Loved By Others

My visitors are gone. It's been a fun week, one that ended far too prematurely. But a resounding theme has permeated my home, and that's the realization of the sacrifice my parents have made to visit me. I'm not talking about the inconveniences of arranging with Salt Lake an absence from their temple responsibilities, or the rush and bustle in cleaning and packing before you leave on a trip.

Recently Jarrod's sisters also made sacrifices of the same magnitude in order to ensure we could all be together in Texas for Christmas.

I am humbled by their willingness to do this for me, and experienced a very small portion of the love our Heavenly Father must have for us in order to send his Son down to earth and sacrifice His life for ours.

Elder Ballard said "Sacrifice is a demonstration of pure love. The degree of our love for the Lord, for the gospel, and for our fellowman can be measured by what we are willing to sacrifice for them. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ manifested the supreme example of this love. His life and ministry established a pattern for us to follow. His divine mission was culminated in a supreme act of love as He allowed His life to be sacrificed for us. Having power over life and death, He chose to submit himself to pain, ridicule, and suffering, and offered His life as a ransom for our sins. Because of His love, He suffered both body and spirit to a degree beyond our comprehension and took upon Himself our sins if we repent. Through His personal sacrifice, He provided a way for us to have our sins forgiven and, through Him, to find our way back into the presence of our Heavenly Father."