My beloved brothers and sisters, when our Savior
ministered among men, He was asked by the inquiring lawyer,
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"
Matthew records that Jesus responded:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, ...
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself."
Mark concludes the account with the Savior's statement,
"There is none other commandment greater than these."
We cannot truly love God if we do not follow our fellow
travelers on this mortal journey.
Likewise, we cannot fully love our fellowmen if we do not love
God, the Father of us all.
The Apostle John tells us, "This commandment have we from him,
That he who loveth God love his brother also."
We are all spirit children of our Heavenly Father
and, as such, are brothers and sisters.
As we keep this truth in mind, loving all of God's children
will become easier.
Actually, love is the very essence of the gospel,
and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar.
His life was a legacy of love.
The sick He healed; the downtrodden
He lifted; the sinner He saved.
At the end the angry mob took His life.
And yet there ring from Golgotha's hill the words:
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"--a
crowning expression in mortality of compassion and love.
There are many attributes which are manifestations of love,
such as kindness, patience, selflessness, understanding,
and forgiveness.
In all of our associations, these and other such attributes
will help make evident the love in our hearts.
Usually our love will be shown in our day-to-day interactions
one with another.
All-important will be our ability
to recognize someone's need and then to respond.
I've always cherished the sentiment
expressed in the short poem: "I have wept in the night
for the shortness of sight that to somebody's need made
me blind; but I never have yet felt a tinge of regret
for being a little too kind."
I recently was made aware of a touching example
of loving kindness, one that had unforeseen results.
The year was 1933, when because of the Great Depression,
employment opportunities were scarce.
The location was the eastern part of the United States.
Arlene Biesecker had just graduated from high school.
After a lengthy search for employment,
she was finally able to obtain work
at a clothing mill as a seamstress.
The mill workers were paid only for each
of the correctly completed pieces
they sewed together daily.
The more pieces they produced, they more they were paid.
One day shortly after starting at the mill,
Arlene was faced with a procedure that
had her confused and frustrated.
She sat at her sewing machine there,
trying to unpick her unsuccessful attempt
to complete the piece on which she was working.
There seemed to be no one to help her,
for all of the other seamstresses
were hurrying to complete as many pieces as they could.
Arlene felt helpless and hopeless.
Quietly she began to cry.
Across from Arlene sat Bernice Rock.
She was older and more experienced as a seamstress.
Observing Arlene's distress, Bernice left her own work
and went to Arlene's side, kindly
giving her instruction and help.
She stayed until Arlene gained confidence and was
able to successfully complete the piece.
Bernice then went back to her own machine,
having missed the opportunity to complete as many pieces
as she could have, had she not helped.
With one act of loving kindness, Bernice and Arlene
became lifelong friends.
Each eventually married and had children.
Sometime in the 1950s, Bernice, who was a member of the Church,
gave Arlene and her family a copy of the Book of Mormon.
In 1960, Arlene and her husband and children
were baptized members of the Church.
Later they were sealed in a holy temple of God.
As a result of the compassion shown by Bernice
as she went out of her way to help one whom she didn't know,
but who was in distress and needed assistance,
countless individuals, both living and dead,
now enjoy the saving ordinances of the gospel.
Every day of our lives we are given opportunities
to show love and kindness to those around us.
Said President Spencer W. Kimball:
"We must remember that those mortals
we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators,
and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God
has given us to love and to serve.
It will do us little good to speak of the general
brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all
around us as our brothers and sisters" (close quote).
Often our opportunities to show our love come unexpectedly.
An example of such an opportunity
appeared in a newspaper article in October of 1981.
So impressed was I with the love and compassion related therein
that I have kept the clipping in my files for over 30 years.
The article indicates that an Alaska Airlines nonstop flight
from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle,
Washington--a flight carrying 150 passengers--was diverted
to a remote Alaskan town in order to transport a gravely
injured child.
The two-year-old boy had severed an artery in his arm
when he fell on a piece of glass while playing near the home.
The town was 450 miles south of Anchorage
and was certainly not on the flight path.
However, the medics at the scene had sent out a frantic request
for help, so the flight was diverted to pick up the child
and take him to Seattle so that he
could be treated in a hospital.
