On a Saturday morning in February, I was reading a book because there was no football to be watched. On that day, I read this story: A sergeant gives a piece of bread to a starving mother and she breaks it in two and gives it to her two children. “Hmpf!” says the sergeant, “she didn't keep any for herself.”
“Because she's not hungry,” said a soldier.
“No, because she's a mother,” the sergeant said.
About that time, my brother, Joey, asked me if I wanted to go to Fazoli's with him and his family. He was buying, so I said OK. My sister-in-law, Sabrina, was particularly excited to go there because she loves their breadsticks. In fact, that was pretty much all we had heard from Sabrina all morning. We went there and got our food, but the breadstick lady didn't make her rounds for quite some time. Sabrina was disappointed and even jokingly commented that she was going to storm out if she didn't get her precious breadsticks soon. Finally, the breadsticks arrive. The breadstick lady gives two breadsticks each to me, Joey and Sabrina, but she doesn't give any to the kids. And so what does Sabrina do with those long-awaited breadsticks? She gives her treasured breadsticks to her two kids.
“Hmm. It's just like that story--albeit under different circumstances,” I thought as I ate my breadstick (because an uncle's love definitely doesn't come close to matching a mother's love). “The mother in the story was waiting for food and when she got it, she gave it to her kids. And here, Sabrina was waiting for her breadsticks all day, finally gets them, and, instead, she gives them to Luke and Isabel.”
I kind of forgot about that incident until a few days later when I picked up the book again and re-read the story. And I thought I should e-mail Sabrina and tell her about this little experience. So I did. And I got this reply:
“Wow, that is such a coincidence! It's so true though. Before kids I would have knocked down and fought anyone that got in the way of my Fazoli's breadsticks, but after kids, that's just what you do. Although it is kind of selfish in a round about way because I make sure they are taken care of and happy first; otherwise, I can't relax and feel happy.”
A few months ago, my friend, Camilla, had her first child. She sent me an e-mail a few days later to let me know she was now a mother.
In it, she told me: “It's an amazing thing, the first morning I woke up with him I started crying just because I loved him so much.”
I’ve spent some time thinking about those insights about a mother’s love; the examples of my sister-in-law and my friend. And I’ve thought even more about the examples of my sisters as they interact with their kids, and the example of the great love my mother has shown for me. It’s an interesting thing. With the exceptions of twins or triplets, human beings are born one-by-one. That means for each of us, a mother went through nine months of pregnancy, waiting for us to arrive. For nine months, while she anxiously awaited our arrival, she probably had many excited conversations with friends and was preparing for when we arrived. What I like about Camilla’s e-mail and Sabrina’s example is that they gave me an insight to the thrill a mother has and the love she feels when her child finally arrives. And that love shows through in the connection the newborn child and mother have for each other. I think in all of human love, there may be no greater love than the love a mother has for her child.
In fact, I can only think of one higher form of love: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Those words were spoken by the One who did give His life for us. And as much as our mothers love us, His love for us runs even deeper. Christ once spoke directly in 1 Nephi 21:14-16 to those who wondered if His love was real; if He did, in fact, remember them and hear their cries.
“But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.
“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” (1 Nephi 20: 14-16).
We’ve discussed a mother’s love. We know how precious that is. And, here, Christ says a young mother isn’t going to forget her newborn; likewise, He isn’t going to forget us.
In fact, he says there’s a better chance that the mother will forget her newborn than there is that Christ will forget us. In fact, there is no element of chance involved. He simply won't forget us! And I love how He describes His reason why: “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”
Engraven upon the palms of his hands is the proof of His love for us. The proof that He willingly went through literally everything for us, to reclaim us, to redeem us. The proof that, for us, He suffered in Gethsemane; that, for us, instead of asking for mercy from Pilate, He accepted his impending execution and said: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world” (John 18:37); that, for us, He allowed himself to be lifted upon the cross; and that, for us, He gave His life. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
I know you can’t remember this, but I want you to think what it was like to be in the Premortal Council, when the Father laid out His plan for us, and, when we, upon hearing it, shouted for joy. Can you imagine what it was like to hear the Father ask the question: “Whom shall I send” (Abraham 3:27)? Who do you think you wanted to answer the question? Most of us probably hoped our Eldest Brother would. And can imagine that moment, when we heard Christ volunteer to be our Savior? Can you imagine the great love it must have taken for Him to volunteer for that role, knowing all the weight and responsibility He alone would have to bear? He knew a great toll would be required of Him to rescue us. He, the only one among us, who wouldn’t need a Savior chose to be a Savior for us all. Can you imagine how you must have felt at that moment? Christ volunteered to be our Savior and our Friend, but chose not to glorify Himself for doing so. Christ acted purely and completely out of love.
