Day 1

I accepted an assignment with my BYU-I Pathway program to complete one act of service a day for the duration of this semester.  I wonder if I could do this every day for the rest of the year.

I have my photo blog, which will be separate, but I think this will be much more worthwhile!  Every day is a lot of days, but I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it.  This is really for my personal benefit, to publish this widely would feel like boasting....but really I want this to be top of mind so that I don't just get caught up my day to day work without considering serving others....I plan for the posts to be brief - but this first one is a little more in-depth:

Today's act of service was to accept an invitation to cover a primary class for Janice McCrimmon on Feb 23rd, so maybe I'll get to count this one twice!

This is the beginning of the practicum:

King Benjamin said “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God” Mosiah 2:17.  This is such a frequently quoted scripture, and I think it helps us see into the soul of King Benjamin.  He was a kind, thoughtful and inspirational leader.  I believe that there is great power in the principle of service.  It takes us outside of ourselves and helps us to become selfless and Christlike.

I feel that I have a privileged life, and with privilege comes responsibility.

M Russell Ballard talked of service in his Conference address in April 2011.  He said “It is only when we love God and Christ with all of our hearts, souls, and minds that we are able to share this love with our neighbors through acts of kindness and service—the way that the Savior would love and serve all of us if He were among us today.”

He goes on to explain that there are opportunities to serve others in our home, Church and our communities. 

President Monson is a great example of service.  He has lived a life filled with humble service to others.  We often hear him tell stories of the widows that he would serve when he was a young bishop.  He said: “The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone.

“… Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives” (Thomas S Monson “What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 85).

 This is a powerful statement, but epitomizes the life that President Monson has lived.

My personal experience with service has been that I service is sometimes more about the giver than the receiver.  I also think that it is sometimes easier to give service than it is to receive it.  I wonder if that has something to do with pride; we have become so independent that some would consider it a sign of weakness when seeking help from others.  I recently had the opportunity to offer a small service to a sister in the ward, she wanted to repay my service with an act of service of her own.  My first reaction was to decline the offer, and I remember saying “Oh, I couldn’t let you do that for me”  I could visibly see her countenance drop; and I recalled how wonderful I felt in offering service to her.  I retracted my resistance and accepted the offer willingly.  What a blessing that was to both of us!

Members of the Church have a unique opportunity to serve as missionaries.  What a blessing it has been to hear that there are now over 80,000 missionaries serving throughout the world.  I am preparing to serve a mission when I retire in 7 years time, but there is much that I can do to support the missionary cause now.  We have about 10 missionaries serving from our community, and even the simple act of an email or a letter could help to lift the soul of a struggling missionary!

The opportunities to serve are almost endless – and we are always blessed for our efforts in this area.