I'll Never Forget That I Love You

Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt spoke in the most recent general conference about the names of Christ. He related, “A few years ago, I had a life-changing experience during a sacrament meeting in our home ward in Arizona. As the sacrament prayer indicated our willingness to ‘take upon [ourselves] the name of [Jesus Christ],’ the Holy Ghost reminded me that Jesus has many names. This question then came to my heart: ‘Which of Jesus’s names should I take upon myself this week?’” I have never thought about taking the name of the Savior in that way, but I think that provides a powerful method for us to develop Christlike attributes. One of the names that Elder Schmitt discussed in his talk was that the Savior is “the Same, Yesterday, Today, and Forever.” This comes from many scriptures such as 2 Nephi 27:23 when the Lord said, “For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith” (2 Nephi 27:23). Thus the Savior is perfectly consistent, and Elder Schmitt suggested that “as we are more consistent in living the gospel, we will become more like Jesus.” He continued, “Great spiritual strength comes from small and simple things like developing ‘holy habits and righteous routines’ of daily prayer, repentance, scripture study, and service to others.” I love the idea that we need to develop righteous routines, patterns in our life that we consistently follow such as partaking of the Sacrament each Sunday, studying the scriptures each day, praying morning and night, etc. I have found that there is great power in consistently following a pattern no matter what happens just as the Savior always did what His Father required of Him no matter the cost. For a long time I struggled to give proper attention to general conference talks and failed to study those very well outside of listening to them each six months. At one point a few years ago I decided to create a pattern of studying one talk every Saturday, at that has made all the difference. Now because the habit is so engrained I cannot forget, and I get much more out of the words of our leaders throughout the year. As we work to become dependably consistent in righteous habits just as the Savior is the always the same yesterday, today, and forever, we will know Him better and become more like Him.

                My youngest boy who turns five years old this month has been beginning to learn to read and write. Yesterday evening he took out a piece of paper and asked for my help in writing notes to his mother and me. He started by writing “I love you,” but after that he wanted to keep writing more, and we were touched by what he asked us to help him write, including the phrases “I am filled with love” and “I’ll never forget that I love you.” I don’t know how he thought of those words but to me they were deeply profound. The first phrase could have come from Mormon who invited us, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48). The second sounds like words straight from the Savior who said, “They may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16). Moroni taught us about this consistent love from the Savior in these words: “And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity” (Ether 12:33-34). Indeed, one of the names for the Savior is love itself as John declared: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). And surely that is one of the most important names of Jesus that we should seek to take upon ourselves, striving to show love the same yesterday, today, and forever. As my son expressed so beautifully, I hope that I will never forget that I love each person in my family and that I will never forget that I love the Lord. Surely seeking to better develop the consistent, eternal love He has should be at the top of our list of ways we want to emulate the Savior as we strive to take His many names upon us.