First of all I have to start by saying I'm a big fan and follower of Jesus, his teachings and the way he treated people have always been something that I try to emulate, I try to study his life and learn from it, and to put his teachings into my life in this modern world. One of the teachings that have really changed me and that most deeply changed me spiritually, is the one on Mark 12:28-34:
I have read this verse many times, but one time it hit differently, I really felt the spirit when I read that the second commandment is to love my neighbor is myself. I pondered for days about this and tried to do my best to love my neighbor as myself, and I realized that whenever I felt empathy towards people, it was easier for me to love them, and my desire to help them and bless them grew, I felt I loved them and as Charity is the pure love of Christ, I felt an incredible desire to help and do good to those around me.
I got to the point where I felt it was easy to love people with the same beliefs and life experiences as me, but I wanted more, I felt it was easier to love the people I can relate to, but the problem was: how could I feel empathy, love, and charity for those I don’t understand completely? Or those with different religious beliefs than I do? How could I show my love and support to those people that think differently than me? Or even those that have a different sexual orientation?
Sexuality is a hot topic nowadays and there are so many positions to take regarding it, there are people that believe it’s a choice, where some other belief is the result of mental illness, and others believe they are born that way. There is a plethora of positions and arguments about it but what position would Jesus take about it and how can we follow his example? If he were here, I believe He would tell us to love our neighbor.
Loving someone that feels different than us or that has different religious beliefs is hard sometimes, because we might not understand their position and it might be hard to empathize with them, but that does not mean we shouldn’t love them. Showing love sometimes means not judging, accepting, and being welcoming. For many people being gay is isolating, lonely, and hard to deal with. While I was studying for class, I saw some YouTube videos and the comment section was full of hatred and name-calling.
As president Oaks said in a talk called “Loving Others and Living with Differences”:
“When our positions do not prevail, we should accept unfavorable results graciously and practice civility with our adversaries. In any event, we should be persons of goodwill toward all, rejecting persecution of any kind, including persecution based on race, ethnicity, religious belief or nonbelief, and differences in sexual orientation.”
28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear , O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is the first commandment.
31. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33. And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
I got to the point where I felt it was easy to love people with the same beliefs and life experiences as me, but I wanted more, I felt it was easier to love the people I can relate to, but the problem was: how could I feel empathy, love, and charity for those I don’t understand completely? Or those with different religious beliefs than I do? How could I show my love and support to those people that think differently than me? Or even those that have a different sexual orientation?
Sexuality is a hot topic nowadays and there are so many positions to take regarding it, there are people that believe it’s a choice, where some other belief is the result of mental illness, and others believe they are born that way. There is a plethora of positions and arguments about it but what position would Jesus take about it and how can we follow his example? If he were here, I believe He would tell us to love our neighbor.
Loving someone that feels different than us or that has different religious beliefs is hard sometimes, because we might not understand their position and it might be hard to empathize with them, but that does not mean we shouldn’t love them. Showing love sometimes means not judging, accepting, and being welcoming. For many people being gay is isolating, lonely, and hard to deal with. While I was studying for class, I saw some YouTube videos and the comment section was full of hatred and name-calling.
As president Oaks said in a talk called “Loving Others and Living with Differences”:
“When our positions do not prevail, we should accept unfavorable results graciously and practice civility with our adversaries. In any event, we should be persons of goodwill toward all, rejecting persecution of any kind, including persecution based on race, ethnicity, religious belief or nonbelief, and differences in sexual orientation.”
Let's love one another and respect positions that are different from us. even when we don't understand them.
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