Ryan Anderson | University Relations | 13 May 2009
With the words of Jesus Christ as her foundation and the improvement of the students' spiritual lives as her goal, Erin Frederick, Associate Professor of International Business Management at BYU–Hawaii, taught students to "find [themselves] in service to others" during her devotional address on May 12.
Aside from the teachings of Jesus Christ, Frederick used a variety of other quotes to share the importance of service. "Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher, made an interesting observation," taught Frederick. "He said, He that wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own."
Frederick, a long time student of business and finance, explained the costs and benefits of service in each individual life: "In Business, we teach about the entrepreneurial system that attracts many in their quest to go from rags to riches. In this quest to acquire wealth and success, the unspoken thought is that if you achieve wealth and success, you will also achieve happiness. Happiness is more often determined by your choice of mate, your family life and what you choose to do with your life outside of your job rather than by your professions or where you choose to live."
She then quoted one of Christ's parables on service: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; For 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.
Frederick continued, "The righteous, who are puzzled by this declaration, ask: 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? Then the Lord answered, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
There are limitless possibilities to serve, shared Frederick, which include thoughts, words and actions. "President Kimball pointed out that when we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves. In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves."
Frederick then taught several different ways in which to serve, providing examples:
1. Service can come through solitary acts of kindness.
President Monson has lived a long life of dedicated service, and he has shared many examples of this service during General Conference addresses and other talks. Frederick implored the students to follow his example.
"Think of your neighbor, your ward member, or co–worker when looking for opportunities to be of service. Act locally. While the world touts the power of "big events"–telethons to raise money, concerts to entertain–these events often cast a shadow upon the importance of individual acts of kindness and compassionate service."
2. Service can come in the form of organized efforts.
"Latter–day Saints who contribute in their community simply to better it frequently find unexpected blessings of both greater capacity and increased opportunity to serve. Almost every ward or branch has members … who have tasted the joy that comes through service, acting alone or in cooperation with others."
She then gave specific examples of service given by LDS Church members: An LDS sister in Colorado, Carol McAdoo Rehme, decided to volunteer as a piano player at a local nursing home. She would play songs during lunchtime in the dining room twice a week. One day, an elderly gentleman started singing along to the song she was playing, "Bicycle Built for Two," which evolved her lunchtime piano playing into a weekly sing–along program in the lounge.
"Her bags of music expanded to stacks of sheet music and pounds of books…. As word spread, both the program's popularity and resident attendance increased…. And Carol? She witnessed the pleasure the songs brought. She listened to venerable voices ringing out. Her voice lifted with theirs as they all joined together to make a joyful noise."
Another example was from a woman named Karen Baker from Southern California, who "saw a need to teach her own and neighborhood children the joy of service, so she started an organization to help."
The organization she started, Kids Who Care, gives children under thirteen the opportunity to learn about service while young, and encourages them to provide constant acts of service, rather than sporadic events. A Los Angeles Times columnist discovered Sister Baker's organization, and wrote that monthly service "has a much more long–lasting impact on the child than a once–a–year happening, such as serving a holiday meal at a homeless shelter. It inculcates the ‘helping others' mentality at an early age, so it becomes a habit in a child's life."
3. Service can be realized through religion or faiths of various denominations.
"We must not limit our helping to those of our own faith, for human need—not church affiliation—defines our responsibility to our neighbors. Rather than agonizing about human need in the abstract, we can do something concrete about those near us. It can truly be said that one's personal character is shaped in large part by what one does to help and assist his or her fellow man or woman."
Frederick then said, "I believe unequivocally that you will never find maximum happiness until you can effectively make a difference in the life of another person. May we go forward each day with the hope, determination and personal commitment that, whatever we do from this point on will involve the lifting up and loving of others.
"May our lives, which truly begin anew each day, follow the admonition of Helen Keller, who, although she was both blind and deaf, provided this wonderful direction for each of us: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
--Photo by Monique Saenz