NEVER SUPPRESS A GENEROUS THOUGHT

'Never Suppress a Generous Thought'

~Camilla Kimball

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Generous Thoughts

"Never suppress a generous thought." 

Camilla Eyring Kimball

Clarity & Charity

"In principles great clarity. In practices great charity."

Service = Love, Love = Service

"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good edification".
(Romans 15:1-2)

President Heber J. Grant once said, “The real secret of happiness in life . . . is service” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 15).

Happiness, really is a by-product of helping others. We have been taught that no one ever finds happiness by thinking of his or herself.
A woman came to Elder S. Dilworth Young at a time he was caring for his invalid wife. The woman said, “I am coming to your house every Friday night from six until ten. You can count on it, so plan to . . . find relief for those four hours.” She didn’t say, “What can I do to help you?” because she knew President Young would say, “I’m handling everything just fine.” But rather, she decided what would be helpful and took action. President Young later commented about this experience: “How blessed she was to me. How good! She blessed both me and my wife with new cheer, new smiles, and new ideas”
(The Love That Never Faileth, Barbara B. Smith,p. 21).
Lastly, Shakespeare wrote: “He does not love, who does not show his love”. Let us look after and love one another.

Gold Flecks

“Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love..."

~M. Russell Ballard~

Look Deeper for the Good

“I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we [stop] the sounds of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.” 

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008)

Mass to the Mansion

Carlos E. Asay:

“Love is that inner feeling that sparks the desire to do someone good; service-selfless service-is that outward expression of love that blesses the receiver and the giver. So, each heartbeat in behalf of others adds mass to the mansion, strength to the structure, and beauty to the building we call home.”
(from Family Pecan Trees: Planting a Legacy of Faith at Home)

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”
(Moroni 7:48)

Charity

The Great Commandment

Joseph B. Wirthlin: The Great Commandment

"Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won't profit you at all....

"Without charity—or the pure love of Christ—whatever else we accomplish matters little. With it, all else becomes vibrant and alive.

"When we inspire and teach others to fill their hearts with love, obedience flows from the inside out in voluntary acts of self-sacrifice and service"
(Ensign, Nov 2007, 28–31).

True Gifts

"We all enjoy giving and receiving presents. But there is a difference between presents and gifts. The true gifts may be part of ourselves—giving of the riches of the heart and mind—and therefore more enduring and of far greater worth than presents bought at the store.

"Of course, among the greatest of gifts is the gift of love....

"Some, like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens's A Christmas Carol, have a hard time loving anyone, even themselves, because of their selfishness. Love seeks to give rather than to get. Charity towards and compassion for others is a way to overcome too much self-love"
(James E. Faust, "A Christmas with No Presents," Ensign, Dec 2001, 2–6).

Witholding Love

From Elder Marion D Hanks's talk called "Forgiveness: The Ultimate Form of Love":

"Someone has written: The witholding of love is the negation of the spirit of Christ, the proof that we never knew him, that for us he lived in vain. It means that he suggested nothing in all our thoughts, that he inspired nothing in all our lives, that we were not once near enough to him to be seized with the spell of his compassion for the world". Christ's example and instructions to his friends are clear. He forgave, and he said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you". (Matthew 5:44)

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When I read this it, the part that really struck me is where it says, 'the witholding of love is the ..... proof that we never knew him, that for us he lived in vain'. I think it's sometimes so easy to 'withold' love from people - but it is so important to 'show' love to people, the genuine kind of love which softens peoples hearts, and helps them to see who they are more clearly. It would be a feeling I don't think I could handle to be told at the end of my days that I never really came to know Christ during my life - I can't imagine a worse possible feeling.

Loving Others

Alma 31:34 - 35
"O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.

"Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

Spencer W Kimball:

“We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve.”
(Ensign, Aug. 1979)

What an honour it is be able to do as the Saviour would do, to love as He would love, and to serve as He would serve. What a difference is made when we follow in His footsteps and reach out.... for “their souls are precious”.

A Father's Love

I was touched by this story I read in “The Incomparable Christ” by Vaughn J Featherstone:

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Voris Tenney, a former mission president and descendant of Jacob Hamblin, told us the following experience as related by Jacob Hamblin, I believe:

‘A little girl, a daughter of a family crossing the plains, had one precious possession that she loved with all her heart. It was a stick doll. The mother had made a little dress bonnet for it. She held it to her bosom, she cradled and cuddled it constantly. One morning before the wagons began to move, the little girl played with her doll, then she put it to sleep in a little bed of pine branches and leaves. She forgot the doll as the wagons rolled westward. That night she cried uncontrollably. The father came back to her. He took her in his arms and kissed her and loved her and said, “Don’t worry, honey; I will go back and get your doll.” He left immediately and walked the 15 miles back to retrieve her doll and then returned the 15 miles and arrived back to the wagon train just before dawn. He presented his daughter with her doll and prepared to “move out” with the rest of the wagon train.’

