Know Your Neighbor

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I recently met Whitney Johnson who serves in Church Public Affairs in Boston. She’s created a website called Know Your Neighbor which advocates kindness, service, neighborliness, and an “inclusionary” attitude as important elements of member missionary work. As the Prophet Joseph said, “friendship is one of the grand principles of Mormonism.” A friendly and kind disposition must be a part of who we are. It’s better to be a friend who doesn’t proselyte than a proselytizer who isn’t a friend.

Dr. Richard Bushman wrote about being “dedicated to blessing others”:

I wrote to Elder Holland about a rough patch ahead as animosity to religion keeps growing. I am coming to envision a new persona for the Church as humble followers of Jesus Christ. Instead of speaking triumphantly of the Gospel sweeping the earth, could we think of ourselves instead as the leaven in the lump, standing for righteousnesss and serving others? I wish we had a long record of kindness and friendship to fall back on, with less stress on proselyting. Then when the storms break around us, we would have friends to turn to. Our covenant with God is to bless the people of the earth. That should be our motto. Establishing Zion does not mean sweeping vast masses of people on to our membership records but creating a people of God dedicated to blessing others. Joseph and his early followers came forth with lots of triumphalist rhetoric, but I think we need a new voice, one of humility, friendship, and service. (via)

President Hinckley has repeatedly advocated friendship and kindness:

The true gospel of Jesus Christ never led to bigotry. It never led to self-righteousness. It never led to arrogance. The true gospel of Jesus Christ leads to brotherhood, to friendship, to appreciation of others, to respect and kindness and love.

There are other great quotes on Whitney’s website and blog. You can also download a PDF called “The Spirit of Ammon” which explains how Ammon’s service to King Lamoni set the stage for his gospel conversion.

We’ve previously mentioned ways to share the gospel on the Internet. Is it also possible to simply be a good neighbor on the Internet?

• The anonymous nature of the Internet often leads to “cyber-bullying,” extreme rudeness, and visceral attacks. (Blogging can be a lightning rod!) When we see such behavior, we can remain polite and collected, and we can be respectful even when we disagree. We can make encouraging comments to those who are attacked and improve the tone of the dialog.
• We don’t have to mention our “particular brand of faith” when writing about gospel truths. Pick a topic like honesty, chastity, or family and explain why it’s important to you.
• We can blog about our religion without being pushy. For example, mention that you learned Portuguese because you lived in Brazil for two years. Let the text “two years” be a link to something that explains why you were there. Those who are interested can follow the link.