When you focus on the one, you can really lift and strengthen.
You know, I've had the opportunity
to visit different areas of the world,
and we've attended church in many different wards
and branches.
And until you've seen people that are different than you,
in lots of different ways, I think
it's easy to get focused on a very narrow segment
and feel like that's the only way to be.
I think when we get outside ourselves,
when we consider others, it helps us realize that we are
all a family--our family of Heavenly Father.
When we don't get outside ourselves,
when we stay with our own little unit,
we miss out on the richness of life that other people bring.
We miss out on the strengthening experiences
for our own testimonies if we stay in our own little world,
our own little circle.
Someone might say, "Well, I don't
have a need for other people."
But maybe they have a need for you.
When you choose to put yourself out there,
you are blessing someone else's life.
I think one of the things that we can do
is to focus on the one.
Can you find one person that looks
like they would love to visit or that they need someone
to listen to them?
Can you look for the person who's sitting on the outside,
sitting on the fringe?
That gives me a purpose, that gives us
a purpose, when we feel not so comfortable with large groups
but we just focus on the one.
One of the best ways to form a good relationship is not
to come in with assumptions or preconceived notions--keeping
an open mind and open heart.
Sometimes we tend to pigeonhole people
or we assume that they're a certain way because
of a certain situation in their life or their family.
And it's always surprising--if you keep your mind open
and your heart open, you find out lots of wonderful things
about people that you might not have ever expected.
But when you've experienced, when you've seen,
when you've opened your heart to other people,
you see that we all belong.