"To Love is to Serve"

I'm not sure where I originally heard this saying. I searched it on lds.org but couldn't find the exact quote. There were, however, some re-wordings of it, so I will post links to some of those articles in a few minutes.

But what does it mean? The answer is simple. When my mother willingly serves someone, she does it because she loves them and is concerned about them. When the Relief Society president goes out and serves her sisters, she does it because she loves them and is concerned about them. When President Monson or any of the brethren who lead the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints serves a person, it is because they love them. They show their love for others by serving them. To love our fellowman is to serve our fellowman. Service=Love. Love=Service. 

But why do they love them? Because, as a certain familiar theme states, "We are [children] of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love Him." Our Eternal Father loves us so so so much! And the feeling is mutual. But how can we show our love for Him? After all, He's definitely got us beat! He shows us in the beautiful world around us, in His daily tender mercies, in miracles, in scriptures, in everyday things. 

Well, in Mosiah 2:17 it states that "ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Jesus expounded on this concept when He taught His followers the famous and familiar Matthew 25:35-40: 

"For I was an hungred, 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.

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 "When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 "Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

So yes, if we want to show our love to our Father above, we need to show it to His children below. To love our Father is to serve His Children. Service=Love. Love=Service. Btw--I've said that twice. You should understand it by now. :)

I hope you will go about your Sunday afternoon loving and serving your family, and look forward to a post sometime soon about some Personal Progress I've been working on! Don't forget to let me know in the comments your thoughts on loving and serving! 

I hope your Sabbath is a Delight!

Now Serving!

This is a wonderful video produced by the Church! Please take the time to watch it.

While we are on the topic of service...Personal Progress has tons of ways to serve! Just a small listing below:

You need Faith that your service will bless you and the recipient of your service.

You have to know of your Divine Nature and the potential you both nurture and gain when you serve. 

Remembering the Individual Worth of the person you're serving can help you to serve them more personally, knowing that you are both Children of a King!

When you've made gaining varied Knowledge and experience a priority, you can serve people in more unique and personalized ways.

Choice and Accountability - you can choose to serve or not, but you will be accountable for that choice!

Good Works and service are the same. Service can only be good works. Good works is defined as service!

Integrity is required to do the service well and to do it with a pure heart, with no intent of personal gain. 

And finally, Virtue is needed because, as one 2009 MormonAd put it, "Virtue [is] the Gold Standard". And how can we achieve the 'Gold Standard' without serving others as Christ did? Christ led a virtuous life, and thus we can look to HIM as our Gold Standard.

I hope we can all remember how our Savior lived and how much He served everyone during his life and through His Atonement!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I found this video on my cousin Lily's blog. Please read her many informative and fun posts on family history and the Spirit of Elijah here. Don't forget to comment!!!

Special Edition: Girls' Camp Day Three!!!

It was REALLY hard to get out of bed Friday morning!!! Pure torture! The last two nights of very little sleep were catching up with me. We had forty-five minutes to get ready before flag. I think I used about the last ten of those minutes to get ready...and the first thirty-five to try and wake up. 

That last day, my Secret Sister gift was a caramel brownie Lindt chocolate bar--best. Chocolate Bar. Ever.

After flag we had a delicious 'Auntie Em's Country Breakfast with sausage, biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs, and a potato slice. Our ward had 'Kitchen Patrol' duty that meal, so when everyone else had left the Mess Hall, we attacked with cleaner, rags, brooms, and mops. We sang camp songs while we wiped tables and chairs, swept/mopped floors, and pretty much had a great time!

Then it was off to Crafts for the second time, where we found another two projects waiting. Again I was only able to start one, but at least I got out with my own level!

Next we returned to the Mess Hall and decorated brown paper bags for soldiers. The bags are going to be filled with hygiene items and other essentials that our armed forces need. 

Outside in the warm sun for level certification, we learned how to stop excessive bleeding and tie a cravat bandage with a bandanna.

Self defense was next, and the climax of the morning. It was fun and very informative. We learned basic ways to defend ourself and what to do in a dangerous situation that might require self defense. 

Last before lunch was service. More working on the pathway, which, after three more 'shifts' in between ours, had gained some significant improvement. We mostly just filled in more dirt and leveled it out. We put a few more beams in place near the end, but we weren't able to finish it while we were at camp.

Lunch was 'Kansas Haystacks'. They were amazing!!!!!! Fritos piled with sweet pulled pork, sour cream, corn, cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes, and a ton of other stuff--totally delicious! 

Just one last hour of level certification in the Rec Room, where we got our camp manuals signed and played 'Poison Dart Frog' with the second levels before setting up five large racks of chairs for the testimony meeting later that night.

