics
Ministering changes lives through steady love
Sister Yee taught that consistent, loving ministering helped begin a profound change in her father’s life. His ministering brothers did not judge him; they walked with him, invited him to the temple, and helped him build a relationship with God. Their steady discipleship blessed not only him but also his entire family.
They didn’t judge him for where he was in his life. They walked with him and helped him to develop his relationship with God.
- What stands out to you about how these ministering brothers helped Sister Yee’s father?
- Why do you think steady, simple acts of love can sometimes change a life more than dramatic efforts?
- How have you seen someone be blessed because another person refused to give up on them?
- What can we learn from the fact that this ministering continued over several years?
- How can we become better at walking with people instead of judging them?
- When have you felt that someone’s ministering blessed not just one person but an entire family?
- What might the Lord be teaching us about patience through this story?
Choose to love when you cannot fix
Sister Yee acknowledged that we cannot always solve painful situations or produce the changes we hope for. Still, she taught that we can always choose to love and minister as the Savior would. Christlike love remains possible even when outcomes are uncertain or circumstances remain difficult.
We may not be able to fix difficult or heartbreaking circumstances as we hope; some changes are not ours to make. But we can choose to love and minister as the Savior would.
- Why is it important to remember that we are not always responsible to fix everything?
- How can this truth reduce fear or discouragement in ministering?
- What does Christlike love look like when a problem does not go away?
- Have you ever felt pressure to solve someone’s situation when what they really needed was love and presence?
- How can we discern the difference between helping and trying to control outcomes?
- What might change in our ministering if we focused more on loving than on fixing?
- How has the Savior loved you in times when your circumstances did not immediately improve?
Minister by the Spirit and find the Savior
Sister Yee said that ministering by the Spirit invited the Savior’s healing into both our lives and the lives of those we serve. She testified that as she ministered, she often found peace, clarity, healing, purpose, and the Savior Himself. Ministering was presented as a divinely designed way to come closer to Jesus Christ.
Ministering by the Spirit invites the Savior’s healing into our lives and the lives of those we minister to. I often find peace, clarity, healing, and purpose when I minister. I find the Savior when I minister.
- What do you think it means to minister by the Spirit?
- Why might ministering bless the giver as well as the receiver?
- When have you felt peace, clarity, or healing while serving someone else?
- How can we prepare ourselves to recognize spiritual promptings in ministering?
- What does Sister Yee’s statement “I find the Savior when I minister” mean to you?
- How can ministering help us during our own times of struggle?
- What habits might help us minister with more spiritual sensitivity?
Treat ministering as a covenant way of life
Sister Yee taught that ministering was not merely an assignment, program, or checklist. She said it was part of living our baptismal and temple covenants and taking upon us the Savior’s name. As we ministered as He would, we began to think, feel, and love more like Him.
It is not a program or a checklist; ministering is the essence of who God is and who we can become as we follow Him.
- How does seeing ministering as a covenant responsibility change the way we approach it?
- What is the difference between completing an assignment and living a Christlike way of being?
- How does ministering help us take upon ourselves the Savior’s name?
- Why do you think Sister Yee said we are not called to or released from ministering?
- In what ways can ministering shape who we are becoming?
- How can we avoid reducing ministering to a checklist?
- What would it look like for ministering to become more fully part of our daily discipleship?
Bless the one and strengthen the whole
Sister Yee taught that Heavenly Father carried out His work by ministering to individuals one by one. She pointed to the Savior’s mortal ministry as the pattern for caring for “the one” in personal ways that help people feel God’s love. She emphasized that when we bless one person, we also bless families, wards, and the whole body of Saints.
The Savior showed us this pattern often during His mortal ministry as He compassionately blessed, healed, and cared for “the one.”
- Why do you think the Lord so often works one by one?
- How does focusing on individuals help people feel seen and loved by God?
- What are some simple ways we can minister more personally?
- How have you seen blessing one person end up strengthening many others?
- Why might personal ministering be more powerful than generalized efforts alone?
- Who might be “the one” the Lord wants you to notice right now?
- How can we balance caring for many responsibilities while still ministering one by one?
Love others as Christ loved imperfect people
Sister Yee centered ministering in the Savior’s atoning love. She taught that Jesus Christ suffered for us and died for us while we were still sinners, showing the depth of His love. She then connected that love to His commandment that we love one another in the same way, including while people and we ourselves are still imperfect.
