Let Thy Alms Be in Secret

 A December mini episode inspired by George Durrant’s book That Thine Alms May Be in Secret. Clare shares the story of Sam Edwards’s quiet Christmas transformation and explores how small, unseen acts of kindness can change us. She also tells a personal snowy-day experience that taught her what it truly means to be the Lord’s hands. This is our final episode of the year, and we will be taking a two-week Christmas break before returning in January. 

Sisters: Latter-Day Voices Website

Matthew 6:4

That Thine Alms May Be In Secret (original short story, worth buying if you can find a copy)

 Sam’s Christmas Wish 

 Transcript

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 This podcast episode may contain brief quotes from external sources, used in a positive and respectful manner for discussion, education, and commentary. These references fall under fair use as they are not used for commercial gain, do not replace the original works, and are presented with proper context and attribution.

The views and opinions expressed in this episode are our own and those of our guests. They do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine, beliefs, or positions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Transcript

Candice
Welcome to Sisters Latter Day Voices, I am Candice.

Clare
And I am Clare, and today we are doing a mini episode before our Christmas break. This month always brings me back to one of my very favorite stories from childhood. It is a book we read every year on Christmas Eve, called That Thine Alms May Be in Secret by George Durrant. It is a short story, and I think it makes both of us tear up every time we read it because it is so good.

Candice
Yeah.

Clare
And just a brief summary of what the book is about. I recommend everyone try to find a copy, even though it is incredibly hard to find right now. I tried to get a link on Amazon and they just do not sell it. They sell the kids version, which is still cute. I think it is called Sam’s…

Candice
I think it is Sam’s Christmas Wish.

Clare
Yes, Sam’s Christmas Wish. But the original is a short story. It takes maybe five or ten minutes to read, and they explain it so much better than I am going to. So if you can find it on ThriftBooks or somewhere, grab it. It is not even on Deseret Book. I went to Deseret Book today and looked through all the Christmas books and it was not there, so I was kind of bummed.

Candice
So sad. It should be on Deseret Book.

Clare
I know. Anyway, a brief summary. The main character is named Sam Edwards, and he is this proud, private man who is struggling at Christmas time. He has a wife and kids, and it was probably going to be a very small Christmas. Then he wakes up on Christmas morning and finds gifts there, and he is shocked and mad and just full of emotions because he cannot see any tracks. He did not want help. It is hard to receive help.

But that morning he had been reading the scripture about letting your alms be in secret. And from that moment on, it changed him and his attitude about everything. He started living his life that way with more charity and more focus on others.

As he grows older, he often talks with his good friend Sheriff Durrant. He always brings up that Christmas and says he cannot believe someone did that for them. He could never figure out who it was, and he had this goal in life to someday do something just as meaningful for someone else, and to do it in secret.

Candice
In secret.

Clare
Yes, in secret. At the very end, he lives across a big field from a young family. Their house catches on fire, and he realizes one of the children is still inside. He runs over and rescues the child, and then slips away. No one ever knows it was him. Before he passes away, he is able to do this amazing thing, just like someone once did for him.

It is a simple but powerful reminder that some of the greatest service happens in the dark, unseen. And the only one who knows is God, which is amazing.

Candice
It is a very touching story. When you read it, he just writes it so well. It always makes me tear up.

Clare
Yeah. I am not doing it justice, but it is amazing. And thinking about this story, and how excited I am to read it again this Christmas Eve, it made me reflect on growing up. I was thinking about my dad, who loves service. It is not always in secret, but he is always a morning person, and I swear he wakes up extra early on snowy mornings so he can get more shoveling in for people.

I actually like shoveling. I am just not a morning person and I hate the cold. So it is not the best combination for me. But our dad is amazing at it.

Last year our dad got sick. He had the flu or a cold and was not feeling great, but it had snowed a ton. And he said, since we live right next to each other, can you go shovel this one person’s walkway after church. And I said of course.

So I went over to this person’s house, and it was covered in snow. It had probably snowed a couple times that week, and it had not been shoveled at all. It was thick, heavy, dense snow. It was a decent-sized driveway and sidewalk. I was shoveling away, and the rest of my family was gone or they would have helped. It was just me.

About an hour in, my arms were dying and my attitude was dying too. I was becoming Scrooge. I kept thinking, this is so hard, why am I doing this, I am so grumpy right now.

But then I remembered one of my favorite conference talks that I have mentioned lots of times. It says that whenever you are feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, ask yourself, how have I seen the Lord’s hand in my life today.

As I thought that, I immediately felt this overwhelming thought, that today I was His hands. And that completely changed everything. It changed my attitude, it changed the whole experience. Today I was the blessing for someone else. And suddenly I felt like, okay, I can keep shoveling.

Candice
You are so good.

Clare
So good, right?

Candice
You are just so generous.

Clare
Or maybe I would be so good if I thought to shovel people’s driveways without being asked.

Candice
Or without being reprimanded mid-shovel.

Clare
I know, I have a lot to work on.

Candice
I do not do any shoveling, so I have even more to work on.

Clare
But this is exactly what George Durrant’s story teaches. Quiet kindness changes people. It changes the giver, and it changes the world around you. I know shoveling was not in secret, but I really believe that some of heaven’s sacred moments are wrapped in secrecy, where only you know and your Heavenly Father knows. And I think that is amazing.

And the whole story, Sam’s story, is based on Matthew chapter six verse four. I will read it: “That thine alms may be in secret. And thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.”

Candice
I think that is great. And I told you this before, but when I was on institute council at UVU, we would have devotionals. Speakers would come and give a devotional, and afterward we would get to have a luncheon with them.

George Durrant came one time, and I was freaking out because I was so excited to meet him. I loved this story. We were going down the line shaking hands, like at a wedding reception. And I got so nervous. I froze. I shook his hand, he could tell I was about to say something, and then I said nothing. I just panicked. I thought, oh, I do not want to hold up the line. And then I could not remember the name of the book. So I just said hi and moved on. He probably thought I was so weird.

Clare
Fail.

Candice
Major fail. I wanted to tell him how much I loved this story.

Clare
I bet he would have loved that.

Candice
I know. I love the story so much.

Clare
We need to find him and say, listen to this podcast. It is all about you. We love you.

Candice
What I wanted to say was that I love the story.

Clare
Hey, that is a reminder that if something like that ever happens again, not the exact same scenario but something similar, you can be more open.

Candice
Another lesson we are sharing with everyone. Let people know you appreciate them. Do not hold it in.

Clare
Yes. I think that is amazing.

Candice
Anyway, I think that is a great thought.

Clare
We hope you all have a great Christmas break. We are going to take two weeks off so we can enjoy the break with our families.

Candice
Mhmm. So merry Christmas.

Clare
Thanks for listening. Bye.