There is a simple act that each of us can do every day that will bring true happiness to our lives and to the lives of others; this act is being of service to another.

The magic of this principle is that as a person genuinely provides service to another, the individual providing the service generally receives the greatest benefit.

It has been said that through the service of men and women and boys and girls, God’s work is done. The scriptures tell us “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). It is through genuine acts of service that lives are blessed, people are helped and love is shown.

A few years ago, a commentary I read referenced an article by Dr. Jack McConnell, where he described his youth and the benefits of providing service.
He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble.

He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?” The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone.
 
Throughout his life, McConnell’s determination to do good lead to a distinguished medical career where he directed the development of the tuberculosis tine test, participated in the early development of the polio vaccine, supervised the development of Tylenol, and was instrumental in developing the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure.

He also created an organization he calls Volunteers in Medicine, which gives retired medical personnel a chance to volunteer at free clinics serving the working uninsured.

McConnell said his leisure time since he retired has “evaporated into 60-hour weeks of unpaid work, but his energy level has increased and there is a satisfaction in his life that wasn’t there before.” He said: “In one of those paradoxes of life, I have benefited more from Volunteers in Medicine than my patients have.”

We cannot all establish medical clinics to help the poor; however, each of us can do something to help someone each day. By actively being of service each day, we can lighten someone’s load and brighten someone’s life.

The following story as told by President Gordon B. Hinckley provides an example of the positive effect we can have on the life of another, through thoughtful care and a positive act of service:

     “An older boy and his young companion were walking along a road which led through a field. They saw an old coat and a badly worn pair of men's shoes by the roadside, and in the distance they saw the owner working in the field.

“The younger boy suggested that they hide the shoes, conceal themselves, and watch the perplexity on the owner's face when he returned.

“The older boy thought that would not be so good. He said the owner must be a very poor man. So, after talking the matter over, at his suggestion, they concluded to try another experiment. Instead of hiding the shoes, they would put a silver dollar in each one and see what the owner did when he discovered the money. So they did that.

“Soon the man returned from the field, put on his coat, slipped one foot into a shoe, felt something hard, took it out and found a silver dollar. Wonder and surprise shone upon his face. He looked at the dollar again and again, turned around and could see nobody, then proceeded to put on the other shoe; when to his great surprise he found another dollar.

“His feelings overcame him. He knelt down and offered aloud a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife being sick and helpless and his children without bread. He fervently thanked the Lord for this bounty from unknown hands and evoked the blessing of heaven upon those who gave him this needed help.

“The boys remained hidden until he had gone. They had been touched by his prayer and felt something warm within their hearts. As they left to walk down the road, one said to the other, ‘Don't you have a good feeling?’”

It is through the act of showing love and providing service to another that we will feel something warm in our hearts. George Washington said “It’s wonderful what we can do if we’re always doing” and if we will do (provide) service each day to another; we will bless our lives, the lives of those around us and make the world a more loving place.

In Galatians 5:13 the Apostle Paul admonished “By love serve one another.”