Love One Another

I'm reading the book Jesus the Christ, by Talmage. It was a "goal" last year, for 2009, but I only got through about 1/2 of it, so I extended it to finish at the end of this year, 2010.

Throughout Jesus' ministry, he taught Love. Love one another. If you love me, keep my commandments. The greatest commandment is to love God, and the next is to love thy neighbor as thyself. If I REALLY loved everybody else as much as I love myself, I would consider my neighbor's needs just as important as my own.

I would like to learn to see people as Jesus saw them. The Lord saw people as equal, all the same...he knew their hearts and judged them by what was in their hearts.

I don't have the privilege or responsibility to judge people...I can't know their hearts. So it is MY responsibility to love everyone. Assume the best in people. Treat them all with respect and love.

The lady I pass when I'm shopping. The impatient man who honks, in the car behind me. The checker in the grocery store. They are my brothers and sisters.

One of my favorite quotes, I don't know who said it: "People do the best they can, with what they have, at that moment." We are all trying.

How many times have I tried and come up short? How many times have I been rude or impatient? I can always rationalize for myself. There is always a good REASON for the way I act.

But what about my list of people I can't forgive? I can think of 3. Why can't I forgive them, and move on? Let it go. Because it was obvious they were wrong. Well, are they suffering because of my grudge and festering feelings? No. I am holding myself back by letting myself continue to wallow in the event of the past.

Asking Forgiveness

I was in a hectic moment in the kitchen when the phone rang the other day. I picked it up, and the lady said I hadn't signed where I needed to sign when David got his immunization, so I would need to come in and do that. No big deal, right?

Well, it WAS a big deal. Right at that moment, thinking about all I had to do anyway, kids asking questions and I'm distracted by twelve things at once. An unexpected additional trip to go sign something I already signed...put me over the edge. I was really rude to this poor lady on the phone. "Can't I give permission over the phone? I don't know what day I can come in." I hung up the phone and thought to myself, "I just sounded like a NUT. She said I could come in at my convenience, it's not that far away, and...why was I so short with her?"

Plus (and this one made me cringe)...I'd have to FACE her when I went in to sign the paper.

I went in the next day. "Hi, I'm here to sign my paper." (swallow all pride) "And I'm sorry for being so rude on the phone yesterday. I sounded like a nut. It was just bad timing, and I shouldn't even have picked up the phone."

The other lady in the office said, "It's okay. We all do it...especially when you have kids."

I can't tell you what a relief it was, that they were so pleasant about it.

Do I forgive like that, or do I hold grudges?

Unfortunately I'm afraid it's often the latter.

What is a Testimony?

We had a talk in church today on "testimony." He quoted a General Conference talk that told us we needed to get back to "true testimony" in our meetings. Testimonies aren't stories, they aren't travelogues, or lectures.

Another talk more recently told us that testimony time is also not the time to tell your loved ones "I know I don't tell them this very often, but I want them to know I love them." The point was, you SHOULD tell them, often, and not just in a public forum.

But our speaker John E., said that while the talks seemed to limit what you say, he decided that his testimony is his own. It is what is in his heart, not anyone else's.

I haven't been up in Sacrament Meeting to bear my testimony in years. As Relief Society President, I felt like I was bearing my testimony pretty frequently. At the end of lessons. When I spoke in church. I thought everybody heard WAY too much from me as it was, so I sure wasn't going to add to my pulpit time by just getting up on a Fast Sunday.

What do I believe? What is my testimony?

There was an article in the October 2008 Friend magazine that told about the "testimony glove." Your testimony should be (count on your fingers):

1. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us.
2. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer.
3. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God.
4. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church on the earth today.
5. I know that this Church is led by a living prophet who receives revelation.

Of course you know these things because of different circumstances or experiences you have had. It is your testimony, and no one can change it or add to it, or strengthen it or neglect it except you.

I want our kids to know how much I love my Heavenly Father and I know that He loves us immeasurably. That He is forgiving and kind, and knows each of us so well. That He knows how we think, and not only THAT we struggle with different things, but WHY we struggle. He knows our hearts, and that we were hurt by someone way back when, and that memory is dug up every time a different person acts or says something similar. That we don't really mean to hurt somebody else, but at that particular moment, it's all that would come out, and we are really, really sorry.

It doesn't erase the fact that we just hurt someone else, and we have to fix it. But he knows it's not easy and he'll give His love and support every step of the way back as we repent and try to do better.

Maybe as I search for love or understanding or happiness from various sources in my life, I should remember that the true source of love is my Heavenly Father. That no matter what happens, He is there to listen and lend support. Max Lucado said, "We cannot go anywhere where God is not." He is always just a prayer away.