Service
“You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“If we desire to be identified with the kingdom of our Lord, the celestial kingdom, this is our opportunity to prepare, with love unfeigned with desire to do all that is within our power to bless others, to give – not to be always feeling we must receive, but desire to give, for I say unto you: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of giving, not only of our substance but of ourselves, and I thank my Heavenly Father that I belong to such an organization that has been so instructed.”
– George Albert Smith
“The reward of eternal life requires effort.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“Strive not to be of success, but rather to be of value.”
– Albert Einstein*
“He who gives money, give some. He who gives time, gives much. He who gives of himself, gives all.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“May we ever remember that the mantle of membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is not a cloak of comfort but rather a robe of responsibility. Our duty, in addition to saving ourselves, is to guide others to the celestial kingdom of God.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”
– Spencer W. Kimball
“Lordship is servantship. The highest of all is the servant of all.”
– Bruce D. Porter
“There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. Are we doing all we should?”
– Thomas S. Monson
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’. To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster’, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”
– Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers)*
“When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer – no matter how eloquent the oration.”
– Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“I would be a friend to the friendless and find joy in ministering to the needs of the poor.”
– George Albert Smith
“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“At the heart of the message of the Savior of the world is a single, glorious, wonderful, still largely untried concept. In its simplest terms the message is that we should seek to overcome the selfishness we all seem to be born with, that we should overcome human nature and think of others before self.”
– James E. Faust
“There are many who plead and pray for help. There are those who are discouraged, those who are beset by poor health and challenges of life which leave them in despair. I’ve always believed in the truth of the words, ‘God’s sweetest blessings always go by hands that serve him here below’. Let us have ready hands, clean hands, and willing hands, that we may participate in providing what our Heavenly Father would have others receive from Him.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“The willingness to see though each other’s eyes will transform corrupt communication into ministering grace.”
– W. Craig Zwick
“Great women and men are always more anxious to serve than to have dominion.”
– Spencer W. Kimball
“We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, office, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all around us as our brothers and sisters.”
– Spencer W. Kimball
“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others… By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley
“To effectively serve others, we must see them through a parent’s eyes, through Heavenly Father’s eyes.”
– Dale G. Renlund
“As we lose ourselves in service to others we discover our own lives and our own happiness.”
– Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“We must wait until an errant individual is willing to receive the Holy Ghost. We cannot force that moment. Given their agency, individuals must desire to be touched by Him. Thus, we are to ‘continue to minister’ until a person desires change; he, alone, can decide to engaged with the Holy Spirit. Thus, we cannot force things, but we can ‘continue to minister’. Yes, we go on trying even when our witness is unheeded. The Lord has told us firmly how this process works. After all, God is in the business of saving souls. It is His work and glory. We must consider the wait as part of life and part of His work. Ironically, while we are to ‘wait upon the Lord’, He must also wait for us.”
– Neal A. Maxwell
“I have found that service does something to you. It changes perspective; it stretches the soul; it refreshes and uplifts; it elevates our thinking and our feelings.”
– David S. Baxter
“Remember that when you help another up a mountain, you are a little nearer the top yourself.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
– Booker T. Washington*
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore*
“When I was a missionary in London fifty years ago, my companion and I would shake hands in the morning and say to one another, ‘Life is good’. Life in the service of the Lord is good. It is beautiful. It is rewarding.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley
“If you feel that Heavenly Father is not listening to your petitions, ask yourself if you are listening to the cries of the poor, the sick, the hungry, and the afflicted all around you.”
– Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Stretching our souls in service helps us to rise above our cares, concerns, and challenges. As we focus our energies on lifting the burdens of others, something miraculous happens. Our own burdens diminish. We become happier. There is more substance in our lives.”
– David A. Baxter
“Many of us will not survive our tests in mortality without help from others. And just as true: in helping others we keep our own spirits alive.”
– Kathleen H. Hughes
“Serving others need not come from spectacular events. Often it is the simple daily acts that gives comfort, uplifts, encourages, sustains, and brings smiles to others.”
– Michael J. Teh
“When you find yourself a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.”
– Lorenzo Snow
“Unless we lose ourselves in the service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“There is no up or down in the service of the Lord. There is only forward or backward.”
– Dallin H. Oaks
“Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.”
– David O. McKay
“Being humble means recognizing we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley
“Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives.”
– Thomas S. Monson
“The most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley
“We have to go beyond concepts and exalted words and have a real ‘hands-on’ experience as we live together in love.”
– D. Todd Christofferson
“When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.”
– Lorenzo Snow
“If I live my beliefs every day, God can use even someone as ordinary as I am to change the world.”
– Brad Wilcox
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
– Hillel*
“A bell’s not a bell ‘til you ring it. A song’s not a song ‘til you sing it. Love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away!”
– Oscar Hammerstein II*
“Do [your] duty; that is best; leave unto [the] Lord the rest.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow*