What difference would it make if voices of people are being heard more than ever before?
"26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people." (Mosiah 29: 26)
"1 And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—
2 Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king over the people.
3 Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be established by the voice of the people.
4 Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would deprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.
5 And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and wonderful contentions one with another.
6 And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their voices concerning the matter; and they were laid before the judges.
7 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people." (Alma 2: 1-7)
"26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." (Mosiah 29: 26-27)
And here's the commentary entitled; "I can be a positive influence in my community." :
"Just five years into the reign of the judges, a crisis arose that would test Mosiah’s declaration that the voice of the people would usually choose what was right (see Mosiah 29:26). Study Alma 2:1–7 to find out what the issue was and what the Nephites did about it. What might have happened if “the people of the church” had not made their voices heard? What else do you learn from this account about how the Lord wants you to be involved in your community? (see also Mosiah 29:26–27).
What are the important issues facing your community? Consider how you, like the Nephites, can make sure that your voice is included in “the voice of the people.” In what other ways can you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, influence your community for good?
See also Dallin H. Oaks, “Love Your Enemies,” Liahona, Nov. 2020, 26–29."
The wicked Amlici could have been crowned king of the Nephites if the people of the church had not made their voices heard. Hitler rose to power because the righteous people around him didn't get their voices heard. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke) The Lord wants me to be involved by influencing my community for good so that I can be an instrument in God's hand in making good triumph over evil.
From my own experience in my community at work, people tend to just say "yes" all the time to the immediate head. When the team that I was in was having a hard time because of the inaction on the part of some individuals, someone made a decision without involving them and told me to not say anything to them. This made me so uncomfortable because it's not being honest and I believe in being honest. So I made up my mind to speak up. I did send my message to one of those individuals because I wanted to stay honest, I care about them and I care about our team. My message was not taken well. Someone among the three of them got mad and tried to confront me while I was in the queue of people by the finger-scanning machine. While she was being loud as she was trying to get me to talk to respond to her angry comments, after I scanned my finger I simply left. Later on, this individual did start talking to me again in a calm manner so we've been in good talking terms again since then. When that individual who told our team to say nothing learned that I did speak up, she did say that she admired my honesty. I also spoke up to our immediate head and because I did, she decided to change how we would work together the following school year (last year) which resolved the issue eventually. Because I did speak up the issue finally got resolved.
Speaking up does have consequences. The consequence could be not always in your favor when your immediate head expects you to say "yes" all the time, doesn't want to do what you are suggesting, or doesn't know exactly what to do to be able to change a situation for the better. My speaking up almost cost me my job actually. My contract signing for this new school year got delayed because my immediate head decided to get the higher officials to talk to me before I signed my contract. My immediate head told me "You're a good teacher" and said she wanted to keep all her teachers. At the start of this current school year, I was told to talk to the higher authorities again. They told me and I did understand that there were two extra teachers in my immediate head's grade levels (1st and 2nd grades) because the number of classes of 1st and 2nd graders this school year is two less than the past school year. So this is the reason why they were moving me to teach Kindergarten 3 (KG3). I gratefully accepted this new position. When I reported to my new immediate head (Head of Kindergarten 1, 2, 3, and Pre-Kindergarten or Nursery, English Program) at the KG staffroom, she was giving the specific teaching assignments to the teachers and directing them to go to their classrooms. When someone did not agree to teach Pre-K as her new assignment, the position was given to me.
It's now three weeks since I started teaching my Nursery class and I can say that getting moved to this position is a blessing in disguise. This teaching job was offered to three teachers before it was given to me. Nobody wants this teaching position. That's why all three teachers before me turned it down. The teacher who taught this class last year is no longer teaching in the school now (along with the other one who taught the other class. There are only two classes in Pre-K). I heard she had a hard time--teaching Pre-K class was so difficult for her. And her contract was no longer renewed up to a full year, unlike mine. I'm so blessed that my contract is still up to one whole year. This is an answered prayer. I'm even more blessed that I'm now teaching my very first Pre-K Class. I've been prepared for this and so I'm up to the challenge which nobody wants to go through.
Because I made the choice to be honest and speak up, the Lord has been blessing me abundantly. Making the choice to be honest is truly God's will. When we face challenges as we are doing His will, the Lord inspires us to know exactly what to do to rise above our challenges. And He blesses us in ways that we could never imagine. I never thought that I would be teaching Nursery ever. And yet I've been inspired to prepare for it beforehand. I took care-giving course after resigning from my secondary school teaching job in the Philippines and prior to coming over here in Thailand 18 years ago. This training particularly taught me how to lift things from the ground and to do caring things (like changing baby's diapers) in ways that would strengthen my body like exercise does, rather than hurting my body. The Lord truly is in the details and the details and the details of our lives. I left my country equipped with not only my teaching credentials plus experience but also my care-giving skills that I needed to rise above the challenges that I would face at work here abroad. Now I've been able to easily do my job as a Nursery Teacher/Caregiver. I feel I've been able to do more exercise now than ever before and I'm physically stronger, with more energy, and healthier. My time is also freed up because I would only prepare visual aids for my lessons. No need to do a lot of stuff like preparing PowerPoint Presentations, making and marking exam papers, marking a lot of workbooks (Only got one set of workbooks in one subject for the whole school year. That's it!), and working on students' projects which would require taking and doing them at home from time to time. So, now I have more time for other things I'd love to do. I'm able to spend a few hours working in my little garden just this past weekend. I'm also back to doing yoga regularly. Lifting my students from time to time during the whole day with them at school daily got me back to doing my regular weight-lifting exercise. All these additional exercises in addition to my early morning dance routine daily are truly making me feel stronger, full of energy, healthier, and happier. And I feel I have more power to make many more things happen!
No comments:
Post a Comment