Post # 73 – Happy Valentine’s Day -- Love One Another

Dear Family and Friends

Wow! I can’t believe that it’s already Valentine’s day this week.  My students are so-o-o-o EXCITED for their Valentine’s Day (the day after) Party😊 it is so much easier to have our parties on Friday’s, besides more of my students are there for the whole day. Preschoolers are the best, you know we can learn so much from them – if we will only let ourselves do it. They hold nothing back, and they are usually so honest in their words – It reminds me of why Jesus said we had to become like unto a little child.

They are so teachable – they want to learn; they are very precious; curious –they want to know how everything works, you know the questions: Why? How come? … and of course, just for fun, because am sure you have all heard it … Are we there yet??? They are so willing to please, they really want to be obedient (most of the time😊). They are honest – to a fault!  They are submissive, they are optimistic – they are hopeful for all of the good things in life. They are cheerful most of the time and love everyone!

In Matthew 18:3-4 teaches us: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Sister Jean A. Stevens said it best with these quotes from her general conference talk : “If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth.”

“These precious children of God come to us with believing hearts. They are full of faith and receptive to feelings of the Spirit. They exemplify humility, obedience, and love. They are often the first to love and the first to forgive.”    You can read her talk here: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/05/saturday-morning-session/become-as-a-little-child?lang=eng&_r=1

She asks some really great questions in her talk and I think that they are worth thinking about: “What is it we should learn from children? What qualities do they possess and what examples do they demonstrate that can help us in our own spiritual development?” what might your answers be to these two questions? What can we learn from the children around us?  In learning about these qualities or attributes of little children, 

I wanted to talk with you today a little bit about ‘Love,’ since Valentine’s day is right around the corner. And since I am certainly no expert I have gathered some information to share with you from people who are far wiser than I and have a much better relationship with our Heavenly Father than I have:

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley shares these thoughts from a speech given at BYU:

“And the Greatest of These Is Love”

…. “I wish to talk about something in which all of you are interested—something for which all of you long, which you need, and without which the world can indeed be a lonely and a dreary place. I do so because this is Valentine’s Day.

On this day, when I was a little boy, we traded paper hearts at school, and at night we dropped them at the doors of our friends, stamping on the porch and then running in the dark to hide. Sometimes we would tie a fishing line to a valentine, and when the would-be receiver would go to pick it up we would pull the string. That happens in life with some of us.

Almost without exception these valentines had printed on their face the words, “I love you.” I have since come to know that love is more than a paper heart. It is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. But it is not at the end of a rainbow; it is at the beginning, and from it springs the beauty that arches across the sky on a stormy day. 

It is the security for which children weep, the meat and drink of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How impoverished are those who lack it, and how rich those who have it!”…

…“I am one who believes that love, like faith, is a gift of God. I agree with Pearl Buck, who said: “Love cannot be forced, love cannot be coaxed and teased. It comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought” (The Treasure Chest, p. 165).”…

…“In St. Martin’s Place in the city of London, across from the National Gallery, is a beautiful statue of a woman in a nurse’s uniform. It is erected to the memory of Edith Cavell, the English nurse who shielded wounded Allied soldiers from the enemy. She was caught and summarily executed. The inscription on her monument reads: “Brussels Dawn, October 12, 1915. Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.”

He who most beautifully taught this everlasting truth was the Son of God, the one perfect example and teacher of love. His very coming to earth was an expression of his Father’s love. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

I listened recently to the masterful address on the Atonement delivered at this pulpit by President Marion G. Romney in which he spoke of the manifestation of love by the Son of God who gave his life that all men might live. The Savior spoke prophetically of his sacrifice and of the love that induced it when he declared: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

And so, on this day when we think of love in a secular sense, I wish also to remind you of its greater import in a sacred sense. If the world in which we live is to improve, that process must begin with a change in the hearts of men, with an upward looking beyond self to love for God, given with all of one’s heart, with all of one’s soul, with all of one’s mind.

The Lord has declared in modern revelation, “If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you” (D&C 88:67). As we look with love to him, as we serve with an eye single to his glory, there will go from us the darkness of sin, the darkness of selfishness, the darkness of pride. There will come an increased love for our Eternal Father and for his Beloved Son, our Savior and our Redeemer. There will come a greater sense of service toward our fellowmen—a little less of thinking of our own selfish pursuits, a little more of reaching out to others. 

