A Person is Just a Person

On September 13, 2015 there was a Regional Conference held at the BYU Marriot Center and was broadcast to everyone in all of Provo South area.   We were very lucky to hear from Elder Ballard at the end of the meeting.  He gave everyone listening a lot of advice to take from the meeting.  One piece of advice that really stuck with me was simple: Be Kind. All day I wondered why this kept popping up in my head and why it seemed so important. We are told this simple piece of advice every day by our teachers, our parents, our leaders, our friends or even our siblings.  So then why did it seem so important to me today? 

A few weeks ago, I met up with some old friends from High School and we all sat down to talk.  One of our friends was about to go out on her mission and told us that one of the hardest thing for her to try and not do was compare herself to other sister missionaries that she thought may have been a “better missionary,” or “more spiritual,” etc. One of my other good friends shared a quote that stuck with me since then.  She said her mission president had told them this: It is a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person. This quote has been something that pops up in my head every time I start to feel insecure or begin to compare myself to somebody.  So what does comparing ourselves to others have to do with being kind? I asked myself the same question.  I have realized lately that when we are kind to ourselves, we stop comparing ourselves to others all the time.  We should realize that a person is just a person and we are all different from each other.  Heavenly Father made us so we are each unique.  We were made in His image and He wants us to become like Him.  I believe that to become more like Him we must remember to be kind to everyone, including ourselves, and remember that a person is nothing more than a person.