Christ Will Carry Us...

This last week I have had a hard time trying to grasp the concept of Love as our Savior taught it. He teaches us to

“Love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” (1 John 4:7)

“But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you; (3 Nephi 12:44)

The scriptures are filled with the teachings of Christ concerning Love. I have faced several instances in the past week where people have tried to bring me down, or have hurt me spiritually, and I haven’t wanted to love them, but the Savior teaches us to do otherwise. In today’s world there is so much hate, and we forget the important lesson of Love.

Through all of my trials in the past week, I have tried to remember a couple things, and these are the things I want you all to try and remember…1) We are all spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, which makes us all brothers and sisters. Family is one of the highest institutions given to us in this life, and we love our family. If we are all family, then we should all love one another, however hard it may be at times. 2) Would those who had persecuted me done what they had done if the Savior had been in the room with them, if He was standing right beside them? I would hope a resounding no is echoing in your ears. The thing that we forget is that the Savior is ALWAYS standing next to us, he is always AWARE of us, even when we don’t believe it ourselves. 

For me, this thought struck an interesting lesson in my mind. Though I cannot control how others act, I can control how I act. I (We) can act in a way that if we actually saw our Savior and brother Jesus Christ standing right next to us, He would be happy. No matter what we do, we need to remember the Lord is by our side, never to leave us; we just need to allow Him into our hearts.

Over a year ago I started a new job, and I was scared to death to start it. I was reminded of the Footprints in the Sand poem that I had read on numerous occasions. The man in the poem is upset when he only notices one set of footprints, and fears that the Lord has left him. But the Lord tells him that the one set of footprints were His own, and that is when the Lord was carrying him. Being scared for this job to begin, I wanted a reminder that throughout this next phase of my life, I could not do it alone, and I needed the Lord by my side. I found a ring that has part of the footprints poem inscribed around it, and I have worn it every day since. Later on that year, a dear friend of mine was leaving the mission field and returning home to begin the next phase of their life. I bought and gave them the same ring, wanting them to remember also, that no matter where we are in our life, we are never alone. Christ is always walking beside us, and when we are to weak to walk, He will carry us.

We have the ability to walk with Christ everyday. This is shown in our actions and deeds, and how we carry ourselves. President Henry B. Eyring has counseled, “You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness. Some of the most important choices are about what you set your heart upon.” My hope is that we remember this simple teaching by one of our leaders. Make a choice to keep walking in the light of our Savior. Make a choice to love one another, our brothers and sisters. Make a choice to act in a way that makes our Heavenly Father and Brother Jesus Christ happy. Stand for what is right, stand for the truth, and stand for the gospel. Keep our hearts pure so that we may receive inspiration and revelation from our Heavenly Father. Remember, our Savior, Jesus Christ is always walking right beside us, and is willing and ready to carry us.