First I Express My Sincere Gratitude For...

First, I express my sincere gratitude for the goodness of our Heavenly Father to me and my family. I appreciate my membership in this wonderful Church, and bear you my witness that it is the Church of Jesus Christ, restored in these latter days. ¶

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is the only perfect person who has lived here upon the earth. Everything he did had purpose and was necessary and important. His marvelous teachings were and always will be the beautiful principles of salvation, and throughout his life he gave emphasis to them by the example he set for the whole world. ¶

Peter, who was very close to the Savior during his ministry, once said of him: ". . . God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38.) As Jesus went about doing good, he healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. ¶

He cleansed the lepers and cast out evil spirits. He raised the dead and gave comfort, hope, and encouragement to the sorrowing. He inspired the transgressor to forsake unrighteous ways. He touched the hearts of people, helping them to see and understand the value of the inner life. He motivated them to noble actions. Because of his teachings they were able to comprehend in greater measure the value of their souls in the sight of God the Father. He pointed out the goodness of our Heavenly Father to them. He planted in men's souls the seeds of divine love. ¶

Then he suffered his life to be taken, that we, his brothers and sisters, might gain salvation and eternal life. What a wonderful life of service; of doing good! ¶

In his Sermon on the Mount, the Savior admonished all to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16. Italics added.) As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men." (Thirteenth Article of Faith.) These are principles by which we should live. Someone has said: "He who does good is of God," ¶

and an ancient prophet once gave emphasis to this thought in these words: ¶

"Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil. . . . For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; ..." (Moroni 7:12,16.) Living the gospel principles will make men progressively better and instil within them a desire to follow the Savior's wonderful example of going about "doing good" to others. President McKay has beautifully pointed out this great truth: "The gospel . . . will change men's lives and make women and children better than they have ever been before . . . that is the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ ... to make evilminded men good, and to make good men better. In other words, to change men's lives, to change human nature." ¶

This would be a wonderful world in which to live if all of us would forget ourselves, if we would eliminate selfishness from our lives and think in terms of the good we could do in serving others. Unselfishness contributes to happiness. How true is the statement that "a person who is all wrapped up in himself, makes a pretty small and unattractive package." ¶

We find in life what we look for, and what we find becomes part of us. ¶

How commendable it would be if we would look only for the good in each other. A gifted writer has suggested: ¶

"There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us." ¶

President Eisenhower upon one occasion referred to an individual who sought an answer to the following question: "Wherein lies the greatness and genius of America?" This is the conclusion reached by that person: "I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers . . . and it was not there ... in her fertile fields and boundless forests . . . and it was not there . . . ¶

in her rich mines and her vast world of commerce . . . and it was not there. ¶

Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." ¶

The same thing is true of individuals. ¶

As long as we are good, we are truly great. True value in life is not measured in what we have, but in what we do; not in what people think and do for us, but by what we think and do for people. ¶

The Savior gave the key by which we may achieve greatness in the words: ¶

". . . he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matthew 23:11.) Being a servant to our fellow men and performing acts of goodness to them will bring an inner glow, a deep feeling of serenity, contentment, and satisfaction. We then can be at peace with ourselves and with the world. By doing good we will be rewarded, not only in this life, but in the life to come. We have been promised many blessings. Listen to this declaration of our Lord: ¶

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. . . . ¶

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:25, 28-29.) Every day as we go about our tasks, in our homes, among our friends, our associates, our neighbors and families, we can do good even in small, yet nevertheless, important ways. This we can do by: ¶

A warm and understanding smile. ¶

A firm and friendly handclasp. ¶

A cheery greeting. ¶

A word of encouragement, commendation, and sincere praise. ¶

Through acts of thoughtfulness. ¶

By lending a listening and sympathetic ear to all. ¶

By the sharing of ourselves with our fellow men. ¶

By gently and kindly leading those whose lives touch ours to appreciate and follow the Lord and his way of life. ¶

My dear brothers and sisters, in these ways, and by others of our own designing, we, too, like our Master, can "go about doing good," and God will also be with us. ¶

That we may do so, I humbly pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