After that, we had two and a half hours of FREE TIME!!!!! The first hour and a half was spent at the pool playing 'Tunnel Tag' after grabbing some snacks at the camp store. After a long, exciting game, we finally decided to head back. But it was suspiciously painful to walk up the hill. I looked down at my white flip flops and saw a large spot of red where my big toe rested. Oh dear.

Turns out that, while playing Tunnel Tag, our toes had been scraped repeatedly on the rough floor of the pool and eventually got worn down to the point of bleeding. Needless to say, the long walk back to the cabin was excruciating.

We finally made it back and, horrified at the prospect of hot shower water burn our tender appendages, half-jokingly asked if someone wanted to bandage our feet. They all replied with a resounding "NO!", but then someone who had apparently had the same problem told us to go to the other cabin where one of the older girls was playing the part of 'doctor'. 

We willingly trekked the few yards to the other cabin and found the referred 'doctor'. She quickly accommodated us and our sore feet by sitting our wet and dripping selves on her own cot while she acquired the necessary 'surgical instruments'. She gently wiped the dirt off the wounds with a wet paper towel, anointed them with triple-antibiotic cream, and carefully wrapped several band-aids on each foot. What a great example of being Christlike!!!

With the pain now almost gone, we hobbled back to our cabin and showered. And we didn't notice our toes for the rest of the night! We still had about half an hour of free time, so we played games for a few minutes before heading up to Flag. Our bishops had arrived while we were still on free time, so we hadn't gotten a chance to say hi, but now we took the opportunity to greet our wonderful bishop and tell him all about our camp adventures so far!

The usual routine of flag was followed by an amazing dinner in the Mess Hall. Each camp flag had been taken from the rafters and leaned up against the rail fence outside. In their places were white paper lanterns and other 3-D hanging decorations--all white. The tables had white plastic cloths and burlap as well as small candles in jars, little white flowers in vases, and strings of gold beads and fake coins, etc., on top. Instead of getting our paper or plastic dinnerware in the food line, there were places at the tables already set for us.

And the food!!! The menu informed us that we'd be dining on Heavenly Chicken, Celestial Salad, Paradise Potatoes, Glorious Green Beans, and Blessed Bread. While we were eating, we revealed Secret Sisters! It was so fun to find out who'd been leaving me all those awesome surprises!

Basically, it was amazing!!! After dinner, we had fifteen minutes in our cabin. For about ten minutes, we played camp games, but we got impatient and went outside with our camp chairs to get good seats for Bishop's Night. 

Bishop's Night did not disappoint! The bishops competed in three contests to see who would be the 'Bishop of the Night'. (Or something like that. It was really just for fun!) 

Contest Number One: All nine bishops participated in this one. They each got a fancy collar tied around their neck and a helium balloon. When it was their turn, they stepped forward to where a YCL was holding a piece of paper with the lyrics to the 'Lollipop Guild Song' which was sung in the Wizard of Oz movie. They popped the helium balloon, sucked in the helium, and sang along with the 'Lollipop Guild'! It was HILARIOUS! Totally awesome!

Our bishop and five others progressed to the second contest. Each bishop received a bag containing several items, each representing a Wizard of Oz character. A roll of aluminum foil, a handful of straw, a black cape, and a broom were among the objects. The bishops had to put everything on themselves and make it stay there, then run to three 'bases' and hit them with the brooms.

 Our bishop was one of the first ones done! Thumbs up to him!

The final contest only had three participating bishops, ours included. They had to run to the bases again, but this time they had to shuck one ear of corn at each base. Unfortunately, due to another bishop breaking the rules, both he and our bishop were disqualified. :(

Then we went up to the Rec Building for the last Destiny program. It was all about how to not let your fear stand in your way, like in 'There's No Place Like Home', where the characters decide to push away the fears the Wicked Witch and her Flying Monkeys tried to use to block up the Yellow Brick Road. 

And then it was Testimony Meeting - basically a fountain of tears. One of our YCLs had given us each a gift during Level Certification earlier that day--a package of tissues with a note glued to it: Use me to wipe away your tears whenever you feel the Spirit near. It was a sweet and useful gift! It was so neat to hear the stories and experiences and testimonies of strangers, acquaintances, and close friends. Definitely the spiritual highlight of Girls Camp! 

After Testimony Meeting, we all went back to the Mess Hall and each bishop gave their ward a quick devotional and then a dessert he'd brought.

Back in the cabins, we did our journaling and scripture study, then went to the other cabin to play 'Murder in the Dark' and 'Mexican Horse Ranch'. When those games were over, we Beehives retreated to our cabin and played a card game until two in the morning. (So not smart!)

Then they went to sleep and I quietly packed most of my stuff so I could get a few extra minutes of sleep the next morning. And then I happily crawled into my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep...