I Remember!

I made the title of this post my status line on Facebook on Friday. Throughout the course of the day, I was thinking back to that time and thought to myself, "what do I remember?"

I remember everyone gathering in my office to see as much news as would could read on the Internet, listening to updates on the radio, and calling a co-worker that hadn't yet made it to work and asking her to bring in a television so we could find out the information in as much real-time as possible. This is a day that will forever be ingrained in my mind. This is a moment that has tied me to my co-workers forever. I remember going to my little house off of Redwood Road and not being able to get enough news, news of survivors, news of answers and news of hope. I remember the feeling of hopelessness that came with the news. I remember the change in our world that day.

Moreover, I remember driving to my hometown, Nephi. As I drove down main street, I got choked up with the sight of the American Flags lining the road. My home, my haven, the safest place I knew had also been affected. They too had felt what I had felt. I remember attending a Juab High School football game. The flag ceremony included; soldiers, policemen, firefighters. My friends and family that had chosen as their profession to serve my community. Quite possibly, the most humbling moment for me was that night standing for Our National Anthem. I stood next to my uncle, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War (Desert Storm). I looked over at my uncle as he quietly sang The Star Spangled Banner. Here was a man I had known my whole life, someone who had given of himself to serve our country. There he stood with the greatest respect one could have with his hand over his heart and I noticed a tear form in the corner of his eye. Emotion was caught in my throat as I tried to remain strong. I looked around the little football stadium and I could see the same emotions throughout the entire crowd.

I don't remember anything else about the football game that night, but I do remember how I felt. My heart swelled with pride as I felt the unity with those around me. We weren't from Nephi, Mona, or Levan. We were not old or young, we were not skinny or fat. No, we were all Americans. What I remember is the great sense of love, respect, friendship and unity we had. We worried about one another, we provided service to neighbors, and we were all just a little bit nicer to each other. This is what I remember and this is what I miss.

As I watch the news each day or as I read articles on the Internet, I don't see any of this. What I see is people that are too busy to help one another, I see people that are trying to push their agendas onto others. I see a country divided. We are still Americans, yet somehow we are now Republicans, Democrats, Independents. It is amazing to me that in just 8 short years how our country has fallen apart. It is easy to blame our government, those who are in positions of power. It is easy to blame the political system. We can blame our Presidents, both of them. While all of these might have reason to be blamed, the fault lies on our shoulders. We have allowed this to happen.

For the last several days or even weeks, I have been thinking about our country and I have been thinking about how we are just like the Lamanites and Nephites from The Book of Mormon. We have gone through times of prosperity and we go through times of despair, just as they did. We have wars as they did and we are a country divided. One thought keeps coming to my mind and it is through a series of scriptures. Please follow through them with me. The first scripture is in Ether 2:12

12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Second is from Mosiah 2:17

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

and lastly John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

In brief--we live in a promised land, one that will be protected if we serve our Savior. What is the best way to serve our Savior? By serving our fellow-man.

I truly believe that if we serve others, give of ourselves to our neighbors we will have that unity restored to us. So, here is my challenge to each of you. I challenge you to start by providing service to someone around you. It can be a family member, it can be a friend or a neighbor. It can even be someone you don't know. It doesn't have to cost money, only a moment of your time. You see someone at work having a bad day, take a minute or two and cheer them up. You are in the store and a mother with a child in her arms drops something on the floor; pick it up and hand it to them. It can be anonymous. (My Favorite) Has someone someone done something nice for you? Send them a thank you card. Give them a smile pass along your appreciation.

The change starts with us! It starts with each of us. Do something nice for someone!