Sabbath Devotional :: Eyes to See

My senior year, I felt that the title of National Honor Society (NHS) Chapter President would go nicely on college applications, and I was confident I could win. Seven people ran for positions and only five would have official leadership titles; the winner of the most votes would be president. I was very confident and expected to win (oh to have that teenage hubris again). Not only was I not president, I wasn’t in the top five. When I saw the president was a somewhat awkward girl named Jessica, I knew something was wrong.

Angry, hurt, and confused, I spent the entire day talking to the other NHS members trying to figure out the problem. Nobody seemed to have voted for Jessica, and everyone claimed to have voted for me. I suspected that the voting scantrons had been flipped and Jessica had actually received the fewest votes and I had indeed received the most. Triumphantly, I took my theory to the teacher advisors, hopeful they would immediately correct the situation in my favor. They realized I was right and said they would announce I was the true winner the following day. My smug relief quickly turned to dread as I realized that Jessica would be utterly humiliated.

President Monson said, “Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” Sometimes we are so focused on a problem that we forget how real people will be affected by a solution. Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves and our own problems that we forget that others have problems as well. Sometimes we are so focused on proving we are right that we forget how lousy it feels to be the person proved wrong. Sometimes we are so focused on our hurt pride that we miss the pain of another. Our blindness can miss the hurt and sometimes even cause harm to those around us.

What is the solution to this blindness?

“And it shall come to pass that there shall be a great work in the land, even among the Gentiles, for their folly and their abominations shall be made manifest in the eyes of all people. For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all who believe on my name. And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk.” D&C 35:7-9

We can ask the Lord in humility to help us to see his other children. I used to ask the Lord every day to help me to see others and how best to serve them. I prayed that prayer daily for years. I pray for it much less often because I have finally grown to see more opportunities than I have time and energy to handle. But it took me over a decade to get to that point. The Lord will show us our blindness, but it takes time to grow. While we often want an overnight change, we have to remember that faith is that little seed. The little seeds I plant in my garden don’t always grow (I think I have a 25% success rate), but the seeds of faith we plant in the Lord’s garden will grow in time. When the humble Zoramites sought to know more about faith, Alma testified that they should seek faith and patience both (Alma 34:4). Alma knew it would take time.

Learning to see others takes time too. I still feel a little ashamed when I think of the blindness of that bratty senior seeking after the glory of being NHS President. But I am grateful the Lord allowed me to see before it was too late. I begged the advisors not to “demote” Jessica, and they agreed that we could be co-presidents, if Jessica agreed. She graciously accepted and we were able to accomplish so many service projects that year that our chapter won a national award.

Even when it seems like loving a person could cost us a solution to a problem, the Lord can consecrate that problem, allowing an even greater solution to result. We achieved results we could not have achieved except by working together.

In D&C section 84 verse 32, we read that obtaining the Priesthood and seeking to magnify our calling leads to sanctification. Isn’t one of our greatest Priesthood covenants made at baptism to “mourn with those who mourn” and “comfort those who stand in need of comfort?” The more we seek to love and empathize with others, the holier we become. The holier we become, the easier it will be to feel and show that compassion and the more good we will all be able to accomplish.

Let us all seek to truly “see” each other and let that lead us to loving and understanding each other with an ever increasing abundance.