This post is based on October 2009 General Conference talk called "What I Have Done for Someone Today?" by Thomas S. Monson. I encourage you to think about the following 2 questions.
"What have you done for someone today?" and "How does it make you feel?"
I would like to share with you some of the highlights while I was reading the talk this evening. Brother Monson mentioned,
"The Apostle Paul admonished, “By love serve one another.” Recall with me the familiar words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
President David O. McKay's statement “Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.” At baptism we covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be
light.” How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another?
How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day to day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”
We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.
You may lament: I can barely make it through each day, doing all that I need to do.
How can I provide service for others? What can I possibly do?
Elder Richard L. Evans said “It is difficult for those who are young to understand the loneliness that comes when life changes from a time of preparation and performance to a time of putting things away. To be so long the center of a home, so much sought after, and then, almost suddenly to be on the sidelines watching the procession pass by this is living into loneliness.
We have to live a long time to learn how empty a room can be that is filled only with furniture. It takes someone beyond mere hired service, beyond institutional care or professional duty, to thaw out the memories of the past and keep them warmly living in the present. We cannot bring them back the morning hours of youth. But we can help them live in the warm glow of a sunset made more beautiful by our thoughtfulness and unfeigned love.”
I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/what-have-i-done-for-someone-today
"What have you done for someone today?" and "How does it make you feel?"
I would like to share with you some of the highlights while I was reading the talk this evening. Brother Monson mentioned,
"The Apostle Paul admonished, “By love serve one another.” Recall with me the familiar words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
President David O. McKay's statement “Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.” At baptism we covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be
light.” How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another?
How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day to day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”
We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.
How can I provide service for others? What can I possibly do?
Elder Richard L. Evans said “It is difficult for those who are young to understand the loneliness that comes when life changes from a time of preparation and performance to a time of putting things away. To be so long the center of a home, so much sought after, and then, almost suddenly to be on the sidelines watching the procession pass by this is living into loneliness.
We have to live a long time to learn how empty a room can be that is filled only with furniture. It takes someone beyond mere hired service, beyond institutional care or professional duty, to thaw out the memories of the past and keep them warmly living in the present. We cannot bring them back the morning hours of youth. But we can help them live in the warm glow of a sunset made more beautiful by our thoughtfulness and unfeigned love.”
I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/what-have-i-done-for-someone-today
Stay Tuned until next time.
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