Celebrate Goodness

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The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Psalms 33:5

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It’s spring, and the whole earth seems renewed in all that’s good for us: green lawns, clean homes, more sunshine, and a desire to go and do good deeds.

This last weekend our stake was split. My family and I ended up in the new stake, the Utah Layton Legacy stake. We had two visitors from the Seventy: elder Golden and elder Porter, who were assigned to our stake to come interview the prospective new stake presidencies, since both were getting a new set of leaders.

At the same time, I was preparing myself to host a group of six teenagers at my house for a Senior prom dinner. I was too worried about all the preparations that were going on at home to think about the changes that were taking place in the local church.

You may wonder why is any of this good. Well, a few days earlier, I was asked to come and take a group picture of the Stake presidency and the High council members, for the purpose of archiving at the stake records.

When I walked in that room the Spirit testified to me so strongly that those are good men, that their desires to do good outweigh any other concern. The priesthood power in that room was considerable. The whispers of the spirit made me realize that the priesthood is real, that if wielded in righteousness, it’s a resource for good. I want to be protected by it and honor it the best I can.

If something as simple as a chance meeting makes us feel good about ourselves, shouldn’t we be looking for more opportunities to feel this way and actually affect change in ourselves that will bring this to pass?

My hope is that we will find goodness in all those things that were put on the earth for our benefit.

As always we welcome your comments.

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday 18 April, click here.