To Have Christ Like Love Always in Our Hearts By Thomas Fullmer When I was about twelve years old,

I remember an instance in which my Mother sent my younger brother Jim and I out to weed the garden. She gave us each an equal portion of the garden to weed and told us to come tell her when it was done so that she could check our work. She also said we would be able to go play once she saw we had finished our assigned task. I worked very quickly to complete my portion of the garden and was done before my younger brother could even get half of his portion done. I was four years older than Jim and could work at a much faster rate. When I went to have Mom check my portion of the garden she said I had done a good job. I asked her if I could go play now, and she said something that has stuck with me all of these years. She told me to go help my brother Jim finish his portion, and then and only then would I be able to go play. I was very upset at the injustice of it all. Why should I have to help my brother just because he was slower than I was at weeding his portion of the garden. I thought that nothing could be more unfair than to have to help him do his portion. I said as much to Mom, arguing that I shouldnt have to do more than my share. She would have none of my arguments however and so I ended up weeding over half of what was left of Jims portion of the garden. Mom had taught me a lesson in compassion and love through service. In retrospect I should have volunteered to help Jim complete his portion of the garden. But being a selfish, self-centered twelve year old I hadnt seen it that way. Mom being wiser and more mature could, and she wanted to teach me a lesson in service, which I dont think I quite learned until I was much older. Mom was always teaching me and my brothers and sisters subtle lessons in compassion and familial kindness and love. She wanted us to learn to work together and serve one another, even as she served us.

In the summer of 1981, one year after I returned from my mission, I had a very trouble summer. I floated from job to job and from place to place and ended up wracking up more debt than I could handle. A few hundred dollars owed turned into thousands, and it came to the point that I could not meet my obligations. My mother came to the rescue more than once and bailed me out of difficulty time and time again. When I finally did obtain stable employment and began paying her back I did so for as long as I could. But it reached the point when I was divorced from my first wife that I could no longer pay the debt. So Mom forgave what I still owed her and forgot about it. That was her way. She helped Barbara and I many times later when we were married. Her forgiving my debt to her is reminiscent of an instance in the life of our Savior. In Luke 7 we read: 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisees house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a awoman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster bbox of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and a anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
a

41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly aforgave them both. bTell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are aforgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are aforgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that aforgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy afaith hath saved thee; go in bpeace. Just as the woman who Christ forgave much loved the Savior much, so have I developed a great love for my Mother. And though she passed away over three years ago, I still carry that love and appreciation in my heart for her. To me she was a Christ like woman, though she was by no means perfect (she had her faults), she was an example of the kind of Christ like person I should be. In John 3: 16-17 we read: 16 For aGod so bloved the cworld, that he dgave his eonly begotten fSon, that whosoever gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have heverlasting ilife. 17 For God asent not his Son into the world to bcondemn the world; but that the world through him might be csaved. God has so great love for us that he allowed his son to suffer, bleed, and die for our sins. It is only in and through the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can return to our Father in Heaven. In fact, Christs atonement is the quintessential act of love. It is only in and through him that we are saved. He loved us with a

love so perfect that we can scarcely understand its nature and emulate it. But it is a commandment that we try to do just that. In Christs time the heart of the law of Moses was to love God with ones heart, might, mind and strength, and love ones neighbor as himself. This love is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ today. In Christs time the Pharisees and Sadducees were caught up in every jot and title of the law and had forgotten the weightier matter of the law which is love. This is no ordinary love of which I speak, but a Christ like love, or charity. Our expression of love of God is found in John 14:15, which says: If ye love me keep my commandments. Obedience to the commandments is not only an act of faith, but also an act of love. Service is one of the expressions of Christ like love, for as we read in Mosiah 2:17 when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. In fact, the more service we give the more our love of God grows, as does the love for our fellow man. Also, the more we obey the commandments and bring our lives into line with gospel teachings the more our love of God grows. And our love of our neighbor will also grow with our love of God. The two are connected. Now as I said the greatest act of love was the atonement. It was through the atonement that we have the opportunity to gain eternal life. In fact the work and glory of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all of us, his children. Given this, doesnt it make sense that the greatest act of our own love for one another is to help each other gain eternal life. In fact, not only do we absolutely need the Saviors atonement and loving guidance to gain eternal life, but we need each others assistance in this most worthy of all missions on earth. Therefore we have the stake presidents admonition to rescue with love. But to do this we must focus on the Savior, because it is only in and through him that we are truly rescued.

