RS Presidency Message: February 2016

We recently added an adorable baby girl to our family.  In the quiet hours of the night when I am alone with her, I often feel an overwhelming amount of love for this sweet spirit that my Heavenly Father has given to me.  When she looks up into my eyes and gives me her little side smile, my heart melts into a puddle.  It is in those moments that I pause and acknowledge that this love I have for my little girl is just a tiny amount of the love my Heavenly Father has for me.

Indeed, Heavenly Father loves all of His children, and He commands us to love one another. President Uchtdorf once said, "Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood.  Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships.... Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope.  Love should be our walk and our talk."

I have found in my life that when I am struggling to love someone, the best thing I can do is serve them.  In giving service to them, I am letting my heart be opened to the joy that our Father feels when we serve each other.  For "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:7)  In serving those around us, Heavenly Father helps us to see them as He sees them.  When we see them as He sees them, we can't help but love them.  

As we head into this month of love, I challenge each one of you to see each other through your Heavenly Fathers eyes.  Love as He loves. Find ways to serve each and every day.  Extend a hand of friendship to those around you and enjoy the spirit that it will bring into your lives.  

-Sister Rochelle Wilde

2nd counselor, Stake Relief Society Presidency

                                         

Lucy Melissa Wilde, born 2 December 2015