Our Connection to Those Around Us
In the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it’s easy to become absorbed in our own problems, sometimes overlooking the needs of those around us. The Savior’s teachings in Matthew 22:37–39 remind us what is truly important. He said,
“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.”
This command to “love thy neighbour” is repeated many times throughout the scriptures.
Wilford Woodruff often spoke of Christlike love and recorded the Prophet Joseph Smith teaching, “When you go home never give a cross word, but let kindness, charity, and love crown your works hence forward.”[1]
Connecting to Our Neighbors
So, how can we best love and serve our neighbors? Here are three suggestions:
- Know your neighbor.
- Look for small ways to serve.
- Listen to promptings from the Spirit.
Know Who Our Neighbor Is
To serve our neighbors to the best of our ability, we have to actually know who they are.
In Luke 10 we read about a young lawyer who asked the Savior the question, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (verse 25). The Savior replied by asking the young lawyer what is “written in the law” on the subject. The lawyer responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he [Jesus Christ] said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live” (verses 27–28).
The Good Samaritan
The young man then asked in verse 29, “Who is my neighbor?” and the Savior taught him the parable of the good Samaritan. From this parable, we learn that we must strive to be like the good Samaritan, serving all those we come across, regardless of who they are. Our neighbor isn’t just someone who lives next door to us or someone we have commonalities with. Everyone is our neighbor.
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) said,
We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all around us as our brothers and sisters.”[2]
As we come to realize that everyone around us is a neighbor, we will be better able to serve and love each person we meet.
Look for Small Ways to Serve
Second, we can look for small ways to serve. Serving our neighbor doesn’t mean that we need to make big, grandiose gestures. Looking for small and simple ways to help is often just as meaningful. Small, consistent efforts over time can show someone that we truly care.
President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) taught,
Love is expressed in many recognizable ways: a smile, a wave, a kind comment, a compliment. Other expressions may be more subtle, such as showing interest in another’s activities, teaching a principle with kindness and patience, or visiting one who is ill or homebound. These words and actions and many others can communicate love.”[3]
Sometimes the best way to serve someone is to simply smile. Other ways to serve include sending a nice message or giving a sincere compliment. All of these are quick ways to show love to those around us.
President M. Russell Ballard (1928–2023) once said,
Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”[4]
Following Promptings of the Spirit
Finally, when looking for ways to serve our neighbor, we can remember that God will direct us through the Spirit as we listen. Though it might sometimes be challenging to know the best way to serve, as we put forth an honest and sincere effort, the Spirit will guide us.
President Wilford Woodruff bore testimony of the importance of the Holy Ghost when he said,
We must obtain the Holy Spirit of God and the mind and will of God concerning us, and be governed and controlled by it in all our movements and acts in order to be safe and secure unto ourselves salvation.”[5]
Wilford Woodruff, Mar 8, 1849
Heavenly Father has given us the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide us in our righteous desires. As we serve those around us and listen to the Holy Ghost, we will be guided in how to serve them in effective and meaningful ways.
Serving Our Neighbor
Wilford Woodruff reminded us,
“Under the celestial law of the Kingdom of God men must unite together; men must love one another; men must stand by this Holy Priesthood and maintain the powers of it while they dwell in the flesh, in order to honor God and to be prepared to receive their inheritances in the world to come.”[6]
Loving our neighbor as ourselves is a commandment from God. As we strive to better serve and love those around us, let us remember to come to know who our neighbor is, look for small ways to serve, and listen to promptings from the Spirit.
Maddie is a graduate of Brigham Young University and holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations. She currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends and family. Maddie has always loved learning about Church history and is greatly inspired by the words of Wilford Woodruff. She is passionate about sharing those words with everyone and is grateful to be part of such an incredible project.
The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation’s mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make his records universally accessible in order to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. For more information, please explore wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
Endnotes
- Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, April 28, 1842, p. 182, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/journal/1842-04-28. Punctuation standardized. ↑
- Thomas S. Monson, “Love—the Essence of the Gospel,” April 2014 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
- Thomas S. Monson, “Love—the Essence of the Gospel,” April 2014 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
- M. Russell Ballard, “Finding Joy through Loving Service,” April 2011 general conference, ChurchofJesusChrist.org. ↑
- Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, January 25, 1857, p. 1, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/discourse/1857-01-25. ↑
- Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, August 3, 1890, p. 2, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/discourse/1890-08-03. ↑
