3rd Nephi 20:8

And he said unto them: he that eateth this bread eateth of my body TO HIS SOUL; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood TO HIS SOUL; and HIS SOUL shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.

Mother Teresa said, "The greatest disease in the west today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the west is a different kind of poverty - it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God." (Mother Teresa, A Simple Path)

One need only look at the news here in the United States to realize that there is a famine of the soul. The people are hungry, impoverished but don't know it. They have forgotten they are sons and daughters of God made in his image. and it's impossible to feed a man who doesn't know he is hungry.

I think of Jesus who pleads, "Come unto me all ye who weary and our heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Human beings have a need to feed and care for our souls - that eternal part of us that connects to beauty wherever it is found. Some find it in art or music or nature. It seeks light and loveliness. It thrives when there is kindness and respect. It responds to the deep reserve of peace and quiet that you feel as you walk into a cathedral, a temple, a mosque, a forest. It seeks truth and righteousness.

But it can also starve and shrivel amidst the harshness and cruelty of life. It shrinks amidst predators who use and abuse. It cowers in the presence of hate and scorn. It cries in the night when violence stalks the streets; when there is no safety to be found. Wars of nations and the daily wars between men and women slowly drain the life from our souls.

We hunger and we thirst.

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change the world. We know who we are. We know why we are here on Earth. We know what we may yet become.

But that cannot happen if each of us are not transformed into messengers of His love and grace. If we cannot walk through life's paths sharing kindness for all, in a way that we are seen and recognized by others as Christlike - not just in word but indeed, then we fail.

Our hearts must beat in tune with His, filled with love of all His children. Our hands, like His, must have the healers touch. Our words must echo His; words of hope, peace, and encouragement.

We must exit our homes and our chapels and our temples and go out into the streets, into the darkness where our light is needed. We must share in hovels and byways the Bread and Water that feeds men's souls.

We must learn that, until we are willing to care for their bodies, we cannot reach their souls. It is our administering to those very basic needs, that our kindness allows our spirits to touch another spirit.

I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me, I was in prison and ye came unto me.