Spiritual Creed To Live By

This Sunday I visited our Church unit in La Castellana, Negros Occidental together with my youngest son, Gilbor Junior.

La Castellana Branch President Noel Oliverio gave me time to talk at their Sacrament meeting.

Before I finished my talk, I read to them the "personal creed" of President George Albert Smith, one of our Church Presidents and Prophets. It contains the 11 ideals which are worth to live by.

Here's President G. A. Smith's personal creed:

1. I would be a friend to the friendless and find joy in ministering to the needs of the poor.
2. I would visit the sick and afflicted and inspire in them a desire for faith to be healed.
3. I would teach the truth to the understanding and blessing of all mankind.
4. I would seek out the erring one and try to win him back to a righteous and a happy life.
5. I would not seek to force people to live up to my ideals but rather love them into doing the thing that is right.
6. I would live with the masses and help to solve their problems that their earth life may be happy.
7. I would avoid the publicity of high positions and discourage the flattery of thoughtless friends.
8. I would not knowingly wound the feelings of any, not even one who may have wronged me, but would seek to do him good and make him my friend.
9. I would overcome the tendency to selfishness and jealousy and rejoice in the successes of all the children of my Heavenly Father.
10. I would not be an enemy to any living soul.
11. Knowing that the Redeemer of mankind has offered to the world the only plan that will fully develop us and make us really happy here and hereafter, I feel it not only a duty but also a blessed privilege to disseminate this truth.

It is, therefore a challenge to live what you believe, and to walk your talk.

Anyway, I opened up my short talk by relaying our family tradition every new year's day for we usually spend it at the beach every January 1.

That new year.s eve everyone was busy. So the following day, we woke up late. Since it was January 1, everyone kept themselves busy preparing. Our service, a motorized tricycle drove and owned by my son-in-law Almon Tolones, was already waiting us outside of our house.

Now everybody was seated. Almon drove the service directly heading straight to our meetinghouse in Langka, more than 200 hundred meters away from our residence. Everybody got down and proceeded to their respective rooms to attend their respective Sunday classes.

New Year's day fell on Sunday. Therefore, we postponed our family new year's day at the beach. Instead we spent it in our Church, listening to the spiritual messages, renewing our covenant by partaking the Sacrament, and giving donations and offerings to the Church.