And as much love as it must have required to volunteer for such a role, how much more love must it have taken to complete the task? You can hear that love in the Intercessory Prayer Christ offers just before His sufferings in Gethesemane. Knowing that the hour of His sacrifice had come, our Savior prays: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” In other words, Christ knew the terribleness of what lay ahead; but if it was the only one way to reclaim us, He would perform the Atonement. Christ later told Joseph Smith of His suffering:
“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:18-19).
Of course, the cause behind this willingness to suffer all things was His infinite love. That love cannot be matched. That love is unconquerable. It’s a love that is both infinite and eternal. I love these verses from Romans 8:38-39
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We cannot repay Him for what He has done for us—but we can do this much: We can be appreciative for what He has done for us, and we can conform our lives to His, so that we can be full partakers of His Mercy. In other words, we can study His life and throw off the parts of our lives that don’t align with His. He has said, “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent (D&C 19:16). And, also consider these verses from D&C 18:10-13:
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
“For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.
“And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.
“And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”
I love that last line: “And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” Can’t you just see Christ rejoicing every time one of his brothers or sisters starts the repentance process? Can you imagine His thrill as we begin to come unto Him, and we ask Him to take our sins away?
Another thing we can do is treat others in a way that shows our love for Him. It’s to know that Christ loves us and it’s likewise important to know we are children of God. But we also need to realize that every fellow human is a child of God and each was loved enough by Christ that He gave His life for them. How we treat them reflects how we treat Him, for He has said: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Let’s go back to the concept of a mother’s love. I remember one time hearing a woman cry because her daughter, who was in those awkward middle school years, had become the scorn of all her classmates. Their unmerciful teasing was doing severe damage to the girl’s self-esteem, and this mother who loved her daughter so very, very much didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to make the teasing stop nor how to repair her daughter’s self-esteem. Listening to this, I just wished I could go and show these kids the effect their teasings were having on this little girl. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40)
When I think about this concept, I thought about when my little sister was on her mission and the prayers I heard my mother say for her each day. I realized how much my mom loved and missed my sister. On my mission, I knew that such prayers were being said for me. And it gave me great strength. But as I heard my mother pray for my sister, I thought of the mothers of my companions. Some of them I wish I would have treated better, and treated them in a way that honors both their mother and their Savior have for them.
I thought also about a talk I heard recently in our Stake Elder’s Quorum training when a high councilman was telling us about the worries he had about his daughter moving away for the first time. He was trying make the point, that he wanted the priesthood holders where she was to ensure that her needs were met.
Another thing that I thought about on this subject this week came as I watched an episode of “That 70s Show” where Kelso had just become a father of a little girl. And he realized that he had not treated the girls the way he would want a guy to treat his daughter.
Finally, I had a realization about this when I was in my Institute class on Wednesday and we were talking about how we treat people.
This is the thought that came to me: A Telestial person will treat another as an object: something that is to be used and discarded; a Terrestrial person will treat another as a human being: he will treat them with great honor but he will seek his pursuits first; a Celestial person will treat another as a child of God, and will treat them as He would the Savior. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40) It was also Christ’s teaching that “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (3 Nephi 14:12).
So let’s do a quick self-inventory: Are your words to others edifying? Are they words you would like to say to the Savior? Are those actions toward others in harmony with the gospel? Are your actions in your dating life consistent with our belief that each person is a precious child of God, made in His image? Is there any you have not forgiven? Are people better off for having known you?
I doubt any of us answered “yes, I’m perfect in all those areas.” I know I have a long ways to go until I can say I treat all people in a way that reflects my love for the Savior. Fortunately, I, like you, have a chance to repent. The chance to repent, is to me, a second chance—and it’s the opportunity to improve who we are. All the chances we take to better align our life with the life our Savior’s is showing Christ appreciation for His Atonement.
Finally, I just want to bear you my testimony that I know God loves you, and there’s nothing He wouldn’t do for you. That love has already been proven. God loved us enough to send His Son; and Christ loved us enough to suffer for us in Gethsemane and give His life on the cross. It was on that cross that He taught a beautiful lesson about how much he loves each of us when he prayed for those that had spat on Him, when He prayed for those who had whipped Him, for those who had pierced his side, who had placed a crown a thorn upon His head, who had walked by and mocked him while on the cross, who had screamed for his death. For all these, he prayed: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). For all those who had cheered for his death and tortured Him, Christ prayed that his Atonement could reclaim even them. Christ bears the mark of his love in his palms even for those who pierced those very palms. If He loves them, then surely He must love us too.
I testify that He does.
