Saturday, July 18, 2015

Some Thoughts on Kindness

Kyle and I, with some friends, were able to attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant this week. It was lovely. It was my first time going and the first time Kyle had gone in a long time. For those who aren't familiar with the pageant, it is a huge production about the story of the Book of Mormon. They do it each year and it is quite famous up here. 

BACKGROUND:

We were so excited to go. We pulled up and had some time to go into the Visitor's Center, see the Cristus, and enjoy the displays. Then we went to park. For anyone who has attended occasions such as this, outside there were protestors. People were holding signs such as "What you Don't Know about Joseph Smith" and stuff like that. There were people saying unkind and rather blasphemous things through megaphones. There were also some people saying "Only Christ can save you!" and things of that sort to which I wanted to walk up and say "I agree. Lets be friends!" There was one walking path from the parking lot to the entrance of the pageant. This path had anti-mormon booths set up with people handing out pamphlets and stuff. 

STORY:

Now that you have some context, I will proceed to why I wrote this post. There was one girl standing at one of the "Anti-Mormon" booths handing out pamphlets. She was probably about the same age as me, maybe a little older, and was doing her work kindly. She had a smile on her face and would ask in a sweet voice as people walked by "Would you like a pamphlet?" We passed on a side opposite of her, so she didn't speak to us, but I happened to look over my shoulder as she asked an older lady if she would like a pamphlet. The women, who I assume was LDS (Mormon) took the pamphlet, looked at it for about 2 seconds, and then threw it back at the girl. She threw it! She scowled and for a moment or two I was pretty sure she was going to spit on her. 

POINT:

As the night proceeded I couldn't stop thinking about that protestor and the women. I replayed the scene over and over in my head absolutely mortified about how the women had treated that protestor. When I was a missionary I remember trying hard to be kind, yet having people who yelled or slammed doors. I remember being laughed at. Those experiences hurt! And I felt for that girl. 

I didn't agree with what the protestors were doing. It was unpleasant and unnecessary. Yet, that was no reason to act with cruelty. Moments where people differ in opinion or action from us are not times for us to get upset or throw pamphlets, it is the time for us to show an increased portion of love towards them.  We should always be a little kinder than necessary. 

So, to the protestor girl, I offer all my sincerest apologies...

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