Sunday Lesson, 12 Oct. Love and Concern for All Our Father's Children

Sunday's Relief Society lesson was Ch. 20 in the Joseph Fielding Smith manual, Love and Concern for All Our Father's Children. The lesson was given by Sister Jo Davies.

Jo opened with a quote from Sandra Bullock: "There is no race, no religion, no class system, no colour, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love."

Sisters were then asked to think of something thoughtful that someone had done for them recently. Some mentioned kind gifts or gestures of service from Visiting Teachers, others mentioned babysitting, assistance with work or hobbies, or just the simple paying of compliments. The next question moved on to ask the class to consider who they had helped lately. Had they helped friends, neighbours, or family? What about those we consider our enemies? The question was posed, "who do you naturally want to help? Those similar to you, in similar situations, or those who are completely different?"

The class then split into four groups to consider different sections of the lesson in the manual and then report on their discussions to the class. The following are highlights from the group discussions:

• Group 1: With the knowledge that God is the Father of all people, we desire to love and bless others.
• Sometimes it doesn't feel like a chore to give service, but sometimes it does.
• Try to find the good in all people.
• Group 2: As we love and support one another in the Church, we become a power in the world for good.
• Overlook imperfections. 
• Quote from the manual: "I believe it is our solemn duty to love one another, to believe in each other, to have faith in each other, that it is our duty to overlook the faults and the failings of each other, and not to magnify them in our own eyes nor before the eyes of the world. There should be no faultfinding, no back-biting, no evil speaking, one against another, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
• Being charitable invites the Spirit.
• Don't seek for the sort of unity that comes from gossiping together or from unkindness
• Group 3: We express love for our fellowmen by serving them.
• President Monson mentioned as an exemplar of service.
• Have I Done Any Good In The World Today?
• Noah Davies' friend had gone 3 days without lunch. Just as Noah was starting to eat, a mutual friend came up and asked if Noah would give his lunch to the hungry boy. Noah said, "Mum, I felt like Jesus..."
• Group 4: We need to appreciate and love people for themselves. 
• The manual recounts a story of a horse the Smith family owned which, though it had a habit of turning on the tap and wasting water, was very useful for Sister Smith's job as a midwife.
• We should look past people's annoying traits to love them for who they are and what they can do.
• It is not always our place to point out flaws and faults in others.
• It probably isn't in our natures to try to upset people, but we must always remember to have consideration for others.

A quote was shared from President Monson: "We cannot truly love God if we don't love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey." This lesson was tied back in to missionary work and Elder Bednar's talk from the most recent General Conference (which can be read here) explaining that we share the gospel because of the joy it brings us and the love we have for others.

The lesson closed with a testimony of the unspoken testimony members share simply by being welcoming and friendly to others. Jo expressed the idea that Heavenly Father gives us people in our lives in order to teach us to love others...even when we are frustrated or otherwise find it difficult.