Just a quick thought about something I’ve been thinking about off and on throughout the day. It seems that most of the talks and lessons I heard this morning were about relationships with other people, and I think how we treat other people is the best indicator of just what kind of Christian we really are. Carol’s excellent Sacrament talk based on one of President Hinkley’s former addresses set the tone as she reminded us that we are to treat ALL people with respect and acceptance…not just those who have the same skin color or bank account balances.
Can we call ourselves one of His followers when we don’t actually show love, respect, kindness, or mercy to others? When we’re rude, dismissive, or even cruel in our comments and actions, is that Christ-like? Did He tease, taunt, or bully others? I think we all know the answer to that. Did He kowtow to the leaders of the day and look down on the lepers, sinners, and poor? Of course not.
In Relief Society, the women’s organization, Cookie (love that name!) made the remark that put the icing on the cake. She said that one night after she and her husband had asked for peace on earth during their family prayer, he remarked that perhaps they (like all of us) could begin by sowing more seeds of peace within their own home. If more of us did that, I’m convinced that it could have far reaching effects.
Peace in the home could extend to peace in the workplace and from there to the community itself. Even at Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, and the DMV, if we could act with more kindness and sow peaceful seeds, it would make a difference. It makes sense to me that if we pray for something, we’re expected to act to make it “come to pass.”
Praying is easy; acting on our prayers requires more effort. As of today, I’m going to make more of a concerted effort to bring about peace on earth, beginning in my own little sphere.
mom's musings 
Did you see the SouthPark episode featuring the Mormon faith and Mormons? Probably not but you won’t be surprised to find that they portrayed the Mormon family who moved to SouthPark as incredibly nice.
(They also poked fun at the story of Joseph Smith, but that’s kind of par for the course for SouthPark.)
For a brief time I worked for several Mormons setting up a bank in Durham and they were SO NICE. Same thing when I met Orson Scott Card. I don’t know if meeting less than ten Mormons is an appropriate sample size, but every Mormon I have ever met has been incredibly nice, family-oriented, and made me feel right at home.
i read no surf girl about evil and how some cultures because of fear will use evil to act out well we could use prayer to act out our innerds or real self and have a similar effect
yes.. it’s a hard balance as a mother, trying to teach children not to tease and be mean to one another and trying not to come down too hard, too often on kids. Both can lead to loss of the spirit. Any tips on how to achieve it, veteran mothers? I’ll take my answers off the air. (lol).
nosurfgirl,
I’m a vet with awesome children. I’ve always told people that my kid are really good and it’s NOT my fault. The key here is to not let your ego get wrapped up in your children’s performances. This prevents co-dependant behavior and unrighteous dominion just so you can look good. When your children understand that you respect them and love them they tend to behave with more respect and love for each other. Read D&C 121. It’s a great parenting manual.
Hayden, I’m glad to hear that the Mormons you knew were nice. We try to be, but we (speaking for moi) aren’t always successful. In fact, after hearing all of these great messages on Sunday, a few of us got sort of amused at the times we caught ourselves saying something “uncharitable.”
Sarah, I hear you loud and clear! Been there, done that…so to speak. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to find peace within yourself first. What I mean by that is that you have to take care of you in everyway possible (physically, spiritually, emotionally,and socially) so that you can have the energy and attitude to do all you need to do. You can’t get water from a dry well, so do whatever you can to fill the well within you.
Barlow, Yes I agree that prayer is something we all can do at anytime and in anyplace and for anyone.
Sarah, Just letting you know that Janet wrote some nice suggestions for you.
We appear to be on the same wavelength this week.
In one of your comments you mentioned something about saying uncharitable things…sometimes we do it and we are trying to be amusing, it is usually at someone or something’s expense… we just have to do better each day. Thanks for always having a timely message.
Thank you, Janet. Wow, parenting and egos are so hard to unwind I think. As a mom, a lot of your self worth seems dependent upon how your kids seem to be doing. Thank you for the advice… I think I needed that. And Marla, too… I think that is what writing is for me, water in the well. 🙂 Thanks for allowing my thread jack.