Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Seeking for Understanding Breaks Down Walls



Alma, the younger did not live a perfect life. In fact, he was one of the vilest of sinners before he found God. In his younger years, he and his friends purposefully tried to lead people away from the Church of Christ. It took an angel to wake him up to God's reality and to how Alma had been wasting away his life.

This tells me a few things about God and a few things about Alma. First of all, it shows to me the power of God's love. Heavenly Father loves us so much. Even when we are making foul choices, He still wants to help us. He still cares for us and wants to provide us with His spirit. He knows it's not too late for us to change and improve ourselves. It's lake Elder Uchtdorf's talk "The Point of Safe Return." There is no point of no return. God anxiously awaits the day He can have us in His arms. He longs to comfort us and to be there for us, but we must open the door and turn to Him. We can repent, we can change, we can improve. We have to make the choice so to do. Alma is proof of these statements.

I truly feel that Alma is a better missionary and friend because of his harried past. He is a good missionary because he has experienced sin. He understands what it takes to repent and change, and because of that, he is not judgmental. Because of his experience, he didn't judge Zeezrom. Instead, he saw Zeerom's potential of gospel growth and taught him the gospel. Zeezrom then became a missionary himself. We can all learn a lesson from this story.

Now, I am by no means encouraging sinning in order to understand those around us. We will sin whether or not we try. I am, however, encouraging all of us to be better at understanding those around us. It feels good to be understood and loved. It feels good to know that you are not being judged by those around you. As we strive to truly understand our family, friends, spouses, neighbors, coworkers, we will know better how to serve and love them. Our lives will be happier and less contentious as will the lives of those around us. Seeking for TRUE understanding can break down walls and build bridges.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Misunderstandings Create Conflict



Many of us have been a part of a misunderstanding. Whether you're the person being misunderstood, or you're misunderstanding someone else, it can be frustrating! The key to quickly resolving misunderstandings in order to abstain from further conflict is to effectively communicate. That ambiguous word: communicate. Discuss the problem in a kind way so that everyone feels valued. If misunderstandings are not cleared up, it can lead to major problems in a relationship or otherwise.

No one likes to be misunderstood, especially the potential wrath that may be associated with negative misinterpretations or misunderstandings. Just such an example occurs in Mosiah, chapter 20.

After the death (by fire) of his wicked father, King Noah, King Limhi takes control of the land. He is more wise than his father and more obedient to God's commandments. In order to preserve the lives and land of his people, he has entered into a contract with the Lamanites to give up 50% of their increase. That's a lot, but hey, it saved the people's lives after his father's big mistakes.

Things are going fine and dandy for King Limhi until he sees the Lamanites busting into his land to war. Not understanding why the Lamanites were breaking their contract, he immediately gathers his army and fights off the Lamanites. It isn't until the Lamanite king is brought to him that King Limhi begins understanding what went wrong. Thanks to Gideon, King Limhi is able to clarify what really happened to the Lamanite daughters and the war ends (for now).

You see, wicked King Noah had some wicked priests. These wicked, COWARDLY priests left their wives and children when the Lamanites had invaded and killed King Noah. These wicked priests left to save their own skins. Consequently, they felt pretty sheepish for so doing and didn't feel like they could come back to the people of Limhi. Enter dancing Lamanite daughters deep in the woods... the wicked priests catch sight of the daughters, capture 24 of them, and voila! A war starts among the Lamanites and the people of Limhi because the Lamanites ASSUME it was the people of Limhi that took the daughters.

The moral of the story is that the war wouldn't have started had the Lamanites actually peacefully come to the people of Limhi to find out what had happened. Because the king of the Lamanites acted out of anger, rather than trying to gain understanding, a war ensued and many people lost their lives (the king of the Lamanites ALMOST being one of them). It is better to try to understand a situation rather than making assumptions about it. Take time to ask before you assume. You might be able to stave off your own proverbial war.