Henry B. Eyring on friendship and inspired service

President Henry B. Eyring (born May 31, 1933) served in the Presiding Bishopric from 1985-1992, as a Seventy from 1992-1995, then was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He has served in the First Presidency since 2007.

"I think of [the challenge of enduring] each time I visit with new members of the Church. I get that opportunity often, across the world. I see their trusting faces, and often they tell me about some trial of their faith, and then, with urgency in their voices, they whisper, 'Please pray for me.' At those moments, I feel again the weight of the charge to each of us from the Lord's living prophet. It is to keep the promise we made in the waters of baptism 'to bear one another's burdens' (Mosiah 18:8). It is to be a friend....

"The Holy Ghost is a comforter and a guide. But it is also a cleansing agent. That is why service in the kingdom is so crucial to enduring. When we are called to serve, we can pray for the Holy Ghost to be our companion with assurance it will come. When we ask in faith, a change can come in our natures both for the welfare of our souls and to strengthen us for the tests we all must face."

- Henry B. Eyring, "True Friends," Ensign, May 2002, pp. 26-29
Click here to read the full talk

Much of President Eyring's talk dealt with the ways we should strengthen and care for new members of the Church. I was touched by the tenderness of the first paragraph of this excerpt, and the concern expressed by members as they deal with trials and challenges. What a sacred charge, to "bear one another's burdens."

As we strive to serve and strengthen one another, we have a precious source of help. The Holy Ghost is promised as an agent to cleanse and purify, that we might be better qualified to serve and endure.