1/15 RS Lesson: Chapter #2 "Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself"

This past Sunday, Sister Lathen presented a thoughtful lesson on Ch. 2 "Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself," which was taken from The Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith.  (You can listen, print, download, and share this lesson by clicking on the chapter title, which links directly to the church's official website.)


From President Smith's personal life, many remember him frequently "demonstrating  his love for others through countless acts of compassion."  Through his service to others, President Smith led by example and showed people that the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference.  Sister Stanger pointed out that it is good to teach our children this lesson because through service opportunities we can make truly memorable moments with our families.  


From President Smith's teachings, we are reminded that, "All people are our brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father."  As we go about our day it is important to remember this and take the time to remind others that they are loved.  Sister J. Lathen added to this by saying we need to "Remember who [everyone we meet] is and act accordingly."  The lesson goes on to instruct us that in the next life we will not have eternal happiness unless we work to bring happiness to others in this life first.


We know that loving thy neighbor is a very important teaching of Christ, because it is emphasized in the gospel through the second commandment: "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40.]  As members of the Church of Christ, we should follow His commandments, thus becoming less selfish and more caring of others, we in turn become more Christ-like.  


President Smith re-emphasizes that personal happiness comes from serving others and the amount of charity and service we exude is directly proportional to our happiness.  
  
A few  additional thoughts from our ward sisters:

• We should do acts of service with joyous intent, not dread.  
• Even the smallest acts can make a big impact.
• As we become more like God, we change from being served to serving others.  
• Good intentions count because it shows what is truly in our hearts even when we can't always serve others as often as we'd like.
• Love the person, hate the sin.

As always, thank you to our teacher and the contributions of the ward sisters for this wonderful (and very important) lesson!