“May these golden years be your very best years as you fully live and love and serve. And God bless those who minister to your needs—your family, your friends, and your fellow Church members and leaders.”
Ezra Taft Benson was 86 years old when he became President of the Church. He understood the joys and challenges that come during the later years of life. One joy for him was his continued association with his wife, Flora. The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary during his first year as President. They enjoyed each other’s company and attended the temple together nearly every Friday morning. At his 87th birthday party, someone asked President Benson the secret to his long, happy life. “Before he could answer, Sister Benson said, teasingly but with meaning, ‘He has a good wife.’”
For the general conference that immediately followed his 90th birthday, President Benson prepared an address directed “to the elderly in the Church and to their families and to those who minister to their needs.” In the introduction, he expressed his personal connection to the topic: “I hold special feelings for the elderly—for this marvelous group of men and women. I feel that in some measure I understand them, for I am one of them.”
1. The Lord knows and Loves the elderly and has bestowed many great responsibilities on them.
2. We can make the most of our senior years.
- work in the Temple and attend often
- Collect and write family histories
- Become involved in missionary service
- Provide leadership by building family togetherness
- Accept and fulfill Church callings
- Plan for your financial future
- Render Christlike service
- Stay physically fit, healthy, and active
3. Serving others helps heal those who have lost loved ones or who dread being alone.
4. In times of illness and pain, we can remain strong in attitude and spirit.
5. It is important that families give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and respect they deserve.
6. Those who are blessed with a closeness to grandparents and other elderly people have a rich companionship and association.
7. Church leaders should prayerfully seek the Spirit in helping members meet the needs of the elderly.
8. Our later years can be our best years.
God bless the elderly in the Church. I love you with all my heart. I am one of you.
You have so much to live for. May these golden years be your very best years as you fully live and love and serve. And God bless those who minister to your needs—your family, your friends, and your fellow Church members and leaders.
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