For those ministered to in the past hundred days, the service projects, warm smiles and friendly texts were more than a box to check off; they were an extension of the Savior’s arms.
With the help of His disciples around the world, Christ’s love was in Peru, when a sister felt valued in a new ward. His healing was in South Africa, when old friends reconnected after drifting apart. His relief was in Brazil, when strengthened connection to a ministering brother brought comfort.
And through President Russell M. Nelson’s prophetic role to testify of Jesus Christ, it all started with a birthday wish — and invitation.
“One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep,” President Nelson wrote in a social media post on Saturday, June 1. “Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost.”
The Prophet turns 100 on Sept. 9, and he said although he has no need of physical gifts, “one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.”
Countless members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide took this invitation to heart, pondering whom they could bless in their one-by-one efforts then taking action.
The Church News asked readers how they’ve reached out to “the one,” or how they have been ministered to as “the one.” The following is a sampling of the many ways Saints have followed President Nelson’s invitation in recent weeks.
Paper hearts with encouraging messages
After a particularly difficult day at work, Monique Barr from the Lakeview 9th Branch, Orem Utah Lakeview Stake, came home to paper hearts with encouraging messages on her door.
One note said, “Thank you for being you.” Another said, “You make a bigger impact than you realize.” These and other words of affection were a much-wanted lift on a day she was struggling.
“It was just what I needed,” Barr recounted. “It was like a love note from my Heavenly Father through someone else letting me know I was known and loved, despite my difficult circumstances.”
100 Primary acts of service
Kira Bates — Primary president in the Caldwell 14th Ward, Caldwell Idaho East Stake — said the Primary set a goal of doing 100 acts of service before President Nelson’s 100th birthday. In their efforts to reach out to the one, the children have cleaned around their home, helped parents wash dishes, picked up toys, cheered up their siblings and more.
“The kids have been so excited about this,” said Bates, “and most of the kids can’t wait until after singing time is done to share what service they’ve done in the past week.”
She said their enthusiasm to minister is contagious. “They’ve shown me how fun service is and how much joy performing service can give to us.”
The Primary reached its goal of 100 acts of service within two months and has currently done more than 135 acts of service.
Reconnecting a cherished friendship
For Tsuki Rametse of the Polokwane Branch, Polokwane South Africa District, the Prophet’s invitation came at the right time. When she heard about his birthday wish, the name of an old friend came to Rametse’s mind. The two had known each other closely since 2012 but later lost contact and drifted apart.
“She was so excited to hear from me,” said Rametse. “She told me how she would think about me, how she always wanted to reach out to me, but she never knew how to go about it.”
The two are now closer than ever as friends, picking up where they left off. “Thanks to President Nelson’s counsel,” she said, “I have reunited with my sister in Zion.”
Genealogy for a homeless individual
Sister Edna Washburn and her husband, Elder Thomas Washburn, found “the one” while serving FamilySearch together in the Canada Montreal Mission. When the couple — from Marshall, Missouri — walk to the National Archives of Quebec each morning, they pass by and greet several homeless individuals. The Washburns one day passed out pedigree charts to fill in.
After they got back a chart with the information one man was able to remember, Elder and Sister Washburn got to work researching. They later met him with a binder holding a dozen documents and photos from his family history.
“With tears in his eyes, he looked eagerly at each page and expressed his gratitude,” recounted Sister Washburn. “As we started to leave, I felt compelled to turn back to him and tell him that this was God’s way of letting him know He hadn’t forgotten him. He shook my hand and thanked God.”
‘I felt very cared for’
After a recent surgery, Maureen Tracy from the McMinnville 1st Ward, McMinnville Oregon Stake, tried to blend in while hobbling into sacrament meeting on crutches.
“The bishop himself stepped down from the stand with his counselor and hurried over, offering to bring me a chair to prop up my leg,” Tracy recounted. A few minutes later, a sister walked across the chapel out of her usual seat to sit beside Tracy for the hour.
“I was surprised that instead of being embarrassed, I felt very cared for and watched over.”
Rebuilding a collapsed house
Members of the Abaetetuba Branch, Barcarena Brazil District, joined local missionaries to start rebuilding a member’s house by hand that had collapsed. The group of about a dozen Saints were guided by branch President Lucivaldo Belo Da Silva, who works in construction, to properly strengthen the concrete foundation.
Elder Alex Maxfield — from West Jordan, Utah, and serving in the Brazil Belém Mission — was one of the elders to work on Aug. 15. “I hope this humble service project helps her feel God’s love,” he said.
The project still has a ways to go, but branch members have committed to continue their service to this “one” in upcoming weeks.
Performing 100 temple ordinances
Members of the Oquirrh Mountain Single Adult Ward, West Jordan Utah Oquirrh Stake, set a goal of performing 100 proxy ordinances in the house of the Lord by President Nelson’s 100th birthday. It started with Daphne LeBaron and a few friends, then the group grew to around 20 as they invited those they minister to and those who minister to them.
