Good morning brothers and sisters!
My name is Kailey Chandler and I have been called to serve in the Washington D.C. South Mission. I report to the MTC in a week and a half, on the 24th and will serve for a period of 18 months.
In this conference talk, “Be Anxiously Engaged”, LDS Apostle Elder Ballard discussed the life of Honeybees and their individual work efforts combined to get the job done. He stated,
“Over its short lifetime of just a few weeks to four months, a single honeybee contributes one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey to the hive.
The first and great commandment taught by our Savior is to, “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind…”, and the second is like unto it; “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. We can do both of these things at the same time while serving others!
I hate unloading the dishwasher. The secret is out. But I do it because I love my mom and appreciate all she does for me. Mosiah 2:17 in the Book of Mormon tells us that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God. Boom! Double whammy. So while I unload that dishwasher, I am not only serving my mother because I love and appreciate her, but also because I love and appreciate my Savior. Small and simple words or deeds like unloading the dishwasher can go a long way.
Just the other day I was on my way home from my grandma’s house and my mom called saying she needed me to stop at the store to get cheese for the lasagna that she was making. When standing in line to check out, I noticed that the woman behind me was just gorgeous. She didn’t look like a model or anything, she actually looked like she spent the day chasing kids around, but I noticed that her facial features were really pretty, and I wanted to tell her. I am the type of person who really enjoys complimenting random people, so this wasn’t unusual for me. As I continued to stand in line and swipe my card to pay for the cheese, the thought, “She is so pretty! Tell her she’s so pretty!” would not go away. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. The compliment came out like word vomit, and after I had told her, she just looked at me like… are you talking to me? After what seemed like an awkward long pause, she said, “Oh! Thank you? I don’t feel pretty”. I then smiled and told her that I thought she was. Her response caught me off guard, “Thank you. It has been a really rough day”. She didn’t say my compliment had made her feel better, but judging by the smile on her face, I’d like to think it helped.
Christ sees us as children of God rather than just another person at the store, like we often see each other. I think that by viewing each other as children of God, especially while serving, we are strengthening our Christ-like attributes and becoming closer to our Savior. Not to mention adding to our teaspoon of honey.
Not only do we serve because we love our fellow men, but we do it to lift one another’s burdens.
On my way home from college this summer, by car broke down about an hour and a half into the trip in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I was following my roommate, so I wasn’t alone, but somehow we had both missed the turn off between Utah and Pocatello, so we weren’t even going the right way. You’d think that someone would pull over to help three girls sitting on the hood of their car, but we weren’t so lucky. We got a couple honks but, no Good Samaritan. I called my parents and told them what had happened; my car simply stopped accelerating. My mom was like, “Kailey you know you can’t go anywhere without gas right?” so I responded with a firm, “Mom. It’s a full tank”.After about 45 minutes of waiting for my so loving parents to find a tow truck near us, I squished in my roommates car, left mine (full of everything I own) on the side of the road, and drove an hour back (in the right direction) to a hotel. My roommates showed love and compassion as they took me to subway and bought me dinner. Turns out I ordered the sandwich of the day so I got a free drink. After multiple words of comfort and long hugs, they then dropped me off at a hotel in Pocatello, leaving me all by myself with my cell phone, charger, and chapstick.
Just as we have a loving Father in Heaven who is willing to do all he can to help us, I have a loving father on earth who was willing to immediately drop his business plans for the night and drive 4 hours to my rescue. Not only did he do this, but he brought me clothes and necessities that would get me by the next day. I don’t have a clue why the Lord stopped my car because when we called the place where the tow truck left it, the people who worked on it said that there was nothing wrong with it. They took it out for a spin and it worked just fine. Despite the inconvenience that this was, I was able to see that the Christ-like characteristics shown from my roommates and my dad had truly lifted my burden that day. Mosiah 18:8-9 in the Book of Mormon tell us that if we are willing to bear one another’s burdens, mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, we may be blessed with eternal life.
In 1996 President Hinckley promised that, “Meaningful service can be a powerful antidote to feelings of isolation or depression”. Throughout my life I have faced many trials, as I’m sure everyone has, but as I prepare for a mission I find that the trials I face are bigger, and seem to last much longer. I wouldn’t say I’ve been depressed, but over the past couple of months life for me definitely has not been easy. To top off these trials, if you haven’t noticed, my hair is brown. For me, this goes into the “Trial” category of life and though it was something I wanted at first, it turned into an easy reason to feel down. I kept praying for a way out of the negative self-talk; I am generally a really positive person, so the amount of daily negative feelings I was having threw me for a loop. It wasn’t until I received this topic and talking with my sister that I realized my prayers have been answered. By forgetting myself and going to work; serving others, I am able to put my focus elsewhere and that feels so good; it brings great joy to the soul when being selfless. Heavenly Father blesses those who serve one another, and pulling us out of depression or negative feelings is one of the ways He blesses us. We literally need to forget ourselves and go to work, just as President Hinckley’s father counseled him. I could totally get fat on my mission, and I feel like my hair is going to look like a lion in the humidity, but this work is not about me. It’s about the Savior. It’s about service. I am SERVING a mission. No matter the imperfections I may notice every day, or the trials I will face while I’m out there, I know that they are only distractions or experiences to help me grow and that by forgetting myself and going to work, I will be blessed with happiness for serving with my heart.
multitude that the Lord had compassion on. He healed the sick, and saw that they were hungry. Though His apostles noted that the only food they had to share was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and suggested sending the multitude away to find their own food, the Savior said, “They need not depart; give ye them to eat”. He looked up unto Heaven and blessed the food, making it possible to be distributed amongst 5,000 men, beside women and children, and for them to be full. Not only was this a service to fill their bellies, but Christ taught them the gospel which would bring them eternal life. Just as he taught the woman at the well that if she were to drink what he offered; the gospel, she would never thirst again. He was feeding them physically, but doing a service to them by feeding them spiritually that they may have eternal life.
I know that on my mission I will be faced with many opportunities to serve. Whether that be through volunteering, serving my companion; even those companions, or shoveling the massive amounts of snow that I hear Virginia gets. I know that as missionaries, we are not called to a place, but we are called in place of the Savior. I have an enormous desire to be so obedient, and to be an effective tool in the Lord’s hands. This is His work, brothers and sisters.
I want to serve a mission because I want to serve my Father in Heaven. This gospel has brought pure happiness to my life and I want to share this good news with everyone I meet! I know that small acts of kindness add up and as we contribute our one-twelfth of a teaspoon to the hive throughout our short lifetime, we will be immensely blessed.
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