Why Does It Matter That No One Sits Alone?

We are often encouraged to reach out to those who are alone and forgotten, but what is the true motivation behind that?

When I taught a church lesson on Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s talk “No One Sits Alone,” I was struck by something that had never previously occurred to me. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are often reminded and encouraged to reach out to the isolated, lonely, and lost people around us—especially as the seasons bring us ever closer to Christmas. However, I had never before considered the driving force behind the principle to care for those around us.

In his talk, Elder Gong shares that “how we treat each other—especially the hungry, the thirsty, those left out alone—is how we treat [Jesus Christ].” We learn this from Christ himself: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). But the person always left out at school, or the young man cut off from his family, or the single mother alone during the holidays—what gives each of these people such value that our treatment of them is a direct reflection on the very Savior of the World? 

The Christmas season is our reminder to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but we can also ponder on his sacrifice. Jesus Christ valued each individual child of God as more precious than the price of his own suffering and death (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–11). That is the true value that he sees in each and every person. 

So when we look past that lonely person that Jesus Christ himself values over his own life, how does that reflect on how we really feel about his eternal sacrifice? When we sit next to the person who is alone or listen to someone who needs a friend, we are showing Jesus Christ that we truly appreciate his Atonement. We are showing our love and devotion to him by caring for those he values above all else.

Read Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s full article “No One Sits Alone” for more insights on how we can reach out to those around us who are lonely.

Source: General Conference

—Ashlyn Tilby, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY BRIGITTE TOHM

Find more insights 

Learn more about ministering as the Savior would in Sister JoAnn Randall’s talk, “Finding Joy by Serving Others.”

Read more about the impacts of loneliness and how to combat them in Jamie Kathryn LeSueur’s Latter-day Saint Insights article, “Where Do Lonely Hearts Go?”