Sabbath Thoughts: Trying to Be Like Jesus

"As [Christ’s] followers, we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing His image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of Him whose name we have taken upon ourselves. And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God"

(Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Symbol of Our Faith," Ensign, 04/05).

I was thinking about this message (I posted it last Easter) from our prophet all day today after I put it in our ward newsletter last week. I just love it—-to me, it’s one of President Hinckley’s most succinct and useful lessons (I would have used it a lot on my mission). I think about how we are watched once people know we are L.D.S. and wonder what they make of what they see. I was so happy to receive this message in my inbox today, and I will post the whole story here for you to read since I don’t have a link handy…

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Boston Herald Story

Faith, flight plan guide JetBlue boss: Other CEOs need his humility

By Jeff Benedict

Monday, March 5, 2007

JetBlue Airways recently made headlines after the worst operations breakdown in its seven-year history led to more than 1,000 canceled flights. There's been just as much good news about the way chief executive David Neeleman responded to the crisis - by bending over backward to admit failure, accept responsibility, apologize and compensate customers for their inconvenience.

Everyone from public relations experts to aviation analysts is praising Neeleman for doing things that are largely unheard of in corporate America. While many chief executives would have ducked for cover or dispatched a spokesman, Neeleman appeared on David Letterman's show and said, "I'm not making excuses. We made a mistake. We put our crew members and our customers through hell, and we have solutions for this."

The next morning he appeared on national news shows, apologized profusely and unveiled a Customer Bill of Rights guaranteeing compensation to passengers whose flights were canceled. He admitted being "mortified and humiliated." Humility doesn't come easy to chief executives, as we know from recent corporate scandals. This is where Neeleman's Mormon faith comes into play.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expects its members to serve in lay ministry positions typically held by paid clergy. There's no exception for chief executives. Neeleman spends 10 to 15 hours per week working directly with individuals who have made mistakes and are seeking redemption. That experience gives him a feel for what it's like to be on the wrong side of trouble. The result is a chief executive who doesn't let pride prevent him from publicly admitting mistakes and asking forgiveness. It also explains his habit of frequently serving as a flight attendant or a baggage handler for his company's flights.

Neeleman is one of a handful of Mormons who have reached the pinnacle of the business world, and all behave much differently from the average chief executive. Two years ago I began interviewing him and several others who share his faith for a book about how their religion influences their approach to business. Like the others, Neeleman has benefited from good parents, a strong work ethic, honesty, smarts and timing. But those qualities aren't unique to Mormons. What is unique, besides lay ministry, is that Mormon men are expected at age 19 to spend two years in a full-time unpaid service mission.

Neeleman spent his mission in the slums of Brazil, where he learned to speak Portuguese. He also learned what it feels like to serve people who are less fortunate. This was a key influence on Neeleman's decision to create JetBlue.

Another important aspect of Mormonism is tithing, a commandment that requires church members to give up 10 percent of gross earnings. This is a great insulator against greed, which has been the downfall of executives at Tyco, Enron, WorldCom and other companies.

Tithing also conditions people to be driven by things besides wealth. So it was a simple reflex for Neeleman to make his Customer Bill of Rights retroactive to cover all passengers inconvenienced in last month's storm - a decision that cost his company approximately $30 million.

JetBlue is led by a guy, conditioned by Mormonism, who isn 't driven by money. Just look at his salary: He earns $200,000 annually. It gets more unusual. Neeleman donates his entire salary to a catastrophic fund that's been set up for JetBlue workers who fall on hard times. Not every board chairman can afford this level of charity, but giving up any income to fund an employee benefit is virtually unheard of in a world where most chief executives make many times Neeleman's salary.

It may be unreasonable to expect a chief executive who isn't spending many hours a week ministering to act this selflessly. But anyone can ask the question that Neeleman asked himself when this crisis struck: What is the right thing to do?
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How cool is that? I hope things work out for him and his customers will appreciate him.

The missionaries told me something last week that made me feel good. At Christmas time, they brought some less active sisters to our Relief Society Christmas brunch and I recognized one of them as my favorite grocery cashier. We hugged each other, so surprised to see one another, yet not so surprised at all. Of course I felt drawn to her, I thought later, of course I noticed that flicker of spirit still in her, and she saw it in me! Well, I have tried much harder to seek her out and “check up on her” now that I know she’s been baptized. Anyway, the missionaries have been re-teaching her, and they were taking about their missions the other day. They told her that I had served a mission, and she said, “Well, that makes a lot of sense to me. That girl sings like an angel and she walks with Jesus every day, you can tell. She's what they mean by saint.”

WHAT!?!? Now, all of that is exaggerated (as you well know if you read this blog), but I can’t believe that’s the impression I have made on her IN THE GROCERY STORE (when I am mad as heck at my naughty kids, tired, struggling to be organized, etc…). It really made me think deeply about what I’m putting out there and if my actions reflect the Living Christ whom I love with all my heart (or most of it…I think I am still weeding junk out of that space for Him). I feel so motivated to strive for that whole "at all times and in all places that ye may be in, even until death" thing.

Your thoughts??