During this difficult time of spreading illness and global uncertainty, we have all seen news reports of good people doing good – and sometimes great – acts of kindness, neighborliness, and community service.
Just a few days ago, some friends came by our home with a message of friendship. While we stood on the front porch, they visited and cheered us up from the driveway. It was a wonderful, maybe 10-minute conversation that lightened everyone’s heart. It was a delightful few minutes that changed up our not-so-delightful isolation. Thinking about this since then, I have come to realize that the current social distancing and stay-at-home mandates have given us a great opportunity to be innovative with our ministering and missionary efforts.
Years ago, while I was off in California fighting wildfires, my neighbor regularly came over very early in the morning (I know this because no one ever saw him) and hoed my garden. At the same time, out in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I had been reading the Book of Mormon. A few days before arriving back at my North Logan home, I had read in Third Nephi (Chapter 14) about knowing men by their fruits. To me, arriving home to a beautifully manicured garden was a statement of the truth of the Church and the goodness of the hearts of its members. When asked what converted me to the Church, I often smile and reply, “My neighbor, John Stocking.” John’s summer-long, quiet acts of kindness were a large part of my interest in the Church. I never tire of telling the story of what a long-term impact John had by doing something for his neighbor that he was good at and needed to be done.
Elder M. Russell Ballard counseled that we should “make friends with our neighbors, watch out for each other, and help build a spirit of unity, peace, and love among them.” I’m not suggesting that you hoe your neighbor’s garden, but I am suggesting that you stretch your imagination. In this time of fear of the unknown and isolation, there are many people in need of a reassuring act of friendship. May you all stay healthy and strong.
-Brother Joe Archer