For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Five, click the link to jump.
Today's quote, from Elder Thomas S. Monson's talk, "With Hand and Heart", goes further into the idea of not merely serving others, but visualizing them as they could be - seeing in others what Christ sees in us:
The Quote
"...When we treat people merely as they are,
they will remain as they are.
When we treat them as if they were what they should be,
they will become what they should be.
(Adapted from a quotation by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.)"
A Book I've Always Wanted to Read
Goethe (pronounced GUR-tah) is one of those writers who's as revered as Shakespeare and Dickens, but much less well known. I think it could be because of the hurdle of translation - his original works are written in German instead of English. He's written stories such as Faust 1 and 11.
I hoped this quote, or something similar to it, would come from his novel, "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship", a story about a young man's coming of age, a novel that defies common stereotypes. Did I find the quote?
Nope, I did not. Not even in a book of quotes by Goethe, which was uplifting and all, but at this point I wouldn't trust its authenticity very much anyway.
So, despite not finding a sure quote for this one, it was pleasant to wander through the world of Goethe for a little while, and Faust and Wilhelm Meister's Apprentice are definitely on the list for future reading.
