Message from the Directors
June 2009
"I Am A Part of All That I Have Met"
By Jeff Bennion
So says Ulysses in Tennyson's poem of the same name. It is true of all of us. I know that my life has been touched by so many people who have been shining examples and tireless in showing me their love and concern. Trusted friends, loving family, wise teachers, and inspiring mentors have all left their mark on my life.
This, I believe, is true of everyone. Each of us is a beneficiary of countless acts, large and small, of grace love, mercy, and strength. Sometimes we may be tempted to compare ourselves to others, and feel inadequate in the comparison. We see someone we esteem more successful, more happy, more righteous than we are, and may be tempted to say, "If only I was like that, then I would have it made!" If that thought occurs to us, I wonder if it would help if we imagine that person we admire so much surrounded by a multitude of people, each of whom has left his or her mark on the subject of our admiration (or even envy). As another poet, John Donne said, "No man is an island."
It is also possible to read Ulysses' statement in another way, that is perhaps even more profound. Do you ever feel alone, unsupported? Do you ever feel that your existence makes no difference to anyone else? If so, you could not be more mistaken. Just as others leave their mark on you, so do you leave your mark on countless others. Some of this you will realize if you think about it for a minute. If it's something as small as a warm smile to a harried sales clerk, or something large, perhaps even lifesaving. But I guarantee you do not know the extent of your influence. Acts of love and kindness have a way of spreading; they are not easily contained. Your example can inspire many others, most of whom you may never meet, but whose waves spread outward like a stone thrown into a pond.
When you feel alone, imagine the faces of those who have touched and inspired you. Then think about the unimaginable faces of people you have inspired, and the many more whom you will touch throughout your life. This is what the Lord needs more of in His Kingdom, and what the adversary seeks to sully through hypocrisy and cynicism. I re-echo the call our Savior made. He made it long ago, but the world has never needed it more: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven" ( Matthew 5:16).
That life in Christ is what I call everyone (including myself) to. Ulysses laments the tragedy of those who decide not to be a shining example. "How dull," he says, "to make an end, to rust unburnished [unpolished], not to shine in use!" Life can be difficult, but the experiences we have here are necessary. They can either wear us down, or they can polish and sharpen us. The choice is ours. And while we may wish we could skip some of our more painful experiences, Ulysses says they act as the arch through which "gleams that untravelled world."
While you are surrounded by (sometimes unrecognized) love and strength, from this world as well as the world beyond, only you can make the choices that will allow you to eternally enjoy the "innumerable company of angels" (Hebrews 12:22). I conclude with a scripture that Ulysses, that fearless voyager, would have related to very well:
"Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out" ( Helaman 3:28-30)