Noticing Acts of Service Tag


RooTheMormon
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Everyday in our lives we see acts of service. Some acts of service go unseen, and some make a big impact on someones day, or even their lives. 

I thought it would be fun to start a tag where you recognize an act of service, however you'd like. Maybe share a story, or just say I saw so and so do something great today...

If the service was done for you, maybe write how it impacted you.

It can be recent, or old.

Everytime you post something, tag someone to share theirs on this thread.

I'd like to tag a bunch of random people to start this! :

@NeuroTypical @Sunday21 @MormonGator @sarah_22 @DoctorLemon

@pam

Dont forget to tag a bunch and like this so we can spread it! 

Galatians 5:13

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

"May we show our love and appreciation for the Savior's atoning sacrifice through our simple, compassionate acts of service." -Elder M. Russel Ballard

Edited by RooTheMormon
Thanks everyone who has participated in this! Keep up the tagging :)
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Thanks Roo.  I'll start this off by telling a story of my own father.  This is from back when I was a teenager so it happened a LONG time ago.

I grew up in San Diego less than 5 miles from Tijuana, Mexico.  My dad was huge on helping those in Tijuana that had absolutely nothing.  I went along with him a few times when he went down there to do some work for people.  He got to know quite a community of people who lived on the side of a hill in cardboard shacks.  He was always taking them food and formula for babies and other items that they might need.  

Unfortunately a fire broke out in this community and wiped it out.  A baby died in the fire.  The family was so poor they couldn't even afford the 5 pesos to get the baby out of the morgue so they could bury it.  My dad not only paid this fee but also for the funeral and burial which he also officiated.

My dad taught me to have a great love of the people in Mexico which I still have to this day.  He taught me a lot about compassion for those less fortunate.  We didn't have a lot of money ourselves in those days but yet my dad found ways to help out these people.  

Let me tag @mirkwood and @classylady

 

 

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Guest MormonGator

I think service can come in many different ways. For me, service can be about forgiveness because it's something I struggle with. Many years ago I was in a relationship where both of us had all sorts of problems. It ended when I crashed her car and said some truly horrible things to her while she also did the same. Many years passed and out of the blue on Facebook she private messaged me. We ended taking for about an hour and she forgave me for everything I did, including totaling her car and the horrible things I said. She taught me a very valuable lesson and it's still something I think about. I'm eternally grateful to her.  
 

@Vort, @Carborendum, @zil, @Backroads

Edited by MormonGator
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I haven't really received any kind of service that is other than the normal stuff.  

  • My parents served me by feeding, clothing, and housing me.
  • My wife, of course, is wonderful.  She goes out of her way almost every day to try to make me happy.
  • No, I don't really receive much that you would think was special.  But my wife makes me feel special.

I've given service.  But I don't really want to sound like I'm bragging about it or anything.  So, I'll refrain.

@Just_A_Guy, @The Folk Prophet, @Grunt

Edited by Guest
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My thoughts on this sort of thing have always hovered around these verses:

Quote

Matthew 6:

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

I have received many acts of service, but I prefer to beg my Heavenly Father to bless the doers for their kindness rather than to praise them in public.  I know, there's a difference between someone looking for praise and a recipient giving it freely.  And I know that good can come from hearing stories of others giving service.  Nonetheless, my thoughts always return here...

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Working as a junior programming writer, I badly wanted (and needed) a mentor. An older writer, also LDS, took me under his wing one day. Over the next six weeks, until he left the company, he had lunch with me and tutored me on the general theme of How to Survive in a Corporate Environment and Get Another Job When Your Current Job Goes Away. He encouraged me always to keep my resume up to date. He told me that, when looking for employment, my job was to be an expert on myself. When asked about a previous position, I shouldn't say, "Well...um...oh, yeah, I think we were trying to do thus-and-such." Rather, I should be prompt and sure in saying, "I worked with Joe Blow, dividing the writing load in support of documenting the Great Software Leap Forward of 2008 at Microsystems Humongous." I absorbed some fraction of what he told me, to my great benefit. I wish I could say I've provided the same to someone else; I hope I have done something of the sort, and hope to do more of it in coming years.

Oh, let's see. Who do I want to hear from who hasn't already been tagged? @mordorbund @Backroads @LeSellers (yeah, he hasn't been here in a while, but I'd like to hear his input) @ProbablyOthersI'mForgetting

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22 minutes ago, Vort said:

 @LeSellers (yeah, he hasn't been here in a while, but I'd like to hear his input)

I would too.  I've heard some things from his wife and daughter.  But it would be interesting to get his perspective and his words.

EDIT: I just emailed him.  We'll see if he answers.

Edited by Guest
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Dear @RooTheMormon

What a great idea for a thread!

I knew a mormon family when I was about 14. My family was having some real problems and my parents were not very interested in their daughters. We were a nuisance. The mormon family semi-took me in. They took me on trips. They took me to church. I will be forever grateful to them! I can never thank them enough!

I tag @Palerider @Mike @askandanswer

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Le responded.

