April 5th

Ok back to gossip.

Guy in the ward was one of the first 30 baptisms in Uganda, way back in 1994. Strong member serving in leadership positions since joining the church, holding up to seven callings at one time. This man even knows the piano, one of the 4 Ugandan saints that share that ability. He hasn't been to church in almost a year.

What happened? Pretend this is you. A conversation you had at church with the bishop hinted at the slightest condescension. You ponder, does he think he's better than me with that calling of his? It gets under your skin and stays there. Pondering this question it suddenly becomes easier to find more of his faults. Soon you have compiled a whole arsenal grievances committed by this person, which you then feel the urge to share. People side with you as you recount the bishop's many faults and spread them, with the slightest embellishment, to the next ward member they meet. Soon the ward is circulating malicious half truths and slowly apostatizing.

That was a huge exaggeration of what our ward is currently facing. Ironically, the home teaching message for March was "looking for the good," the perfect antidote for this problem. I'm of the belief that this lesson should be named as the home teaching lesson of Uganda for the year 2011. The funny thing is that I have home taught on both sides of the fence, seeing first hand the negative talk that has been circulating and its less-than-uplifting consequences. We could all try harder to "assume the good, doubt the bad," as President Monson puts it. In the often used words of my mother, "if you look for the bad in someone, you will usually find it." And yet the converse is true. Even when hidden by the most questionable appearance, there is something in everyone for you to admire. I have found that encouraging these attributes is the way to motivate change. I feel like this church will explode when our Ugandan members implement this lesson.

And yet there is so much hope! I see it in the ward members who dutifully show up every Friday to clean their meetinghouse. It can be seen in the people who faithfully pay their widow's mite in tithing. It's found in the simple testimonies that shine in the faces of these people. And ultimately it's seen in the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The one so perfect that He was able to look past each of our faults, sacrificing so we could eventually overcome them. That is a hope to rely on.