• “Throughout my years of service in the Church, I have seen extraordinary examples of the power of counseling with our councils. Some years ago when I was serving as a bishop, a large family in our ward experienced a crisis when the father lost his job. I was concerned about their well-being during this difficult time, and I visited their home to counsel with them and to offer the support and assistance of the Church. Interestingly, they were reluctant to respond to my offer of temporary assistance, and so I took the matter to my ward welfare committee and to the ward council. In a spirit of loving confidentiality, I shared with them my concern for this wonderful family and asked for their ideas as to how we could bless the lives of our brothers and sisters who lived in that home. Our Relief Society president volunteered to visit with the mother of the family to ascertain their temporal needs and to work with them in obtaining any commodities they needed- all of which, of course, was her responsibility according to the program of the Church. Within a couple of days, she was able to accomplish what I had been unable to accomplish, and the family humbly and gratefully accepted commodity assistance. The elders quorum president counseled with the father of the family- which, of course, was his right and duty- and worked with him on ways to improve his employment situation. Our Young Men president noticed that the family’s house was in desperate need of a coat of paint, and he arranged for his priests to work with the high priests group to paint the house. During the course of my conversations with the parents, I discovered that they were heavily in debt and were in arrears on their mortgage. Following approved welfare guidelines, I inquired about the ability of their extended family to help through this challenging period in their lives, but I received little information. Our Relief Society president, however, was able to learn that the mother had a brother who was very wealthy. “There’s no reason to contact him,” the mother said, “We haven’t even spoken in years. I can’t go to him after all these years and say, “Hi! Remember me? I’m your sister. Can you lend me some money?” I understood her dilemma, and yet I felt it was important to follow the order of the Church. And so I counseled with her and eventually received permission to contact her brother, who lived in a distant city. I called him and explained the difficult circumstances in which his younger sister was living. Within three days he arrived in Salt Lake City and helped get his sister’s financial affairs in order. Meanwhile, our elders quorum president was helping her husband to find a steady job with a good income. Suddenly, the family was more secure than they had ever been. More important, however, was that they were closer and more united as a family. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that tender moment of reunion between the mother and her brother after years of estrangement. Although her brother had become alienated from the Church, there was an immediate spirit-to-spirit bonding that can be understood only from within a gospel context. So it probably won’t surprise you to learn that as a result of this experience, the brother eventually returned to full activity in the Church and renewed his relationship with all of his living family members. And all of this happened because of the inspired work of a faithful ward council, functioning according to the program that God has outlined for His children through His servants. Through years of such experiences, I have come to believe with all my heart that the council system of the Church has been divinely structured to bless the lives of our Heavenly Father’s children. And to be perfectly candid, I sometimes have a difficult time understanding why so many of our leaders fail to see the vision of how working through councils can enhance their ability to accomplish all that the Lord expects of them in their respective stewardship’s.” Counseling with Our Councils M. Russell Ballard, Page 15 -17