Servant Leadership

When James and John requested that they be given special status in the kingdom of God, the other apostles were miffed. How dare they seek this prestige at the expense of the others? In response, Jesus called them together to teach them about effective leadership:

Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:25-28; see also Mark 10:42-45

In the Book of Mormon, we see several examples of leaders who were focused on serving their people. At the end of King Benjamin’s life, he called his people together to give them an accounting of his service. He reported, “I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day” (Mosiah 2:14).

When some of Benjamin’s grandsons later traveled to the land of the Lamanites, Mormon explains that Ammon was “the chief among them,” then quickly explains, “or rather he did administer unto them” (Alma 17:18). Ammon and his brothers were children of a king, and Ammon was the oldest, but he had learned from his grandfather and from his father that it was his privilege to serve, not to seek honor or special privileges for himself. When he arrived among the Lamanites, he impressed King Lamoni by saying, “I will be thy servant” (Alma 17:25), and then by working tirelessly, completing the tasks that needed to be done without seeking to draw attention to himself. (See Alma 18:8-10.)

Today, I will focus on serving others. I will strive not for recognition or prominence but for opportunities to work on behalf of others, particularly those I have been asked to lead.