I have been thinking a lot the past couple of weeks about what good I'm doing here in this life right now. I want to help others in this life, and be an influence for good, not for myself, but for the benefit of others. That is the purpose of this blog, one that Sarah and I consider a sacred obligation the Lord has entrusted to us.  But I have been questioning if I am actually being an influence for good, one that can be felt and is in turn helping others. I don't do it for recognition or applause, but to spread the love of God to others.  Sometimes I think we all have ambitions to do great things that will have an effect on a very grand scale. Think Mother Teresa or Gandhi. We want to change the world, instead of just affecting those in our social circle or city.  We feel useless when we compare our efforts and abilities to those who are well known the world over for their good deeds.
It is at these times I have to remember the scripture, "And thus we see that by small and simple means the Lord can bring about great things." 1 Nephi 16:29
Mother Teresa said "We can not all do great things. But we can do small things with great love." I believe that the small and simple things we do with great love do influence others, and that one good thing will trickle down from one person to another to another, creating a ripple effect that will influence thousands to millions of people. We may not see the fruits of our labors, but that does not mean that they aren't there.
I have thought about the song "For Good" from the play "Wicked" when it comes to this, especially because of some circumstances that occurred in my life the past 6 months.  The experience I speak of is personal and I will not go into great detail here, but I know I cannot express myself more adequately unless I explain some.  But first, in order to do so, here are the lyrics to "For Good" and a link so you can listen to it for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJaZO2nfGg

GLINDA:
I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.

ELPHABA:
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you'll have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you...

GLINDA:
Because I knew you...

BOTH:
I have been changed for good.

ELPHABA:
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done,
You blamed me for.

GLINDA:
But then,
I guess,
We know there's blame to share.

BOTH:
And none of it seems to matter anymore.
Like a comet pulled from orbit
(Like a ship blown from its mooring)
As it passes a sun.
(By a wind off the sea)
Like a stream that meets a boulder
(Like a seed dropped by bird)
Halfway through the wood.
(In the wood)
Who can say if I've been changed for the better.
I do believe I have been changed for the better.

GLINDA:
And because I knew you...

ELPHABA:
Because I knew you...

BOTH:
Because I knew you
I have been changed...
For good.
Near the end of last summer my path crossed someone else's in a way that I have no doubt was orchestrated by the Lord. I got to know this person very well and spent a great deal of time with them. I had no idea how I got on this person's radar in the first place, but they told me it was because I was a good person who makes others want to be better, that I "make everything look easy," among other good things.  They saw me in a way that I often see myself but have a hard time believing.  This person made me want to be a better person and in certain ways brought out the best in me.
I felt a very strong pull towards this person in a way I can only describe as unexplainable and know that it came from Heavenly Father. This person was going through a hard time and didn't feel like a good person. I never doubted this person's goodness, not once. As a matter of fact, I knew they were extremely good because I had a significant experience early on in which the Lord told me that this person was good. I don't take that word lightly. Good was everything. I saw this persons divine potential more I think than they did, more than I have ever seen anyone else's.
This person said I was helping them "get back onto the straight and narrow." I believed more than I ever have in my life that I was in someones life for a specific purpose.  I never viewed them as a "project" or someone that I was trying to change. Everything I did and was was because I cared about them. All I did was be myself.
A few weeks ago my relationship with this person came to a close, which has been very hard but there in no bitterness in it. As it did come to a close, the pull I felt towards this person disappeared as quickly as it had come.  As I have been trying to come to terms with what happened and why, I have come to some conclusions.  Like the song says, I believe that both this person and I came into each other's lives for a reason, that we were lead to each other and both grew in return.  It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, but part of me is made from what I learned from them, and I think they would say the same.
It was only after my bishop, Bishop Newton, talked today in church about our ability to influence for good that I felt completely at peace with the situation with the friend I talked about above. He said that we may never know the influence we have for good, but that doesn't mean in isn't there.  When we see the divine potential in others around us, we can help then rise to that potential. He suggested we think of when we are standing before the Lord in judgement and he opens in a vision of what influence we had on others throughout our lifetime. Imagine what we will learn of what really happened because of the "small things with great love" that we did.
I am eternally grateful that I had opportunity to have been changed for good.