Valentine’s Day can be a lonely holiday for many of God’s children, but we can help the people in need all around us to feel God’s love on this holiday.
When I was young, Valentine’s Day was my favorite holiday. My mom would get up early in the morning to make my siblings and me heart-shaped pancakes, and she would make beautiful handmade notes and set them next to our breakfast plates with all our favorite candies. Her small gestures made me feel so loved every year. Growing up, my Valentine’s Days were filled with love and happiness, but for many people, the holiday can be filled with loneliness instead.
Image by Casey Horner
Life is hard. Many of us struggle with feelings of inadequacy, isolation, or stress—and on Valentine’s Day, these difficult feelings can be even more intense. As God’s children, we are asked to love our neighbors during such times of trial. In Alan T. Phillips’s general conference talk “God Knows and Loves You,” Elder Phillips explains that “the two great commandments to love God and love our neighbor are the foundation of all of God’s commandments. One of our divine responsibilities is to care for those in need.” What better day to care for those in need than on Valentine’s Day?
On this holiday, we can make an extra effort to spread God’s love to all of his children, and there are so many ways to do that. We can write simple handmade notes, send a quick text to someone we know is struggling, or talk to someone new while sitting at school. We can search for small opportunities to help the people around us feel that God loves them and is aware of them. Through our efforts, we can decrease loneliness and increase joy this Valentine’s Day by fulfilling our divine responsibility to love our neighbors and care for those in need.
Read more about God’s love in Elder Alan T. Phillips’s talk “God Knows and Loves You.”
Source: General Conference
—Abby Andrus, Latter-day Saint Insights
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Find more insights
Read more about God’s love for you in Parker Cook’s article “God Loves You.”
Discover more ways to spread God’s love this Valentine’s Day in David Dickson’s article “True Love This Valentine’s Day.”