Thomas S. Monson on the responsibility and blessing of service to others

President Thomas S. Monson (born August 21 1927) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1963.  He served as a counselor in the First Presidency with Presidents Benson, Hunter, and Hinckley until becoming Church president in 2008.

"As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy.

"We do not live alone—in our city, our nation, or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love thy neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection. This truth inspires the familiar charge, 'Go forth to serve.' Try as some of us may, we cannot escape the influence our lives have upon the lives of others. Ours is the opportunity to build, to lift, to inspire, and indeed to lead.

"The New Testament teaches that it is impossible to take a right attitude toward Christ without taking an unselfish attitude toward men:

"'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me' (Matthew 25:40)."

- Thomas S. Monson, "The Joy of Service," New Era, October 2009, pp. 2-6
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How do we find happiness? President Monson believes it is by looking around us to see where our help is needed. He is well-known for having exemplified this principle in his own life.

"There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness." At least not in God's eyes. We must learn to be more aware of needs, and more generous with the blessings we have received. The gifts we are called on to give are not just temporal; they also include "the opportunity to build, to lift, to inspire, and indeed to lead."