good works lesson!

have i done any good in the world today?

have i helped any one in need?

have i cheered up the sad?

or made someone feel glad?

if not i have i have failed indeed.

has anyone's burden been lighter today?

because i was willing to share?

have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

when they needed my help was i there?

then wake up and do something more

than dream of your mansion above

doing good is a pleasure...

a joy beyond measure,

a blessing of duty and love

-lds hymns 223 (have i done any good?)

today i gave the lesson in relief society... on good works - here's a few highlights!

the majority of the content for the lesson is taken from a talk entitled “forget yourself and serve” by president gordon b hinckley in the july 2006 ensign. if you get a chance – go and read the whole thing, it’s a fabulous talk!

george eliot once said, “what do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?”

president hinckley recalls, “i remember visiting a friend in southern india. this man worked as an accountant in a cement plant. his salary was meager. his house was small; it would fit into the front room of many homes. but his heart was large and overflowing. out of a great love for others that came from his understanding of the gospel of jesus christ, he built a school with his own hands on a piece of ground he bought from his savings. it was a simple, rough building; but studying there were some 400 poor children, each being brought out of the darkness of illiteracy into the light of learning. what this act of love has meant and will mean in their lives is beyond calculation... through this one man’s efforts, there were established five small branches of the church in the rural villages of southern india. the members constructed three or four little buildings, neat and clean. over the door of each was a sign, in both english and tamil, which read, “the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints.” the floors were of concrete and without benches where the people sat together as we met, shared our testimonies, and partook of the sacrament of the lord’s supper. someday, someone will write the story of the church in india. that story will be incomplete unless there is a chapter on my friend who lost himself in the service of others." 

"for many years there was a sign on the wall of a shoe repair shop i patronized. it read, “i complained because i had no shoes until i saw a man who had no feet.” the most effective medicine for the sickness of self-pity is to lose ourselves in the service of others."

step up! put your name forward! be the one to make a difference. i read a quote this year in a book I borrowed from a friend, regarding service… i don’t remember the exact words, but it said something along the lines of, “i often wondered why someone didn’t do anything about it… until one day i realised that that someone had to be me!

let the Church be your dear friend. let it be your great companion. serve wherever you are called to serve. do what you are asked to do. every position you hold will add to your capacity. i have served in many responsibilities in this great organization. every service brought its own reward.

you will serve in many capacities before your lives are complete. some of them may seem small, but there is no small or unimportant calling in this church. every calling is important. every calling is necessary to the advancement of the work. never demean a responsibility in the church.

the church may call upon you to make sacrifice. it may call upon you to give of the very best that you have to offer. there will be no cost in this, because you will discover that it will become an investment that will pay you dividends for as long as you live. the church is the great reservoir of eternal truth. embrace it and hold fast to it. 

how lucky can you be to be a member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints! here you find choice and wonderful friends. here you find able and faithful teachers. here you find opportunities for service!

the young womens scripture that represents good works is found in 3 nephi 12:16

therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven.

i am so grateful to be a member of this wonderful church and to have had such wonderful examples of service in my life from family and friends. i know the best part of giving a lesson is what we learn ourselves and i have had a renewed desire to look for ways to serve others.

i'm so thankful to have enough to share with others... ♥