With so much hate spreading in the world, it’s not enough for us to avoid unkindness like the plague—we need to cure it.
Today, we can find hate almost everywhere we look. In the talk “The Need for Greater Kindness,” President Gordon B. Hinckley states that unkindness is infecting even the places we hoped would be immune from animosity. He explains that our homes and relationships can become filled with hatred due to “jealousy, pride, arrogance, and carping criticism.” Even some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spread undeserved hatred toward our fellow brothers and sisters—hatred that goes against the doctrine of Jesus Christ. So how do we stop this rapidly spreading hate?
Photo by Roger Brown
We can stop hate when we rid ourselves of comparison, jealousy, pride, and—most importantly—judgment. My fiancé once shared with me an idea that, if we understand, can help us stop judging people: “You cannot execute God’s judgment until you can execute his love, and because we will never be able to completely emulate his love, we can never carry out his judgment.”
Leaving the burden of judgment to our Heavenly Father actually makes our lives easier: we don’t need to question whether someone is deserving of our love, and we don’t need to ration our kindness. As President Hinckley states, “There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.” When we radiate the Savior’s love, we spread his cure and help to heal our wounded world.
Read or watch President Gordon B. Hinckley’s talk “The Need for Greater Kindness” to learn more about the power of kindness.
Source: www.churchofjesuschrist.org
—Claire Parker, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY ANN SCHVETS
Find more insights
Check out Sam Niven’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Creating a More Welcoming Church Community” for her thoughts about the importance of ward members being welcoming and kind.
Read Megan Udall’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “3 Ways to Everyday Happiness” for ideas on feeling and spreading happiness.