What are the best ways to show Christlike love?

Lifting Others

While same-sex attraction is not a sin, it can be a challenge. While one may not have chosen to have these feelings, he or she can commit to keep God’s commandments. The parent of a child who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay should choose to love and embrace that child. As a community of Church members, we should choose to create a welcoming community.

“It is so important that we understand, first of all, that everyone is in a different place along the path and that we develop an awareness of the people that are around us.

“I know people who come to church every Sunday so that they can be inspired and uplifted and who just simply walk away feeling judged and unloved. Unneeded. Like there is no place for them at church. We need to do this differently. We need to be deeply aware of what the purpose of coming to church on Sunday is and make sure that everyone who comes feels loved, needed, accepted, and lifted. Everybody has struggles we don’t even know about. And it’s so important that we be aware that everyone around us is loved of God and that we need to see them through Christlike eyes. And we cannot allow judgment to dictate the way we interact with people. It’s just simply not right. I feel that the Lord places us where we are and connects us with the people around us for a purpose. Because it’s not only about our own progression but about helping others progress. And I have come to recognize that we are placed where we are so that we can love and lift others.

“We just cannot be or even call ourselves a disciple of Christ if we are not helping others along that path. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not marginalize people. People marginalize people. And we have to fix that. We need to be sensitive and love them and allow them the opportunity to grow and to blossom and to be their best selves. They have talents and abilities and personality that is needed in the kingdom of God. And if we are going to build the kingdom of God on the earth, we need everyone to come, to come and do their part. And we need to recognize that. When anyone’s shadow darkens the door of the chapel, they ought to feel immediately embraced and loved and lifted and inspired, when they walk out that door, to go and be better. Because they know the Lord loves them. And because they have friends in their faith” (Carol F. McConkie, “Lifting Others,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Serving and Loving Your Neighbor

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

We show our love for God by keeping His commandments (see John 14:15) and by loving one another (see John 13:34). If you have a family member or friend who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay, love them. President Henry B. Eyring observed:

“If you want to stay close to someone who has been dear to you, but from whom you are separated, you know how to do it. You would find a way to speak to them, you would listen to them, and you would discover ways to do things for each other. The more often that happened, the longer it went on, the deeper would be the bond of affection. If much time passed without the speaking, the listening, and the doing, the bond would weaken.

“God is perfect and omnipotent, and you and I are mortal. But he is our Father, he loves us, and he offers the same opportunity to draw closer to him as would a loving friend. And you will do it in much the same way: speaking, listening, and doing” (“To Draw Closer to God,” Ensign, May 1991, 66).

You show your love for God by loving and serving others.

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).

What does it mean to love one another? Love cares. Love listens. Love includes. Love inspires. Love is at the heart of what makes us human, for we are children of God, and “God is love” (1 John 4:8). At the Last Supper, the Savior reiterated, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Respecting Differences

If you have a family member or friend who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay, love them. The commandment to love one another includes those who don’t see the world the same way we do.

As President Dallin H. Oaks explained:

“In so many relationships and circumstances in life, we must live with differences. Where vital, our side of these differences should not be denied or abandoned, but as followers of Christ we should live peacefully with others who do not share our values or accept the teachings upon which they are based. The Father’s plan of salvation, which we know by prophetic revelation, places us in a mortal circumstance where we are to keep His commandments. That includes loving our neighbors of different cultures and beliefs as He has loved us. As a Book of Mormon prophet taught, we must press forward, having ‘a love of God and of all men’ (2 Nephi 31:20)” (“Loving Others and Living with Differences,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 28).