Sunday, August 16, 2015

The Elderly in the Church


The Lord knows and loves the elderly and has bestowed many of His greatest responsibilities upon them.  President Benson said we can make the most of our senior years by...

  • Working in the temple and attend often.
  •  Collect and write family histories.
  • Become involved in missionary service.
  • Provide leadership by building family togetherness.
  • Accept and fulfill Church callings.
  • Plan for your financial future.
  • Render Christlike service.
  • Stay physically fit, healthy, and active. 
                
                    

   Serving others helps heal those who have lost loved ones or who dread being alone.
  
 To those who have lost your spouses, we should also like to express our love. Sometimes there is for some of you a feeling of uselessness and aloneness which can be almost overwhelming. In so many instances, this need not be so. In addition to the eight suggestions just mentioned, here is a sampling of activities that have proved helpful to others.

We encourage families to give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and attention they deserve. Let us remember the scriptural command that we must care for those of our own house lest we be found “worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). I am so grateful for my own dear family and for the loving care they have given their parents over so many years.

                      
                             

We … urge priesthood leaders of the elderly to be sensitive to the Spirit of our Father in Heaven in assessing and meeting the spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial needs of the elderly. We trust you will utilize your counselors, Melchizedek Priesthood quorum leaders, and Relief Society leaders, home teachers, and visiting teachers in this great responsibility, for we must fulfill these duties without reluctance or hesitation.  God bless the elderly in the Church. I love you with all my heart. I am one of you.

You have so much to live for. May these golden years be your very best years as you fully live and love and serve. And God bless those who minister to your needs—your family, your friends, and your fellow Church members and leaders.



                    


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