I have developed the habit of trying to attract people’s attention (mostly strangers) so that I can say hello to them. Some of them look at me as if they are thinking, ‘I don’t know you, why are you talking to me?’ My wife and I are always striking up a conversation with strangers on a train or plane or anywhere we are together in a small group waiting to get somewhere, before we separate we feel like friends and as if we had known them as neighbors.
At church on Sunday, before the meeting starts, I go around and shake everyone’s hand and greet them, not as an assignment but because I think that it is important for everyone to feel welcomed with a smile and a handshake. Years ago I would have been too bashful to do that but as a mature and somewhat confident old man, I look forward to doing it. Besides, I know that it has a positive effect on most people. In a recent Fast & Testimony meeting a man stood to bear his testimony, a man who has just started coming out to church after being inactive for several years. He mentioned how good it felt to be greeted with a smile and a handshake and welcomed to church, while looking at me in the congregation. Yes, it is important to be recognized, greeted, and welcomed and it doesn’t have to be limited to the church and church services, it can be anywhere, everywhere and anytime.
The following story was written by a young nursing student who was so wrapped up in her studies that she forgot the importance of people.
She wrote: “During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: ‘What is the name of the woman who cleans the school?’ Surely this was some kind of a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her fifties, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade? Absolutely, said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say, “hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I’ve also never forgotten her name, her name was Dorothy.”
There are millions of Dorothy’s, who walk in and out of our lives, and everyone of them deserve to be recognized and greeted as though they, too, are human beings with human needs and feelings. Whether a close and long time friend or someone just walking by on the street, have the same right to be recognized as a being, not privily ignored as if they did not exist. May our vision not be so narrow that we see only those we love and are related to. Do not the heathen and the unbelievers the same? The Lord has revealed that He, Himself, is not a respecter of persons and cares for all equally. Should that not be a clue to you and I? There are no walls between individuals walking down the street, if there are walls they are walls of our own making.
A quote from President Howard W. Hunter. “All men and women have not only a physical lineage leading back to Adam and Eve, their first earthly parents, but also a spiritual heritage leading back to God the Eternal Father. Thus, all persons on earth are literally brothers and sisters in the family of God.” The Prophet Joseph Smith said that, “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.” I remember recently reading from the writings of Enos a statement he made after he was converted and had been forgiven of his sins; “I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren.” (Book of Mormon, Enos 1:9) May we all feel a desire for the welfare of our brethren and our sisters who walk the earth as we do.