Thoughts on Empathy

Today in Sunday School we talked about Christ’s powerful expression of love on the cross, forgiving the Roman Soldiers. I personally feel there’s a line to be drawn between that statement of empathy/compassion and the proverbial mile Christ had walked in their shoes, just hours before, in Gethsemane. #jesusChrist #LDS

What Can We Do?

President David O. McKay spoke on what we can do to take upon us ‘His yoke’ in a world of trouble and tribulation. He said,

“First—We can set an example of uprightness; be honest in all our dealings; avoid vulgarity and profanity; demonstrate to our neighbors and to all whom we meet that we live clean, honorable lives.

Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven ( Matt. 5:16).

Second—Let us strive for peace and harmony in the home. If we cannot keep quarreling, bickering, and selfishness out of our home, how can we even hope to banish these evils from society?

A true Mormon home is one in which if Christ should chance to enter, he would be pleased to linger and to rest.

Third—Having at least striven for a good character, having a home environment that is creditable, we may then consistently discharge our duty as authorized representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ to declare to the world that the conditions that will bring peace and comfort to the individual, to the family, and to the nation, are found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. These can be named and understood and as easily practiced with resultant contentment and peace as are the evils and vices that bring tribulation.

Summarized these fundamentals are: An acceptance of Christ as Savior and Redeemer; a moving, soul-consciousness of the existence of God, and that he is our Father in Heaven; a daily life consistent with such a knowledge; a love for one’s fellow men.

In other words, as the Savior summarized the law and the prophets:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind . . . and thy neighbor as thyself ( Mark 12:31-32).”

“The Significance of World Trends”
October General Conference, 1947