Menu

Jon Ryan Jensen: To serve and to be served require different types of humility

In this year’s First Presidency Christmas message, one line stood out from the rest as I read it: ‘He did what we could not do for ourselves’

When I was 12 or 13 years old, I was given the opportunity at Christmas to help one of my ward’s leaders distribute some gifts and food to individuals and families in our neighborhood who needed them.

We had a small quorum, so it was easy for us to fit in the beige station wagon that had all of the donations packed in the back.

Under the cover of darkness, we would carefully approach each doorstep and quietly leave a bag of groceries — many including a turkey, a box of stuffing, canned vegetables and other food. One token deacon would be left behind to ring the doorbell and run back to the idling car parked nearby.

We thought we were the perfect models of stealth, as many young teenagers do.

Occasionally we would park in a location where we could see the door open and the groceries or gifts be retrieved. We saw heads poke around corners looking for evidence of our presence. Being sneaky about it was the fun part. I don’t think we really understood how grateful some of the families were to have those bags left at their homes just days before Christmas.

Perhaps it was just me who was joyfully oblivious to the service and really focused on my ninja-quiet skills.

After canvassing the neighborhood, we checked off all the names on our leader’s list. He began dropping us all off at our homes one at a time. Two of us lived a few houses apart on the same street. I was the last to return home.

When we pulled up to my home, I thanked my leader, Brad Tillotson, and hopped out of the car. But he got out of the car as well. He told me I had left something. I was sure I hadn’t. When I turned back, he pulled two more bags of groceries from the back of the station wagon. I asked him who we had forgotten. But we hadn’t forgotten anyone.

My stealth wouldn’t matter for this last delivery. It was for my family.

At that age, I was embarrassed. I was happy to serve. I was less happy to be served.

I reluctantly took the bags and mumbled some form of thanks to my Young Men leader.

My mom was visibly emotional when I walked in the door with food in my hands. In that moment, I realized we needed what I was given more than I had known.

In this year’s First Presidency Christmas message, President Russell M. Nelson, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring included one line that stood out from the rest.

“He did what we could not do for ourselves,” they wrote of the Savior.

“He did what we could not do for ourselves.”

—  2024 First Presidency Christmas Message

That cold winter night decades ago, neighbors and friends followed Jesus Christ’s example by doing something that my family and I could not do for ourselves. Sometimes it is easier to tell others what the Savior can do for them than to feel His power can be applied to us. And that night I was happy to emulate the Savior by giving. But I found it much harder to receive.

In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 46:19-20, the Lord said, “And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal.”

I didn’t need physical healing that night. But I needed humility to accept a different kind of healing.

And I still might not be great at accepting help from others. But, as is needed with some spiritual gifts offered by our Heavenly Father, I seek His help in obtaining that ability.

Related Story
Read the First Presidency’s 2024 Christmas message

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about the meaning of humility in a message he shared in the October 2010 general conference.

“Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellow man,” he said.

I thought less of myself for needing the help of others that Christmas, but I learned that God didn’t think less of me or my family.

Part of the conclusion of Doctrine and Covenants 46 is another teaching I learned from this experience.

“And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with,” the Lord said.

My mumbled thank you all those years ago now feels inadequate. But to those who served then and serve now, my thanks are more sincere and direct. And to my Heavenly Father, who gives all gifts, I give the most sincere thanks.

He knows each of us. And He sent His Son, whose birth we commemorate at Christmas, so that we could live in thanks with Them for eternity if we follow Their commandments.

Merry Christmas.

— Jon Ryan Jensen is editor of the Church News.

Related Stories
See how celebrities are promoting #LightTheWorld Giving Machines on social media
Church service missionaries remember the 1st year of Giving Machines on Temple Square
First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional 2024: Read talk summaries, see photos
Newsletters
Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox
The three things you need to know everyday
Highlights from the last week to keep you informed