And in our own individual lives as we seek for love and marriage, there will be a higher power on whom we can call for help and direction, a stronger resolution to live more worthy of a choice and wonderful companion with whom we may walk the way of immortality and eternal life. For this I humbly pray in behalf of each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

You can read the entire talk here; https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/gordon-b-hinckley_greatest-of-these-love/

Jeffrey R. Holland said this about love in his talk: How Do I Love Thee?

… Thirdly and lastly, the prophets tell us that true love “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). Once again that is ultimately a description of Christ’s love—He is the great example of one who bore and believed and hoped and endured. We are invited to do the same in our courtship and in our marriage to the best of our ability. Bear up and be strong. Be hopeful and believing. 

Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them; we have to believe; we have to hope for an end to such sorrows and difficulty; we have to endure until things come right in the end.

One of the great purposes of true love is to help each other in these times. No one ought to have to face such trials alone. We can endure almost anything if we have someone at our side who truly loves us, who is easing the burden and lightening the load. In this regard, a friend from our BYU faculty, Professor Brent Barlow, told me some years ago about Plimsoll marks.

As a youth in England, Samuel Plimsoll was fascinated with watching ships load and unload their cargoes. He soon observed that, regardless of the cargo space available, each ship had its maximum capacity. If a ship exceeded its limit, it would likely sink at sea. In 1868 Plimsoll entered Parliament and passed a merchant shipping act that, among other things, called for making calculations of how much a ship could carry. As a result, lines were drawn on the hull of each ship in England. As the cargo was loaded, the freighter would sink lower and lower into the water. When the water level on the side of the ship reached the Plimsoll mark, the ship was considered loaded to capacity, regardless of how much space remained. As a result, British deaths at sea were greatly reduced.

Like ships, people have differing capacities at different times and even different days in their lives. In our relationships we need to establish our own Plimsoll marks and help identify them in the lives of those we love. Together we need to monitor the load levels and be helpful in shedding or at least readjusting some cargo if we see our sweetheart is sinking. Then, when the ship of love is stabilized, we can evaluate long-term what has to continue, what can be put off until another time, and what can be put off permanently. Friends, sweethearts, and spouses need to be able to monitor each other’s stress and recognize the different tides and seasons of life. We owe it to each other to declare some limits and then help jettison some things if emotional health and the strength of loving relationships are at risk. Remember, pure love “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,” and helps loved ones do the same.

Let me close. In Mormon’s and Paul’s final witnesses, they declare that “charity [pure love] never faileth” (Moroni 7:46, 1 Corinthians 13:8). It is there through thick and thin. It endures through sunshine and shadow, through darkest sorrow and on into the light. It never fails. So Christ loved us, and that is how He hoped we would love each other. In a final injunction to all his disciples for all time, He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34; emphasis added). Of course such Christlike staying power in romance and marriage requires more than any of us really have. It requires something more, an endowment from heaven. Remember Mormon’s promise: that such love—the love we each yearn for and cling to—is “bestowed” upon “true followers of Christ.” You want capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married life and eternity?

 Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed, word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance, because it does. You separate dating from discipleship at your peril. Or, to phrase that more positively, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the only lamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness for you and for your sweetheart. How should I love thee? As He does, for that way “never faileth.” I so testify and express my love for you and for Him, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”

You can read the rest of his talk here: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_how-do-i-love-thee/

Cheryl C. Lant had some more things to say about love: “God’s Love”

… “Today I would like to share a few thoughts about this kind of love—God’s love.

Two Great Commandments

The Savior has directed our understanding. In the book of Matthew, Jesus was asked:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 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. [Matthew 22:36–39]

In order to understand how to keep these two great commandments, we have to first understand our relationship with our Heavenly Father and we have to understand His love for us.

We are our Heavenly Father’s children. It is as we learn in the favorite Primary song: “I am a child of God, And he has sent me here” (Songbook, 2). He loves us because we are. He loves us with a perfect love that we cannot earn or destroy. Now, to be sure, we can disappoint Him and we can cause Him great sorrow. We can forfeit many of His promised blessings if we fail to be obedient. But He will never stop loving us. He loves us with a love that we cannot fully comprehend. He loves us even when we don’t deserve it.

The greatest example of God’s love for His children is found in the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ. In John 3:16 we read: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This means that when we do disappoint Him and make mistakes, there is a way that He has provided whereby we can be forgiven and make our way back to Him.

