The defining character of Jesus Christ, and the essence of his Gospel, is charity. 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. Each day, Christ demonstrated pure love to others through his words and actions. In doing so, he helped others come to know the Father. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. The ultimate demonstration of Christ's pure love is his infinite atonement. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. For my love to have meaning, it must take action. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, "Love is meaningless unless it is directed toward something or someone. We love our parents. We love our brothers and sisters. We love the Lord" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/04/faith-in-the-lord-jesus-christ).
My communications with those I love should be filled with honesty, transparency, clarity, and humor. I know that as I take time to demonstrate my love for others, my life is filled with joy and I can better feel God and Christ's love for me.
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And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. (Surely Christ's twelve apostles were among his closest friends. Friendship is an important gospel principle (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/04/friendship-a-gospel-principle). Christ taught, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:12). Friendship with others is the result of obedience to Christ's commandment to "love one another, as [Christ has] loved you" (John 15:12).
Matthew (also known as Levi) had a very different background than the other apostles. Matthew was a tax collector, or publican, for the Roman government. Publicans were generally considered social outcasts. "He it was who gave a feast, for attending which Jesus and the disciples were severely criticized by the Pharisees, on the charge that it was unseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). Simon (Peter), was a prosperous fisherman. "In temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained by severe experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many human weaknesses, yet in spite of them all he eventually overcame the temptations of Satan and the frailties of the flesh, and served his Lord as the appointed and acknowledged leader of the Twelve" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). The brothers James and John were also fishermen. "With Peter these two brothers were witnesses of many of the most important incidents in the life of Jesus; thus, the three were the only apostles admitted to witness the raising of the daughter of Jairus from death to life; they were the only members of the Twelve present at the transfiguration of Christ; they were nearest the Lord during the period of His mortal agony in Gethsemane; and, as heretofore told, they have ministered in these modern days in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship with all its ancient authority and power of blessing" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). |
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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