When the flight touched down near the remote town,
medics informed the pilot that the boy was bleeding so badly
he could not survive the flight to Seattle.
A decision was made to fly another 200 miles out
of the way to Juneau, Alaska, the nearest
hospital in that city.
After transporting the boy to Juneau,
the flight headed for Seattle, now hours behind schedule.
Not one passenger complained, even though most of them
would miss appointments and connecting flights.
In fact, as the minutes and hours ticked by,
they took up a collection, raising a considerable sum
for the boy and his family.
As the flight was about to land in Seattle,
the passengers broke into a cheer
when the pilot announced that he had received word
by radio that the boy was going to be all right.
To my mind come the words of the scripture:
"Charity is the pure love of Christ, ...
and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day,
it shall be well with him."
Brothers and sisters, some of our greatest opportunities
to demonstrate our love will be within the walls
of our own homes.
Love should be the very heart of family life,
and yet sometimes it is not.
There can be too much impatience, too much arguing,
too many fights, too many tears.
Lamented President Gordon B. Hinckley (and I quote):
"Why is it that the [ones] we love [most] become
so frequently the targets of our harsh words?
Why is it that [we] sometimes speak as if with daggers that
cut to the quick?" (Close quote.)
The answers to these questions may
be different for each of us, and yet the bottom line
is that the reasons do not matter.
If we would keep the commandment to love one another,
we must treat each other with kindness and respect.
Of course there will be times when
discipline needs to be meted out.
Let us remember, however, the counsel found in the Doctrine
and Covenants--namely, when it is necessary for us to reprove
another, we afterward show forth an increase of love.
I would hope that we would strive always to be considerate
and to be sensitive to the thoughts
and feelings and circumstances of those around us.
Let us not demean or belittle.
Rather, let us be compassionate and encouraging.
We must be careful that we do not destroy another person's
confidence through careless words and actions.
Forgiveness should go hand in hand with love.
In our families as well with our friends,
there can be hurt feelings and disagreements.
Again, it doesn't really matter how small the issue was.
It cannot and should not be left to canker, to fester,
and ultimately to destroy.
Blame keeps wounds open.
Only forgiveness heals.
A lovely lady who has since passed away
visited with me one day and unexpectedly recounted
some regrets.
She spoke of an incident which had taken place
many years earlier and involved a neighboring farmer, once
a good friend but with whom she and her husband
had disagreed on multiple occasions.
One day the farmer asked if he could take a shortcut
across her property to reach his own acreage.
At this point she paused in her narrative to me
and, with a tremor in her voice, said,
"Brother Monson, I didn't let him cross our property then
or ever but required him to take the long way around
on foot to reach his property.
I was wrong, and I regret it.
He's gone now, but oh, I wish I could say to him,
'I'm so sorry.' How I wish I had a second chance to be kind"
(close quote).
As I listened to her, there came to my mind the doleful
observation of John Greenleaf Whittier (and I quote):
"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these:
'It might have been!'" (Close quote.) Brothers and sisters,
as we treat others with love and kind consideration,
we will avoid such regrets.
Love is expressed in many recognizable ways:
a smile, a wave, a kind comment, a compliment.
Other expressions may be more subtle,
such as showing interest in another's activities,
teaching a principle with kindness and patience,
visiting one who is ill or homebound.
These words and actions and many others can communicate love.
Dale Carnegie, well-known American author and lecturer,
believed that each person has within himself or herself
the "power to increase the sum total of [the]
world's happiness ... by giving a few words of sincere
appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged."
Said he, "Perhaps you will forget tomorrow
the kind words you say today, but the recipient
may cherish them over a lifetime" (close quote).
May we begin now, this very day, to express love
to all God's children, whether they be our family members,
our friends, mere acquaintances, or total strangers.
As we rise each morning, let us determine
to respond with love and kindness
to whatever might come our way.
Beyond comprehension, my brothers and sisters,
is the love of God for us.
Because of this love, He sent His Son,
who loved us enough to give His life for us, that we
might have eternal life.
As we come to understand this incomparable gift,
our hearts will be filled with love for our Eternal Father,
for our Savior, and for all mankind.
That such may be so is my earnest prayer.
Heavenly Father, I am glad that You're always here and there.
In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.