Okay, okay, so I translated my talk to English. None of you have Google Translate? Or Reverso? Geez.
Good morning dear brother and sisters.
Marc-André (Morin) gave a talk on the subject of missionary work a few weeks ago. It was a good talk, but during his talk, I realized that there were two major differences between Marc-André and me. First, when Sister Bates and I invite the young missionaries to eat with us, we don’t make them join us on Zoom–we invite them into our apartment and give them actual food. Second, I love Gilles Tremblay a lot, but if I have a technology question, he is the last person I would ask for help!
As children of our Heavenly Father, we have the power to act. That is good, because life is full of choices. No matter what choice we make, life can be difficult.
As President Nelson explained, when we make covenants with God, our life becomes easier, but that does not mean our life is easy. “In fact, expect opposition . . .“
Allow me to give you some examples of what I mean.
To forgive someone who has hurt you is difficult. To not forgive that person and live with the anger is even more difficult. We choose our level of difficulty.
It is difficult to have faith and follow the covenant path. But living without faith or hope is even more difficult. We choose our level of difficulty.
The two great commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. Loving God and loving our neighbor can be difficult. Hating God and hating our neighbor is even more difficult. We choose our level of difficulty.
During the October 2004 General Conference, Elder John H. Groberg asked the following two questions:
“What is it about true love that touches every heart? Why does the simple phrase ‘I love you’ evoke such universal joy?”
Today I am going to talk about some things that I have learned during my mission about the power of love, and how important it is that we choose it.
GOD’S LOVE TRANSFORMS US
Love transforms the giver and the receiver, transforming both into a better version of themselves. How are we transformed by love? First, if we choose, each of us can be transformed by God’s love for us. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
“My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength–that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.”
Sometimes it might be difficult to feel that love. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:
” . . . wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.
Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the Universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time.
. . .
God loves you because you are his child. He loves you even though you may feel lonely or make mistakes.”
But how does God’s love transform us?
Susan H. Porter, in a talk given at General Conference, declared:
“When you know and understand how completely you are loved as a child of God, it changes everything. It changes the way you feel about yourself when you make mistakes. It changes how you feel when difficult things happen. It changes your view of God’s commandments. It changes your view of others and of your capacity to make a difference.”
We should always remember that God loves us, and that His love, if we choose to let it, will transform us into a better version of ourselves.
OUR LOVE FOR OUR NEIGHBOR TRANSFORMS US AND THEM
Second, our love for our neighbor transforms us and them. Christ commanded us to love our neighbor. Why is it so important? As Dallin H. Oaks said,
“[This commandment] invite[s] us to grow spiritually by seeking to imitate God’s love for us.”
Loving those around us transforms them as well. In a study published by the Harvard Business Review, the researchers concluded that,
“People who worked in a culture where they felt free to express affection, tenderness, caring, and compassion for one another were more satisfied with their jobs, committed to the organization, and accountable for their performance.”
This principle applies with an equal–if not superior–force in our homes, in the Church, and in our communities. When we love each other, and when we express that love, whether it is in the Church, in our homes, or in our communities, everyone is elevated.
I know that this is true in light of my experience here in Québec. I have been transformed by the love that I have felt from the people here. Allow me to give you one simple example. Sister Bates and I attend Institute on Friday nights with the young adults. We don’t say much in class. Often, we don’t say anything at all. I like to tell myself it is because I want the young adults to participate and learn without me or Sister Bates dominating the conversation. And there is a kernel of truth in that. But it is also true that I am not at ease with my ability to express myself in French, because my French is not that good. I am therefore mostly a silent participant during the lessons.
One evening, during a branch activity, Sister Nivea Freire (the Institute teacher) approached me and told me how much she appreciated having Sister Bates and I in the class, and how we were such a tremendous blessing for her and the class members. She was very emotional–crying, in fact. I was surprised because I didn’t think that we added much value to the class. I certainly didn’t feel like the person she was telling me that I was. Sister Bates–sure. But me? No. But, whether we were or not is really not the question. The fact is that I could see and feel Nivea’s sincere love for Sister Bates and me, and I could tell that love had clearly transformed her a little. And that changed me–it made me want to be in class each week and perhaps contribute a little more, to help the young adults a little more, and to become the person that Nivea thought I was.
We can all have that effect on those around us, if we really care about them and let them know–by word and by our actions–that we love them. If we love our neighbor, it will transform them and us.
LOVE IS EASY WHEN YOU DON’T JUDGE OTHERS
Third, loving your neighbors is easy if you don’t judge them. At the beginning of my talk, I said that loving your neighbor could be difficult. In truth, loving your neighbor is very easy–if you choose to not judge them.
This is because when we judge others because of their appearance, their language, or the way they dress, we begin to classify them. They become “African” or “Hispanic” or “Québecois.” They become “liberal” or conservative.” They become “rich” or “poor.” They are “nice” or “not nice.” They are “hard workers” or “lazy.” They are members of the church or not.
When we view others in this way, we don’t really see them as people–we being to view them as objects. When we view people as objects, they become something that must be “fixed.” To see someone as something that needs to be “fixed,” and decide that we are the person to “fix” them, is not love.
But when we connect with others from a point of unconditional love, we see them as persons, as children of our Heavenly Father, with a divine heritage and destiny. They are not perfect and they sin, but so do we. In the United States there is a popular bumper stick which reads, “Don’t judge me just because I sin differently than you.”
When Sister Bates and I arrived here in Quebec City, I didn’t expect to find in the church a cultural diversity that we have today. I didn’t expect that we would be asked to work with the young single adults. I didn’t expect to spend most of my time working with friends of the church and with recent converts. I didn’t expect that the branches here would be having baptisms every month–often every week. I certainly didn’t expect that most of the people that were joining the church would be African, Hispanic or Filipino. At certain times in my life, it would have been easy to let certain prejudices influence the way that I viewed the people that I met here.
But when I arrived on my mission, I made the conscious decision to meet people where they were on their journey, without prejudice or judgment, and simply try to help them take the next step on the covenant path. And I discovered that loving your neighbor wasn’t so difficult after all. I also discovered that loving your neighbor–without judgment–and trying to see them as Christ sees them, can really transform both you and them.
CONCLUSION
Loving your neighbor is a choice. We decide if we choose love or something else: whether that something else is indifference, annoyance, dislike or even hate. I know that God loves me. Just as important, I know that God loves each of you. Every time I give someone a blessing, no matter what type, I feel how much God loves them. My prayer today is that we all can choose love, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.