Minister to Others

Mom has always been about the work of the Lord. She is renowned in her ability to minister to others. She is happiest when she can serve and encourage those within her stewardship.
For example, when I was young, the church’s program for the children 4 – 12 years-old followed a different schedule than it does now. Now, the Primary meets on Sundays when the adults are in their various meetings. But back then, Primary met one day a week after school. Mom was called to Primary and was assigned to teach the 11-year-old boys. Just like today, as the children got older, they found themselves involved in more and more activities away from church. Back then, sports and just plain after school fun competed with Primary for the boys’ attention. The 11-year-old boys would sometimes find themselves conflicted as to where they ought to be and some chose to do activities other than Primary.
Mom was dedicated to teaching those boys. She knew that they needed to be spiritually fed. She knew that when a boy’s time for Primary Graduation arrived, that boy would need to be able to recite all 13 of the Articles of Faith. And it was in Mom’s 11-year-old class that the kids were learning and memorizing the Articles of Faith. Mom knew that Bishop Clifton Johnson was going to call those boys up to the stand at the Sacrament Meeting when they would be graduating from Primary and would ask them to recite an Article of Faith. She wanted them to be able stand tall as they recited their favorite one.
So when the boys would start missing Primary, she knew what to do. After the regular Primary lesson was over, she would check out the pictures she had used during that lesson and take them home with her. Later that day or on a different day, she packed up her lesson manual and the relevant pictures and walked over to the boy’s house to teach him the lesson that he had missed.
I don’t know if mom saved all of those boys. But she tried. And I know that many of those young men went on to be the Priests that I looked up to when I was 11 turning 12. As a mom, she could probably see that the work she was doing was benefiting not only the boys but her own family as well.
Mom is great minister. She serves her family and her husband with utmost dedication. She loves the Lord and all his children. I know that that is why she and Claude served their mission to Florida, so that she could continue her ministry and set the example of service to those in her family that would follow her.

--Michael