Sabbath Devotional: What Are They Among So Many?
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
On a recent date night with my husband, I was busy rattling off all the things that were causing me stress. Every good date starts with a complaint session — I’m sure this is included in the expert advice to keep the spark alive in a marriage after 25 years, right?! Thankfully, he is compassionate and well trained, so he patiently listened to my list. I concluded my rant with “writing a Sabbath Devotional for work” as one of the most dreaded tasks on my list. I started in on my insecurities — my lack of writing prowess, my shaky scriptural knowledge — when he risked interrupting my well-worn speech with a thoughtful suggestion: “What about loaves and fishes?”
So, I am humbly offering you my loaves and fishes this week. This is not a poignant essay; it’s more like a scripture study conversation. I’d love to sit down with small, cozy groups of you and share thoughts and insights about one of my favorite scripture metaphors.
And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. (Mark 6:34-38)
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. (John 6:8-10)
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. (Mark 6:41)
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. (John 6:12-13)
This is a desert place
It is not hard for me to relate to being in a spiritual desert with others who are tired and hungry for peace. When I contemplate (maybe ruminating is more accurate) the problems in my family, my local community, and the world, I feel hopeless and overwhelmed. I find myself wondering, like the disciples, if maybe everyone really does just need to fend for themselves and wander into the country and surrounding villages and scavenge what they can.
How many loaves have ye? go and see.
But Jesus has some instruction in Mark 6:38 that I think can apply to more than the disciples tasked with feeding the 5000. He asks, “How many loaves have ye?” and then he instructs, “Go and see.” In my personal application of this verse, Jesus is asking me to set aside my rumination and my self-doubt and take an inventory of what I have to offer: my desires, my resources, my gifts and talents. Elder Uchtdorf offers a refreshing list of gifts to contemplate in his October 2025 talk, Do Your Part with All Your Heart:
Some of our gifts are listed in the scriptures. Many are not.
It may be true that our spiritual gifts are not always flashy, but that does not mean they are less important. May I share with you some spiritual gifts that I have noticed in so many members across the world? Contemplate whether you have been blessed with one or more gifts like:
Showing compassion.
Noticing people who are overlooked.
Finding reasons to be joyful.
Being a peacemaker.
Noticing small miracles.
Giving sincere compliments.
Forgiving.
Repenting.
Enduring.
Explaining things simply.
Connecting with children.
Sustaining Church leaders.
Helping others know that they belong.
What are they among so many?
I really feel Andrew when he says we’ve found five loaves and two fish and this doesn’t look like enough! The mismatch between great need and humble offering can feel discouraging, even paralyzing. I need the constant reminder and encouragement that my small, imperfect efforts matter. Alma reminds us that “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” President Nelson taught “The Lord loves effort.” Elder Renlund said, “You don’t have to be perfect, but we need you, because everybody who’s willing can do something.” Elder Vern P. Stanfill (in a must-read talk for anyone feeling inadequate or struggling with perfectionism) promises, “Our clumsy efforts can lead to miracles.” Michelle Craig testifies that “there is some truth in the realization that alone we are not enough. But the good news of the gospel is that with the grace of God, we are enough.”
That which remained was over and above
The life of a disciple is not one of perfection. It is one where we work to honestly identify what we have to offer and look to heaven to amplify and sanctify our efforts. Jesus drives home one last truth as he asks his disciples to gather up the remaining loaves: that which remained was 'over and above' what had been eaten — life with Jesus is one of abundance. I am praying for more imagination and more hope. I am also stubbornly refusing to believe that what I have to offer won't make a difference. I am grateful to be in a community of women who offer their gifts and talents freely, who encourage and inspire me, and who look to heaven with faith that our collective loaves and fishes will ultimately be 'over and above.'
I’d love to learn from you — What's a small, imperfect thing you're offering (or maybe just pondering) right now? Which phrase or thought from these scriptures resonated most, and what insight would you add to our conversation?
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Art: Loaves And Fishes By Rose Datoc Dall
Mychael-Ann Pelo is the communities director at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
