Thursday, March 12, 2009

Happier World......

My brother sent this to me on my email. I thought that this was a very good article by President Hinkley. I find so many people in my daily life that always have a negative, faultfinding thing to say about people. It reminds me of the movie "Pay It Forward" or even the insurance comercial where you see someone do a good thing and the next person does it. Just think what this world would be like if we all could talk nice about one another, and to always think positive about the world. Just think how beautiful our world would be with sunlight in our lives all the time. Criticism, faultfinding, evil speaking—these are of the spirit of the day. To hear tell, there is nowhere a man of integrity holding public office. All businessmen are crooks. The utilities are out to rob you. Even on campus there is heard so much the snide remark, the sarcastic jibe, the cutting down of associates—these, too often, are the essence of our conversation. In our homes, wives weep and children finally give up under the barrage of criticism leveled by abusive husbands and fathers. Criticism is the forerunner of divorce, the cultivator of rebellion, sometimes the catalyst that leads to failure. In the Church, it sows the seed of inactivity and finally apostasy. I come to you tonight with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we try to "accentuate the positive." I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. Now I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man or woman who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his or her course. What I am suggesting is that you turn from the negativism that so permeates our modern society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom you associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my wise father would say: "Cynics do not contribute. Skeptics do not create. Doubters do not achieve." Author: President Gordon B. Hinckley , Source: http://lds.org/broadcast/ces090901/transcript/0,11006,566,00.h...

1 comment:

Shuman X Seven said...

That is one of my favorites!! Thanks for the reminder!!