President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "You Are My Hands"

This is a great talk about service and how we should act as followers of Christ.

President Uchtdorf started off with a story from World War II. This is one of the topics that he frequently uses to illustrate points. It is interesting to me to hear his stories because he seems so young to be a survivor (even as a child) of the war. After the story (about a statue of Christ being damaged in the war and not having the hands replaced) he said:

There is a profound lesson in this story. When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love. And He always talked with, never down to, people. He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation.  That is what He did during his mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart.


I hope that we welcome and love all of God's children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home. I feel that this is one area I really need to work on both at church and at school.

When we are tempted to judge, let us think of the Savior, who "loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him . . . 
"[And] he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, . . . [for] all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden." (2 Nephi 26:24-25, 28)


It seems only right and proper that we extend to others that which we so earnestly desire for ourselves. I am not suggesting that we accept sin or overlook evil, in our personal life or in the world. Nevertheless, in our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen.


That was some excellent counsel about how we should treat others. President Uchtdorf then adds counsel on how we can serve others.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are called to support and heal rather than condemn. We are commanded "to mourn with those who mourn" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort." (Mosiah 18:9)


It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering.


True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long - we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it - but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but "sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1)


Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn't just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5)


If we are His hands, should we not do the same?


The Savior revealed the perfect priorities for our lives, our homes, our wards, our communities, and our nations when he spoke of love as the great commandment upon which "hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:40)  We can spend our days obsessing about the finest details of life, the law, long lists of things to do; but should we neglect the great commandments, we are missing the point and we are clouds without water, drifting in the winds, and trees without fruit. (see Jude 1:12)


Without this love for God the Father and our fellowmen we are only the form of His Church - without the substance. What good is our teachings without love? What good is missionary, temple, or welfare work without love?


As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. That is a great promise.

This entire talk, and especially the last part, is good counsel for leaders.