SHOWING GRATITUDE BY GIVING TO OTHERS

We had special visitors to our RS Meeting today. President Gibson and Sister Bryna Holland, Stake Primary President, joined us to share the announcement of a new presentation program to be instituted in the senior Primary next year. This program is to address issues that the senior age Primary children may be exposed to now and in the coming years concerning 4 specific areas.

The Word of Wisdom: How to be true to the principles. How to deal with Peer Pressure. How to deal with bullying in any form.

Pornography: Simply, what it is. How to avoid it and what to do if exposed to it.

Privacy and Sacredness concerning our bodies: To help children be aware of the forms of sexual abuse, how to avoid it and/or how to report it and seek support from trusted adults.

Gender: In today's changing world, to make children aware of how the world sees and reports gender issues and what the Church teaches us in scripture and in the Proclamation to the World.

All topics will be based on Church standards and teachings and the outlines will be shared with parents and guardians so they can be prepared to answer questions from their children.

Our teacher today was Sister Anni Groves, First Counselor in the R.S. Presidency.

As our uplifting quotation, Sister Groves read a quotation from President Howard W. Hunter's 1994 Christmas address:

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak y our love and then speak it again." 

As an opening, Sister Groves gave us the hypothetical vision of when a child is given a gift. What four words do you, as a mother, say to the child? "What do you say?" Of course, we urge our children to mind their manners and say, "Thank you".

The next reference was to the Hymn, Because I Have Been Given Much. A song of gratitude that reminds us of the reciprocation we should give when we receive blessings.

What have we been given that we should pay forward or share/give to others?  Our life, our family, our basic needs met, all that we receive on a daily basis from our Heavenly Father. Even if we, ourselves, have very little, we can give back a portion of what we have to others in need.  Everything we have is a loan from our Heavenly Father and we need to take ownership of the responsibility we incur when we accept these gifts.  We have a stewardship to fulfill. We need to learn to be good stewards, to share/give to others.

Giving and sharing should be seen as a privilege to enrich the lives of our neighbors, not an obligation.  

The supreme example has been set by our Savior, Jesus Christ who has blessed us with life eternal by way of His crucifixion and Atonement.  

When we are the recipients of the great blessings of our Heavenly Father, we should be pleased and anxious to give of our love and service to those in need.

The example was given of a neighbor whose house burned down. How can we render service to help this family?  Some of the answers that were given are: Compassion - acknowledging and listening to them; giving of ourselves in service; sharing material things, such as we are able; sharing our own home as a place of temporary shelter when needed; offering prayers in their behalf and to ask what more we can offer; giving of our personal time; providing monetary donations that we can afford.

Sister Groves asked us two pertinent questions about giving:  "What might be your first action?" and "Which choice of action would be the hardest for you to give."  As we pondered our answers to these questions, we discovered that each person in each situation would most likely have a different answer.

We may have a difficult time opening up to others, but we can listen to their words and offer comfort. A tight financial situation may make it difficult for us to provide material things, but there is always something we can give or share with someone that will help make their life easier. 

Sister Groves quoted from a book she has called "The Heart of Goodness", by Jo Ann Larsen. The quotation is by a gentleman called John C. Cornelius pertaining to giving:

"Giving of ourselves for the betterment of the less fortunate is the cheapest and most effective therapy available today. To deny ourselves the joy of giving is to deny our basic needs . . ."

We need to take care of each other in every way possible. If we find we are unable or reluctant to give, we need to examine the reasons for this reluctance.  We must push ourselves to move out of our comfort zone and determine what our best way is to offer service to others.

Another book that Sister Groves referenced was "Of One Heart: The Glory of the City of Enoch", by Neal A. Maxwell. In this book, Elder Maxwell tells the story of Enoch and his city where the people dwelt in peace and righteousness because they were of one heart and one mind and there were no poor because each man esteemed others as  himself.

Our society today is becoming too attached to the material things that we cannot take with us. Even the smallest thing given can make a huge difference in someone's life. Sister Groves shared two personal instances of small, seemingly insignificant gifts she received that had a huge lasting impact on her life simply because they were given in love at a time when she was in need of comfort.

We all have had an instance where we hear of a need and we say, in effect, "I should do something." We may even give thought to what exactly we can do. Unfortunately, too often we become side tracked and end up doing nothing. Sister Groves challenged each of us to take it a step further. To do something that will impact another life in a memorable form.

The opposite side of this subject is for us to learn to be a grateful receiver. We read in the scriptures that, "It is more blessed to give than to receive . . .", but most of us would much rather be on the giving end than the receiving. A quotation by Halford Luccock in the book, "The Heart of Goodness" tells us that receiving gracefully enhances the self-worth of the giver. 

When we feel tentative about giving because we are concerned about offending the receiver, we need to remember that if we have the right feeling in our heart in giving service, comfort, or material things, our Heavenly Father will help to instill the spirit of gratitude in the heart of the receiver. Giving to others can have the effect of softening hearts in others.

Our challenge from Sister Groves for this month is to look at the previous list of ways we can offer service and choose the one that we fear is the hardest to accomplish. Then do our best to give this gift to someone in need. As we follow the example of the Savior, we will be blessed with the spirit to care for others who are in less fortunate circumstances.

May we do so in gratitude for the blessings we receive daily.

Your bloggess,

Karen