Love One Another

          There is something more that needs to be said about the power of relationships between people.  Those relationships bring us a comprehension of reality and give us happiness.  It is the only force powerful enough to break down certain pieces of our nature which aren't congruent with God's light.  Can you think of some examples of how this can be the case? 

          "[Y]e are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8-9). 

          In all other aspects of life, being better at something separates a person from the rest of humanity and places him on a pedestal above his peers.  That is true even in a spiritual setting because those with increased spiritual perspectives and knowledge cannot express everything that they know in a way that will be understood.  However, the stronger we are at building relationships, the more connected we become.  Being stronger in that sense means drawing closer to those that we serve, independent of how good they are at doing the same.  It means understanding them more deeply.  That is why Jesus Christ can stand at eye level with us without compromising His identity as the Son of God.

          Does it make sense, then, why prayer is such a fundamental part of the Gospel?  It is the way we build our one-on-one relationship with God, the way our will is brought into correspondence with His.  As our relationship improves, the distance narrows between us.  And because He is never the one who moves, we draw closer to Him and become like him.

          Therefore, by binding ourselves to those that we love by way of relationships, (or rather, by them binding themselves to us), they become more like us.  Therefore, the way to help another human being to change is to form a relationship with them and then step to higher spiritual ground.  The combination of these two elements is critical.  Without the first, the person we are trying to help is just a project to us and they will not see sincerity in our actions.  Without the second, there is no progression.  If we are not standing on higher ground, as the people we love become more like us they will not move any higher.  Therefore, the reason why we should step to higher spiritual ground is not because we enjoy the view, but rather so that we can be a greater blessing to our fellow beings, so that we can morn with those that morn and comfort those that stand of need of comfort, that we may have the capacity to make more of them than they can make of themselves.  In other words, the reason why we choose to progress is so that they can progress.

          Another caveat to this is that we cannot progress without someone else to pull us up to a higher plane of living.  The Savior is in a position to do that for each of us, just the relationship He has with His Father enabled Him to reach perfection.  As we help others progress for their good, we benefit far more than they do.  But, ironically, the reason we change so much is because we are so focused on not benefiting from it.  Rather, our goal is to help our brother or sister be benefited.  We don't just receive spiritual strength from the experience, we also get charity, which is the foundation of godhood. 

          Elder Marlin K. Jensen said that the bottom line of everything is relationships.  Is it yours?