“Gigi, I want to be just like you when I grow up.” Michelle, my granddaughter, whispered as we snuggled close and she looked up at me with her big brown eyes.

Naturally, my heart swelled with pride to think that in Michelle’s six year old mind, I was a worthy mentor. At first, I dismissed her gushing as nothing more than the fleeting musings of a kindergartner. But, a few weeks later, when she changed her computerized Mii (a look alike self-image players create on the popular video game Wii by Ninetendo) to be a carbon copy of my own Mii image, I realized she was serious. She really did want to be like me.

Like Me? Yes, like me. This truth reverberated through my mind. Suddenly, I wasn’t just Gigi, beloved grandmother and playmate. I was Gigi, a woman of influence, persuasiveness – and of responsibility.

President David O. McKay of Bringham Young Univeristy understood the responsibility of influence. Following is an excerpt from his address to the graduating class of 1948: “There is one responsibility which no man can evade; that responsibility is his personal influence. Man's unconscious influence is the silent, subtle radiation of his personality - the effect of his words and his acts on others… Every man has an atmosphere, which is affecting every other man. He cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constant weakening or strengthening of others.   Man cannot evade the responsibility by merely saying that it is an unconscious influence… Man can select the qualities he would permit to be radiated… This radiation, to which I refer, comes from what a person really is, not from what he pretends to be.  Every man by his mere living is radiating either sympathy, sorrow, morbidness, cynicism, or happiness and hope - or any one of a hundred other qualities.”

According to Mr. Mckay,  I was radiating something Michelle was drawn to. Certainly, she felt my love for her, but hopefully she perceived much more – my values, my beliefs, my implicit trust in God and the Holy Bible. And if I want to continue to transmit virtuous character traits, then I must bear the responsibility of my influence. This means edifying my inner self through prayer and Bible study. And by acting and reacting as I would always want my granddaughter to do in similar situations.

Each of us has a circle of influence – and the responsibility. It is up to us to decide how we will use it.  American politician, Henry Ward Beecher agrees; “The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.” The choice is ours. Will we inspire or discourage? Will we radiate good or bad? Are we known for our uplifting manner or our draining attitude? Jesus commanded us in the Holy Bible to do good that others may see our good works. (Matthew 5:16). May see. Maybe that’s the question we should ask our peers, our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors and our fellow Christians: What do they see in us?

We should listen carefully because their answer will reveal our influence – and our responsibility.