Ministering, Murmuring and Mormons.

Let me begin by saying that I HATE MEETINGS.

A lot.

Sometimes, I feel like they consume my life.

So, needless to say, I was less than excited about the meeting I had to attend earlier this week.

However, because I have been teaching Primary children about serving the Lord with a happy heart, I was determined to have a good attitude.

But...I was still silently murmuring inside.

So, when the Stake President got up to speak, I was kind of only half listening.

And then- he said something that I will never, ever forget.  Ever.

"We need to be ministers and not murmurers."

Ho. Ly.  Crap.

10-4.

Loud and clear.

I read you.

And then I thought about it.

When has this been evident in my life?

For instance, I have had some primary kids in the past that were hard for me to handle.

And I served them...but I did it...begrudgingly.

Yes.

And then, I had a moment during a General Conference (which I am so excited for, btw) where I realized that it was my job to show them that they were a child of God, that I needed to be (for lack of a better phrase...) A Window to His Love (thanks Julie De Azevedo).  And it changed.  They were better behaved, more apt to listen and understand and obey.  And all because I decided to stop murmuring and start ministering.

Or...there was a woman in one of my wards that I did NOT like.  I thought she was snobby and rude and a not very nice person.  And then, I learned some things about her life, and I felt compassion for her and empathy for her behavior.  And our relationship changed.  And I'm happy to say, she's still one of my favorite people to this day.

So...it seems to me that this ministering thing is the real ticket to bringing people together.  It brings love and acceptance and understanding and empathy and kindness.  I KNOW that it works with children.  I have a testimony of that.  It's tried and true with them.  All they want is to know that someone really loves them and will be there for them if they need someone.  All a child needs is structure and love.  So, it stands to reason that this would work with adults as well.  

If you think of the world's greatest minister- He loved us all.  He served us all.  He cared about each and every one of us.  He is there to guide us, teach us, support us and love us.  Jesus Christ doesn't care where you're from, how much money you have, how important you are to the world...because you are important to Him.  Regardless.

That's what ministering is. It's treating people as Christ would treat them.  It's loving and supporting and teaching.

That sounds a lot more pleasant than murmuring.

So, in my quest for eternal perfection, I am going to try harder to be a minister and not a murmurer.

I will be the Nephi or the Moroni or the Alma in my world.  I will not be the Laman or Lemuel of my world.  (If you don't understand that last reference...you can check in out in my all time favorite book...the Book of Mormon- just head over to Mormon.org and click on something.  anything.)

And I dare you.  I dare you to try it for one week and see what happens.  Try ministering instead of murmuring.  Try to build people up instead of tear them down.  Trust me.  It will change your life and maybe someone else's.  And really?  Isn't that what we're here for?  To love and learn from each other? And then return to our Heavenly Father?

I know that we are.

So, go.

Change the world.

After you watch this...