All We Need Is Love

As it is February,the month of love, I thought I'd share this wonderful editorial my Father wrote for his ward newsletter.

Many years ago Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a song called "All You Need Is Love". In a way they were right, but their idea of love was very different than the kind of love the Savior talked about when He said, "God is LOVE."

The kind of love that we should seek is much more than the physical love the world seeks. Love to us as Latter-day Saints should mean the kind of love that is found in the definition of Charity. The pure love of Christ is what we envision when we think of God and His Son. That is the kind of love we should seek in our lives. Pure love grows from keeping God's commandments and sharing our testimonies with those we love. Our families need our love and acceptance. Most of the time it's easy to love them, but occasionally we need to work harder to find the love in our own hearts before we can share that love with others.

The other day I was listening to the radio at lunch-time and I heard a story about a dog that touched my heart. Dr. Charles Dobson, a noted Christian radio personality said, "Mindy was neither a pure bred nor a champion, as far as dogs go, and her daddy had been a traveling man, so we really didn't know much about her heritage. She was just a scared, little pup who showed up at the front door after being abandoned by her owners and then thrown out of the car late one night. We really didn't want another dog, but what could we do? So we took her in and she quickly grew to become on of the finest dogs we've ever owned.

"But Mindy never really lost that emotional fragility that had been brought on by abuse. She couldn't stand to be criticized or scolded when she had accidentally done something wrong. She would actually jump in you lap and hide her eyes.

"One summer we went away for a two-week vacation and we left Mindy in the back yard. The neighbor boy gave her food and water, but otherwise, she was alone most of that time. We obviously underestimated what this isolation would do to her. When we returned, we found her lying next to the house on a blanket surrounded by about seven of our daughter's old stuffed animal, which she had found in a box in the garage. Mindy had carried them, one by one, to her bed and then ringed herself with these little friends.

"You know, if an old dog needs love and acceptance in this way - how much more true is it of every child who walks the earth? And it's our job, as adults, to see that each one of them finds the security and the love that he or she needs."

The same could be said of all of us. We need love and acceptance form those who are closest to us. We seek love and are drawn to those who love us. If we really love our parents, our children, our brothers and sisters, our friends, then we should show that pure love by being the kind of parent, child, sibling or friends that is easy for others to love. When we love others with the unconditional love that the Savior has for each of us, then they will love us in return.

After it's all said and done, maybe the Beatles were right; all we need is love.