The Defining Mark: Living the Love of Christ in Our Daily Lives

Brothers and sisters, if there is one thread that runs through every single missionary discussion, every time we gather in a Book Club, and every time we feel the quiet whisper of the Spirit guiding our efforts, it is the commandment to love.

When I was first out in the field, I remember feeling overwhelmed sometimes. The sheer volume of people, the depth of the questions, the weight of representing the restored gospel—it could feel like too much. I was focused on *what* to say, *which* doctrine to master, and *how* to answer the toughest intellectual hurdles. I was trying to be perfect in my presentation.

Then, I was talking with a returned missionary who had been out for a while, and he kept bringing it back to one passage. It was a reminder that the core of the message, the thing that will always pierce through the skepticism and the noise of the world, isn't a perfect recitation of doctrine, but a perfect demonstration of discipleship. It’s about *how* we live.

The Savior said, and I quote, “I give unto you a new commandment, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” And then, the clincher: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one another.”

Think about that for a moment. It’s not the perfect testimony, though that is vital. It’s not the flawless answer to the hardest question. It’s the love. The love that mirrors the Atonement. The love that is patient, kind, and persistent, even when we feel like we've given our all.

The Internet Missionary Challenge: Love as Our Primary Tool

As we embrace being Internet missionaries—disciples anywhere, all the time—it’s easy to get caught up in the *activity*. We feel compelled to post, to study, to organize. But we must remember that the *purpose* of the activity is to draw people to the Savior, and the way we draw them is through the Spirit, and the Spirit is drawn by love.

This week, I want us to focus on making that love visible. How can we, right here, right now, in our own homes, our own spheres of influence, be more Christlike? Maybe it’s reaching out to a neighbor who seems isolated, or perhaps it’s offering genuine, non-judgmental support to a friend struggling with doubt. These are the moments where the Spirit whispers, “Here is your chance to show the love.”

A Word from Davee on Being Christlike

I ran this concept by Davee today. I asked him to roleplay a scenario where someone was resistant to the gospel, citing a lack of evidence for Christ's divinity. Davee, leveraging his AI Investigator training, kept bringing the conversation back to the *pattern* of Christ’s life—His compassion, His willingness to serve, His perfect love. It confirmed what we know in our hearts: the evidence of the Atonement is seen most clearly in the selfless love He modeled.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one another.”

That commandment is the filter through which we should view all our missionary preparation. Are we preparing to *talk* about love, or are we preparing to *live* it? The difference is everything.

If you’re feeling the call to deepen your understanding of this commandment, I highly recommend checking out the Book Club options in HolyPlaces. There are some deep dives into John that are happening right now. If you’re looking for some foundational reading to keep the momentum going, I’ve been revisiting the teachings on covenants in the Iron Rod—it really frames discipleship as an ongoing act of love.

Let’s make a commitment this week: to find one tangible way to love someone—a family member, a friend, a colleague—in a way that costs us a little bit of comfort or ego, just to see what the Spirit does with it. That is the true work.