These Saints recorded the ordinances in a spreadsheet each time they went, adding additional thoughts, feelings and testimony from their time in the temple. Several templegoers gained a stronger connection to family through family names.
One wrote: “I loved the way my heart and mind were filled with light and joy while watching each friend help one another with names and ordinances to serve one another’s family. That felt like heaven.”
The group performed its 100th proxy ordinance on June 28, the same month as the Prophet’s invitation and still two months before his birthday. They ended with a count of 455 ordinances since they started, gaining a greater love for each ancestor as “the one” every visit.
Ministering is ‘a constant and attentive presence’
After hearing President Nelson’s invitation to reach out to the one, Jose Carlos Pacovski from the Granja Viana 1st Ward, São Paulo Brazil Cotia Stake, felt a spiritual impression to connect more closely with a man he was assigned to minister to.
The week after these efforts started, the man was taken to the hospital for illness. Pacovski was able to use their strengthened relationship to comfort his friend in his hardship.
“This experience taught me a valuable lesson about ministering,” said Pacovski. “Life is unpredictable, and people’s needs are constantly changing.” Reaching out to the one is more than completing a task, he learned; it’s about being attentive to the needs of others and being willing to adjust efforts according to those needs.
He said, “I believe that ideal ministering is not limited to sporadic contact but rather a constant and attentive presence in the lives of members.”
Finding comfort in a new ward
Magnolia Diaz felt reached out to as “the one” when she recently moved to the Precursores Ward, Lima Perú Maranga Stake.
“I’ve been attending my new ward for two weeks,” Diaz wrote Aug. 16, “and they’ve made me feel as if I’d known them all my life.”
She continued: “I appreciate the love they show me and how willing my new Relief Society sisters are to make me feel comfortable.”
Aid after a flooded basement
Alex Napierski of the Orem YSA 7th Ward, Orem Utah YSA 2nd Stake, saw many minister to his family in time of crisis after their basement flooded.
“Within minutes, multiple ward members were helping and providing food,” he said. “It was amazing.” One couple in the area, despite also having a house that flooded, brought food to the Napierski family the next day.
Reaching out to the one in prison
Prayer and thoughtful consideration of President Nelson’s birthday wish brought Kelly Akhtar of the Killian Ward, Miami Florida Stake, to write a letter to a Latter-day Saint inmate at a local prison. She let him know he was loved and sent a copy of the Prophet’s invitation to reach out to the one.
Akhtar recounted: “This inmate wrote me back and said I was an answer to his prayers and that I reminded him he is not forgotten. He expressed his love for the Lord and that he has shared his copy of the Book of Mormon with other inmates.”
His response lifted Akhtar’s spirits as she recognized she followed a prompting from the Holy Ghost and that the efforts expanded far beyond herself.
“He told me in his letter that he is indeed the one that needed to be reached out to, and he said as I have shown him by example to follow the words of the Prophet, that he too is praying to know who to reach out to there in his prison that may need him the most.”
‘A great example of pure love’
Iva Grech of the Park Ridge 1st Ward, Brisbane Australia Beenleigh Stake, has been strengthened by seeing the selflessness of a sister in her ward, Sister Edwards. Despite severe back pain, she still fulfills her calling once a month as a ward accompanist.
“I love this sister abundantly,” said Grech, who sends friendly texts to check in with her. “She is a great example of pure love in serving the Lord in her calling.”
Hope through difficult days
Marilyn Rish Parks of the Hobble Creek 2nd Ward, Springville Utah Hobble Creek West Stake, reached out to a nonmember living in an Ohio nursing home. Her physical ailments, including cancer, have led to some difficult and depressing days.
Parks said: “I have tried to carefully include in my messages to her my witness that she is not alone, that she has a Heavenly Father who loves her, cares about her and is not punishing her, and a Savior who is willing to share her burden and walk with her through these difficult times.”
She added a desire for this reaching out to bring her friend to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I hope that my small efforts to share the love of God with her may open the way for her to reach out to God and find the love and peace she needs.”
From a water pump to baptismal waters
Elder Samuel Carter of the Philippines Cabanatuan Mission met Tatay Noni, whose family members were all Latter-day Saints except for him. While thinking of ways to connect with Noni, Elder Carter and his companion saw him rebuilding a water pump to water his fields, and they offered to help.
“We spent the next two hours rebuilding a water pump generator with him,” said Elder Carter, from Pleasant Grove, Utah. “We didn’t even talk about the gospel, just his life and work.” When they finished, Noni told the elders to come back the following week to teach him the gospel.
The missionaries and members have continued to support him in his desire to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they’ve helped him feel God’s love through their kindness. Noni has since accepted an invitation to be baptized later this month.
‘I feel so loved’
Due to a foot injury, Kimberly Williams of the Lyons Ward, Palmyra New York Stake, is “a bit wobbly” when walking at church.
She said that in response, “a darling Primary friend, Evan, takes my hand and walks me to the Primary room every week. I feel so loved.”
