The hymn, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief," was the favorite hymn of the prophet Joseph Smith. It was also the last song the prophet heard before his martyrdom. It tells the story of an individual who helps a poor and wayfaring man. He is fed when hungry, given water when thirsty, given shelter from the storm, and nursed to health after being "beaten nigh to death." The last two verses continue the story:
In pris'n I saw him next, condemned
To meet a traitor's doom at morn.
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him 'mid shame and scorn.
My friendship's utmost zeal to try,
He asked if I for him would die.
The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,
But my free spirit cried, "I will!"
Then in a moment to my view
The stranger started from disguise.
The tokens in his hands I knew;
The Savior stood before mine eyes.
He spake, and my poor name he named,
"Of me thou hast not been ashamed.
These deeds shall thy memorial be;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me."
After the Lord divides the sheep from the goats:
'Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, 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.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' (Matt 25:34-40)
Dallin H. Oaks
"When we think of service, we usually think of the acts of our hands. But, as shown in earlier chapters, the Lord looks to our hearts as well as our hands. He is concerned not only with our acts but also with our motives. One of his earliest commandments to Israel was to 'love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul' (Deuteronomy 11:13).
"In order to purify our service to God and to our fellowmen, it is therefore important to consider not only how we serve, but also why we serve.
"People serve one another for different reasons, and some reasons are better than others. It has been said that 'the biggest gap in the world is the gap between the justice of a cause and the motives of the people pushing it' (John P. Grier, in Lawrence J. Peter, comp., Peter's Quotations, [New York: William Morrow and Co., 1977], p. 340)." (Pure in Heart, p. 38)
Howard W. Hunter
"When we understand why we serve we will not worry about where we serve." (BYU Devotional, Sept. 2, 1990 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 201)