Love All; Love Each

Recognize that Christlike love grows as we share it

Elder Caussé teaches that love is not diminished by giving it away. As we receive and extend the pure love of Christ, our own capacity to love increases and others come to feel God’s care more deeply.

I have learned that I can love even more.

Through you, my dear brothers and sisters, we have felt the love of God more intensely than ever before in our lives.

And in response, our own ability to love has grown in ways we never expected.

Christlike love grows and multiplies as it is shared.

When we show others the pure love of Christ, they come to recognize more fully how deeply the Lord cares for them—and, in turn, their own capacity to love is enlarged and strengthened.

• Apostolic service deepened Elder Caussé’s ability to love.
• The love and prayers of the Saints can help others feel the love of God.
• Christlike love multiplies rather than decreases when it is shared.
• Showing love helps others recognize the Lord’s care for them.
• As people receive Christlike love, their own ability to love grows.

• When have you felt your capacity to love increase because someone showed Christlike love to you?
• What experience have you had where serving another person changed your heart?
• When have the prayers or kindness of ward members helped you feel God’s love?
• Can you share a time when expressing love strengthened both you and the person you served?

Trust that God is near and mindful of every soul

Using the image of stars appearing in the darkness, Elder Caussé teaches that God may seem distant until we pause and notice His presence. Though the universe is vast, every person is known, remembered, and loved by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Some think He is distant, and life feels heavy as a result.

But if they pause to reflect on His presence in their lives, they will find that He is near—quietly present, far closer than they imagine.

This is the miracle of God’s relationship with us: The universe is vast beyond comprehension, yet every soul carries infinite worth in the eyes of our Creator.

Though we may seem small in a physical sense, each of us is personally known, remembered, and loved by our Eternal Father and by His Son, Jesus Christ.

• Spiritual awareness often grows as we pause and reflect.
• God is not distant from His children.
• David’s psalm highlights both God’s greatness and man’s worth.
• Each soul has infinite worth despite human smallness in the universe.
• Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ personally know and love each individual.

• When have you felt that God was closer than you first realized?
• What quiet moment helped you recognize the Lord’s hand in your life?
• Have you ever felt small or overlooked, but then remembered your worth to God?
• What personal experience has taught you that Heavenly Father knows you individually?

Testify that God loves all and each

A central doctrine of the talk is that God’s love is both universal and individual. Elder Caussé explains that the words all and each together reveal the full reach of divine love: it embraces everyone and also attends personally to every soul.

I bear witness of this truth: God and His Son, Jesus Christ, love all—and They love each.

The word all speaks to the universal reach of God’s love.

The word each (or every) testifies of His power to care for each individual soul.

To love all and to love each are not two different kinds of love but the same divine love expressed on two scales—one expansive enough to embrace the whole world and the other personal enough to notice a single individual with unique needs, circumstances, and life story.

• The doctrine of divine love includes both universality and individuality.
• Scripture repeatedly joins the ideas of all and each or every.
• God’s love reaches the whole human family.
• God also gives personal care to each individual soul.
• Disciples should reflect this same pattern of love.

• How have you seen that the gospel is meant for everyone, not just a few?
• When have you felt that a general gospel truth became deeply personal to you?
• Can you share an experience where you felt seen by God as an individual?
• What have you learned about balancing love for a group with care for one person?

See the Atonement of Jesus Christ as universal and personal

Elder Caussé teaches that the Savior’s Atonement blesses all of God’s children without exception, while also being applied personally and individually. It is both a global gift and an intimate source of healing tailored to each person.

This dual reality is most clearly manifested in Jesus Christ’s Atonement.

All sons and daughters of God, without exception, will receive a full opportunity to access its supernal blessings.

Yet it is a remarkably intimate gift, tailored to each individual’s needs and applied to one person at a time.

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ extends to all of God’s children.
• No one is excluded from the opportunity to receive its blessings.
• The Savior’s redeeming power is personal and individualized.
• Jesus Christ ministers to people one by one through His grace.
• Understanding the Atonement this way shapes how disciples minister to others.

• When have you felt that the Savior’s Atonement was personally tailored to your needs?
• How have you seen the blessings of Christ’s Atonement reach many people in different ways?
• Can you share an experience of healing, forgiveness, or strength that came through Jesus Christ?
• What has helped you understand that the Savior ministers one by one?

Extend Christlike love to all people without exclusion

Discipleship requires broad, inclusive love. Elder Caussé warns against being selective in whom we love and teaches that all people are our neighbors, brothers, and sisters.

Are we selective, or exclusive, in determining who deserves our love, or do we extend Christlike love to all with whom we associate?

To Him, all people upon this earth are our neighbors—there are no strangers or outcasts, only brothers and sisters.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “a man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”

Discipleship was never meant to be a comfortable circle of familiar friends focused on their own interests.

