Turn Off the News and Serve

If you've been watching the news lately, you've been bombarded with images and soundbites about racism, racial inequality, racial profiling, and more. The Reverends Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson have been ranting and raving and stirring the pot, trying to convince everyone that the divisions between the races are significant and we need to have summits, meetings, hearings and more to figure out what to do to solve all our racial problems.

Yesterday I went to the temple. The main purpose of the temple is to serve others and to be spiritually uplifted. It was a busy place yesterday and I had to wait for about 35 minutes. I spent those 35 minutes sitting in a quiet but crowded room. I watched as others who were there to serve came and went. Some chose to be silent and read scriptures while they waited while others had whispered conversations. The room was filled with peace and love and I felt the Savior's love there.

And then I had a startling realization. I was in a room with white women, Asian women, black women, a Middle-eastern woman, a few Polynesians, and several Hispanic women. When my name was finally called, the three women working where I was were from Japan, Australia, and somewhere in the south.

I spent the morning with a group of women as culturally diverse as a United Nations Summit and all that was shared between us were smiles, a love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and a desire to serve His children.

Maybe we should spend less time with people who don't know us telling us how much we hate each other and more time loving and serving together. I really believe it can be as simple as that and that problems come when we try to hash and rehash and legislate our way out of differences.

Let's stop lecturing and legislating and start loving and serving. Isn't that what Jesus taught?

Comments

Mindy said…
Beautifully said, Karey. I agree. :) What a wonderful experience!