The Ward Family

Yesterday, I heard of someone doing something nice for someone else, making them feel welcomed and loved. Since I knew that this is one of the primary functions of the Ward, I commented proudly that that's what the church is for. Then I was informed that, while the receivers of the service were members of the church, the givers of the service were not. Rather, they were distant relatives of the receivers of the service. So, to amend my statement, I'd say that that's what family is for, but the way I see it, the two are fairly similar in function.

Both Wards and families are supposed to love and support it other. Ward and family members teach one another what is true and good and how to behave. Ward members and family members do service for each other out of the goodness of their hearts and for the sake of their Wards and families, respectively. And though those are the only examples that come immediately to my mind, there are almost certainly other connections that could also be made.

The ideal Ward and the ideal family make excellent role models for each other. I would expect a good Ward to behave much the same way as a good family would behave, and vice versa. So, while I was a bit surprised to hear that the givers of welcoming service weren't members of the church, I wasn't at all surprised to hear that they were members of the family because a good family is just as loving and welcoming as a good Ward would be. Both are, or should be, plenty loving and supporting, so it shouldn't be surprising to me that they act in similarly good ways.