Val's Email Sunday School: Small Kindnesses Change the World

(This ties in, I promise)

The reading this week begins with King Benjamin stressing the importance of education that his sons might be "men of understanding." This resonates with me. I think it’s so important that we educate ourselves as much as we can in as many areas as possible. Doctrine and Covenants 88 stresses this telling us to be “instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

79 Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—”

Why are we supposed to educate ourselves and pursue our interests in varied disciplines? The next verse explains with, “That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling where unto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.” The more educated and prepared we are in different areas, the better prepared we are to be useful in whatever scenarios we might find ourselves. I don’t think we’ll know when specific talents or interests may come in handy, but pursuing knowledge and skills is always a useful endeavor.

King Benjamin also talks about the importance of records, talking about how without written records, his people wouldn’t be able to remember the promises of the Lord. This stresses to me the importance of journaling, or keeping track of where we are and who we are in our lives. This time during the pandemic could be particularly interesting for kids or grandkids to read. This is definitely a hinge point in history, where the world seems to be on the verge of great change (not in a bad way or merely a public health way), but in terms of advancement and innovation, and great humanitarian efforts. I can’t help but think of the quote that “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.” I feel like with such uncertainty there is great potential for amazing things that might be born of this hard time.

In his sermon King Benjamin also talks about how the people were “led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.” To me this stresses the importance of hope, of maintaining optimism despite uncertainty. If one watches the news and only reads news articles, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. If we’re overwhelmed and discouraged and lacking in faith, or unfaithful as Benjamin calls it, we won’t “prosper nor progress in [our] journey, but [be] driven back.” Just like the Israelites wandered in the wilderness until they were worthy to progress to the promised land and the Nephites wandered seeking their own promised land, we too will wander until we’re ready to become more.

King Benjamin tells us that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” This brings to mind the scriptures in Matthew 25 that say, “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.”

When we serve others, we are serving God. That might be the irony of all of this. We think that we need to do big grand things to make a difference in the world, but true change starts with us if we follow Gandhi’s advice to “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Lots of us don’t have the power or influence to change the world on a grand scale, but we have all the power in the world to change our world on a grand scale. As we take action and try to become the people that we think the world needs, I think that the world will reflect those changes in a correspondingly larger scale.

King Benjamin tells us that the “the natural man is an enemy to God,” and that we must “[yield] to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord. . .” Changing our nature is hard, but there is power available to us that can give us strength and enable us to be who we need to be. We can change our natures. We can become better, and we can become more.

As we each have educated ourselves and prepared ourselves in different ways before we found ourselves in the time-warp of quarantine lockdown, some of us are more prepared that others in different ways. To me this is where helping others comes in. We lend our strength to our family, friends, and neighbors in whatever our expertise may be. Maybe you are an artist or a musician and you share the beauty you’ve created with others to ease their stress just a little at this time. Maybe you make funny memes and you make people laugh in a time when smiles are hard to come by. Maybe you are a good listener, and you spend a lot of time being a friend to those who feel a little lonely right now. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you’re contributing to make the world a better place right now. Make the world a little lighter, a little brighter, and more beautiful.

We must do better. We can’t wait for God or inspiration or some other muse to tell us what we should do to try to help people who are struggling. We need to be proactive about helping our family, friends, or neighbors. We can use our creativity or ingenuity and listen to what they say to try to come up with personalized ways to make them feel loved and remembered. When you’ve been the one who needs these kindnesses, you know that literally are worth more than gold and can never be repaid.

As a final example to illustrate that we don’t need to do super grand things to change the world, I’ll leave you with the story of how I first learned this lesson. I was in high school when we went on a senior trip to Lagoon. It was a really cold day, which meant that there was no line for the Rattlesnake Rapids ride. My friend Christina and I spent almost the whole time riding that ride. Sometimes the employees would make us get off the ride, run around like we were getting back in line, and get back on the ride even though no one else was there.

We had so much fun, and by the end of the say we were drenched. Literally sopping wet. The day had only gotten colder. I was freezing, but okay. Christina was shivering so bad she could hardly walk. A boy we didn’t know saw us. He introduced himself as Scout and gave her the sweatshirt he had just purchased for her. When we tried to get his contact information so that she could pay him back when she had the money, he told us no. All he wanted from us was for us to repay the kindness someday when someone needed something. And almost twenty years later I’ve never forgotten the lesson that Scout taught me.

Maybe you can only know what these simple kindnesses mean when you’ve been on the receiving end when you really need it. Like the nurse brings you hot blankets when you’re shivering in the hospital. Like the friend who brings you balloons after they hear about your husband even though you haven’t seen them in years. The friend who calls you in tears because they’re devastated to hear what happened and you end up comforting them instead of the other way around. The friend who brings you a blanket in the hospital--the tactile comfort of something soft and warm just making things a bit better. Or the friend who brings you food and books. The friends who come to give you blessings and pray for you in the hospital when you need it, even though it’s never at a convenient time and usually late at night.

Simple kindnesses like the boys from the ward who dug a french drain because the yard kept flooding. The neighbor who jumped the car. The neighbor who would shovel our driveway because he noticed it never got done--and he didn’t just do it once. He did it many, many times. These are the things that meant the most. They meant everything. So much that these people will never be able to understand what it meant to me. I can never repay them. But I can try. And I do. I try to repay them by being for others what they were for me.