Unconditional Love

                We can bring the greatest of all liberties into our individual lives by living true and correct principles.  This liberty comes to us as we learn to live as though Jesus Christ were walking beside us.  We gain this freedom as we invite the Holy Ghost into our lives.

                  The liberty principle for today is number seventeen in a series of true principles suggested by Elder Richard G. Scott in his book

21 Principles – Divine Truths to Help You Live by the Spirit.  I will merely introduce the principle and suggest that you obtain Elder Scott’s book in order to truly understand this principle.  Elder Scott explained that principles “are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances.  A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and challenging circumstances.”  You can see principle #1 “True Principles of Freedom” here.  

                  Principle #17 is the simple fact that sincere love can release a great power in our lives and can bring about miracles.  “I am convinced that when we give unconditional love; when our interest is first in serving, building, edifying, strengthening without thought of self; when we do not expect an automatic return for each act of kindness, generosity, or sincere effort to help; when we are not concerned about what we will receive or what others will say or whether our own burdens will be diminished, but selflessly seek to build another, the miracle of the power of the gospel is released in our lives.  When we permit the lord to work through us to bless others, that sacred experience releases power in our own lives, and miracles occur.  Well did the Master say, `For inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto me’ (Doctrine and Covenants 42:38).  Respect and love must be earned, and there is no better way to earn them than to lift another..  Begin now with your best effort.  Reach out to another.  You will feel the power of the Lord flow through you.  Your own self-respect will return, and you can love yourself again.  Your life will be enriched and given purpose, and you will be given the power to make a difference in everything around you.

                “Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good.  Righteous love is the foundation of a successful marriage.  It is the primary cause of contented, well-developed children.  It is the source of complete unity within a presidency, a quorum, or a family where decisions are voluntarily made unanimously.  Where that unity comes willingly from a foundation of pure love and an eye single to the glory of God, vision, capacity and achievement are expanded by the power of God” (pp. 81-82).

                President Gordon B. Hinckley also spoke about the power of love.  “… Love is of the very essence of life….  Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death.  How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, church, and neighbors.”

                President Hinckley told the “story of a young woman who went into a rural area as a schoolteacher.  Among those in her class was a girl who had failed before and who was failing again.  The student could not read.  She came from a family without means to take her to a larger city for examination to determine whether she had a problem that could be remedied.  Sensing that the difficulty might lie with the girl’s eyes, the young teacher arranged to take the student, at the teacher’s own expense, to have her eyes tested.  A deficiency was discovered that could be correct with glasses.  Soon an entire new world opened to the student.  For the first time in her life, she saw clearly the words before her.  The salary of that country schoolteacher was meager, but out of the little she had, she made an investment that completely changed the life of a failing student, and in doing so she found a new dimension in her own life.”

                Love – pure, sincere, unconditional love – can work miracles in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.  As we care for and love the people who are around us – without any concern for receiving glory - our lives will receive more meaning.  When we give and receive this kind of love, we are living close to heaven.