Mine.

Brothers and Sisters, I am Crystal Roach. I am so proud of these kids because they each wrote their own talks and delivered them so well. I am Actually so pleased for this opportunity to speak today. We had such a great time this week learning together and I am grateful for the research I endured on this topic. I feel like I have made the rounds considering the topic and could have angled my thoughts in a lot of different directions so I am grateful as well for the inspiration and direction from our bishopric. When I was told our theme for this meeting I Knew that this assignment came from the lord and there is an important lesson the lord would have me learn.
As Barak and Gracie both mentioned, The Savior was asked by a certain Lawyer to sum it all up, give us a bottom line or a simplified purpose for life. The lawyer asked him, “Master, which is the Great commandment in the law.” And the Savior responded, “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. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
The first and great commandment is to Love God. And we do. We love him because he first loved us. We receive his love and his blessings in all aspects of our lives and we love and praise him for those blessings.
Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments, If you love me feed my sheep, and, If you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. “ The second commandment is like unto the first because it is the HOW we are to keep the first commandment. We show our love for our Father in Heaven and our Savior through our actions toward each other.
I love the idyllic and beautiful doctrines of the gospel, but we know they doesn’t always translate into daily life. I need a more functional understanding of the concept, and I wanted to figure out a measurement for how well I am keeping this commandment. Brother Robert Whetten spoke in a conference address in spring of 2005 and asked several questions that we can use to help measure.
Brother Whetten first said of Peter:
“Peter had a testimony, borne of the Spirit, of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Peter KNEW and his knowledge came by revelation. But his conversion, the change in his whole way of life and the nature of his very being, was more evident after the day of Pentecost, after receiving the heart-changing gift and witness of the Holy Ghost. Yes, brothers and sisters, like Peter before, We have testimonies,
But, is conversion a continuing process in your life?
Is each of us a work in progress in the hands of our Maker?”
Is God blessing others through you?
Do you pray and ask whom the Lord would have you bless by lifting another’s burden?
Do you love others as much as you love yourself?
Do you administer spiritual or temporal relief to those who need it?
Do you reach out and strengthen the faith of those coming into the fold, as asked by the prophets of our day?
“Conversion means consecrating your life to caring for and serving others who need your help and sharing your gifts and blessings.”
As I considered the commandment, “Thou shalt love thy Neighbor as thyself” I began at the end and I wondered how much do I love myself? More specifically, how much time in any typical day do I spend pursuing my personal agenda, my goals, and doing things that benefit me. And to return to the scripture, IF I love my neighbor, as myself, then I would spend as much time on behalf of other people as I spend on myself.
I am so grateful for our ward, our community, and the blessing to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As I thought about all the ways that we serve each other the list just kept growing. For example, we share our talents, we fulfill our callings, we serve in the temple, we provide for our families and nurture and teach our children, we are kind and considerate to each another. I thought about some of the kindnesses I have received at your hands. I received anonymous notes of encouragement and support in the mail, I have no idea who sent them, but what a sweet gesture, they were very appreciated. When I was sick, our neighbors brought us food and eased our burden and lightened the load in that way. I have friends among us who have prayed with me and for me, which simple act testified to me of their caring concern and also of The Lords concern for me. And when you start to count your blessings like this it is east to sit back comfortably and say, “you know, not too bad, we’re doing alright.”
But in the back of my mind there is a nagging feeling and remember the foolishness of believing that “all is well in Zion.” Yes, all is well, but isn’t there Always just a little bit more to be done. On closer examination of these questions and lists there are some of those things that I am not so great at. I sometimes forget to be considerate of other people. I and do not always react in a Christ like manner. I could go on but I’d rather not.
Brother Whetten specifically addressed fellowshipping in his talk. I loved when he said that:
In numerous wards and branches, there are many good, upright, honest men and women who just don’t know how to come back to church. There are good mothers and fathers among them. They have just left, and no one has come to check up on them, leaving them with the idea that no one really cares. When men or women of faith visit these individuals and become their friends, strengthen them, pray with them, and teach them the gospel, they and their families will come back.
I was really inspired by that quote, and when you put it that way, reaching out doesn’t seem as overwhelming. I noticed that he said “they are left with the idea that no one really cares.” The key to this concept is that we do NEED to care about each other. We are not individually blessed with every talent that we need to return to him. We need to share our talent and accept help from each other. If we do not do this, then we are not showing our love for our Savior and our Heavenly Father. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. I hope I have learned the lessons the Lord would teach me this week. And I offer these things in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.