Saturday, February 15, 2014

Letter to the Editor


Service, from Elder Ballard, “the very definition of our religion,” can be bad. “Service” and “bad” aren’t usually stringed together- ever. By realizing there are ineffective ways to serve, improvement and effectiveness of service becomes possible. Members of the LDS church should approach service with unselfish motives in order to uphold the divine characteristic of charity.
Ineffective service is a common daily occurrence. One simple way to evaluate the effectiveness of service is to evaluate motive. Traditionally, the viewpoint of serving in order to receive blessings has evolved. This outlook should not be the motive- the one completely pure motive of service is charity, through love for God’s children and willingness to serve to display love for God.
It is important to recognize and improve tactics of service. Basic ways to improve service are: put in effort, go out of your comfort zone, use your brain, observe before you serve, reach your full potential in order to help others reach theirs, reflect on your experience, and learn through your service. Learning to serve effectively is essential, for service influences countless lives daily. Service is a quality we will always be encouraged to incorporate more abundantly in our lives, hopefully in a more effective way in order to maximize our efforts and abilities to help others. By recognizing the ineffective ways to serve by using our “heart, might, mind and strength” mentioned in D&C 4:2, assessment of our methods of service and improve upon them becomes possible.


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