Ward Choirs and Stake Conference

So a couple weeks ago was our stake conference and Chad and I got to go on Saturday night!!!:) They had a ward choir there and they did not sound good at all...but as I was listening to them sing, I got the distinct impression that they were giving their very best and they were being blessed for their efforts!!! It kind of changed how I viewed that choir. I really do believe that when we put forth efforts to be involved in church activities our efforts do not go unnoticed even though our efforts might not be up to par with other people's efforts, since after all salvation is obtained on an individual basis. So to go along with that I learned a lot from stake conference that night about not judging people. The stake president shared some experiences where people in very difficult situations had received blessings telling them that they had chosen to be in those situations to bless others' lives. So we don't know what God's plans for others are, we don't know their hearts, and we don't know the experiences they have had that shape their lives and help create their behavior and their attitude. It is often so easy to judge others, especially those we are close to like our spouses, siblings, children, parents and close friends, but even these people have experiences that we don't know about that shape them into the people they are. The only person that we know 100% about is ourselves, so I guess I need to focus more on judging myself according to how I should be doing and how I am following the commandments and living up to the expectations that Heavenly Father has for my life!!!