Comments about ‘LDS President Monson, five others honored by Rotary’

That is a fine list of people.

It is good to recognize those whose DNA includes this constant and consistant strand of service to others. This kind of article and media attention is very helpful in reminding us all to be compassionate. We need to hear, our youth need to hear more of this. Thanks for the article and information.

Glad to see the truly good get some favorable recognition. They should be household names throughout the world as icons of good.

These are all certainly admirable people and we're lucky to have them in our communities.

But I wish we'd finally lose slogans like "Service Above Self." The fact is that these people's selves were *fulfilled* by their service to others, not "risen above."

The writer Ayn Rand was scorned by many for considering altruism evil. But most people think altruism means helping others, when actually it means being exhorted by an outside source to put the interests of others above your own.

When you willingly help others because of your own spirit, the interests of your beneficiaries are the same as yours, not "above" yours. No one should be exhorted to help others if s/he doesn't wish to do so. That was what Ayn Rand considered evil, *not* helping others.

This is what Mormonism teaches too: the path to Eternal Progression comes from the inside out. I don't believe these six people could have done it any other way. Nor could any other of us.

Perhaps a better slogan would be "Service from the Self." I think that would appeal to a lot of younger people, for the empowerment it gives them.

@Free Agency: The problem with defining it that was is that human beings are short sighted. There if they go into a venture hoping it will gratify them, and that venture doesn't do it within a "reasonable" space of time, they WILL give up on it. So that is why we speak of putting others first. It isn't that you won't derive any benefit from it - it's just that you are more likely to continue until you see the benefit if you view it that way.

I like your comment about the younger generation: and that is the main problem with it: impatience and the desire for instant gratification.

Fantastic list of people!

President Monson does exemplify charity as does everyone else on this list.
@Thanda I served a mission to Johannesburg and loved it! :)