Service is one of the closest things we have to godliness on this earth. I personally know how important service is because it has changed my life. I have gone through some times when I would just sit in my room and cry and not want to go out with friends or do anything. I was miserable and I didn't want to be in public. All I wanted to do was be alone. I was going through medical problems as well at this time and I was given the choice to go talk to a professional about everything I was feeling, but I chose not to. I wanted to overcome this on my own, but I had no idea where to start. And then one day I realized how selfish I was being. I realized the only way I was gong to get over this was to get out, forget about myself, and serve. There are so many people who need my light and I was sitting in my room dwelling in my own self pity. I was keeping my light and gifts to myself when I needed to be out sharing them with the people around me. I devoted myself to serving every time I got the chance. I made cookies, I walked elderly women to their cars after church, I told people how much they meant to me, I did anything I could to share my light with someone else. Doing this has changed my life.
Service is so important to me. There is such happiness that only comes through serving others. I can't explain it, but I have felt it. Gordon B. Hinckley said, "The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others." Through service, I was pulled out of my miserable state and I remembered why I am here on this earth. I am here to share what I have with everyone around me.
Forgetting yourself seems hard at times, but when it seems the most hard, that's when it is the most important. Serving others deepens your love for others, opens your eyes to what you have, and makes us discover who we really are. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness."
When Christ was on the earth all He did was serve. We are His hands on the earth today and we need to reach out to those who are struggling or down trodden. We are promised that when we serve, Satan will lose power over us.
Forget yourself and serve.
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." -Mahatama Gandhi
