Idaho faith: Allow others’ stories demonstrating love and service to be an inspiration

A recent Statesman article told about James Warren, a Denver man who has begun making benches for bus stops. A frequent bus rider, he noticed that many stops had no seating for people while they waited.

One day he saw a woman sitting in the dirt at a bus stop along a busy road. There was no bench, there was no sidewalk. Feeling that it was undignified for people to have to sit in the dirt while waiting for the bus, the 28-year-old decided to do something about it. He found some scrap lumber and built a bench for the bus stop.

Warren hoped that the woman and others waiting wouldn’t have to sit in the dirt again. And then he realized that one bench was not going to make much of a dent. Many of the 9,000 public bus stops in the Denver metro area lack seating or shelter.

Nevertheless, he has continued to build and place additional benches around the city, trying to change one bus stop at a time. His goal is “to make people’s lives just a little bit better, in any way I can.”

And then I read an article about a 19-year-old man in Iowa City, Iowa, who was concerned about the neglected gravesites of veterans in a local cemetery. Weathered, covered with dirt and lichens, or sunken into the ground, their condition bothered the young man. These were men and women who had fought in America’s conflicts, from the Civil War to more recent military battles.

Aaron Schultz made it his mission to spruce up the graves, buying a cleaning solution used at Arlington National Cemetery and scrapers to remove mold and lichen. Then he began visiting cemeteries, scrubbing and cleaning veterans’ headstones.

After he posted pictures of his handiwork on Facebook, a retired 67-year-old woman joined the young man in his effort. Between them they have cleaned over 100 headstones — and they plan to continue the project. “It’s a good way to spend your time — doing a good deed,” Schultz said.

These accounts, and numerous others, are often described as “feel-good stories.” I see them, however, as examples of people caring about others. Without concern about recognition or reward, they have seen a need and taken steps to meet it.

During the semi-annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earlier this month, Elder Hugo Montoya spoke about what he calls the eternal principle of love, the Lord’s commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

Elder Montoya moved to Salt Lake City after being called to serve as a general authority in the church, and he remembers his first winter. There was snow everywhere. Coming from Mexico, he was intrigued by the snow, but then realized it had to be removed from his driveway and sidewalk.

One morning he was sweating and shoveling when his neighbor’s garage door opened. His neighbor being older, Elder Montoya thought he might need help clearing his driveway. He called out, “Brother, do you need help?”

His neighbor smiled and thanked him. Then he pulled out a snowblower and quickly cleared his driveway, before crossing the street and asking, “Elder, do you need help?” Elder Montoya accepted with a smile.

“We are willing to help each other because we love each other,” he explained, “and my brother’s needs become my needs, and mine become his.” He then urged, “Let us take advantage of every opportunity to help our neighbor, even if it is the first and only time we meet him or her in this life.”

No matter our culture or language, we are all children of the same God. As James Warren and Aaron Schultz each demonstrated, there are many ways to love and serve others if we look for and seize the opportunity.