In President Henry B. Eyring's talk about Eternal Families, he said something that stood out to me:
This reminded me of another quote:In our home and in our priesthood service, the greatest value will be in the small acts that help us and those we love work toward eternal life. Those acts may seem small in this life, but they will bring everlasting blessings in eternity.
Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. - GandalfThere are many other quotes that share a similar message. Things that seem small now, like kind words and generous service, can have great importance in the lives of others and in our own eternal lives. I think that many good people tend to underestimate themselves and the amount of good they do. This may be because the world places different amounts of value on different things. The world cares more about huge humanitarian efforts than about kindly touching individual hearts. With God, I think it's the opposite. Of course, it's important to help people, and it's good if we help many people in big ways, but lifting their spirits can be bigger, in God's eyes, than improving their temporal circumstances. If we can do both, we should, but some people lack the resources to contribute to large humanitarian efforts. Those people shouldn't feel too bad if all they can do is touch a few hearts here and there.
We can't always do big things, but big things aren't always the things of greatest value and importance, in the eternal scheme of things. Doing small acts of kindness can have just as much eternal value for ourselves and others as doing great acts of charity. We should all do what we can to help others, and if all we can do is serve them and/or lift their spirits in some small way, that's alright. As President Eyring said, "Those acts may seem small in this life, but they will bring everlasting blessings in eternity."
1 comment:
Good post. I might add that very few people lack the resources to contribute to large humanitarian efforts. For instance, there are over 6 million Mormons in the United States. Many of them are children, to be sure. So, what if there are only 2 million adults? What if each of those 2 million adults gave ONE DOLLAR a month to Humanitarian Services? Most people can afford to donate ONE DOLLAR. That would be Two MILLION dollars every month to help people in need. And ALL of the money going to help, nothing to "administration, publicity, paid volunteers." Real volunteers and service missionaries would multiply the value of those dollars. Together, if we each do a little, we can do a lot.
Not to diminish at all the power of a smile, a kind word, a helping hand. These small acts of goodness can change someone's day, maybe their life, and change us.
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