Mormon Musings

“We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. … We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.” President Thomas S. Monson “What Have I Done for Someone Today?”  Ensign,  Nov. 2009, 86

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/08/overcoming-feelings-of-inadequacy?lang=eng&query=elder+s+(name%3a%22David+S.+Baxter%22)

With all your differences in personal circumstances and past experiences, I can tell you something of what lies ahead for you. As you keep the faith, you will find yourself invited by the Lord often to serve someone in need when it will not seem convenient. It may appear to be an unpleasant and perhaps even impossible task. When the call comes, it may seem you are not needed or that someone else could easily give the succor. Remember that when the Lord lets us encounter someone in distress, we honor the good Samaritan for what he did not do as much as for what he did. He did not pass by on the other side even though the beaten traveler on the road was a stranger and perhaps an enemy. He did what he could for the beaten man and then put in place a specific plan for others to do more. He did that because he understood that helping may require more than what one person can do. Lessons in that story can guide you in whatever your future holds. President Henry B. Eyring, October 201...

Mother Teresa said: It is never too small. We are so small we look at things in a small way. But God, being Almighty, sees everything great. Therefore, even if you write a letter for a blind man or you just go and sit and listen, or you take the mail for him, or you visit somebody or bring a flower to somebody–small things–or wash clothes for somebody or clean the house. Very humble work that is where you and I must be. For there are many people who can do big things. But there are very few people who will do the small things. Mother Teresa of Calcutta,  Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations, Prayers,  ed. Kathryn Spink   (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983), 49

“When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.”  (   Conference Report,  Apr. 1899, 2–3. ) 

For how knoweth  a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? Mosiah 5:13

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/12/small-acts-of-service?lang=eng

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/12/small-acts-of-service?lang=eng

In the economy of Heaven, God does not send thunder if a still small voice is enough, or a prophet if a priest can do the job. Elder Neal A. Maxwell

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else. -Charles Dickens

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden path, or a redeemed social condition, to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded! Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A story is told of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who served as both a judge and the mayor of Nauvoo. He was confronted with the case of Anthony, a man of African descent and a former slave. Anthony was accused of a rather serious violation of the law. When Joseph confronted Anthony, he pleaded for mercy, indicating that he needed the money from his illicit activities to purchase the freedom of his child, who was still living in slavery. Joseph expressed his sympathy for Anthony’s plight but insisted that the law must be observed and that a fine would have to be imposed.  The next day, in a sincere effort to do good to his fellowman, Joseph gave Anthony a fine horse that he could use to buy the child's freedom." Gordon B. Hinckely, " True to the Faith ", BYU Devotional, September 18, 2007   http://byub.org/talks/transcripts/devo/2007/9/devo2007918-102.pdf