Gospel in Action: She Looks Good in Red

Guest blogger: Margie Clark

A lot of thoughts have been racing through my mind, since Ellen asked if I would contribute to the RS blog. The suggested topic was “Gospel in Action”. This topic implies that there is more to be accomplished than simply attending church each week and being passive members.

We are women of covenant and, as such, our church attendance, studying of the scriptures, and listening to lessons given, should be changing us from who we were to who Heavenly Father would like us to be.

I really enjoyed Bro. Duckworth’s talk in Sacrament meeting last Sunday. He shared many of the same thoughts that I have had recently. I love the scripture in Moroni 7:45 that he shared with us. What a great definition of charity and as it pertains to our behavior!

Another of my favorite scriptures are those in Mosiah 18, where Alma teaches those being baptized what it means to “be called His people”:

“that we will bear one another’s burdens, are willing to mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God at all times.

Does our behavior and do the words we say, truly reflect these covenants that we have made?

A story that my mother told me comes to mind. My grandmother grew up in foster homes from the time she was two until she married my grandfather. At the time of her marriage, she was 19 years old and instantly became the stepmother to four children. She went on to have 12 more children.

Doing the best that she could, with the few family and life skills that she had, and very little money, she raised a family of 16 children during the Great Depression.

There was a woman in her ward that was, quite frequently, very vocal to my grandmother and to others about my grandmother’s shortcomings. My grandmother was not one to speak unkindly of others, so she did the best she could to find something complimentary about a woman who had hurt her deeply, on many occasions.

Grandma, one day, noticed that the woman looked very good in the color red. Consequently, whenever she felt tempted to say something unkind either to the woman or about the woman, she would remind herself that the woman looked good in red.

This is a lesson that I am trying to learn from my Grandmother. I will try to find the best in the people that I am in contact with and not let those unkind thoughts turn into unkind words.

Lastly, in case you need it…I really DO look good in red! :-)