I Don't Care if You Remember That I Loved You In Thirty Years or Not
I am a Young Women's Presidency Member. For those of you who don't speak Mormon, that means that I'm one of the strong and resilient adults who lead the teenage Mormon girls. Why strong and resilient? Because anyone who mentors teenagers is strong and resilient. You will never understand them, because even if you find whatever implant they put in the back of his neck in Ender's Game and put it in the back of their necks, they will still be convinced that you don't understand them. And so, it won't matter. Recently, I've been reading a lot of stuff about being a leader of youth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And here's a hard thing for me. They tell us that our number one responsibility is to love them. And I do. But I happen to love differently than most people.
I have heard lots of times that "They won't remember your handout in thirty years. They will remember that you loved them." And that might work for many people. It doesn't for me. Perhaps it's a manifestation of the fact that I have job where I save lives everyday, but no one even knows that my job exists. Perhaps it's just a personality flaw. But I think that for me to love you, you don't even have to know about it. Some people love very outwardly, or very warmly. I love very privately.
If a Young Woman feels my love for her, and remembers that in thirty years, that's icing on the cake. But what I want is to make a lasting effect on their lives. Even if they don't know it. I'm sure they won't remember my handouts in thirty years. Probably because I don't make handouts. But here are some things that I want for them in thirty years, because I love them: I do want them to know that Jesus Christ is their Savior. I want them to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I want them to have a temple recommend and use it. I want them to be in an eternal marriage with a man who they love and who loves them. I want them to have a testimony of the sealing powers and the eternal nature of the family. I want them to know that God loves them. And if they never even recognize that these things came from me, I won't be upset.
I have heard lots of times that "They won't remember your handout in thirty years. They will remember that you loved them." And that might work for many people. It doesn't for me. Perhaps it's a manifestation of the fact that I have job where I save lives everyday, but no one even knows that my job exists. Perhaps it's just a personality flaw. But I think that for me to love you, you don't even have to know about it. Some people love very outwardly, or very warmly. I love very privately.
If a Young Woman feels my love for her, and remembers that in thirty years, that's icing on the cake. But what I want is to make a lasting effect on their lives. Even if they don't know it. I'm sure they won't remember my handouts in thirty years. Probably because I don't make handouts. But here are some things that I want for them in thirty years, because I love them: I do want them to know that Jesus Christ is their Savior. I want them to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I want them to have a temple recommend and use it. I want them to be in an eternal marriage with a man who they love and who loves them. I want them to have a testimony of the sealing powers and the eternal nature of the family. I want them to know that God loves them. And if they never even recognize that these things came from me, I won't be upset.
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