ANSWER: I wrote this creed in 2012 in response to a teacher's invitation in a Relief Society class. I shared it with the family in the January 2013 edition of the NICHOLS FAMILY NEWS. I think this answers the above question quite credibly.
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s you might remember, we are studying the teachings of President George Albert Smith on
the second and third Sundays during our Priesthood and Relief Society classes
during 2012. George Albert Smith was
prophet from shortly before I was born until I was about five or six years
old. I can vividly recall hearing his
name often and knew he was the prophet and president of the Church. Everything I remember about him marked him as
low-key, kindly, and almost self-effacing.
His teachings
that we have discussed this year pretty much reflect that. He had certain themes to which he returned over and over.
Nothing spectacular like President McKay’s statement a few years later,
“No success can compensate for failure
in the home”, and the widely recognized edict, “Every Member a Missionary”,
still President Smith’s talks were full of testimony as to our responsibility
to emulate the Savior and live Christ-like lives.
Our first
lesson with the new manual featured the 11 ideals which 34 year old
George Albert Smith listed as resolutions and called his “personal creed”. At the end of our class time, the young
sister who led our Relief Society discussion handed out a small four page
booklet with blank pages labeled “MY CREED”.
She invited us to spend some time thinking about what principles we have chosen to govern our lives, and
jot those statements down—perhaps assuming we HAD some kind of mission
statement already, or that we would be motivated to formulate some kind of
written reminder to better guide our lives.
It took me a few months to ponder that assignment and finally put
into concrete statements the principles which I believe have moved me along in
life. Some of them have been with me
pretty much “from the beginning”. Some
of the others have been added as I have grown in the gospel and matured in my
sociality with those around me.
Let’s face
it. Until Lindsey passed out those
little booklets, these governing ideas in my life have been jotted down on scraps
of paper here and there or sometimes recorded in my journal, and have been pondered
while I have been out walking or driving in the car or while in the silence of
many nights I could not sleep. But they
have never, ever been translated into formal tenets of my personal creed until
now. I hope you can recognize the
actions and choices in my life as being parallel and compatible with these
commitments. (Written
while on a long layover in Houston, Texas, June 2012)
MY CREED
I
would seek the blessings of paying a full tithe, as I know my willingness to do
so protects me in both spiritual and temporal ways.
I
would look forward to attending Sunday meetings and cultivate the feelings of
peace and serenity the Sabbath affords for a successful week ahead.
I
would take opportunity to read and peruse the magazines published by the Church
in order to enhance my gospel scholarship and learn better ways to live the
gospel on a daily basis.
I
would recognize that many people around me are in need of ministering, and I
can do that by looking them in the eye and sincerely greeting them as I pass
them on the street, see them on the plane, or rub shoulders with them at Church
meetings.
I
would rejoice in small homilies which will nevertheless uplift those people with
whom I come in contact. I will
complement them on a color or item of clothing they are wearing, some
assignment they performed, or an event in their lives.
I
would note how my own heart is warmed when I am remembered on my special days,
and I will remember others on their special days.
I
would recall the mundane and thankless jobs I have had over my lifetime, and then
make sure I thank the cleaners on the plane, the housekeepers who have made my
hotel room clean and comfortable, and the caterers who work in all kinds of
weather delivering food to the galleys on the plane.
I
would remember my commission to share the gospel—with everyone. And that “everyone” includes my friends, my
neighbors in the world, and my family, some of whom may be in a different place
on the road to eternal life.
I
would keep always uppermost in my mind that I set out for salvation, and I will
live each day to that end.
Georgia H. Nichols
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