Sacrament Meeting Program

Presiding: President Shon Hawkes
Conducting: President Shawn Parker
Opening Hymn: #1023 - Standing on the Promises
Invocation: By Invitation

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #172 - In Humility, Our Savior
Administration of the Sacrament

Testimony Meeting

Closing Hymn: #338 - America the Beautiful
Benediction: By Invitation

Love All; Love Each

By Elder Gérald Caussé
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Some time ago, a journalist asked me this simple yet profound question: “What do you know now, after being ordained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?” My response came instantly: “I have learned that I can love even more.”

Over the past few months, my wife, Valérie, and I have been deeply moved by the outpouring of love and prayers from Saints around the world. 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.

Years ago, while spending peaceful time in the beautiful countryside, I stepped outside after sunset to rest on a lounge chair. The night was so dark that I could hardly see anything. Instinctively, I looked up and noticed a tiny flickering point of light, then another. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the sky filled with stars.

I thought, “This is like our relationship with God.” 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.

As I pondered this idea, a question from one of David’s psalms came to mind:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars … ;

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

The answer that follows is deeply comforting: “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

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.

In 1905, after a conversation with a friend who had long endured serious health challenges, Civilla D. Martin found inspiration for the beloved hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” When Civilla asked her friend how she avoided discouragement, she replied, “How can I be discouraged when my Father watches the sparrows, and I know He loves and cares for me?”

Her words echoed the Savior’s teaching that no sparrow falls without the Father’s notice—and that even “the very hairs of [our] head are all numbered.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell added that the God who governs galaxies also guides our personal lives. “God is in the details!” he said. “… He knows and loves each and all of mankind!”

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

While studying scriptures in English, I noticed dozens of verses in which the words all and each (or every) appear together. For example, we learn in Mosiah: “He [speaking of the Lord] remembereth every creature of [His] creating, [and He] will make [Himself] manifest unto all.”

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.

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.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we bear witness of Him whenever we share His love with all around us—and help it take root in each person we meet.