Lesson for Sept. 28, 2014

Our lesson today was given by Kristine Hanson, Chapter 20 “Love and Concern for All Our Father’s Children” from President Monson’s April Conference talk “ Love—the Essence of the Gospel.” When we think of this title, we think of the atonement and charity, the pure love of Christ, God is love, the love that we have to have for ourselves and those around us, friendliness, it is life-giving, it is the first and second great commandments—the love of the Father and the Son. The fact that we are born into families is to help us to learn to live in love and to give love. President Monson points out that if we don’t love God if we don’t love our neighbor. Loving our fellow man is based on the understanding that we are all God’s children and brothers and sisters. President Kimball said that the individuals we meet in parking lots and elevators are our brothers and sisters. This love is manifest through kindness, friendliness, forgiveness, protection, service, not judging, acceptance, forgetting, charity, giving time, listening, patience, donating, trusting, keeping confidences, sharing talents, times, food, longsuffering, sacrifice, enduring to the end, trying to understand, empathy, hoping for the best, having faith they will, teaching, encouragement, benign assumption, and acting on promptings. Have you ever regretted being a little too kind? Kristine said she regrets not contacting a friend whom she had wanted to talk to for a long time, but hadn’t done it. Her friend died in her sleep recently and the woman’s husband said the friend had been troubled recently. Kristine thought maybe she might have actually helped by listening. President Monson had stories in his talk. One was about a flight that went out of its way from Juneau, Alaska to take care of a little boy who had fallen on glass and severed an artery. The passengers all agreed that it was a worthwhile thing to go out of their way and after they let the little boy off, they found out the boy was going to be all right. The passengers took up a collection for the family and cheered. President Monson also told of a woman who gave up her pay to help a young woman in 1933 with the sewing in a factory that was too hard for the young woman. They remained friends and in the 1950s, the older woman gave the younger one a Book of Mormon and in 1960, the younger one was baptized with her family. One sister said that her husband was a home teacher and every week went out to teach a man who lived 25 miles out of town, until he finally, a year and a half later, came back to church. Kristine said in her family a great-grandfather was called on a mission while he had a wife and small children. He worked hard to put up food to keep his family safe while he was gone. After he left, someone stole the food. She could see the track in the snow, but they couldn’t find out who did it. They were devastated, but family stepped in to help. When the husband came back from his mission and became bishop, a man came to him and said he knew who it was. The bishop said he didn’t want to know, because he’d already forgiven the robber. The son, Kristine’s Uncle Wilford was a bishop, too, found out who was the robber was and sat with the man while he died. Kristine’s uncle (age 11) was killed accidentally by a rifle bullet. The little boy who had pulled the trigger cried. They boy’s father started to scold him, but Kristine’s grandmother said it was an accident and not to scold the boy. They had the boy sit between Kristine’s grandparents during the funeral and for many years showed that boy love and help. When asked if they would sue, the grandmother said that money couldn’t be piled high enough to compensate for the loss of love between her and the offending boy’s mother. Kristine challenged everyone to go home and tell a family member that they are loved. Love really is the way of happiness.