In his April 2024 General Conference address, Elder Dale G. Renlund declared that “the Savior’s job is to heal. Our job is to love—to love and minister in such a way that others are drawn to Jesus Christ.”
In this statement, we see two essential principles. First, we recognize the unique role of the Savior as the Healer. Second, we acknowledge our role in loving and ministering to others so they might be drawn to Him. Together, these ideas form a pattern for how we can participate in the Lord’s work.
Photo courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.The Savior’s Role as Healer
The scriptures are filled with examples of Christ healing the sick, the brokenhearted, the oppressed, and those burdened with sin. From the New Testament to the Book of Mormon, He is known as the Great Physician, the One who heals both body and soul.
One of my favorite scripture passages comes from Isaiah:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
The Savior’s ability to heal goes beyond the physical. Yes, He opened the eyes of the blind and cleansed the lepers, but His ultimate act of healing came through the Atonement. It is through His suffering, death, and resurrection that we are spiritually healed. His healing grace cleanses us from sin, comforts us in our sorrows, and strengthens us in our weaknesses.
Christ healing a sick woman. Courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.Our Role to Love and Minister
While the Savior’s job is to heal, ours is to love. Our role in God’s plan is to love and minister to others in such a way that they are drawn to Christ, so they can experience His healing power for themselves.
When the Savior was asked which of the commandments was the greatest, He responded with two:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
These commandments are foundational to everything we do in the gospel. They define how we should interact with one another, especially in our ministering efforts.
President Thomas S. Monson once said, “Love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar. His life was a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to reflect His love in our own lives. But how do we do that in a way that draws others to Him?
Photo courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.1. See Others Through Christ’s Eyes
When the prophet Samuel of the Old Testament was tasked with choosing the next king of Israel, he was initially guided by tradition and what he considered to be the physical markers of a good king. He was about to overlook David and choose the eldest of Jesse’s sons, when “the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Likewise, many early converts to the restored Church didn’t initially see in Joseph the makings of a prophet. In a 1978 speech at BYU Provo, Truman G. Madsen said, “They compared [him] with his brother Hyrum and remarked that Hyrum seemed more in the image of what they thought a prophet should look like and behave like. He was, they meant to say, more sedate, sober, serious.”
When we minister with love, we see people as the Savior and our Heavenly Father see them. We aren’t swayed by outward appearances of any kind, positive or negative. Instead, we look beyond such shallow markers and see them as sons and daughters of God, with infinite worth and potential.
Jesus teaching the woman at the well. Image courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.2. Serve Without Judgment
Our job is to love without reservation. Sometimes it can be easy to fall into the trap of judging others based on their choices or circumstances. But our job is not to judge—it is to love.
Returning to Elder Renlund’s talk, he reminds us that “as we minister to others, we do not need to ask unhelpful questions or state the obvious. Most people who are struggling know that they are struggling. We should not be judgmental; our judgment is neither helpful nor welcome, and it is most often ill-informed.”
He continues, “Comparing ourselves to others can lead us to make pernicious errors, especially if we conclude that we are more righteous than those who are struggling. Such a comparison is like drowning hopelessly in three meters of water, seeing someone else drowning in four meters of water, judging him a greater sinner, and feeling good about yourself. After all, we are all struggling in our own way. None of us earns salvation.”
Jesus and the woman taken in adultery. Courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.3. Minister with Compassion
The Savior’s ministry was filled with moments of deep compassion. One of the most touching examples is found in the Book of Mormon, when the resurrected Savior appeared to the Nephites. After teaching them, He looked upon the multitude and “He wept,” saying, “my bowels are filled with compassion towards you” (3 Nephi 17:6).
He then invited the sick, the afflicted, and the children to come unto Him, and He healed them one by one. He took the time to care for each individual personally, demonstrating His perfect love.
As we minister to others, we should strive to do so with this same Christlike compassion. Whether it’s offering a listening ear, bringing a meal to someone in need, or simply being present during someone’s time of trial, our love and compassion can draw them closer to the Savior, who can heal them in ways we cannot.
The Things Which He Prayed Cannot Be Written by Casey Childs. Courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.Drawing Others to Christ
In her address during the General Conference in which the new ministering program was introduced, Sister Jean B. Bingham said, “After all is said and done, true ministering is accomplished one by one with love as the motivation…When our hearts are open and willing to love and include, encourage and comfort, the power of our ministering will be irresistible. With love as the motivation, miracles will happen, and we will find ways to bring our…sisters and brothers into the all-inclusive embrace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Here, Sister Bingham makes an important point about motivation. As I wrote this piece, I found myself inwardly resisting my own message. I am an introvert and somewhat anxious by nature, and I sometimes find it incredibly difficult to reach out to others, even those I know fairly well.
