Love, Compassion, and Giving

Dear Reader,  

One of my observations from living today is that we must navigate a field of distractions.  Some admittedly are pleasurable and provide a certain degree of value.  Still others are merely ego centered pleasures based in a material rich world. 

For me, it is a constant battle among Competing forces.   Those forces that allow me to be complacent with life's order and those challenging me to become involved with shaping a greater loving, compassionate and giving world. 

I offer thoughts from writers I admire: 

"What we give to others, we give to ourselves. What we withhold from others, we withhold from ourselves."  — Marianne Williamson 

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." — Oliver Goldsmith 

These two statements point toward a profound spiritual truth: the greatest sermon is not spoken—it is lived. 

I am not left alone with these two thinkers.  Throughout scripture, God consistently invites His children to become people of love, compassion, and generosity.  

The Savior's ministry was not defined primarily by His words, remarkable as they were. Rather, it was defined by His life. He touched the leper, comforted the grieving, fed the hungry, forgave the sinner, and welcomed the outcast. 

His life was His sermon. 

I am supported further by Book of Mormon:  "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."  — Mosiah 2:17 

Compassion is not merely social virtue; it is spiritual practice. President Thomas S. Monson often taught:  "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." 

His counsel reminds us that discipleship is measured not by efficiency, accomplishment, or even knowledge, but by our capacity to love. 

Charity is more than generosity. It is the pure love of Christ—seeing others as God sees them and responding in love. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "faith, hope, and charity abide, but the greatest of these is charity." 

This idea echoes throughout history.   

Mahatma Gandhi observed: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."  

The Dalai Lama taught: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."  

Albert Einstein concluded: "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." 

Morman: "But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."  -- Maroni 7:47 

Though these voices come from different traditions, they point toward a common truth: we flourish when we move beyond ourselves.   

When we overcome our protective fear and reprioritize ourselves, there emerges abundance. Let us recall, Christ multiplied loaves and fishes. He turned water into wine. He offered grace without measure. 

In short, the kingdom of God operates according to a paradox: what we give away often becomes what we most deeply possess. 

When we give love, our capacity for love expands. 

When we extend mercy, we experience mercy. 

When we offer forgiveness, we discover freedom. 

When we comfort another, we ourselves are comforted. 

The Savior declared: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it." — Matthew 16:25  

This is not a call to self-neglect. It is an invitation to transcend self-centeredness and enter into the joy of Christlike living.  

Perhaps the question for each of us today is simple: What sermon am I preaching with my life? 

Do people encounter more patience because of me? 

More hope because of me? 

More kindness because of me? 

More evidence that God loves them because of me? 

The world does not need more arguments about faith nearly as much as it needs living examples of faith. 

Every smile, every encouraging word, every act of forgiveness, every expression of compassion becomes a small sermon preached without a pulpit. 

May we become disciples whose lives proclaim the Gospel more loudly than our words. 

May we learn to love as Christ loved. 

May we give as Christ gave. 

May we discover that in blessing others, we ourselves are blessed. 

And may our lives become a sermon of love, compassion, and giving.   

Amen. 

  🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️    

Seen With the Heart

Dear Reader,

Today, I received a text from a friend with the below quote: 

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."  — Helen Keller

Helen Keller lived much of her life without sight or hearing, yet she expressed a wisdom that many of us with all our senses easily miss. 

The most important things in life are often invisible.  We cannot see love, hope, or faith, yet we know when they are present.  A gentle touch, the warm sun or the smell of fresh bread can instill the feelings of safety and comfort.  

These experiences occur beyond sight and sound; they simply are. They provide a depth of strength without a trumpet or flashing light. 

For example, we cannot measure gratitude, forgiveness, peace, or joy, but we know their value when they enter our lives. 

When in recovery or on a spiritual quest, we gain this lesson assuredly.  “Sometimes quickly. Sometimes slowly.”   It is gained without formal proof or written guarantee.  

For my part it has come with the awareness of a Higher Power, the friendship of others and a life at peace without fear.

Few, if any, were found through what I saw or heard; they were felt from within.  A level of ‘Heart’ where we can say, “I just Know.”   And when this happens, we are changed forever.

The AA Big Book tells us that we find "the Great Reality deep down within us." That reality is not discovered with our eyes, but with our hearts.

Scripture teaches the same principle: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." — 2 Corinthians 5:7

The world encourages us to focus on what is counted, owned, and displayed. 

The Spirit invites us to notice something deeper.

• The kindness of a friend.

• The comfort of prayer.

• The peace of a clear conscience.

• The assurance that God knows our name and we are not alone.

These are treasures that cannot be bought, seen, or touched.  They are among the most beautiful things of this world.  

Look beyond what our eyes see and cherish what only the heart truly understand. 

For believers, this inward knowing is often where God speaks most clearly—not through thunder or spectacle, but through the quiet witness of the Spirit.  

Amen

  🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️   

"Love and tolerance of others is our code." — Alcoholics Anonymous

Dear Reader,

I received a text today

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." — Nelson Mandela 

It seems simple and straightforward, yet I ask myself: 

"What does it mean to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others?"

When I was younger, I often thought freedom meant being able to do whatever I wanted. Many people define liberty as the absence of restraint—the ability to follow their own desires and determine their own course. 

Lived experience has taught me that freedom is something much deeper. 

The philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote: 

"The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs." 

True freedom is not selfish. It does not dominate, manipulate, control, or demand. It allows others the dignity of their own journey, their own lessons, and their own relationship with God. 

Recovery teaches this lesson in a very personal way. 

In Alcoholics Anonymous, we learn that we cannot think, drink, recover, or grow for another person. We can love them. We can support them. We can share our experiences. But we cannot walk their path for them. 

One of AA's great principles is found in the phrase: 

"Live and let live." 

That simple expression contains beautiful wisdom.

It reminds us that every human being has been given the gift of agency. 

We are free to make choices, and others are free to do the same. 

Sometimes the greatest act of love is not taking control, but stepping aside and allowing another person to learn, grow, and discover truth for themselves. 

The scriptures teach a similar principle. 

Paul wrote: 

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." (Galatians 5:1)

 

Yet in the same chapter he adds: 

"By love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13) 

Christian liberty is never merely freedom from something. 

It is freedom for something.

Freedom to love. 

Freedom to forgive. 

Freedom to serve. 

The Book of Mormon expresses this beautifully: 

"Men are free according to the flesh... they are free to choose liberty and eternal life." 

(2 Nephi 2:27) 

God Himself does not force righteousness. 

• He invites. 

• He persuades. 

• He teaches. 

• He waits. 

• He honors agency even when we choose poorly. 

Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons of spiritual maturity. 

To respect another person's freedom does not mean we agree with every choice they make. 

It means we recognize that God works with them just as He works with us. 

To enhance another person's freedom is to encourage growth rather than dependence, responsibility rather than control, understanding rather than judgment, and love rather than coercion. 

The older I become, the more I believe freedom is not measured by how much power I have over my own life. 

It is measured by how willing I am to let others live theirs. 

Perhaps true liberty is found when we can stand beside another person—not controlling, fixing, or directing—but supporting them as fellow travelers on the road. 

In that spirit, freedom becomes more than a personal blessing. 

It becomes a gift we share. 

Amen 

🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️