Embrace the Marginalized

I wrote yesterday about a talk by Elder Gay that he gave at a BYU-Idaho commencement a couple of years ago.  I referred to the first of two principles that he taught about following the Spirit; the second was this: “embrace the marginalized.”  He quoted Elbert Hubbard who said, “God will not look you over for medal, degrees or diplomas but for scars.”  Elder Gay continued, “This is the pattern that Jesus places before us as we work to do His work to lift others: we will be called upon to suffer innocently, if we are to achieve what He needs us to achieve as His light before men.”  The Lord wants us to serve and even suffer in trying to help those in need around us.  It reminds me of Sister Hinckley’s famous statement that she doesn’t want to drive to the pearly gates after this life with a fancy car and beautiful clothing but with “mud on the wheels” and “a smudge of peanut butter on [her] shirt” and “dirt under [her] fingernails” because of the service that she performed.  Surely an important part of our own reckoning with the Lord will be giving an accounting of the service that we render. 

             Today I found another commencement speech that Elder Gay gave at BYU-Idaho in 2013 in which he spoke about this same topic of using our talents and means to help those who are poor and in need.  He told of a poor woman whom he had been helped through microcredit lending to start a successful business of her own and finally have income.  When he asked her what she would do with her money, she responded, “I will buy my son back from slavery.”  In desperation for food her family had previously sold her son into indentured servitude.  Elder Gay commented, “The harsh reality of our world is that the vast majority live without what we often take for granted: water, power, jobs, education, let alone the liberating truths of the restored gospel.”  The message for me from his talk is that we have to look outside ourselves and find ways with the Lord’s help to make a difference in the world for good.  The Prophet Joseph said it this way, “Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”  The words of the Lord are clear on this subject: “Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:18).  That is pretty strong language that should give us all reason to reflect on our commitment to serving and helping those in need.  I guess the question that we have to each figure out individually is what our “portion” is that the Lord expects us to share.  For the rich young ruler, it was everything: “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven” (Matt. 19:21).  I suspect that for most of us it is far greater than our 10% tithing and involves much more than our financial means.