In View of the New Year

IN VIEW OF THE NEW YEAR The Joy of Service By Walter M. Horne, of the y. M. M. I. A., Ensign Stake "A new commandment I give unto you; that ye love one another, as I have loved you." If the Master were to appear among us today, would he find it necessary to repeat to the modern world that commandment he uttered so long ago? How many of us Latter-day Saints love one another as Jesus Christ, our Lord, loves us? These questions should not be difficult to answer, if we are honest with ourselves. It might, however, be well to apply our love for our fellowmen as a test of its extent and magnitude. We may then come to a clearer under- standing of how nearly we are living up to that important command- ment. It seems to me that the greatest test of all is unselfish service in which self is subordinated, and one sees clearly the wants and needs of those around him. He who gives heed to the mute pleadings of his fellows, who can minister to their wants, though his own are yet unsatisfied, and who tries to see and trust and understand — he it is who truly loves his fellowmen. The Book of Mormon teaches that "men are that they might have joy." I know of no source which can bring us greater joy in mortality than that of unselfish service to God and his children. It is impossible to perform a service equal to that which Christ himself performed; yet each in his finite sphere can perform miracles that are great, though seemingly small; that are noble, though unpraised. I am reminded of the saying of the Master: "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me." Many of us are perhaps inclined to accept this only in the more physical and concrete sense, and to overlook the moral and spiritual meaning which also underlies the Master's words. It is not necessary that we perform some great temporal service that will be shouted from the housetops and acclaimed by our fellows. The gospel is one of sim- plicity, love, and understanding — a gospel of little things as well as of mighty principles and truths. "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat!" Jesus must have seen around him many weary, discouraged souls, hungry for en- couragement; starving for the moral support of friends and associates; waiting in vain for the words of hope and trust that would start them again on the upward journey. We, too, can see around us

IN VIEW OF THE NEW YEAR 271 such famished souls, but we are so wrapped up in ourselves, so busy satisfying our own cravings and desires, that we often fail to see the soul-hunger which pleads in vain from the eyes of those we meet, every day, on life's pathway. Surely, out of the abundance of our hope and faith, we can give unto them the meat of encouragement, and assist them to rise refreshed and strengthened, to face their future tasks! "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink!" Although they live in a world which is full of beauty, love, and goodness; although sur- rounded by thousands of their fellowmen, there are many souls around us who, tired, weary, and alone, wander over the desert sands of loneliness, thirsting for the love which resides in the hearts of others, yet is not shown by any outward sign; thirsting for some indication of affection, for some simple word of love or friendship. We find this condition in the schools, in practically all society, and also in the home, where such a thirst should never be. I do not mean to say that we love our associates the less. It is merely that we fail to show our true affection. How are they to know of the love that dwells within us if we give no outward demonstration of that love? Margaret Sangster has said: "We have careful thoughts for the stranger, And smiles for the sometimes guest; But oft for our own the bitter tone, ' Though we love our own the best." And it takes such a little effort on our part to better this con- dition! We can forget ourselves long enough to bestow upon them some mark of affection — show them that we do indeed love them and are interested in what they are and what they do. We can moisten the sands of loneliness with the dew of devotion, so that the desert may indeed blossom and grbw green beneath their feet! We can take these lonely souls by the hand and lead them to the grove of friendship, where the spring of love bubbles ever fresh, and where, shaded from the heat of a thoughtless neglect, their aching hearts may find a welcome rest! "I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me!" We have known people who, through a moment of forgetfulness or folly, perhaps, have done some little wrong, with the result that they are literally outcasts from society, shunned by those who were once proud to call them friends. If we would know true joy, we must show that in us they still have friends; we must teach them that the follies of the past should not darken the entire future — that the coming tomorrows contain many golden opportunities to rectify their sad mistakes. We can take them into our hearts and assist them to rise above the evil plane of yesterday to higher things! So doing we will begin to know what joy means.

2 72 IMPROVEMENT ERA "I was sick and in prison, and ye visited me!" Many are sick at heart, locked deep within the dungeon of doubt — weary of life and its many problems. If we would know true joy, we can visit these imprisoned souls, and show them the bigger, better way; place in their world a new star of hope toward which their souls can yearn, and lead them forth into the blessed light and sunshine of higher faith and broader understanding! If we feel inclined to doubt the blessedness of simple service, think of the words of Jesus: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Let us remember at the opening of the New Year that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be the guide of our every-day lives — that only through applying its principles every day of the year to our thought, word and act, do we come to know the meaning of the joy of service, which is the object of life. • I'm Thinkin I'm thinkin' what a joy 'twould be, If we could but have known, Yesterday, the things that we Today have now been shown. I'm thinkin' how much happier We might have been, had we But chosen, yesterday, the path Today we clearly see. I'm thinkin' how much pleasanter This world would be today, If we had only spoken kind To friends of yesterday. , I'm thinkin' of the gladness that Sad hearts could now have known, Had we but strewn, yesterday, The flowers that now are gone. I'm thinkin,' also, that this day Will soon be yesterday; And how we'd better start right in And do those things today. Lloyd O. Ivie. Lyman, Wyoming