The greatness in that story comes as you ponder the situation. Here was a man, a real pioneer, who would have worked and walked almost to exhaustion every single day. When we become exhausted and fatigue takes over, our bodies plead for rest. Mentally we waver; we lack enthusiasm, strength and commitment; we need rest.

The doll was of little economic value – a substitute could have been made. A great deal of justifiable rationalization could have been considered. How deep is the love of a sweet, gentle father who would walk thirty miles when he was exhausted to soothe his brokenhearted little daughter! This is one of the sweet stories of sacrifice that will never make it into the popular history books where great and mighty deeds are recorded. But I promise you it will be emblazoned in gold on Judgment Day, and a little girl who grew up will never forget a father’s love for her.

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Moroni 7:47:
“But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

Relief from Trial

I am so grateful that the Atonement covers the “suffering pains and affliction and temptations of every kind;….” and that “he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy…, the he may know how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:11-12). There is a principle in these verses that sometimes we miss, or don’t understand. We take upon ourselves the infirmities of others that our bowels may be filled with mercy. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matt 5:7). What a beautiful promise! We also learn how to succour and to have our bowels filled with mercy.

As we walk through life, we influence many people don’t we? We model what they see every day. A slightly dishonest act, and unkind word, a loss of temper, an impatient reply, a profane outburst, a white lie, a thoughtless act – all provide the image of what we really are. The reverse is also true. Every sweet and tender act we perform – our happy and buoyant spirit; the way we treat our children, spouse, family, friends; the daily service we perform – all provide the beholder with an image of us.

It’s a wonderful goal in life to improve our personal life, to strengthen our virtues, to overcome our weaknesses, and to be ever growing upward to Christ’s standards. There is a consequence for good or bad in everything we do. More than likely there will be at least one more trial in life, one more opportunity left to prove who we really are and what kind of impact we have had on others. President Harold B. Lee stated that we would be tested every month of our lives. As we are able to modify our perspective of “tests” when they come, we meet them knowing that we will be the beneficiaries in some way.

Someone once said: “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” And sometimes we feel alone when adversity comes. We might even see those who we thought were dear friends avoid or abandon us, therefore, we may suffer in silence and endure alone. Oliver Goldsmith said: “The greatest object in the universe, is a good person struggling with adversity; yet there is still greater, which is the good person that comes to relieve it. (‘The Vicar of Wakefield’.)

The wonderful and comforting thing about the Atonement is that we need not feel that we suffer alone or that we are ever abandoned if we live right. The Saviour has felt all of our pains, worries, sufferings, trials, and will never leave us. He did more good than any other. He exemplified greater humility, more tenderness, and deeper charity than anyone who ever lived. He alone understands the fullness of the trials we face, and He alone will stand to comfort, bless and abide with us in our darkest hours. He is the light of the world, and may we look forward to another day in which we can worship Him, by remembering him and by loving each other.

Chairty & Service

Moroni 7:47 - 48

“But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

Derek A. Cuthbert:"Service changes people. It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective, and brings out the best in each one of us. It gets us looking outward instead of inward. Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed."

(Ensign, May 1990)

Returning Good for Evil

"The Lord Jesus Christ liberated man from the world, by the pure gospel of love. He lived the plain and sure doctrine of service, of doing good to all men, friends and enemies alike. His charge to return good for evil is still the greatest challenge to the mind of man."

—Ezra Taft Benson, I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Charity

1 Corinthians 16:14

"Let all your things be done with charity."

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"In principles great clarity,

In practices great charity"

Thoughts on Marriage

Here are Harold B. Lee’s thoughts on marriage:
"The ideal partner may not exist. The ideal man or woman of your dreams that you plan one day to select as your life's companion very likely really doesn't exist, although you may think so when you fall in love, for your ideal is probably a composite of the best qualities you have observed in any number of your choice associates.

Resolve to sacrifice for each other. If [young people] would resolve from the moment of their marriage, that from that time forth they would resolve and do everything in their power to please each other in things that are right, even to the sacrifice of their own pleasures, their own appetites, their own desires, the problem of adjustment in married life would take care of itself, and their home would indeed be a happy home. Great love is built on great sacrifice, and that home where the principle of sacrifice for the welfare of each other is daily expressed is that home where there abides a great love.

