Friends are an important part of our lives, especially when we are teenagers. As I think back to my teenage years, I attribute much of my activity in the Church to my friends. When I was in 7th grade, I was invited to attend Mutual by Michelle. She encouraged me to come to Mutual and participate in the activities and she befriended me. She always made me feel comfortable and part of the group. To this day, we are still friends and I’m very thankful she invited me to attend Mutual.
Michelle moved to Utah when we entered high school so I became friends with a boy named Robbie and a girl named Kate. Robbie was a few years older than me, but he and I spent many hours together discussing the gospel. He never made me feel stupid because I knew so little about the gospel.
My friend Kate stuck by me through thick and thin in high school. We talked about everything and she, and her family, allowed me to see an active LDS family in real time. Kate encouraged me to keep the commandments and was my escort at the temple when I received my own endowments. Kate’s life has since taken a different direction and though we aren’t close anymore, I’m so thankful for the time she spent with me and will always be grateful for her influence in my life.
Friends should always encourage us to be better and to do the right thing. “They will greatly influence how [we] think and act, and even help determine the person [we] will become” (For the Strength of Youth, p. 12).
My children have friends who live very different lives from them and have completely different value systems. Yet, their friends still encourage them to keep their standards. When my son was offered alcohol, his friend immediately jumped in to say that my son didn’t drink alcohol. My daughter has a friend that’s a Buddhist. Though they disagree on many core beliefs, this friend has defended my daughter’s beliefs over and over again. He has always supported her and encouraged her to follow her values.
Sometimes, we advocate that our kids only find friends that are LDS. While we want our children to choose friends wisely, if we shut ourselves off from others who aren’t of our faith how will we spread the gospel message? My kids’ friends may not be interested in the gospel today, but when they think of their friendships with my kids, hopefully, they will see the Church in a positive light and perhaps somewhere down the road they will be interested enough to investigate.
“To have good friends, be a good friend yourself. Show interest in others and let them know you care about them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. Go out of your way to be a friend to those who are shy or do not feel included” (For the Strength of Youth, p. 12). Of course, the most important reason to attend church is to partake of the sacrament and strengthen our testimonies, but we can have a dramatic effect on others if we extend our friendship and make sure they feel included. A good friend can be the means of helping others to not only find the Church, but to remain active in it.
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Showing posts with label Respect for Others. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Respect for Others. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
In The World
We have been counseled to be in the world, but not of the world. I’ve carefully considered this counsel over the years to determine what it means.
The world is a scary place. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes of listening to the news to realize the evil and wickedness that surrounds us. Reports of murders and acts of violence are commonplace. Even more frightening, are the reports of school violence. When I was in high school, I’d never heard of any school shootings and now, it’s not uncommon to hear a report of another student bringing a gun to school and opening fire on other students. Even in our high school, a student was apprehended with a gun and my children were in a lockdown situation for a few hours. On that same day, my younger children were in a lockdown in our elementary school while a member of our community was in a standoff with the sheriff’s department.
With all of this violence it may seem reasonable to shelter our children and hide from all that’s going on in the world. We may be tempted to shut ourselves off from others in an effort to protect our families. We may even take it so far as to separate ourselves from those we feel are living unrighteously. We may encourage our children to not associate with those who we believe are making bad choices.
This is a fine line and relates directly to the counsel to live in the world, but not of the world. We, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, must live in this world. Heavenly Father created it for us. He has abundantly blessed us. Yet, we must also be careful to not condone nor support behaviors or activities that we know oppose God’s teachings.
This is when we must learn to separate people from behaviors. Yes, we do not want to have close associations with those who seek to drag us down or sway us from the path back to Heavenly Father, but we must be careful to not close ourselves off so tightly from our neighbors that we shelter ourselves and our families and lose opportunities to share the gospel.
My kids have friends at school that don’t live the gospel. In fact, before meeting my kids, most of their friends didn’t know anything about The Church. It has been through the associations with my children that many others have learned about the gospel. I counsel my kids to be kind and respectful to those around them, but to choose their closest friends wisely. When my son was in high school, one of his close friends had very different standards, yet he always respected my son and his standards. In fact, at one point my son’s friend volunteered to live the standards in For the Strength of the Youth for a month. That may not have ever happened had my son not associated with him. Though none of my children’s friends have joined The Church, hopefully they will have good feelings about it and, perhaps, someday they may be interested enough to investigate and join.
We can’t bring the gospel to others if we deny all associations with them. We must hold fast to our own standards and stay on the right path, but as we do that, we should befriend those around us and invite them to follow the same path without being judgmental. Though we may be tempted to shelter ourselves from the world, we can only be effective missionaries when we are in the world.
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Return to the neighborhood.
The world is a scary place. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes of listening to the news to realize the evil and wickedness that surrounds us. Reports of murders and acts of violence are commonplace. Even more frightening, are the reports of school violence. When I was in high school, I’d never heard of any school shootings and now, it’s not uncommon to hear a report of another student bringing a gun to school and opening fire on other students. Even in our high school, a student was apprehended with a gun and my children were in a lockdown situation for a few hours. On that same day, my younger children were in a lockdown in our elementary school while a member of our community was in a standoff with the sheriff’s department.
With all of this violence it may seem reasonable to shelter our children and hide from all that’s going on in the world. We may be tempted to shut ourselves off from others in an effort to protect our families. We may even take it so far as to separate ourselves from those we feel are living unrighteously. We may encourage our children to not associate with those who we believe are making bad choices.
This is a fine line and relates directly to the counsel to live in the world, but not of the world. We, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, must live in this world. Heavenly Father created it for us. He has abundantly blessed us. Yet, we must also be careful to not condone nor support behaviors or activities that we know oppose God’s teachings.
This is when we must learn to separate people from behaviors. Yes, we do not want to have close associations with those who seek to drag us down or sway us from the path back to Heavenly Father, but we must be careful to not close ourselves off so tightly from our neighbors that we shelter ourselves and our families and lose opportunities to share the gospel.
My kids have friends at school that don’t live the gospel. In fact, before meeting my kids, most of their friends didn’t know anything about The Church. It has been through the associations with my children that many others have learned about the gospel. I counsel my kids to be kind and respectful to those around them, but to choose their closest friends wisely. When my son was in high school, one of his close friends had very different standards, yet he always respected my son and his standards. In fact, at one point my son’s friend volunteered to live the standards in For the Strength of the Youth for a month. That may not have ever happened had my son not associated with him. Though none of my children’s friends have joined The Church, hopefully they will have good feelings about it and, perhaps, someday they may be interested enough to investigate and join.
We can’t bring the gospel to others if we deny all associations with them. We must hold fast to our own standards and stay on the right path, but as we do that, we should befriend those around us and invite them to follow the same path without being judgmental. Though we may be tempted to shelter ourselves from the world, we can only be effective missionaries when we are in the world.
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.
Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
Return to the neighborhood.
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