Study Guide for "Love Like Jesus"

Elder Ronald A. Rasband addresses the heartache of loving someone who turns away from the Lord or steps away from covenant commitments. He teaches that each person must choose to follow Jesus Christ and that the Savior has power to heal hearts we cannot change ourselves. Through scriptural accounts and practical counsel, he invites us to love without harshness, pray with faith, release guilt, and find rest in Jesus Christ. As you study, consider how you can strengthen both your relationship with the Savior and your relationships with those whose choices concern you.

Before Reading

Before reading or listening to the talk, consider the following questions:

What does loving like Jesus look like when someone makes choices that concern me?
What is my responsibility toward loved ones, and what must I entrust to the Savior?
How can I respect another person's agency while remaining faithful to my covenants?
What do Alma and the father of the prodigal son teach me about prayer, patience, and love?
How can Jesus Christ help me find peace even when a loved one's choices remain unchanged?

Topics

Respect Each Person's Choice to Follow Jesus Christ

Elder Rasband acknowledges the grief and feelings of failure that accompany a loved one's departure from the Lord. He cautions that arguing, demanding, or lecturing can deepen the distance between people. Each person must choose to follow Jesus Christ, and recognizing that agency helps us distinguish loving influence from attempts to control another person's heart.

By divine design, brothers and sisters, everyone must choose for themselves to follow Jesus Christ.

If anything, these efforts can cause a greater rift.

The adversary’s deceit leads to confusion and misery.

Why does Elder Rasband emphasize that everyone must choose to follow Jesus Christ?
How can attempts to persuade a loved one create a greater rift?
What does Lehi's dream illustrate about influences that draw people away from the Savior?
Which of my efforts to help a loved one strengthen our relationship, and which seem to increase distance?
How can I express my convictions while respecting a loved one's ability to choose?
What can I change in my next conversation to listen more carefully and avoid pressure or argument?

Entrust Your Loved Ones to Jesus Christ

Elder Rasband invites us to turn our despair over to Jesus Christ rather than assume we must change another person's heart. Heavenly Father knows and loves our loved ones even more than we do, and the Savior's Atonement provides healing and a way back. Trusting Christ means recognizing His power while allowing Him to carry the sorrow we cannot resolve ourselves.

Be not afraid nor dismayed … ; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

We cannot change their hearts, but He can; He is a God of miracles.

By the power of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, there is always a way back!

He knows them. He knows their hearts; He loves them.

What does Elder Rasband ask us to turn over to Jesus Christ?
How does knowing that loved ones are foremost Heavenly Father's children strengthen trust in Him?
What does the Savior's Atonement make possible for those who stray and those who grieve?
What burden am I carrying as though a loved one's spiritual future depends entirely on me?
How can I express my trust in the Savior while continuing to offer faithful support?
What experiences help me remember that Jesus Christ knows and loves the person for whom I pray?

Show Christlike Love Through Kindness and Presence

Elder Rasband teaches that love is central to the Savior's gospel and can positively influence those who stray. Love does not require sanctioning another person's decisions; it means remaining interested, available, hopeful, and kind. The Holy Ghost and trust in the Lord help us become peacemakers who respond with charity, patience, and forgiveness.

Jesus Christ is the perfect embodiment of love. Love is the centerpiece of His gospel and the essence of being like Him.

Love is not stepping back or sanctioning others’ decisions and actions.

Love is being interested in their lives, their successes, and their challenges.

That holiness comes when we are peacemakers, when we are charitable, patient, forgiving, and kind.

How does Elder Rasband distinguish loving someone from sanctioning that person's decisions?
What specific attitudes and actions does he identify as expressions of love?
How do trust in the Lord and the influence of the Holy Ghost guide loving responses?
How can I show genuine interest in a loved one's successes and challenges this week?
Where do I need to replace a harsh response with patience, forgiveness, or kindness?
How can I remain faithful to gospel principles while making it clear that my love is enduring?

Pray Faithfully and Never Give Up

Elder Rasband presents prayer as an expression of love and points to Alma's prayers for his son. Alma the Younger's account illustrates the power of remembered teachings, a plea for the Savior's mercy, and the joy that comes through Jesus Christ. Elder Rasband encourages us to release guilt and continue loving and praying rather than giving up.

Love is expressed in prayer.

The Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee

O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.

We fail only when we give up and stop trying, so never, never give up on those you love.

What does Alma's example teach about expressing love through prayer?
What role do his father's teachings play when Alma the Younger turns to Jesus Christ?
How does Elder Rasband connect letting go of guilt with continuing to love and try?
What do I want to ask Heavenly Father for as I pray for a loved one?
What guilt do I need to turn over to the Savior so I can move forward with faith?
How can I persist in prayer and loving action without demanding a particular timetable for change?

Welcome Loved Ones With Compassion

Elder Rasband uses the prodigal son's return to emphasize the connecting power of love. The father's compassionate welcome shows the importance of making love recognizable and available. Heavenly Father extends His arms to His children and asks us to do the same, keeping the person more important than the problem.

When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran [to him].

What brought him back? It was love. He knew where to find it.

Our Father extends His protective arms to us and to those still distant from Him and His Son. He asks us to do the same.

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.

What does the father's response to the prodigal son reveal about compassion?
Why does Elder Rasband emphasize that the son knows where to find love?
How does President Monson's counsel help us prioritize people in difficult relationships?
How clearly does my loved one know that my love remains available?
When do I focus so heavily on a problem that I overlook the person experiencing it?
What gesture of welcome or compassion can I offer without making it conditional on a change in behavior?

Find Rest by Building on Jesus Christ

Elder Rasband teaches that Jesus Christ remains the answer to our sorrow and invites us to seek Him through scripture study, the words of devoted Church leaders, and earnest prayer. The Savior offers rest and does not leave us comfortless. Elder Rasband's concluding promise emphasizes that building on Christ protects us from being dragged into misery by the storms that pull loved ones off course.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Third, remember Jesus Christ is the answer. He is, always has been, and always will be.

And pray. Pray mightily to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

Trust Him. He’s got this!

What practices does Elder Rasband recommend for seeking Jesus Christ?
What does the Savior promise those who come to Him with heavy burdens?
What protection does Elder Rasband promise when Jesus Christ is the rock upon which we build?
How can I make my scripture study and prayer more focused on coming to Jesus Christ?
What helps me recognize the Savior's comfort even when my circumstances do not change?
What specific step can I take this week to strengthen my foundation in Christ?