Love is a strong word... or is it?

As a missionary, I go out on a daily basis and share things that I hold dear. I tell people what I know. I tell them that I know that God is my Father in Heaven and that He knows me by name and loves me. I share that I have felt the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life personally. I share what I have felt as I have read the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I share the confidence that I have that my family can be together forever because the same power that Jesus gave to Peter that whatever he will "bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," has been restored to the earth and it was used to bind my family together forever.


I share all of these things with many people whenever I feel that it will touch their hearts. I share because I love my Heavenly Father and I know that He wants all of His children to know His plan for them. A direct result of me sharing the things that are close to my heart is that I grow to love the people I share them with. I have only been out on my mission for a little over 3 months and in that time I have grown to love so many of the people out here. I used to think that loving people is hard, that it shouldn't come easily because "love is a strong word." But I always tried to love others because loving each other is a commandment,

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
"This is the first and great commandment.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39

I have discovered that loving others isn't hard at all, when you share what is most dear to you, and the Spirit of the Lord is there, then love will just come.