(Part 1 of 3 from an address given by Elle Taylor on June 8, 2025. Published with permission of the author. FOR PART 2, CLICK HERE)

I am someone who really likes movies. One of my favorites is Cars. I love the story of Lightning McQueen, a self-absorbed race car.

On his way to the Piston Cup tie breaker race in California, he gets stuck in Radiator Springs and ends up damaging the road. Without seriously thinking about the consequences, and only thinking of himself, he rushed through the road repair job. The road looked awful. At this point in the story, Lightning has not made a good impression on the folks in Radiator Springs, and in conjunction with the messy, subpar road job, he has left slights and hurt feelings in his wake.

Let’s take a moment to consider:

What do I leave in my wake?

What kind of impact do I have?

Impact through the Lens of Love

Let’s dig into impact a bit. We will look at impact in three ways and will be asking ourselves three questions regarding it. Additionally, we are going to look at impact through the lens of love or charity. In doing so, we are going to consider three types of love. Love for others. Love for self. And love for God.

In the Book of Mormon Nephi gives us a bit of insight into the significance of love. While conversing with the angel of the Lord about the meaning of the fruit from the tree of life, he said that it represented the “love of God” and that “it is the most desirable above all things” (1 Nephi 11:22).

The love of God, also known as charity, is THE most desirable thing. Why?

I think that question has a variety of answers. But today the why we are going to focus on is love’s ability to transform and empower us to change.

Love is a state of being. It is a commitment to kindness and care. It is something that becomes a part of us, therefore it influences everything that comes forth from us. Thoughts. Words. Decisions. Actions. Inaction.

God understands the transformative and empowering nature of love. I think it is the key to everything that really matters, which is why I believe He made it a top priority of focus for us.

Love for Others

I work in a field in which I frequently see impact. The impact that being listened to and understood can have. The impact of a change in perspective. The impact of kindness and care. The impact of implementing coping skills that help us better manage our stress or intense emotions. And sadly, the impact that unhealthy dynamics or abuse can have on someone.

Consequentially, I can say the words we use with others matter. The tone of our voice matters. Our body language matters. The way we treat others matters to God. It is why He repeatedly asks us to love each other.

I am not going to spend a lot of time here other than to ask some introspective questions to ponder.

What do my words and actions leave in their wake?

How can I commit myself to kindness and care when it comes to my interactions with others?

Impact question 1: What kind of impact do I want to have on those around me?

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Lead image by solitsocial dot com on Unsplash