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Without hesitation I can point straight to the four scriptures that have guided my life and my choices each and every day.
The first one is Joshua 1:9, which I memorized in early-morning seminary my junior year of high school. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
The second one I memorized my senior year of high school early morning seminary. Alma 60:27-29, “And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become extinct.
“Yea, behold I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it is my God whom I fear; and it is according to his commandments that I do take my sword to defend the cause of my country, and it is because of your iniquity that we have suffered so much loss.
“Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit you even to your utter destruction.”
And the last two are the Articles of Faith numbers 12 and 13, memorized at age 8, in exchange for a piece of candy from the bishop’s office. “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”
With these four scriptures as the guiding lights of my life, is it any surprise that I would go into politics and humanitarian service? I have remembered and recited these four scriptures hundreds of times throughout my life.
As most of my friends and readers know, I have spent a great deal of time serving in some of the world’s saddest, most underdeveloped, and war-torn places. I have personally worked with sex-trafficking victims. I’ve heard their stories, and helped them find education and new job skills. I have worked in hospitals and tent cities with disaster victims. I have volunteered in orphanages. I have held dying babies who had no other family to hold them in their final moments. I have driven ambulances and fire trucks at lightning speed. I have pulled people from car wrecks. I’ve seen families sob over the death of a loved one.
I acutely feel the pain of the refugees fleeing our common enemies. I have not yet met them. But I can imagine their circumstances and fear. And worse, I know what their fates hold if someone doesn’t help them. I’ve seen the path the desperate and desolate go down. And I know first-hand how difficult it is for them to ever escape the gripping poverty and oppression they will fall into. With a pain in my heart, I know that if we do not help them now, I will be helping them in far worse circumstances in the future.
And all of these reasons, held deep in my heart, are why I must do something to help the refugees.
It is not uncommon for people to believe and accept that the only contribution they can make is cash in these situations. Many people don’t donate because they assume their donation will be swallowed up in the overhead of some large international non-profit. But this isn’t true. Everyone can make a difference in some way.
I am only one person, but I know my skills. I’m a writer, marketer, and social media expert. I’m also an excellent researcher, able to find real facts in a sea of biased journalism. What I have to offer the world comes in the form of raising awareness and educating others. (And that is why I have chosen to use social media to sell t-shirts so that others like me can wear our beliefs proudly. We can show others that there is still a “spark of freedom remaining.”)
If your skills are in medicine, consider donating time at a clinic for the local refugees in your community. If you are a stay-at-home-mom, what about driving a refugee family to their appointments? Or offering to babysit their children while the parents look for jobs? Any fluent English speaker can take the opportunity to teach English skills to an immigrant family. Accountants can help new immigrants and refugees file their taxes. Students can help tutor refugee students. Photographers can help by offering a free portrait of a refugee family in their new lives. If the pen is your mighty sword, write letters, write articles, and publish them widely.
There is something everyone can do to make a difference, no matter what your skills. I hope you will use the comments section below to share specific links and ways others can serve and help.
For the Lord Thy God is With Thee
“Have not I commanded thee (to love one another as I have loved you, and to help your fellow man)? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.”
And never forget, that we, as Mormons, and followers of Christ, believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. We believe in the admonition of Paul, that “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Are You a Pahoran or a Moroni?
Last but not least, let’s go back to the scripture in Alma, of Moroni’s example to stand up and do the right thing and call others to rally. For me, this scripture calls me, begs me, and demands of me that I “stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become extinct.” I will do all that I can to stir up insurrections to fight evil in the world until it becomes extinct. “The sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit you even to your utter destruction.” The threat of that sword of justice is enough to motivate me into action.
If you think you have nothing to offer those who need it, or if the idea of stirring up insurrections scares you, just remember the next line in the admonition of Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Erin Ann McBride is a writer, dreamer, and sometimes social media consultant. She likes to say she’s equal parts Mother Theresa, Anne Shirley, and Mary Poppins. When she’s not busy cuddling her baby nephew, writing books, working at her day job, or curtailing her Netflix habit, you can find her raising funds to personally take donations to refugees in Germany with this refugee shirt or this
“She Persisted” shirt.
You can find her popular book, Sharing the Gospel through Social Media on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Deseret Book.
Anything else you might want to know about her can be found at www.erinannmcbride.com.
Erin Ann McBrideMay 4, 2017
Bluewater, Your comment pains me. You are criticizing these refugees without even trying to walk in their shoes first. For instance, for years they have lived in horror. War zones, threats, famine, poverty, etc. That kind of trauma is not overcome in an instant. And then they arrive in a foreign land where nothing is the same and they don't know the language. Have you ever traveled abroad and questioned "why do they like their beds this way?" "Why do all other countries hate air conditioning?" "Why do they all like warm water?" The pendulum swings both ways. These refugees arrive here and wonder so many things about why we like what we do, and miss the comforts they used to know. But then worse, they don't fit it. Those same people who purport to rescue and or serve them, talk about building a wall, are racist, and don't want them living in their neighborhoods. Help them, just help them somewhere else. They are searching for a place to belong. And often, they find that in gangs. Because privileged white people are too busy looking down on them. It's not futile to help them. It's futile to help them without also being their friends and giving them a place to be accepted and friended. You mentioned that "in a first world country want nothing but to be a bum." After years of literally wandering in deserts, oppressed, traumatized, and injured, you don't bounce back overnight. Your ideal American lifestyle is something they must see and learn. Not something they are familiar with. Give them time. It may take until the next generation for them to find their place in this country. Oh and stop assuming that the American way is so much better than all other countries. We're not better. We're just who we are.
DaddybeaverMay 2, 2017
Bluewater Do not paint such a gloomy picture, there are those that follow that path, and many who are not refugees follow the same path. Our responsibility is to do all we can to not get them on that path. There always those who are lazy and choose alternate paths, but that is their agency! Our responsibility remains the same!