Recently, my sweet mother has had serious health problems that have resulted in her hospitalization and the need for skilled care at a rehabilitation center.
Her physical condition was compounded by memory loss. Despite the time and support of friends and loved ones, she still has days when she doesn’t remember she was there or feels alone.
Seeing her so vulnerable and almost completely dependent on the care of others has made me wish many times that I could put aside her doctors, nurses, and other medical aides and explain exactly who they were caring for.
I wanted to explain to them that she had cared for hundreds, if not thousands, of mothers and babies during her 40-year career as an obstetrician and childcare worker. The seven children she raised call her “blessed” (Proverbs 31:28). She has 15 grandchildren who love the word “nana.” How she opened her home and heart to children other than her own, raising them without judgment or criticism, with a strong diet and quiet wisdom. She sewed military tents and doll clothes for all her nieces and nephews, and crocheted baby blankets for all their babies. that she taught the gospel sincerely and deeply; She says she has “close friends” from every stage of her life, some dating back to her childhood.
I want them to feel how special she is.
With this in mind, I had the opportunity to cover the dedication of the Lyndon Utah Temple on May 3rd. As I spoke with Church members and leaders throughout the temple district and listened to the promises of President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency who dedicated the sacred structure, I was struck by how much the Lord trusts us to help in His work. To act in God’s name, to represent God, and to care for one another as God desires. To be a caretaker.
I hope that all those entrusted with my mother’s care will know exactly how much she is loved, and that this will influence the way they serve her. It will drive them to treat her with special care, dignity, and respect, rather than as a checkmark on a long list of work responsibilities.
During a moving moment at the dedication of the Lyndon Temple, I realized that our Heavenly Father must feel the same way about us, His children, entrusted to care for one another.
In his recent general conference address, President Dallin H. Oaks spoke of a bedridden man who made life miserable for the nurses who cared for him. When the nurse found the man who had fallen off the bed, writhing in blood and glass, she saw the man she had despised as a child of God.
This nurse testified that being forced to meet a despised enemy as a child of God was one of the great spiritual experiences of her life. President Oaks said: “This was a necessary lesson for me to learn about Heavenly Father’s love for all of His children. This lesson can transform us all to see each other as children of God who belong to one another” (“Living in Christ,” April 2026 General Conference).
How might your interactions with others, such as your children, spouse, co-workers, neighbors, ward members, and friends, change if you feel Heavenly Father’s love?
Perhaps even more importantly, how can I treat the man who cuts me off in traffic, the woman who criticizes my parenting, the child who bullies my child, or strangers of different political affiliations, if I recognize them as deeply loved people, people with struggles and vulnerabilities and divine potential?
Sister Christine M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, spoke about ministering in general conference this April and said that the Savior chose to suffer and pay for our sins without any guarantee that we would love Him.
“This is the kind of love that God has for you and me, and this is the kind of love that God wants us to have for each other. As you also loved one another, we can show our love for God by serving others…while they and we are still imperfect.” Sister Yi taught.
In the midst of our imperfect relationships and care for others, I hope that we can treat others as deeply loved, as if we are fellow citizens of God, and that we can remember, as President Oaks taught, that we “belong to one another.”
— Rachel Starzer Gibson is a reporter for Church News.
