by David E Bay, High Councilor

When I was a deacon, and our ward had a service project, followed by a potluck dinner, I learned the power of giving service wholeheartedly. We were each given a certain portion of the task to complete before we ate dinner. There was about a half hour to complete the service portion and then we would join for the potluck dinner.

When the time for eating came, almost everyone left work and raced to get in line. I felt responsible for completing the assignment that I had accepted. It did not take more than five or ten minutes, but when I got in line for the potluck dinner, the food was still there, the line was shorter and I was satisfied because I completed what I had been asked to do.

The 13th Article of Faith says, ” We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

I was recently reminded of the research project which studied the same people and their family members for over 80 years. The findings are that relationships with other people matter more than other things. (Robert Waldinger: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness | TED) People do very well when they have relationships with those they can depend on. One of the biggest tragedies that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is that people were isolated from each other. Many of us are still trying to recover the sense of connection that we had before.

One way to do this is to reach out. If you are feeling lonely, you reach out to someone else. If you have unmet needs look for others with needs you can help meet. When you think of someone, connect as soon as possible, send a text, make a call, or knock on their door. That way we will begin to make the connections that make life worthwhile. The purpose of life is to prepare ourselves and others for the eternities. We can do this by following the two great commandments. The first “… thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) And the second as taught by our Savior, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) In reality when we serve others wholeheartedly we are keeping both commandments. “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)

In 2009 Congress established September 11 as an annually recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Utah Area have encouraged members, as well as Stakes and Wards to support this service movement. Locally we usually adjust the day to the Saturday after Peach Days. People, we can serve, and ways to provide service are all around us. The Just Serve website has many opportunities to serve listed. The Brigham City South Stake has agreed to help support a project at the New Hope Crisis Center.  See the information here.