That Which Ye Send Out Shall Return Unto You Again

This post is more for me than anyone else.  I pose some questions for self-introspection:

- How do we treat others?

- How do we treat those who seemingly have nothing to offer us?

- Do we get upset at others' shortcomings?

- How do we treat the telemarketer, the person who cuts us off in traffic,  the person who's spoken unkindly about us when we weren't there, the person who in some way offended us, etc.?

The choice is ours and I believe this promise in Alma 41 will hold true in this life as well as in the life to come:

14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

 15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.

I interpret this promise in two literal ways:

1. When we do good and are kind to others, good will be returned or restored unto us. Some call it Karma. We never know in what way it is returned unto us, but it is. Likewise, when we hurt, offend, or injure others emotionally, it will also be restored unto us in this life. Our actions towards others will catch up with us at some point, one way or the other.

2. When we pass through the veil, in a magnificent way our life will be opened up to us (and the Lord). We will see the consequence of our decisions and actions and how they affected others. If we were kind, we will see the ripple effect it caused in that individual's life - we will feel the emotional lift we helped cause. If we injured another through insult or rudeness, we will see and feel the ripples it caused - we will see and feel the emotional hurt it caused that individual and others. All our actions and the effects from those actions will be opened to our vision and we'll see them, both the good and the bad. In that day, the Lord will stand with love and mercy, however we will be our own judge as these events unfold before our senses.  The Lord won't have to "say" anything, it will be apparent to us as it unfolds, there will be no hiding from this panorama of our life.

I remember at Utah State when I pulled up to the parking attendant to pay the $4 I owed for parking. The attendant said, "No charge. The car in front of you paid for your parking." I was in awe! I did my best to try and catch the car, but to no avail. The rest of the day was spent trying to find ways to help others. I determined that day to try and do simple acts of kindness to lift others.  The simple act of a stranger helped change my life in a profound way.

I invite each of us to find something this week that will lift someone. Also, I invite us to temper our emotions and remember to let the small things go - only focus our time and energy on lifting others!