The Power of Words

I looked at the man standing across the deli counter as he peered back at me from behind his glasses. He was short, gray haired and balding. His face was wrinkled by time and his mouth drawn tight. I had asked him to slice some turkey for me and he was not being very nice. In fact, he said something to me that was very rude. Immediately into my mind came a nasty response, but as I opened my mouth to express it, an interesting thing happened. Just as the words were forming on my lips, into my mind came the following, “What he said to you, you know is not true and it did not hurt you, but what you are going to say to him will cut him to the very core.” I shut my mouth, thanked him for the meat, and walked away.

I have thought about that experience often. How many times have I not been stopped before uttering words that cut people to the very core? How often have my words destroyed, or weakened those around me? What might I say, or not say if I knew how my words would be received by the hearer?

Words are very powerful things. They can demean and destroy but they can also build and strengthen. Think of the power there is in just hearing your name. When I first moved to the town where we now live, I was called to be a relief society teacher and taught once a month. The stake relief society president made an effort to get to know all the teachers in the stake and when she would see me, a very obscure girl in her mid twenties, she would always greet me by name. In taking the time to learn and remember my name, she made me feel important. And I loved her for it. To this day she remains one of my most favorite people.

Think also of the power in the words, “I love you”. A few years ago I was challenged by a friend to express my love to those around me. I could easily express my love to my husband and children, but I never used those words with anyone else. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable saying them, but decided to accept the challenge. Gradually I began to express love to siblings and friends. It was then I learned a very important lesson. You cannot sincerely express love to someone without feeling in your heart that very love you are expressing, and the more you say it, the more your love grows.

I had no idea when I accepted the challenge how much it would change my life. I had spent many years protecting my heart from being wounded, but in learning to express love, my love for others not only increased, but the walls I had built around my heart began to come down, and I learned to let people into my life where I had previously kept them out.

I love the general conference talk by Elder Holland titled “The Tongue of Angels”. In it he quotes Joseph Smith saying, "It is by words . . . [that] every being works when he works by faith. God said, 'Let there be light: and there was light.' Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain. . . . All this was done by faith. . . . Faith, then, works by words; and with [words] its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed."

If words can be used to create the earth, move mountains and shut up the heavens, think how they can be used to lift and built those around us. What good might come from saying, “I love what you said” “I appreciate you” or “I know you can do it”. How might expressing our love soften hearts, or a note of gratitude help heal a wounded soul?

Kind and loving words spoken, are tools of creation.

Elder Holland went on to say, “Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail.”

My challenge is this . . .this minute, this hour, this day . . . exercise faith in the power of words to create. Find someone whose heart needs repair, a relationship that needs mending, or a person who needs strengthening, and exercise faith in the power of words to create good and build those around you.

And may the words you speak and hear, always bring great . . . joy to your journey.

The Curious Case of the Washing Machine

My plan was to sell them. We were moving into a new house and as a house warming gift, my husband's boss gave us a new washer and dryer. Although our old ones had served us well for ten years, they appeared to still have a few more years of dedicated service in them, so I suggested we run an add in the newspaper and sell them and I could use the money to help decorate our new house. It sounded like a great plan to me.

But after some thought my husband said, "No. Let's wait. Someone is going to need them."

So, I put away my thoughts of what wall hangings could be purchased with my earnings and started packing.

Weeks went by and it was time to move. We still hadn't heard of anyone needing a washing machine or a dryer, and not wanting to move them to our new house just so they could sit in the garage, I once again suggested we try selling them. At first Wes agreed--as he knew he would be the one to do the heavy lifting--but after a day he came back and again told me to wait.

So we loaded them into the moving van and unloaded them in our garage where they sat for several months gathering dust and consuming valuable space.

Then one day I was visiting with a neighbor when she happened to mention her washing machine was not working. Into my mind popped a picture of the idle machine in my garage and I hurried home to call my husband at work to tell him what I had learned. He called the family and offered them both the washing machine and the dryer, which they came and took.

Although they didn't need the dryer, my neighbor's sister did. She was a mother of five small children, including a set of twin boys, and had a lot of laundry to dry, however, her dryer was not working well and would often take hours to dry one load.

Grateful for the new dryer, she placed her old one out on the street and called the city for garbage pickup. Before the garbage man could arrive, however, a stranger knocked at her door. He explained he fixed appliances for a living and wondered if he could take her broken dryer. He said his sister was a single mother of small children and didn't have one, so if he could have this one and fix it, they would both be very grateful.

So our neighbor took the washing machine, her sister took the dryer and a stranger took her dryer to help his sister. And all of this happened because my husband followed a prompting to wait. He was right. Someone needed them.

I have learned a lot about sharing from my husband over the years. He had a saying I have come to believe is true. He would say, "If we can't share what we have in our poverty, we won't be willing to share in our wealth."

My sister was a wonderful example of being willing to share in her poverty. When we were first married and literally owned nothing, she was starting off as well. But still wanting to help us out, she gathered up items from her house she did not need and took them to a garage sale where she traded them for things she knew we could use. Out of this trade we got a table, two chairs, a coffee table and a baby blanket. They were all well worn, but they were beautiful to us. And my son still has the baby blanket.

How grateful I was to my husband for his desire to share with others. How grateful I was to my sister who was willing to share as well. And how grateful I am to all the many people over the years who have--- out of both their poverty and their wealth--- shared their belongings, their time, their friendship and their love with us. You have all added great . . . .joy to our journey.