From Its Beginning The Church Has Constantly...

From its beginning, the Church has constantly stressed the importance of the home. Homes can be heaven here on earth. Where love is present in a home, it can and will be a happy home. ¶

The Principle of Love

When the Savior was here filling his earthly mission, he gave strong emphasis to the principle of love. At one time a learned man, a lawyer, approached him and asked: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ¶

"Jesus said to him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ¶

"This is the first and great commandment. ¶

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." ¶

Then, to give added strength to his words, he added: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt. 22:36-40.) On another occasion the Lord taught that in addition to loving God our Father in heaven and our neighbor, we should also love even our enemies. ¶

With our human frailties and prejudices, that becomes a real challenge. ¶

Here is the counsel of the Lord: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matt. 5:44.) ¶

An American statesman once made this remark: "Destroy your enemies by making friends of them." ¶

Then another has said: "You should be kind to your enemies, because you are the one who made them." ¶

The Lord has given strong counsel to husbands concerning their wives. ¶

Here is his command: "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else." (D&C 42:22.) ¶

Charity and Love

Consider now another phase of this great virtue — love — and its relationship to charity. ¶

Charity and love, in some respects, seem to be synonymous. The ancient prophet Moroni made this point clear when he quoted his father, Mormon: ¶

". . . if ye have not charity, ye are nothing. . . . But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." (Moro. 7:46-47.) ¶

Charity can and should mean not only the pure love of Christ, but it should also mean pure love for him and his love for us. ¶

The Savior has demonstrated that his words concerning love are not empty, for he has shown his love for us in his willingness to lay down his life, thus making it possible for us to receive salvation through his atoning sacrifice and to achieve exaltation and eternal life through our obedience to his commandments. His atonement gave meaning to his teaching that "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13.) No man could willingly give his life for a friend without sincerely loving him. ¶

The Lord's unselfish act added great weight to his further words: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34.) ¶

Missionary Experience

A lonely young Persian student was in Munich, Germany, struggling to find a meaning to life. He was deeply disturbed by the materialism and selfishness that seemed to fill the world, and especially postwar Europe. ¶

He heard a knock at the door, and two humble Mormon elders stood before him. He was not the least interested in religion. In fact, cynicism and doubt had filled his soul until he was very nearly persuaded that there was no God nor any real meaning to life. The only thing that interested him about these two young men was their English accent. He had mastered four languages, but English was not one of them. ¶

He invited them in, but as they started their discussion, he cautioned: ¶

"I don't want to hear about your God, nor do I want to hear about how your religion got started. I only want to know one thing: what do you people do for one another?" He waited, and a look of doubt crossed his dark features, as the elders exchanged glances. ¶

Finally, the spokesman for the two said softly, "We love one another." ¶

Nothing he could have said would have been more electrifying than this simple utterance had upon this young Persian, for the Holy Ghost immediately bore testimony to his soul that these missionaries were true servants of the Lord. Shortly thereafter he was baptized, and he presently is in this country receiving his doctorate degree at a local university — all because a young Mormon missionary declared a simple truth, "We love one another." ¶

Ways to Demonstrate Love

Virtually all religions tell us to love one another, but the restored Church tells us how to love one another. The home teaching visits, the inspired Welfare Program, the unselfish service performed in the temples, and the worldwide missionary system demonstrate in a very practical way the teaching of the Savior: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matt. 22:39.) ¶

At this Easter time we are mindful of the Redeemer's sacrifice and acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation our debt to him. ¶

In granting approval for the Savior's atonement, our Father in heaven has manifested his love for us, his children. ¶

A prophet has made this plain in this statement: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16.) How do we show our love for our Heavenly Father, and our love and appreciation for the Savior? The Lord has given us the key. Listen to his admonition: "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments." (D&C 42:29.) ¶

Love an Eternal Principle

Love is an eternal principle, an everlasting virtue. It operated before this earth life and will continue to do so throughout the eternities. President McKay has made it clear in this magnificent declaration: "Love is the most divine attribute of the human soul, and if you accept the immortality of the soul, that is, if you believe that personality persists after death, then you must believe that love also lives." (Man May Know for Himself, p. 221.) ¶

However, love is a virtue that can be lost. It may wither up and die as a result of neglect, carelessness, and indifference. So President McKay has beautifully cautioned with the following words: "Love must be fed . . . love must be nourished; love can be starved to death just as literally as the body can be starved without daily sustenance." (Ibid., p. 221.) ¶

Solution for Major Ills

Many of the major ills and disturbances that plague mankind in this unsettled world today and are causing unhappiness and sorrow would disappear if the principle of love were manifested and practiced. ¶

If we would love the Lord our God, and show that love by keeping his commandments, we would be law-abiding citizens, and there would be no need for law officers nor for prisons. ¶

If we would but love one another and our neighbors as ourselves, there would be no need for conventions and gatherings to be held behind barbed wire fences and protected by guards with rifles and bayonets. ¶

If we truly loved those who persecute us, they would no longer be enemies, but friends, and there would be no wars or bloodshed. ¶

If men sincerely loved their wives, wives loved their husbands, parents loved and understood their children, and children loved and respected their parents, there would be no infidelity and unfaithfulness, no quarreling or bickering found among mankind; divorce, juvenile delinquency, broken homes, and frustration of youth would be eliminated; and other social, moral, and economic ills would cease. Peace would abide in the world. ¶

General Eisenhower was a person who not only expressed his love, but also demonstrated it in behalf of others. ¶

Among his last words were these: "I have always loved my wife, I have always loved my children, I have always loved my grandchildren, and I have always loved my country." ¶

Power to Change World

Some years ago President McKay told the brethren assembled in this building that if the 9,000 or so priesthood bearers present would go forth from here and fully live the teachings of the Master, they would have the power to change the world. This I believe. And I also believe that if those of us who are here and those of you of the vast television and radio audience would live fully the principle of love — and there's no greater principle — we would have the power to change our lives, our homes, our neighborhoods, then this nation, and eventually the world, for in the words of that stirring contemporary song, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." We do have the power to change our lives and surroundings by first realizing our own worth and loving and valuing ourselves, and then by loving those with whom we live and labor. ¶

May we have the desire and courage to so act, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