Scripture Squiggle: Galatians 5:13

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."


I heard my husband's aunt banging around in the stairwell as she lugged her bags upstairs.  I thought about offering to help, even set down the measuring spoon I was holding and started toward the stairs, but something stopped me.  What if she didn't want help?  What if by offering to help, I made her feel weak or offended her?  With those thoughts in mind, I waited for her to reach the top of the stairs, thinking that maybe I could give her a hand then.

As I hesitated, my twelve year old son walked into the kitchen and saw his aunt as she approached the gate at the top of the stairs.  "Tricia, do you need help?"  Even as he asked, he was already moving forward, opening the gate and helping her get her bulky bags through.  He then opened the door of the house for her and followed her outside to make sure she was able to get everything in her car.

Why did I hesitate?

Elder M. Russel Ballard, in a general conference session in April of 2011 counseled, "we need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The still, small voice will let us know who needs our help and what we can do to help them."

I felt the prompting to help, and I wanted to heed it, but I let my fear of man overcome my fear of the Lord.  And this wasn't the first time.

Recently, after learning that a friends daughter was in the hospital in serious condition after a fall off a swing, I thought about the long drive they had from their house to get to the hospital and the rising price of gas and wondered if I could do anything to help.

I considered giving them a call and offering them some money, but I worried I might upset them by assuming they needed my help.

Most times, I don't have too much trouble heeding the Holy Ghost's promptings.  But when they relate to other people, people I don't know very well or even at all, I struggle.  How can I learn to set aside my doubts and worries about how someone will receive my service and just do it?

Elder Ballard offers this advice: "Brothers and sisters, may I reemphasize that the most important attribute of Heavenly Father and of His Beloved Son that we should desire and seek to possess within our lives is the gift of charity, 'the pure love of Christ.' From this gift springs our capacity to love and to serve others as the Savior did."

Charity doesn't come to us overnight.  We have to pray for it, and we have to work to attain it.  As with all things in the gospel of Jesus Christ, line upon line--a little at a time.

The next time the Holy Ghost urges me to do something for someone else, I'll do my best to respond without doubts and worry.  If I succeed, I'll have taken an important step towards developing charity.

Scripture Squiggle: Jonah 3:10-4:1

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

As a young wife and mother living in a small town of strangers, I spent a lot of my time at my in-law's house. My mother-in-law let me use her washing machine, and then I would take the wet clothes home to decorate my apartment while they dried. Laundry day back then usually amounted to about three loads, so we had plenty of time to talk. Pat, my mother-in-law's next door neighbor, was often one of our topics.

Pat's husband Tony worked with my father-in-law. A sweet, quiet man, Tony made friends quickly and everyone liked him. Pat was a loud-mouthed drunk, and I got the feeling nobody liked her, least of all my mother-in-law. We talked about Pat's yelling rampages that woke my in-laws up each night, the broken bottles that invariably fell out of the garbage, and how Pat had taken to coming over to my mother-in-law's house to chat.

I would commiserate with her, return home with my wet clothes (while silently thanking the Lord for giving me neighbors that kept to themselves), and share all of the stories with my husband.

We'd laugh and groan, and feel sorry for Tony. He deserved so much more in a wife. So I should have been overjoyed when I learned that Pat was going to be baptized. Somehow her chats with my mother-in-law had turned to the Church, and she had expressed interest. After a few discussions, Pat was transformed. She gave up drinking, the late night yelling stopped, and Pat became as likable as Tony.

Then why did I feel like Jonah felt when the people of Nineveh repented? Maybe it was because I had used Pat to feel better about myself. As long as she was doing bad things that I wasn't doing, I knew that I wasn't the lowest on the Lord's list.

Perhaps I was eager, as Jonah was, to see others face the consequences of disobedience. And I felt his disappointment when this known sinner turned around and repented. Instead of embracing charity and rejoicing over the rescued soul, I harbored jealousy and self-righteousness.

I, dependent on the Savior's mercy, ignored his example. He associated with sinners, rejoiced when they repented, and loved everyone.

Fortunately, I did get to know Pat. Her infectious smile and animated personality pulled me in, despite my misgivings.

Now, when I feel myself struggling with some one's repentance, I remember Pat, my Ninevehite, and I find I can more easily reach out and embrace.

Scripture Squiggle: Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

My son, TG, started high school last year. Being born into my family, the boy can hardly escape being a nerd. We're all nerds. We like geeky stuff like Star Trek, backwards stuff like classic country music, and many of us are avid readers. My son is one of the worst, having mastered the art of walking and reading at the same time--with minimal crashing.

Although he has plenty of friends, he shared very few classes with them; he quickly became the victim of bullying in several of his classes. But TG is the type to keep his feelings to himself and we did not learn of his torment until halfway through the semester. The kids in his PE class frequently broke into his locker and stole his belongings. Each time, the teacher issued TG a new lock, but never pursued the problem. The kids called TG names and laughed at him when he answered questions in class.

When TG finally broke down and told us what was going on, we encouraged him to speak with the students, then with the teachers, and if that didn't work, to go to his guidance counsellor. He talked to his fellow students, but of course this did nothing. His teachers insisted that they could do nothing about something that they did not witness. So TG visited with his guidance counsellor, who then spoke to his teachers. For a short time, things improved.

After Christmas, TG's classes changed. Many of the bullies still shared some classes with him. But now, he merely endured. And as he did so, the worst of the bullies were kicked out of school one by one. The other kids that had gone along with the tormenting began to leave TG alone, some even got to know him and became his friends.

I knew that TG had taken the Savior's counsel to heart when, as a sophomore, he began tutoring some of the kids that had made his freshman year miserable.

I wish I could be more like TG. Usually I find myself wishing unpleasant things upon the people that make my life difficult. Help them? Pray for them? I have a long way to go.

Scripture Squiggle: Mosiah 25:11

"And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with pain and anguish for the welfare of their souls."

King Mosiah had just finished reading the records of Zeniff and the account of Alma and his followers after they fled from King Noah. The people of King Mosiah experienced mixed emotions over what they heard. This verse shows their sorrow over the Lamanites. Yes, the Lamanites are their brethren, but they are also their enemies. Yet, the Nephites were not merely sad about the Lamanites' sinfulness, they were "filled with pain and anguish." I know I'm not usually very bothered when I hear that bad things have happened to bad people, or even to someone I don't particularly like. Usually, at these times, I hear that inner voice that tells me I'm a better person and they deserve what they got.

These Nephites were true followers of Jesus; they had charity. Instead of allowing the Lamanites' wickedness to make them feel better about themselves and justify any actions they had to take in defending themselves against them, they worried over their souls, fearing for their eternal salvation.