We can demonstrate our love for Him by keeping His commandments and ministering to others while they and we are yet imperfect.
- How does the Savior’s atoning love deepen your understanding of ministering?
- Why is it significant that Christ loved us before we were changed or perfected?
- How can remembering our own imperfections help us minister with more compassion?
- What makes loving imperfect people difficult at times?
- How does the Atonement help us love in ways that may feel impossible?
- What does it mean in practical terms to love others as He has loved us?
- How can ministering become an expression of gratitude for the Savior’s love?
Exercise faith when ministering feels uncomfortable
Sister Yee taught that ministering was not always convenient or comfortable and often required sacrifice, vulnerability, and faith. She shared the example of a young sister who felt nervous but went anyway and found that things usually turned out better than expected. The message was that disciples act in faith and trust the Lord to help them.
Choosing to minister isn’t always convenient or comfortable. It requires sacrifice, faith, vulnerability, and trusting things will work out as we let God prevail.
- What kinds of fears or discomfort can make ministering hard?
- Why do you think acting in faith often matters more than feeling fully confident?
- What do you learn from the young sister who said, “I go”?
- When have you been blessed after ministering despite uncertainty or nervousness?
- How can we help each other be more courageous in ministering?
- What sacrifices might meaningful ministering require from us?
- How does letting God prevail change the way we approach uncomfortable situations?
Trust the Lord to magnify your efforts
Sister Yee testified that when we minister in faith, we do not go alone. She said the Lord would provide the means to accomplish what He commanded and would help us bless others according to their needs. She also emphasized the significance of inspired ministering assignments given through priesthood authority and revelation.
As we minister in faith, we do not go alone. The Lord will be with us. He will “provide [the] means whereby [we] can accomplish the thing which he has commanded.”
- How does knowing the Lord goes with us affect your willingness to minister?
- What does it mean that the Lord will provide the means to do what He commands?
- How have you seen the Lord magnify a small act of service?
- Why is it helpful to remember that ministering assignments are inspired?
- How can we seek revelation to know how to help those we are assigned to serve?
- What role do covenants and priesthood power play in ministering?
- How does trust in the Lord change the way we view our limitations?
Find belonging and joy through ministering
Sister Yee invited disciples to follow the Savior and minister in His name in order to feel grounded, gain divine belonging, and make a real difference. She taught that as we offer the Savior’s love and belonging to others, we find those blessings ourselves. Ministering was described as part of God’s work to bring His children the greatest joy.
When we offer His love and belonging to others, we will find it ourselves.
- Why do you think ministering can help us feel grounded and that we belong?
- How have you found joy or healing while trying to bless someone else?
- What does this talk teach about the relationship between service and happiness?
- How can ministering help people who feel forgotten or disconnected?
- Why might losing our life for the Savior’s sake help us find it?
- How does ministering bring relief both to others and to ourselves?
- What can we do to help our quorum or Relief Society become a place of belonging through ministering?
Extend Christlike care beyond familiar circles
Sister Yee taught that the Savior did not limit His ministering to family and close associates but ministered to all. She said ministering assignments helped expand our capacity to love and helped ensure no one was forgotten. She emphasized praying for people, caring for their needs, and strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ.
The Savior did not limit His ministering to His family and close associations. He ministered to all and invites us to do the same.
- Why is it natural to focus on people we already know well?
- What can help us open our hearts to those outside our usual circles?
- How do ministering assignments help us grow in Christlike love?
- What does it mean to ensure that no one is forgotten?
- How can we strengthen someone’s faith in Jesus Christ through simple ministering?
- When have you been blessed by someone who reached beyond convenience or familiarity to care for you?
- How can our class or ward better reflect the Savior’s inclusive pattern of ministering?
Additional Discussion Questions
- What phrase or sentence from Sister Yee’s talk felt most important to you, and why?
- How did Sister Yee connect ministering with the Savior’s Atonement?
- What do you think it means to be the Savior’s hands in everyday life?
- How can we become more aware of the needs of others as Sister Yee’s father did?
- What role does the temple seem to have played in the change Sister Yee described?
- How can presidencies and class members work together to make ministering more inspired and personal?
- What are some ways we can help people feel loved and seen by God?
- How can ministering help answer prayers even when we do not know all the details of someone’s struggle?
- What changes do you feel prompted to make in your own ministering after studying this talk?
- How can we make sure our ministering points people to Jesus Christ rather than just to ourselves?
