M Russell Ballard | Lovest Thou Me More Than These? | Oct 2021 General Conference | Faith To Act

“Lovest Thou Me More Than These?”
By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

What things can you do within your own life to show that you love the Lord first?

In November 2019, my friend and I visited the Holy Land. While there, we reviewed and studied scriptures about Jesus Christ’s life. One morning we stood on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee at a place that may have been where Jesus met His disciples following His Resurrection.

After Jesus’s Resurrection, as we read in John chapter 21, Peter and the other disciples fished all night without success.1 In the morning, they saw a man standing on the shore who told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. To their astonishment, the net was filled miraculously.2

They immediately recognized that the man was the Lord, and they rushed to greet Him.

As they dragged the net to shore, full of fish, Jesus said, “Come and dine.”3 John reports that “when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?”4

While I was standing on that same seashore, I realized that the Savior’s question was one of the most important questions that He might someday ask me. I could almost hear His voice asking, “Russell, lovest thou me more than these?”

Do you wonder what Jesus was referring to when He asked Peter, “Lovest thou me more than these?”

Relating this question to ourselves in our day, the Lord may be asking us about how busy we are and about the many positive and negative influences competing for our attention and our time. He may be asking each of us if we love Him more than the things of this world. This may be a question about what we really value in life, who we follow, and how we view our relationships with family members and neighbors. Or maybe He is asking what really brings us joy and happiness.

Do the things of this world bring us the joy, happiness, and peace that the Savior offered to His disciples and that He offers to us? Only He can bring us true joy, happiness, and peace through our loving Him and following His teachings.

How would we answer the question “Lovest thou me more than these?”

When we discover a fuller meaning of this question, we can become better family members, neighbors, citizens, members of the Church, and sons and daughters of God.

At my age, I have attended many funerals. I am sure many of you have noticed what I have noticed. When celebrating the life of a deceased family member or a friend, it is rare for the speaker to talk about the size of the person’s home, the number of cars, or the bank account balances. They usually don’t speak about social media posts. At most of the funerals that I have attended, they focus on their loved one’s relationships, service to others, life lessons and experiences, and their love for Jesus Christ.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that having a nice home or a nice car is wrong or that using social media is bad. What I am saying is that in the end, those things matter very little compared to loving the Savior.

When we love and follow Him, we have faith in Him. We repent. We follow His example and are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. We endure to the end and stay on the covenant path. We forgive family members and neighbors by letting go of grudges we may be holding. We earnestly strive to keep God’s commandments. We strive to be obedient. We make and keep covenants. We honor our fathers and mothers. We set aside negative worldly influences. We prepare ourselves for His Second Coming.

General Conference Saturday Evening Session October 2021

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