So, for me, there is much about living the gospel that becomes a to-do list that I can check off and say, “Phew! Ok, I did the thing. Can I go back to my corner now?” And ministering is my Achilles’ heel.
I wasn’t always this way. As a very young person, I was what you might refer to as the “Hermione” of my ward (if you aren’t familiar with this concept, ask someone who has read Harry Potter). I was very competitive and had a knack for memorization. So, you bet my hand was first in the air anytime a question was asked or a scripture was to be chased—from Primary all the way through Seminary graduation. I was so fun to be around.
Fast forward a few years, and I felt impressed to serve a mission. I thought, “Oh, this is right up my alley. I will be so good at this.”
Not so, Sister Black! Take me out of the ward that I had lived in since birth, and I was suddenly terrified of everything and everyone. While I had a genuine testimony of the gospel, I had assumed that it was my intellectual knowledge of it that would make me an effective missionary. As it turned out, waltzing up to perfect strangers and striking up a conversation about Jesus was not my forte, knowledge notwithstanding.
Neither was existing 24/7 with someone I’d never set eyes on before. And that competitive nature I mentioned? Not very helpful when you’re trying to be a good companion to someone whose personality may clash with yours, and who may have a very different way of doing things.
Suffice it to say that my mission was a very humbling experience. My pride was thankfully knocked back quite a few pegs, which allowed me to begin to learn what serving a mission—and being a disciple of Jesus Christ—is really about.
As I began to see the massive chasm that lay between where I was and where I needed to be as a missionary, there was nowhere to turn but to the Savior. My prayers became more earnest, and my study became more focused. I learned all I could not so that I could recite facts and impress others, but to understand better what I needed to do and become.
Illustration by Dilleen Marsh. Courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.In Preach My Gospel, there is a chapter called “Seek Christlike Attributes.” One passage from that chapter says, “Charity is ‘the pure love of Christ’…The prophet Moroni taught, ‘Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love’ (Moroni 7:48). As you pray to have charity fill your heart, you will taste of God’s love. Your love for people will increase, and you will come to feel a sincere concern for their eternal happiness. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like Him, and you will labor in their behalf.”
At the end of the chapter, there is a box labeled, “Remember This.” It says:
- Strive to be a Christlike missionary, not just follow a missionary routine.
- Learning to be like Christ is a lifelong pursuit.
- You follow Christ’s example and receive His attributes one action and decision at a time.
- Becoming Christlike requires exercising faith, repenting, keeping covenants, receiving help from the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
This taught me that we don’t become representatives of Jesus Christ by muscling our way through it, or by having lots of scriptures memorized. Having the pure love of Christ is the only way to truly represent Him.
As I focused more on applying the Atonement, a remarkable thing began to happen. The work became easy. I found it natural to talk to people and didn’t have to think as much about the “right” thing to say. My motivation for serving shifted from obedience and an inflated sense of importance to a genuine desire for others to experience the healing power of the Atonement.
The author and her mission companion teaching an investigator in New Jersey, 2010.As many returned missionaries will agree, this perspective and focus is difficult to maintain once you leave the mission field—but how grateful I am to be reminded of what I already know: That even though life is different now and I have so many more reasons to be hesitant and insecure about reaching out to those around me—the Savior is still there and able to bless my efforts, every bit as much as He was on my mission.
So, while I have essentially created a checklist of ways you can do your job to love others and bring them to Christ—if you walk away with nothing else, let it be this: your ability to do that job is yet another example of something that is magnified only through experiencing the love of the Savior in your own life. Turn to Him, learn of Him, pray for His grace, and try to do what He would do, and He will magnify your meager offerings just as He multiplied the fish and the loaves.
Love is the Key
The Savior’s job is to heal. Our job is to love—to love so sincerely that others are drawn to Him, so they can experience His healing power. As we strive to fulfill our role, may we be guided by the Spirit to love others as Christ loves them. May we seek to see them as He sees them, serve them without judgment, and minister to them with compassion. In doing so, we will not only bless their lives but also draw them—and ourselves—closer to the One who can truly heal.
Christ and The Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann. Courtesy of ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
