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.
On these two commandments hang
all the law
and the prophets.
Matthew 22: 36-40
Thou hast said that thou hast loved the world,
even unto the laying down of thy life for the world.…
This love
which thou hast had for the children of men
is charity.
“charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.” Moro. 7:47
Through his compliance with the severe requirements of the Atonement,
the Savior offered the ultimate expression of love.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13.)
And by permitting his Son to make such a selfless and suffering sacrifice,
the Father provided us with an ultimate expression of his love
as his gift to the rest of his children.
“Except men shall have charity
they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared
in the mansions of thy Father.”
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.
Pure Love:
The True Sign of Every True Disciple of Jesus Christ
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
“The first great commandment of all eternity is
to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—
that’s the first great commandment.
But the first great truth of all eternity is
that God loves us
with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.
That love is the foundation stone of eternity,
and it should be the
foundation stone of our daily life.”
Being the foundation stone of our daily life,
pure love is a requirement for every
true disciple of Jesus Christ.
The prophet Mormon taught,
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart,
that ye may be filled with
this love,
which he hath bestowed upon
all who are true followers of his Son,
Jesus Christ.”
Love indeed is the true sign of every true disciple of Jesus Christ.
*True disciples love to serve.
They know that serving is an expression of true love and
a covenant they made at baptism.
*True disciples love to forgive.
They know that the Atonement of the Savior covers all sins
and mistakes of each one of us.
They know that the price He paid is an
“all-inclusive price.”
Spiritual taxes, fees, commissions, and charges related to sins, mistakes, or wrongdoings are all covered.
*True disciples are quick to forgive and quick to ask for forgiveness.
*True disciples love to submit themselves to the Lord
with peace in their heart.
They are humble and submissive because they love Him.
They have faith to fully accept His will,
not only in what He does but also in how and when.
*True disciples know that
the real blessings are not always what they want
but rather what the Lord wants for them.
*True disciples love the Lord more than the world
and are steadfast and immovable in their faith.
They stay strong and firm in a changing and confusing world.
*True disciples love to listen to the voice of
the Spirit and of the prophets and
are not confused by the voices of the world.
*True disciples love to “stand in holy places”
and love to make holy the places where they stand.
Wherever they go, they bring the love of the Lord
and peace to the hearts of others.
*True disciples love to obey the Lord’s commandments,
and they obey because they love the Lord.
As they love and keep their covenants,
their hearts are renewed and their very nature changes.
Pure love
is the
*true sign of
every true disciple of Jesus Christ.
I learned about pure love from my mother.
She was not a member of the Church.
One day many years ago, I visited my mother, who was struggling with cancer. I knew that she was going to die, but I was concerned that she was suffering. I didn’t say anything, but knowing me well, she said, “I see that you are concerned.”
Then to my surprise, she asked me with a feeble voice,
“Can you teach me how to pray? I want to pray for you. I know you start by saying, ‘Dear Heavenly Father,’ but then what should I say?”
As I knelt next to her bed and she prayed for me,
I felt a love never felt before.
It was simple, true, pure love.
Although she didn’t know about the plan of salvation,
she had it in her heart,
her personal plan of love, the plan of love of a mother for her son.
She was in pain, struggling to even find the strength to pray.
I could barely hear her voice,
but I surely felt her love.
I remember thinking,
“How can someone who is in such great pain pray for someone else? She is the one in need.”
Then the answer came clearly to my mind:
pure love.
She loved me so much
that she forgot about herself.
In her most critical hour, she loved me more than herself.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, isn’t this what the Savior did?
Of course, in an eternal and much broader perspective.
But in the midst of His greatest pain,
in the garden that night,
He was the one who needed help, suffering in a way that we cannot even imagine or comprehend.
But in the end, He forgot about Himself
and prayed for us
until He paid the full price.
How was He able to do it?
Because of His pure love for the Father,
who sent Him, and for us.
He loved the Father and us more than Himself.
He paid for something that He had not done.
He paid for sins that He had not committed.
Why?
Pure love.
Having paid the full price, He was in the position to offer us the blessings of what He paid for if we would repent.
Why did He offer this?
Pure love is the true sign of every true disciple of Jesus Christ.
President Thomas S. Monson said:
“May we begin now, this very day,
to express love to all of God’s children,
whether they be our family members, our friends, mere acquaintances, or total strangers.
As we arise each morning, let us determine to
respond with love and kindness
to whatever might come our way.”
Brothers and sisters,
the gospel of Jesus Christ
*is a gospel of love.
*The greatest commandment is about love.
*For me, it’s all about love.
*The love of the Father, who sacrificed His Son for us.
*The love of the Savior, who sacrificed all for us.
*The love of a mother or a father who would give anything for his or her children.
*The love of those who serve silently and are not known to most of us but are well known to the Lord.
*The love of those who forgive all and always.
*The love of the ones who give more than they receive.
For me, it’s all about love.
May this day of remembrance of the Resurrection of the Savior be a day of spiritual renewal for each one of us.
May this day be the beginning of a life full of love,
“the foundation stone of our daily life.”
May our hearts be filled with the pure love of Christ,
the true sign of every true disciple of Jesus Christ.
It is my prayer in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
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