Quote
I don't recall whether it was after the heart attack or the neck surgery, but Brother (Jones) came by the hospital to visit during my recovery. He brought a magazine he'd bought in the gift shop. Anyone who knows me understands that sports (professional or college) is something I tolerate, at best. He didn't know me all that well, and it was a copy of Sports Illustrated.
 
Bored, as I was, I read it anyway. But that's not the point. Brother (Jones) went out of his way to bring me something, unbidden (by me, at least). His visit was most welcome, and the magazine was not in vain.
 
Sometimes service doesn't accomplish some specific thing, but is the demonstration of the kind of love that Brother (Jones) taught and that Christ exemplified.
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@Vort,

Your story reminded me of my own mentor.  I had experience in probably the most boring engineering discipline there is.  I was trying to branch out into other more exciting (for me) disciplines.  But most companies tend to pigeon hole pretty quickly.  So, once you've had a job in one area, you're pretty much stuck with that your whole life.  I thought that would be torturous for me.  I'm not a one trick pony.  And I'd never be satisfied with that lot in life.

I had contacted all sorts of companies to hire me to expand my knowledge.  Including one small company that had few employees, yet had many disciplines involved.

Finally, I found a job in one company that didn't care that I didn't have the experience.  They just wanted my license.  I met a senior engineer who talked about doing all kinds of stuff.  I wondered how I could do that.  He and I had some back and forth and he got me to thinking.  He finally asked me to visit him at his other office where he did some moonlighting work.  When I got there, I found out that he was that small company.  It wasn't just a few employees.  It was just him.  He did many disciplines of engineering and all his own drafting.  

He took me in and not only taught me about technical things.  He taught me about business.  How to set up a business.  How to run a business.  How to handle taxes.  How to find clients.  How to work with contractors...

While I still had a lot more to learn after my encounter with him, he was the one who finally let me out of the dugout.  Then I played the field with all types of work.  He was the one that gave me confidence in my work.  He was the one who taught me judgment -- that feeling that even if you didn't do the calculations, you could look at a set of plans and realize that they seemed about right.

While my wife contributes to my emotional and spiritual well-being like no other, it was this one engineer that taught me how to be the best at my profession.

Edited by Guest
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Back in at the beginning of February, my daughter came down with bacterial meningitis. I remember the sitter calling me in the middle of the day, saying Footpath was throwing up big time. She had been sickly prior to this, but this was a big deal. I told my principal what was happening, my TA agreed to teach the rest of the day, and ran home. I wound up being out the rest of the week, plus part of the next week.

Now I pride myself on parent communication and homework upkeep and all that, but that very day a parent went up to my assistant principal and complained how I wasn't there to answer a homework question for her and how annoyed she was. My AP explained what was happening. He passed the story onto me, which was kind of upsetting.

Anywho... that mom and a few other parents really stepped up. They came in and helped my TA and the other sub. A couple of them brought us dinners. They left me treats. It was such a blessing during a time of trial.

 

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Given my profession, which you can probably slightly guess by my handle, I've seen some incredible acts of what I consider service.  However, I'm not a member of LDS, so I don't know if "service" might mean something different to you.   The community I live in is one big act of service.  Not a day goes by, literally, that I don't drive by a farm or homestead and see a neighbor helping a neighbor.  Sometimes I get to be on the giving end, sometimes the receiving.  I love that we have a community like you read about from days gone by. Last weekend my neighbor cared for my animals while we were out of town.  The week before that I spent the weekend helping his family pitch hay.  The week before that was a BBQ at the farm down the road.  

I'm blessed with the life I have.

I don't know anyone to tag, unfortunately.  Feel free to offer some up for me.

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10 minutes ago, Grunt said:

Given my profession, which you can probably slightly guess by my handle, I've seen some incredible acts of what I consider service.  However, I'm not a member of LDS, so I don't know if "service" might mean something different to you.   The community I live in is one big act of service.

Service is service to us mormons! Its no different from anyone else's!

:) Thanks for sharing!

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Okay Imma tag a bunch of random ppl who may or may not be active!:

@my two cents I know shes active im surprised she hasnt been tagged yet!

@honeybear @RebelMormon @small thyme @findingmyway

@k102174098 @QDJones @I_Am_Seeker @The Mormon Nerd

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I've seen a few pregnant moms end up with CPS taking their newborns. So, I'm convinced their are special rewards for those families that step up and care for the babies of those who end up imprisoned--and especially those who continue to care for them until their mommy's recovery (often from drugs) is complete. THEN, a double-blessing for those who, despite attachments, return those children to the mother (assuming she's established in her recovery, of course).

@AnthonyB2 @LiterateParakeet

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I took to heart the teachings I'd listened to for years about being self-sufficient, but looking back I erred in that I added personal pride to the recipe of my life. The result was that I became extremely tight-lipped about anything that amounted to a need on my part, and I determined to "do it all by myself" without bothering anyone else.  After all, I reasoned, I had been responsible in church callings where it was my duty to serve and to organize, and not to be served. 

