MACK WILBERG
Conductor
RICHARD ELLIOTT
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
WENDY BRYN HARMER
Special Guest
SAINTS BOUND FOR HEAVEN
American folk hymn
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
HARK, ALL YE NATIONS!
Music: George F. Root
Text: Louis F. Mönch
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
THE REJOICING (ORGAN SOLO)
from Music for the Royal Fireworks
Music: George Frideric Handel
Arrangement: Richard Elliott
JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Text: Martin Jahn
O SPLENDOR OF GOD’S GLORY BRIGHT
Music: German hymn tune
Text: St. Ambrose; transl. Louis F. Benson
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
CLIMB EV’RY MOUNTAIN
from The Sound of Music
Music: Richard Rodgers
Text: Oscar Hammerstein II
Arrangement: Arthur Harris
THE SPOKEN WORD
“The Force of Kindness”
FILL THE WORLD WITH LOVE
from Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Music and Text: Leslie Bricusse
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
The Force of Kindness
The Spoken Word, March 30, 2025
By: Derrick Porter
“Kindness is a lovely force,” said author Anne O. Leavitt, “but it can only be powered by people. For all our magical gadgets, no appliance, instrument, apparatus, or device [can] extend kindness to another human being. That power is vested only in people.”[1]
Kindness is a force propelled by people, and like waves in the ocean, acts of kindness are carried far beyond where the eye can see. “Kindness … opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.”[2] Because of one person’s kindness, generations can benefit.
I’m familiar with the story of a young man born nearly 100 years ago in a small farming community. His family was poor, and his father died young. To make ends meet, his mother spent long hours working as a seamstress at a factory in the city. Unnoticed by most, this young man spent his days playing pool in a billiard hall. One day, a kind man from the local church took notice of the drifting young man and approached him, asking if he might like to leave that little town and serve as a missionary. The young man responded that it would be impossible because he had no money. The older man persisted, and they agreed that if the funds could be raised, the young man would go. Within hours, the church congregation came together and raised the required money for the young man to serve.
The time spent in his missionary pursuits became life-changing, and the young man returned home a new man. He married, had children, and spent the remainder of his days living a happy and productive life. Generations have now benefited from the kind invitation of one person and the kind acts of many in the town’s church congregation so many years ago.
The force of kindness is powered by people for people. As we think back to past kindnesses that have helped us, we can still feel the power of those simple acts. And as we look to the future, we can know that our own kind acts, like waves in the ocean, travel far beyond our sight and bless generations to come.
[1] Anne O. Leavitt, in “Pass It On,” The Foundation for a Better Life, www.passiton.com.
[2] Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign or Liahona , May 2005, 26.