"The Great Commandment"
by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
"... There once was an elderly man and woman who had been married for many decades. Because the wife was slowly losing her sight, she could no longer take care of herself the way she had done for so many years. Without being asked, the husband began to paint her fingernails for her.
'He knew that she could see her fingernails when she held them close to her eyes, at just the right angle, and they made her smile. He liked to see her happy, so he kept painting her nails for more than five years before she passed away.'
That is an example of the pure love of Christ. Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life.
True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us.
We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it.
Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.
We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.
The most cherished and sacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love. The greater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy..."
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The pictures I included in this post are of my Grandparents Jack and Nell. They loved each other more than anything in the world. When my Grandpa died several years ago, one of the main things that was said at his funeral was how beautiful their love for each other was. They were together for nearly 60 years and never had a single fight! One of my favorite stories was of their first date. My handsome Grandpa had just arrived home from fighting in WWII and all the girls were after him. My Grandma happened to be in his ward and out of all the swooning girls fawning over him, he asked my Grandma on a date. On their date he drove her up to a spot overlooking the Salt Lake Valley that us young kids now call "The Ocean". Even back then it was the prime make-out location. My poor Grandma was uneasy about being there, and her fears grew even more when he casually put his arm around her in the front seat. But instead of going in for a kiss, he reached into the backseat and grabbed his guitar to serenade her! How cute is that? He was the perfect gentleman.
Their story is what I dream for myself to someday have. Even though I was young, I knew just by watching how they would look at each other that their love was pure and unwavering. Sometimes it's hard not knowing if I'll ever find someone who will treat and love me as much as my Grandpa loved my Grandma, but after reading this talk by Elder Wirthlin I know that if I never give up hope, someday I'll be able to start my own love story with someone just as loving and dear as he was.