This was my mode of operation until many years ago when in March when the ground had thawed and most of the snow melted, I received a water bill exceeding $2000 which it turned out had resulted from the water line which had broken about six feet from the foundation of my house; and for a month water had entered my plumbing system without noticeable decrease in pressure but also wasting hundreds of gallons. The location of the breach made it my responsibility to repair.  And so I went to work digging not knowing before-hand precisely where the breach was or how I would repair it (and not seeking guidance from many neighbors  who certainly had experience and know-how both in their professional lives and also in their every-day lives by virtue of the years they had been in our neighborhood. My work began and resumed every afternoon after coming home from my job.

On the third day I had a hole about two feet in diameter and five feet deep with me at the bottom continuing to throw dirt up and out. I was getting pretty tired, a little frantic, and letting dirt slide back in.  A neighbor from the next block saw me and stopped by--it wasn't the first time he had asked me if I could use some help. This time, my recognition of my own fatigue and frankly my ignorance prevailed and I told my friend that I guessed I could use (and really needed) help.  In less than thirty minutes enough men with tools and experience had me out of the hole still wanting to feel like I was calling the shots but knowing I wasn't, but becoming smarter enough to get out of the way and let my friends help me. The next morning the job was done. 

The lesson I learned was one of gratitude, humility, and that it is important to accept help with a desire to pay it forward In addition to becoming self-sufficient. 

 

P.S. I would like to tag @Godless @mordorbund @changed @Jane_Doe @Maureen @Rob Osborn

 

Edited by Mike
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13 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

Dear @RooTheMormon

What a great idea for a thread!

I knew a mormon family when I was about 14. My family was having some real problems and my parents were not very interested in their daughters. We were a nuisance. The mormon family semi-took me in. They took me on trips. They took me to church. I will be forever grateful to them! I can never thank them enough!

I tag @Palerider @Mike @askandanswer

My mum performed an enormous act of service to the entire world, present and future, when she gave birth to me :) 

As for acts of service that I've undertaken lately, there are a few:

     * I didn't tell anyone what @MormonGator said about @pam in a private message he sent me the other day (Considering the content of the message this was a favour to both Gator and Pam)

      * Despite my overwhelming desire to do so, I nobly resisted the temptation to berate @Sunday21 for being too right wing

     * Declined to rebuke @Vort for all the fallacies, inconsistencies and logical errors in his posts last week

     * Single-handedly defeated all of last week's attempts by Daleks to take over the universe, including three attempts alone last Monday

     * Contributed to world peace by ending forever all conflict, fighting and divisions about whether Anvil of Megadeath is the best band by declaring that the winner is actually the Berlin Philharmonic when performing Beethoven

     * Enabling others to be blessed by giving them opportunities to provide acts of service....... to me

As for acts of service that I've received lately, my wife spent all of June recovering from an operation, during which time she received several concerned visitors, and we received several yummy meals. Surprisingly, when I returned the cleaned food containers to the providers, and demanded refills, they declined! 

 

     @Kimberley93 @The Folk Prophet

 

Edited by askandanswer
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Great idea, Roo!

When I was in elementary school, there was a bike ride to the swimming pool planned for my grade level. The catch was that you had to finish all your assignments in order to go and there was a chart on the wall to keep track of where people were at. Well, I was behind with my reading homework because I just couldn't figure out the answers to the questions no matter how many times I reread the material (was overthinking it). The deadline was getting close so I went to the library during lunch to try to catch up. My friends noticed and they came to help me out so I wouldn't miss the field trip ... and the teacher never said anything about the different handwriting. :) 

Tagging: @seashmore and @a mustard seed

Edited by my two cents
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6 hours ago, askandanswer said:

My mum performed an enormous act of service to the entire world, present and future, when she gave birth to me :) 

As for acts of service that I've undertaken lately, there are a few:

     * I didn't tell anyone what @MormonGator said about @pam in a private message he sent me the other day (Considering the content of the message this was a favour to both Gator and Pam)

      * Despite my overwhelming desire to do so, I nobly resisted the temptation to berate @Sunday21 for being too right wing

     * Declined to rebuke @Vort for all the fallacies, inconsistencies and logical errors in his posts last week

     * Single-handedly defeated all of last week's attempts by Daleks to take over the universe, including three attempts alone last Monday

     * Contributed to world peace by ending forever all conflict, fighting and divisions about whether Anvil of Megadeath is the best band by declaring that the winner is actually the Berlin Philharmonic when performing Beethoven

     * Enabling others to be blessed by giving them opportunities to provide acts of service....... to me

As for acts of service that I've received lately, my wife spent all of June recovering from an operation, during which time she received several concerned visitors, and we received several yummy meals. Surprisingly, when I returned the cleaned food containers to the providers, and demanded refills, they declined! 

 

     @Kimberley93 @The Folk Prophet

 

@askandanswer has been of great service to me.  This post alone... this made me smile so big my kid who is playing video games nearby gave me a funny look and ended up grinning too because I couldn't contain myself.  My house and my day just got that much brighter.  Thank you, Aussie dude for your awesomeness.

I'm gonna tag @ProDeo.  I have this feeling that he has some great personal stories.

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