What People Think

You'd think I would have learned this by now but I'm finally figuring out that it really doesn't matter what other people think about me. I had the opportunity to teach Elders Quorum today and really felt the Spirit as the class contributed and made comments that gave me new insight into the things that are most important.
We were covering lesson 23 in the JS manual (we jumped 1 ahead last week so we were getting things straight) talking about Unity. Somehow we started talking about how lots of Brethren get nervous when they're called on to speak in front of a crowd. I know one Brother, who is currently serving as an instructor one week a month, really hesitated before accepting his call due to nerves and feelings of inadequacy. Anyway, it's interesting that this came up because I think it was just what he needed to hear. The comment was made that we're not professional teachers in the Church and we're not all about technique but rather focus on conveying things by the Spirit. Of course we believe in improving teaching skills through teacher development classes but the way we convey an idea isn't nit-picked to the point of making everyone self-conscious about how they say how they feel. After the lesson ended, I continued to think about the principle of not caring so much about what others think of me. I think we have a tendency to assume the worst when it comes to reading facial cues and reading between the lines of non-verbal communication. Maybe the adversary actually uses these as a method to get us to turn against each other before we ever have the chance to be truly unified; all this without any real reason.
This reminds me of the story about the man who ran out of Gas near a farm house. He started walking to the house to ask for some help. As he walked, he started thinking to himself that the farmer has probably had a busy day and wasn't going to be happy about any sort of interruption. He continued walking and went further with convincing himself that the farmer who lived at the house would probably be totally put out that he would even ask for help. For whatever reason, he kept walking but, after his knock at the door was answered and the door swung open, he yelled, "You know what, I didn't want any help anyway".
I think we often get offended when there was never any ill intent. We all know of stories where people leave the Church for years (or forever) because of something someone supposedly said. I'd guess that, in at least most cases, something was at least misinterpreted if not totally fabricated.
It's my hope that I can personally live without any real concern for what others may think (or what I might surmise others are thinking) but can rather focus in on what the Lord 'thinks' of me or how I stand before Him. Even if I'm the least popular person in the world, if I stand on the Lord's side, it won't matter if the crowds are calling for my utter destruction.
I realize this is a strange entry and has nothing to do with Christmas which is just around the corner. Part of the reason is that I didn't write in my journal today and it's therapeutic for me to write about the things floating around upstairs... so, thanks for 'listening'.
- ST