"When good men do nothing..."
In an effort to "remember," I have to record some of these thoughts down while they are still fresh in my mind. The kid's magnadoodle wasn't working too well for note taking at church and of course I couldn't find a pen and paper handy on a day when I wouldn't have been able to write down fast enough the fountain of knowledge that was pouring from the pulpit. Plus, my mom wanted to hear about it which was proving to be quite difficult over the telephone this afternoon with my two little people competing for my attention. So here you go, for anyone else that may want in on this, I'll do my best at relaying his message which absolutely inspired me. I'm pretty determined to get an actual copy of his talk but in the meantime I'll try to do it justice....
Our final speaker in Sacrament meeting on Sunday was the public affairs representative from the Stake. I'm not sure what his "official" title is but as soon as he said "public affairs" he had my attention. I know. Kind of odd...those two words put together probably have a tune out effect on lots of people but for as long as I can remember I have had a passion for public relations. Not that I called it that...but I remember being very young and hearing from our apostles and prophets in General Conference, stories about when they were flying on airplanes and they got to talking with someone that was sitting next to them and before the flight was over a Book of Mormon was given away and addresses exchanged. It wasn't until I was in the sixth grade that I first flew on an airplane, but before I had that opportunity I was absolutely certain that when I did, the passengers sitting next to me would instantly recognize my "beaming countenance" and want to know the key to eternal happiness of which I would be able to share with them all the answers. :) I have since been on many airplanes and have since learned a few things about the world...still learning...and while I still try my best to carry a pleasant countenance, I'm still waiting for THAT golden airplane opportunity. But I've had lots of other golden opportunities and I believe this man got it just right when he explained how we find those. It isn't enough just to BE good...we have to DO good. None of us can BE good enough... We give it our absolute best shot, but we'll never reach the mark without our Savior's sacrifice. Going about doing good is living as the Savior lived...His whole life was about DOING good...The speaker gave the example of asking a child if they are being good and they respond with, "yeah, I'm not DOING anything." I'm pretty convinced this brother was a lawyer with some of his premises made...I loved his logic. :) Anyway, certainly something I'd love to study up on a little more. I've always liked the famous quote paraphrased as "when good men do nothing, evil prevails..." I suppose one could look around in the world and this quote could be a little unsettling with what seems to be an ever increasing attitude of apathy, but from what few experiences I've had, experiences I've cherished, there are lots of good people in this world and they recognize the need to go about doing good. It is in "doing" that I believe we can best relate with the public...our actions will be our best sermons that we are followers of Christ. With "well doing we will silence" fears and misunderstandings that the public may have about us. It is in "well doing" that we will be able to "relate" with the public and "gather in" others of those that want to join in the ranks of the doing gooders :)...and there you have it...ta da...Public Relations! I love it and we need it!
Our final speaker in Sacrament meeting on Sunday was the public affairs representative from the Stake. I'm not sure what his "official" title is but as soon as he said "public affairs" he had my attention. I know. Kind of odd...those two words put together probably have a tune out effect on lots of people but for as long as I can remember I have had a passion for public relations. Not that I called it that...but I remember being very young and hearing from our apostles and prophets in General Conference, stories about when they were flying on airplanes and they got to talking with someone that was sitting next to them and before the flight was over a Book of Mormon was given away and addresses exchanged. It wasn't until I was in the sixth grade that I first flew on an airplane, but before I had that opportunity I was absolutely certain that when I did, the passengers sitting next to me would instantly recognize my "beaming countenance" and want to know the key to eternal happiness of which I would be able to share with them all the answers. :) I have since been on many airplanes and have since learned a few things about the world...still learning...and while I still try my best to carry a pleasant countenance, I'm still waiting for THAT golden airplane opportunity. But I've had lots of other golden opportunities and I believe this man got it just right when he explained how we find those. It isn't enough just to BE good...we have to DO good. None of us can BE good enough... We give it our absolute best shot, but we'll never reach the mark without our Savior's sacrifice. Going about doing good is living as the Savior lived...His whole life was about DOING good...The speaker gave the example of asking a child if they are being good and they respond with, "yeah, I'm not DOING anything." I'm pretty convinced this brother was a lawyer with some of his premises made...I loved his logic. :) Anyway, certainly something I'd love to study up on a little more. I've always liked the famous quote paraphrased as "when good men do nothing, evil prevails..." I suppose one could look around in the world and this quote could be a little unsettling with what seems to be an ever increasing attitude of apathy, but from what few experiences I've had, experiences I've cherished, there are lots of good people in this world and they recognize the need to go about doing good. It is in "doing" that I believe we can best relate with the public...our actions will be our best sermons that we are followers of Christ. With "well doing we will silence" fears and misunderstandings that the public may have about us. It is in "well doing" that we will be able to "relate" with the public and "gather in" others of those that want to join in the ranks of the doing gooders :)...and there you have it...ta da...Public Relations! I love it and we need it!
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