Years ago, when our children were young, we designated an upcoming Saturday for some extra projects around our house.  Early that Saturday morning all of us (including Dad and Mom) had “to do” lists for chores inside and outside, with the promise of milkshakes for everyone later in the afternoon when the work was done.   

The work progressed as planned, and about 3:00 the children went outside to wait while Hank and I finished up and prepared to join them for the five-minute walk from our house to the ice cream store.  In the meantime, however, our yard filled with our children’s neighborhood friends.

We were just ready to interrupt their play and send the neighbors to their homes, when an idea flashed in our minds. What if, instead of taking the children for milkshakes, we invited their friends to join us for ice cream cones?  We took our children aside to offer them the option of milk shakes for them or ice cream cones for them and their friends. There was an enthusiastic, unanimous response: ice cream cones for everyone.

That occasion stands out in my memory as an illustration that it is important to do the right thing, butit is also important to do the right thing right.It was the right thing to do the household chores, but circumstances were such that doing the right thing right was to include the neighbors in the treat. 

Here’s another example.  I clearly remember a summer many years ago when I was to teach a series of Education Days, sponsored by the Church Education System, in various stakes in California.  My husband’s business responsibilities didn’t allow him to go with me on that particular assignment, but I loaded the children (I think there were six of them on this trip) in our station wagon and drove to the Sacramento area. The older children watched over the younger ones in motel swimming pools while I taught, and then before and after my classes I would join them for fun activities as well as visits to the local tourist attractions. 

The last Sunday of our schedule put us in a ward in the Roseville Stake. We entered the chapel and were greeted by Brother and Sister Trythall who did the right thing by extending a warm welcome to us.  Then, following the meetings, Sister Trythall did the right thing right — going the second mile, in fact — by inviting us to their home for the rest of the day.  We were unexpected guests, of course, so she explained that they might have to extend the food for the meal by opening cans of soup, but she urged us to join them for a meal and for their family’s Sunday activities. 

This invitation felt like cool running water in a parched desert. I was absolutely jubilant over such an offer.  We had been on the road almost three weeks, the children had grown tired of games and stories, it was too hot for long walks, we had read all the books we brought and completed every project. Besides, it was Sunday so we wouldn’t be swimming.  I was dreading the l-o-n-g hours after church with all of us cooped up in a motel room. 

Never had canned tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches tasted so good, and never had I appreciated anyone’s hospitality so much.  I’ll always remember the Trythall family’s graciousness toward us, a shining example of not only doing the right thing but of doing the right thing right. 

In pondering this concept, I see that it has broad application in our lives as wives, homemakers, mothers, grandmothers, neighbors, and church workers.  Doing the right thing right doesn’t necessarily have to be a major commitment in time or money. Sometimes it’s just a thought you express to someone, a word of praise, a kind gesture, even a smile or a nod of approval.  It could be as simple as choosing to take a seat in a meeting next to someone who is new or lonely. 

Consider with me, as you read the following poem, the many acts of exceptional service rendered by good neighbors and devoted visiting teachers.

No Half Loaf, This

Friendly were the words you said,
Tendering the loaf of bread,
Oven warm and savory;
How much that gesture meant to me.
Almost a stranger, lonely, too,
And gladdened by the sight of you.
I would repay you if I could.
Oh, yes, the bread was extra good.
(I’d like the recipe some day.)
But let me ask you, if I may,
How you acquired the finer art
Of nourishing the hungry heart?
I never had the knack somehow.
(I’d like that recipe right now.)

— Virginia Newman

And while speaking of serving others in meaningful ways, a quotation by Sheri Dew is pertinent:  “The casseroles and quilts we have made to relieve suffering are splendid acts of kindness, but no service — I repeat no service — compares with that of leading someone to Christ.”

Certainly that is the ultimate act in doing the right thing right. 

Whether it’s a matter of exercising compassion or creativity, giving second mile service, or being led by the Spirit, it’s just a matter of using our hearts as well as our heads, as we not only strive to do the right things in life, but endeavor to do those things right.