Today I was lucky enough to be asked to speak in sacrament meeting with the relief society presidency. I do use the word lucky in the loosest sense. We were asked to speak on service . . . I won't add the whole talk but I'll leave a few of the thoughts I shared . . . (thanks to lds.org for making it so easy to research and use the messages given by His apostles).
JOHN 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Alone in the upper room with the eleven, Jesus uses the last teaching moments of His mortal life to teach this commandment.
Jesus’ unconditional love for us motivated His atoning sacrifice for our sins. Without His love, we would be unable to return to our Heavenly Father. How He lived His life is the example we should follow. He showed us that we must go about doing good, that the spiritual and physical welfare of our fellowmen is as important as our own, that we should show genuine concern and compassion for all of our Heavenly Father’s children.
Moroni defines Christlike love as charity. “And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.” It’s not enough to say we believe and that we love Him; we must be found possessed with His kind of love for others at that last day. Like the Savior, we should bless the lives of others by giving of what our life is made up of—our time, our talents, our means, and ourselves.
President Kimball taught that “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”
What are ways we can serve? Serving our family, Kindness for our Neighbors, Visiting Teaching/Home Teaching, Missionary Work, Senior Missionary Work, Church Callings, Temple Attendance, Serving in the Temple.
When we seek to serve others, we are motivated not by selfishness but by charity. Throughout His life, the Savior must have often felt tired and pressed upon, with scarcely a moment to Himself; yet He always made time for the sick, the sorrowful, and the overlooked.
When we stand before the Lord to be judged, will He look upon the positions we have held in the world or even in the Church? Do you think He will care how packed our schedule was or how many important meetings we attended? Do you suppose that our success in filling our days with appointments will serve as an excuse for failure to spend time with our family or serving others?
Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
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