Stephen R. Covey once said, and I really like the way he put it: When we make deposits of unconditional love, when we live the primary laws of love, we encourage others to live the primary laws of life. The deposits of love that we need to make are those that help others focus on the Savior in order to gain eternal life. We can do this in many ways. We can pray for them. We can fast and pray for their welfare. We can bear our testimonies to them. We can encourage them to read the scriptures and live the commandments. We can set a good example for them by living the gospel ourselves and by being more Christ like. Kindness is essential to opening hearts of others. Service is a good way to get past barriers some people build up. It doesnt have to be a big thing, since in human relations, the little things are the big things. Growing up in my child home of Gunnison, Utah, Christmas was a sparse affair to say the least. We generally received one toy, some candy, and an orange placed at our place at the table (no stockings), and a few articles of much needed clothing. It I received something special, I generally bought it for myself, like the Kodak camera I purchased with my paper route money when I was thirteen. So when I met and started dating Barbara Ann Gale, I had no concept how lavish a Christmas could be. I met my wife Barbara in August of 1988. She was my oldest daughters kindergarten teacher. We became friends and had our first date on Halloween of that year. We started dating and were soon officially a couple. The first Christmas we dated she gave me a big stuffed bear that had a straw hat on top of its head (a country style bear), together with some treats. I gave her the world and told her to find her place in it. Truth be told, it was not the world but a lighted globe of the world. I attached this note: Its not every day a guy gives a girl the world. Its up to you to find your place in it. She decided her place was by my side. It took me over a year to decide the same thing. I cant remember what we gave each other the second Christmas. Barbara had a bun in the oven and we were busy deciding our future together.

The third Christmas we were dirt poor. I was a starving student studying to get my MBA at the University of Utah and I had no job or any prospects in the foreseeable future. Barbara wanted to be a stay at home Mom, and did not relish going back into the workforce after the birth of our son, Alexander. By the next April, I would have secured a part time job at First Security Bank. Still, at this moment in our marriage, during the Christmas of 1990, we had nothing. We begged a lot , borrowed a little, and had Christmas provided for our little family of three through Sub for Santa. Food stamps and the Food Bank provided the needed sustenance. Though she hated it, Barbara was good at procuring food for our family through charity. After this destitute Christmas, Barbara told me she would never celebrate Christmas in such a poor manner. And we never did again. Barbara made a special effort to make Christmas and every holiday special. She is a very compassionate, caring woman with many Christ-like qualities I admire. Its no wonder then that our second daughter Erika has tried each year to provide a nice Christmas for our five grand children. But this past year, due to some financial difficulties, she wasnt going to be able to do so. In fact, she wasnt going to be able to provide any toys for her kids at all. We were all distraught over this. She called Sub for Santa, but they were already booked with requests and wouldnt be able to help. She turned to Barbara and I, but we didnt have money to do anything more than provide a few articles of clothing for each child, as we do each year. Unless a miracle occurred, there would be no toys under the tree this year. Barbara happened to mention the plight of our daughter to some people at her work at Granite School District. She was so upset that she confided in her friends at the Department of Education Equity where she is an administrative assistant. Needless to say, an anonymous benefactor left several hundred dollars at Barbaras work station. No note was left, just two crisp hundred dollar bills. It was as if it had appeared out of thin air. The miracle we looked for had happened.

With this money Barbara was able to provide our grandchildren a much nicer Christmas than they would have had otherwise. Thank the Lord for the anonymous people of the world. We dont need to provide hundreds of dollars to be true followers of Jesus Christ. To do so requires no money at all. There are so many other ways we can do this. All that is needed is a kind word, a simple act of kindness, an understanding heart, an open ear, all can open hearts and minds to the truths of the gospel and help heal broken hearts. And lets remember to live not the gold rule, but the platinum rule, which is to do unto others as they and our Savior would have us do unto them. To do this we need an open, understanding heart that is willing to listen with unconditional love. The Savior set the example, we need to follow it. My mother set the example for me of how to be compassionate and giving to others. My wife sets that example for me every day. Let us all be an example of Christ like love to one another. As true followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let us show Christ like love to one another, is my prayer in His name, Amen.