Ministering and Temple Worthiness: What’s the Connection?
In Matthew 25, the Savior teaches the familiar parable of the sheep and the goats. He describes a future day when He will separate the righteous from the wicked—placing the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left.
To those on His right hand, the Lord says:
“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
“For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Surprised, the righteous ask when they ever did such things for Him. The Savior responds with words that define discipleship:
“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
He then turns to those on His left and explains that they failed to act when He was in need. Confused, they ask a revealing and specific question:
“Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?”
The Savior’s answer is clear:
“Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me.” (Matthew 25:32–46)
You can look at this parable as a foreshadowing of our “Final Ministering Interview.” It powerfully teaches that our love for the Savior is demonstrated through our care for others. He could have easily said, “When you didn’t serve your ministering families, you didn’t minister unto me.” While the Lord did not speak specifically of ministering “assignments,” the principle is unmistakable: How we treat one another is how we treat Him.
Throughout scripture, the Lord consistently ties love for God to loving and serving His children. After His Resurrection, the Savior asked Peter three times if he loved Him—and each time responded with the same invitation: “Feed my sheep” (John 21). In Luke 10, after affirming the great commandments to love God and love our neighbor, the Savior illustrated the concept of love-through-service in the parable of the Good Samaritan and concluded with the charge to “go, and do thou likewise.”
King Benjamin taught the same eternal truth when he declared, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
He later instructed parents to teach their children “to love one another, and to serve one another” (Mosiah 4:15).
From the moment of baptism, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ, to serve others, to stand as witnesses of God, and to keep His commandments. In the temple, those covenants are expanded in a higher and holier way as we promise to obey, sacrifice, love and serve others, and consecrate all that the Lord has given us.
As part of renewing a temple recommend, we are invited every two years to thoughtfully consider questions such as:
- “Do you strive to live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?”
- “Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple?”
These questions are not meant to be traps or checklists, but opportunities for honest self-reflection and recommitment.
Modern prophets–past and present–have consistently taught that ministering-by-assignment to one another in our wards is not incidental to covenant living—it is central to it. President Ezra Taft Benson taught that “there is no greater Church service” than that rendered by humble, dedicated ministers who quietly watch over and strengthen God’s children.
Ministering, then, is not merely an assignment; it is a way of living our covenants. It invites us to see others as the Savior sees them and to respond as He would respond. Each of us will approach this responsibility imperfectly, and the Lord’s grace makes growth possible. What matters most is the direction of our hearts and our willingness to act.
It is our covenantal duty as members of the Church of Jesus Christ “to watch over the Church always, and be with and strengthen them” (D&C 20:53). Ultimately, each of us must prayerfully consider how we are living the covenants we have made—to obey, to sacrifice, to love, to serve, and to consecrate. Before our next temple recommend interview—and definitely before our “Final Ministering Interview” with our Lord—it may be wise to kneel and ask the sincere question the Savior once welcomed:
“What lack I yet?”
In asking, and then acting, we come closer to Him—and to one another.
