by President Russell M. Nelson

It was Easter Sunday and the afternoon session of conference.  I needed to get across town to my brother’s house because we were going to have Easter dinner immediately following the session so that the out of town travelers could get home.  But I heard that President Nelson would be giving a short talk so I hung around for a few minutes to hear what was going to be announced.  

Visiting and home teaching will be retired and ministering will take its place.

At first, I was a little confused.  This seemed like a step backward to not have to make contact every month.  But I was wrong.  The following Sunday in church, I remember the concern I overheard was “I’m expected to go to soccer games?”

The Proclamation was given to us at a time when we thought we knew we needed it but then later we realized we were wrong.  The war on family stepped up its game.  We now know how much we really needed it.

We were given the ministering program at a time when we thought we knew we needed it but my belief is we are once again wrong.  The war on true love is stepping up its game.  In a short amount of time, we are going to know how much we really needed this change.

Between busy lives and schedules; social media robbing us of social interaction; and “men’s hearts failing” we need a program to teach us the basic concept of love again.  It’s about putting our phones down, taking a moment out of our calendar, and making human contact out of concern.

Ministering