• We should not decide who is worthy of our love.
• The Savior teaches that our love must extend beyond familiar circles.
• There are no strangers or outcasts in the Lord’s view.
• True discipleship reaches beyond family and close friends.
• The love of God motivates a desire to bless the whole human race.

• When have you felt prompted to reach out to someone outside your normal circle?
• Can you share a time when you were welcomed by others and no longer felt like an outsider?
• What experience has taught you not to judge who deserves love or fellowship?
• How has the Lord helped you love someone very different from you?

Let Church service widen your circle of love

Elder Caussé explains that service in the Church introduces us to people from many backgrounds and helps us grow to love them. We often do not begin by loving everyone we serve, but love develops through faithful service.

Rather, our congregations are a beautiful mosaic—enriched by diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences—yet united in devotion to Christ.

Service in the Church expands our circle of love and widens our associations.

We meet people from all walks of life—new friends, brothers and sisters in need, recent converts, and missionary or ministering companions.

We don’t serve only those we already love; rather, we come to love people as we serve them.

• Church congregations are strengthened by diversity and unity in Christ.
• Callings and assignments broaden our relationships.
• Service puts us in contact with people we might not otherwise know.
• Love often grows as a result of serving others.
• Ministering and Church service are tools the Lord uses to shape disciples.

• How has a Church calling helped you love people you did not know well before?
• What have you learned from serving with someone from a different background or life experience?
• Can you share a ministering experience that changed your heart?
• When have you come to love someone simply because you served them?

Notice and care for individuals one by one

The Savior never lost sight of the individual, even in the midst of crowds. Elder Caussé teaches that the Church should reflect this same pattern, with no anonymity and with covenant belonging expressed through personal care.

Do we interact superficially with others, or do we genuinely seek to know and care for each person we meet?

Though He was often surrounded by multitudes, the Savior always gave His full attention to the one—one sheep, one leper, one Samaritan woman, one little child, one soul at a time.

In His love, no one was ever lost in the crowd.

Likewise, in the Church of Jesus Christ, there should be no anonymity.

As we enter the fold of Christ through sacred covenants, we are known, accounted for, and cared for—one person at a time.

• Superficial interaction falls short of Christlike love.
• Jesus Christ consistently ministered to individuals.
• The one matters deeply to the Savior.
• Church members should not feel anonymous in the covenant community.
• Belonging in the Church includes being known, remembered, and cared for personally.

• When has someone in the Church made you feel known and cared for personally?
• Can you share a time when you noticed one person in need and acted on that impression?
• What have you learned from the Savior’s example of ministering one by one?
• How has a ward or branch helped reduce feelings of anonymity for you or your family?

Look beyond outward appearances to see divine potential

Drawing from both life experience and the story of Beauty and the Beast, Elder Caussé teaches that every soul has depth and worth. Christlike love helps us see beyond flaws, defenses, or appearances to the divine possibilities within each person.

Even those people who at first seemed insignificant have become some of the most remarkable and uplifting individuals I know.

There is wonderful depth—so much to love—in every soul.

Rather than judging him by his appearance, Belle learns to see beyond it.

She comes to understand that the Beast’s bitterness, rude manners, and sudden anger are only a facade, hiding a wounded soul yearning to love and be loved.

In a similar way, as we extend Christlike love to each person we serve, our eyes are opened to their divine potential.

We begin to see them as the Lord sees them—mortal souls with the capacity to become exalted beings through the Savior’s restoring power and grace.

• People who seem insignificant may become great blessings in our lives.
• Every soul has depth and goodness worth discovering.
• Outward behavior may conceal pain, wounds, or longing.
• Christlike love changes how we see others.
• The Lord sees divine potential in every person.
• Through the Savior’s grace, people can be transformed.

• Have you ever misjudged someone at first and later come to love and admire them?
• When has the Lord helped you see beyond someone’s outward behavior or appearance?
• Can you share an experience where patience and kindness changed a relationship?
• What experience has taught you about the divine potential of another person?

Help souls come to the Savior and be transformed

As we love and care for individuals, we help connect them to Jesus Christ. Elder Caussé teaches that this invites healing and transformation through the Savior’s atoning blood and also blesses us by making us more like Him.

As we care for each soul, we help connect them to the Savior, inviting them to be healed and transformed through His atoning blood.

In return, our own lives are blessed—we become more like the Savior and are filled with great joy.

• Ministering is not just social kindness; it helps people come to Christ.
• The Savior heals and transforms souls through His Atonement.
• Our loving efforts can become a bridge to Jesus Christ.
• Serving others changes and sanctifies us as well.
• Joy comes as we participate in the Savior’s work.

• When have you seen someone draw closer to the Savior because of simple love or ministering?
• Can you share a time when helping another person also changed you?
• What experience has shown you that true ministering points people to Jesus Christ?
• When have you felt joy from helping someone feel the Savior’s love?