Wives and husbands need love to be happy. What is our relationship with our wife? Someone has said the opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is apathy. And I say to you brethren, the most dangerous thing that can happen between you and your wife or between me and my wife is apathy—not hate, but for them to feel that we are not interested in their affairs, that we are not expressing our love and showing our affection in countless ways. Women, to be happy, have to be loved and so do men. Someone has said that little children soon outgrow their love or their need for the love of a mother, but husbands never do. We need that, but we have to give love; we have to express love to our wives if we expect it in return.

Developing love in marriage takes effort. In answer to the teenage daughter who asked: "Mother, how do you fall in love?" the wise mother had answered: "My darling, you don't fall in love, you must keep working at it all the time." Yes, love is like faith, it isn't something you can capture today and it will remain with you always. It must be nurtured day after day by a husband who continues to "court" his wife after marriage by studiously trying to do the things that will make her happy. Someone has aptly said that "a woman happy with her husband was better for her children than a hundred books on child welfare." The flame of romantic desire in marriage is fanned each day by a wise companion who wins her man every day she lives with him. Marriages are not successful merely because these couples have fewer problems than others, but they are successful because, when problems come, as come they will, a husband and wife sit down together to solve their problems like grown-up, mature individuals, rather than with the immaturity of adolescence.

A wife should sustain her husband. Several years ago when Sister David O. McKay, the wife of our President, was in the hospital, I called to see her just after the President had been there, and she said in her sweet way, "You know, I think he misses me." And I replied, "I am sure he does." Then she said with a smile, "I have always tried to be where I thought he needed me the most." There you are, you sisters, try to be where you feel your husbands need you the most.

Wives, have your family prayers, even when you must take the lead. See that your husband takes the lead in that, if you can. See that he attends his priesthood meetings, that he responds to the call to do home teaching, and then do everything you can, lovingly and patiently, to help him to perform and magnify his duties".
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What springs to mind is: “As I have loved you, love one another” (John 14:15). That holds true for all relationships we have. The Saviour is our perfect example of how to love.

Search & Rescue

Brigham Young explained this principle in conjunction with the celebration of a day of thanksgiving on 1 January 1852. He taught the saints this:

“[Y]ou cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be preparing for celestial glory, while the meanest menial under your charge or control, is in want of the smallest thing which God has given you power to supply . . .”
(Brigham Young, “Proclamation: For a Day of Praise and Thanksgiving for the Territory of Utah,” Ensign, Nov. 1971, 41)

Recently I was reading about the Martin & Willie handcart company. I was moved by the response of Brigham Young when he was brought news of their plight by Brother Richards. He “reported that there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the long trail... They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds were howling across the highlands... Our people were hungry; their carts and their wagons were breaking down; their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying. All of them would perish unless they were rescued.”

The next morning Brigham Young stood in the tabernacle at the start of conference and said: “ ‘I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who may speak... It is this... Many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, “to get them here.”

“ ‘That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people...

“ ‘I shall call upon the Bishops this day. I shall not wait until tomorrow, nor until the next day, for 60 good mule teams and 12 or 15 wagons. I do not want to send oxen. I want good horses and mules. They are in this Territory, and we must have them. Also 12 tons of flour and 40 good teamsters, besides those that drive the teams...

“ ‘I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains’."

(in LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [1960], 120–21).

Teams were rallied immediately, and lives were saved.

The phrase which has stayed in my mind is: “Go and bring in those people now on the plains”.

There are many people who are on the plains spiritually, but also emotionally, socially, physically and temporally. There are people within in our own families, and amongst our friends who are desperate to be brought in from the plains, and they lack the resources to be able to make it alone. They need our love and sensitivity, and sometimes our practical assistance. There are many organizations under the banner of “Search & Rescue”, what a wonderful title, one that is at the heart of the gospel.

There is One who gave us the perfect example to follow. He is able rescue us daily from pride, for He offers humility; hopelessness, for He instils hope; anger, for He fills us with His love. He says:

“Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.”
“... that I might draw all men unto me,...”
(3 Nephi 27:13 – 14)

I hope that we can follow our Saviour by searching for those who are "in want of the smallest thing which God has given you power to supply", that we too will be able to say: "that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me,... that I might draw all men unto [him],...".

Accepting Yourself

"We receive mixed messages today that self-love and a sense of self-worth are forms of selfishness and conceit. However, I know from my own experience that when I don't fully accept myself and all of my warts, blemishes, and imperfections, I am crippled in my charity toward God and my neighbors. Let me encourage you not to feel guilty as you aspire to appropriate self-love, which comes in part by honest self-knowledge and acceptance."
—Jeffrey R. Holland, On Earth As It Is in Heaven