Lessons to Learn

Mystical Feeling?

"We need to stop thinking of love as a mysterious power that has control over us. We need to think of love as a way to treat other people, rather than as something that happens to us; then we will begin to have power over our loving.

Those who conclude that love cannot be defined—that there is no way to explain it and it is something we cannot understand—are those who think incorrectly about love, who think of it as a mystical feeling, a mysterious power, a trap into which one may fall. Those who think of love as it really is can define it, explain it, and understand it."

• MAR. 1972
• THE MEANING OF LOVE

True Love

"True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us.

We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it."

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, General Conference "The Great Commandment"

Simple Acts

"Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life."




Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, General Conference "The Great Commandment"

Fingernail Love

"In a recent message of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Music and the Spoken Word, a story was told about an elderly man and woman who had been married for many decades. Because the wife was slowly losing her sight, she could no longer take care of herself the way she had done for so many years. Without being asked, the husband began to paint her fingernails for her.

“He knew that she could see her fingernails when she held them close to her eyes, at just the right angle, and they made her smile. He liked to see her happy, so he kept painting her nails for more than five years before she passed away.”

That is an example of the pure love of Christ."

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, General Conference "The Great Commandment"

The Beginning, Middle and End

"Love is the beginning, the middle, and the end of the pathway of discipleship. It comforts, counsels, cures, and consoles. It leads us through valleys of darkness and through the veil of death. In the end love leads us to the glory and grandeur of eternal life."


Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, General Conference "The Great Commandment"

Be Known of Him

"The scriptures tell us that “if any man love God, the same is known of him.” What a wonderful promise—to be known of Him. It makes the spirit soar to think that the Creator of heaven and earth could know us and love us with a pure, eternal love."


Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, General Conference "The Great Commandment"

We Are Nothing Without Charity

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,” he told them, “I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” 

"Paul’s message to this new body of Saints was simple and direct: Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won’t profit you at all."

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, "The Great Commandment"

Reach Out

"When we reach out to assist the least of Heavenly Father’s children, we do it unto Him."


Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2007, "The Great Commandment"

Pray For Charity

"Recognize His love. 'Pray … with all the energy of heart' for this gift. Do so in meekness with a broken heart, and you will be filled with hope and love from the Holy Ghost Himself. He will reveal Christ to you."


Gene R Cook, Apr. 2002, "Charity: Perfect and Everlasting"

Oh How We Need To Love God!

"No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

Dieter F Uchtdorf, Oct. 2009, "The Love of God"

Infinite Love

"Divine love is infinite and universal. The Savior loves both saints and sinners. The Apostle John affirmed, 'We love him, because he first loved us.'"

Love of God

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you. 

God does not look on the outward appearance.  I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.

He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.

What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."

Dieter F Uchtdorf, Oct. 2009, "The Love of God"