I am sure that if I were to ask the question “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” that probably all of you would say yes. But let me ask you this: Do you believe Him when He says He gave His life for you so that you might be forgiven of your sins and live with Him and Father in Heaven again? Do you really understand that the Atonement was made for you? Do you believe that you are worth it or worthy of it? Do you believe that anyone could possibly love you that much? I want to assure you today that you are worth it! You are loved more than you will ever know, and as we turn to our Heavenly Father in our times of need, we most assuredly can feel of His love.

Do you remember the story in John 8 of the woman who had been caught in adultery? Surely she must have felt very unworthy of Jesus’ forgiveness, and yet that is exactly what He gave her after all her accusers had departed. “And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Not only did Christ not condemn her, but He gave her the opportunity to repent as He directed her to “go, and sin no more.” The love of Christ is a wonderful thing.

Again referring to the two great commandments found in Matthew, we are to love God, to love others, and to love ourselves. Let’s begin by looking at how we can love ourselves. It begins by opening our hearts and accepting God’s love, because then and only then can we know who we are and that we are of great worth. Only then will we be able to love ourselves.

What does it mean to love ourselves? Are we talking about being selfish or self-centered? Are we talking about being self-absorbed? No, we are talking about knowing who we are, where we came from, what we are to do, and where we are going. We are talking about appreciating who we are and the blessings and opportunities we have been given. We are talking about a love that gives us the confidence to serve God and our fellowmen.

Do you really understand the difference between loving yourself in a righteous manner and, on the other hand, being selfish and turned inward? Does your life reflect this understanding? If you do understand it, how well do you love yourself? How do you demonstrate that love? Let’s explore four ways we can show love for ourselves. As we do so, we will turn to the scriptures, for we are taught in 2 Nephi 32:3 that we are to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”…”

… A Life Of Love And Service

“Now, in your busy daily lives, how can you really serve others? There are the obvious ways: accepting calls in your wards, helping someone who is in need, doing service projects, paying fast offerings. But what is it that the Lord really has in mind here?

It occurs to me that many times our service is just a matter of going through the motions. We may do it because we have a sense of duty. We may do it because there is no one else there to do it. We may do it so we can check it off our list. We may do it so we won’t feel guilty now. None of these motivations are bad, but is it true service? Is it the kind of service the Lord has in mind? Is it the service that is founded in the pure love of Christ?

This leads us to questions like these: Is my service really based on a love I feel deep in my heart for other people? Who is my neighbor? How can I really love him?

When we serve others just because we are supposed to, we are still serving, and it is true that we grow to love those whom we serve. But drawing close to our Father in Heaven and living worthy of the Holy Ghost in our lives can qualify us with a love that fills our heart and spills out to all those we meet.

Everyone in our lives is our neighbor. Our family is our neighbor. Our roommates are our neighbors. Our friends, our enemies, our acquaintances, and those we have never met—all of these are our neighbors. We demonstrate our love for them by nurturing feelings of tolerance, patience, kindness, helpfulness, and compassion in our hearts as well as in our actions. We overcome critical, angry feelings toward others. We look to understand rather than condemn. We accept differences as strengths and we learn from one another. …”

… “We began today by reading in Matthew 22. In conclusion, let us turn there again. After the Lord gives us the first two commandments, which are both based on love, He says in verse 40, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

If we can understand the law of love—for God, for others, and for ourselves—we will be able to follow all of the rest of the commandments and teachings in the scriptures and from latter-day prophets. If we can understand pure love that is charity, we will be blessed indeed: “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).

I bear my witness of the truths found in the scriptures. The scriptures are the word of the Lord. I am so grateful for our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who directs us to read them and to make them a part of our lives. I know that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I know that They love us and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that as we follow His words, there is a sweet promise, for He has said, “Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love” (D&C 6:20).

May we all feel His love and love Him, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. …”

So, I guess with all of my ramblings today, I wish to express my love and my thanks to my Father in Heaven for His continued live and support in my life. I have to remind myself, whenever I am feeling a little distant from Him, to remember this important – very important thing – it is I who have moved away from Him, and never Him moving away from me! Remember the two great commandments:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 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. [Matthew 22:36–39]

Until my next post, as always – make it a great week and show love one another as Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have loved each of us!!!