P is for Peculiar People

Every Tuesday, BYU has a devotional or forum for students to attend with different speakers, like general authorities, international leaders, and professors. The first devotional I went to was in Summer 2006. A law professor from BYU was the speaker, and he talked about conflicts. It was a great address, but my favorite part was a quote that I THINK (so I am probably wrong) was from Brigham Young: "Living with Saints in heaven is bliss and glory; Living with Saints on earth is another story".

I work in a mall (so I basically watch people for my entire shift!) in Provo, Utah and I'll be honest, most of the people I see are LDS. And you can generally tell which people are NOT because they are really trying to LOOK that way. You know, covered in tattoos, strange piercings, revealing clothes (be careful with this category, because they might just go to UVSC!!), etc, etc. But, most of us here in Provo are LDS, and sometimes I find myself...disappointed with the way some of them act. No one is perfect, and I don't expect it, but I am surprised by the way so many people here treat others.

Example 1: Like I said, I work at a kiosk in the mall (Yea, Miche Bag!), so I am in contact with people all day. I am constantly amazed at the way women refuse to look me in the eye. We are not one of those kiosks that tries to pull you in by talking to you; if you come look, we will say hello and offer to help you. Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. But women will be looking at the purses, and as I greet them, they look away, sometimes mumble "I'm just looking", or just completely ignore me. I understand the desire to "just look" without someone trying to sell you something you don't need; but there is no need to be so rude.

Example 2: Our kiosk used to be in between two kiosks owned and run by people from Israel. Most were in their twenties, and they were all really kind, genuine people. Their wages were based solely on commission, however, so they had to be fairly aggressive with customers. I remember talking to one guy named Sean (actually, that isn't his real name, it is just what he told me to call him since his name was too hard for me to pronounce), and he had worked in other places, other states before, and he said Provo was the worst place he had ever been. He had heard that it was full of people who were faithful churchgoers, and so he expected more kindness than he had seen in other malls. Sean told me that people here didn't treat him like he was worth anything. I felt awful, and I tried my hardest to leave them with a good impression of LDS people. Their kiosks have been out of the mall for a couple of months now, and I only hope that maybe Sean saw some better examples of Christ-like love before he left.

I think Brigham was so right! At least I can take comfort in knowing it will be better in heaven! :)