knowyourneighbor

Treasure Hunting with Friends

Photo from Flickr.com

I heard a touching testimony in sacrament meeting a couple months ago, and I'd like to share it with you.

Nick Miller is a first-year graduate student in the English department of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  He has felt left out of opportunities to network with his colleagues, because he doesn’t join them when they go out to bars and engage in other activities which would make him uncomfortable.

He also bemoaned the fact that his life has many more demands than many of his single colleagues, since he is married with young children.

In an effort to reach out to his colleagues, he invited one of his colleagues and her husband to his home for dinner. His guests expressed that they sympathize with his dislike of social activities that take them away from their family. They explored ways they would like to network, and this led to an invitation to attend a family home evening in the Miller’s home.

Nick said the experience taught him that, while he does not have the time or freedom his colleagues have, he does have things of value that can build common ground.   

Do you sometimes feel like Nick did? What do you have of value that others might also be looking for and treasure?

Inviting someone to dinner, as Nick did, is a wonderful way to get to know your neighbour.

NY Times article "Where the votes are..."

Did you happen to see this article in the NY Times -- Where the Votes Are, So are All Those Calories?

A couple of paragraphs from the article were particularly relevant to Know Your Neighbor:

Those wanting to be president must never, ever refuse or fumble the local specialties, lest they repeat the sins of John Kerry (dismissed as effete when he ordered a Philly cheese steak with Swiss in 2004) or Gerald R. Ford (on a 1976 swing through Texas, he bit into a tamale with the corn husk still on).

Downing a regional delicacy with aplomb, Mr. Scheib said, tells voters: “I’m one of you. I’m part of this area. Vote for me.”

“There are few things more personal than eating,” he said, “and if you reject someone’s food, you kind of reject them.”

Which is why inviting people into our homes (and accepting invitations to others' homes) to share a meal is such an integral aspect of Know Your Neighbor.

Consider this for a moment -- of all the people that you are really close to -- are there any with whom you haven't shared a meal?

Related posts:

Sharing a meal
Finding common ground
Disney's Pass the Plate
A Casserole is a Neighborly Gift

Romney's 'Faith in America' speech

In the context of Know Your Neighbor, there are two passages from Romney's Faith in America speech worth noting:

I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.

Do you remember Stendahl's Rules, three rules for dealing with and understanding other religions. Krister Stendahl, the man who crafted these rules, is the former Lutheran Bishop of Stockholm, emeritus dean of Harvard Divinity School, and a long-time friend of the Mormon church. Specifically, his third rule is: Leave room for "holy envy" -- meaning leave room for true admiration of something in another person's religious tradition.

***

Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. 'They were too divided in religious sentiments', what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.

Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.

And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God ... they founded this great nation.

Elder M. Russell Ballard has said, "For the most part, our neighbors want to make the world a better place, just like we do. They are kind and loving and generous and faithful, just like we seek to be." It was true 200 plus years ago, isn't it also true today?

Any passages that you'd highlight?