from a talk given at the Layton Northridge Stake Conference on May 3, 2026

My beloved brothers and sisters, I’m grateful to be with you here today on the Sabbath Day at stake conference. I love you. I ask for your faith and prayers that the Holy Ghost will be with us and teach us of the love of the Father and the Son for us and the love we should have for one another.

Before beginning His Atonement, Jesus ate His last meal with His chosen twelve Apostles. After the supper, He rose from the table, removed His outer robe, and wrapped a towel around His waist (see John 13:4).

Jesus poured water into a bowl, then began washing each disciples’ feet, and wiped them dry with the towel (v. 5). When the Lord arrived at Peter, Peter, not understanding why his Master submitted Himself as a servant to wash their feet, protested by asking and saying-

Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Thou shalt never wash my feet  (John 13:6, 8).

Kindly and gently, Jesus warned him, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (v. 8). Peter, now knowing the importance of this act, submitted to the Savior.

After Peter, Jesus continued washing the remainder of the Twelve’s feet, including Judas Iscariot, who would betray Him. Once He was done, the Master taught them—

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John 13:15-17).

While He was “troubled in spirit” about what Judas was about to do, what was going to happen to Peter and His other disciples and what He was going to face in Gethsemane and Golgotha, Jesus told them plainly, “[O]ne of you shall betray me” (v. 21).

Matthew tells us that once they heard this, “they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?” (Matt 26:22)

Judas then looked to the Lord and asked, “Master, is it I?” Jesus then told Judas-

Thou hast said.

That thou doest, do quickly (Matt 26:25; John 13:27).

With Satan having a hold on his heart, Judas immediately left into the night (John 13:27, 30).

Looking intently at the eleven who remained, Jesus taught them-

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (v. 34-35).

He then told His beloved Apostles that “All ye shall be offended because of me this night”  (Matt 26:31, see Mark 14:27). Peter, in his zeal and love for the Lord, declared  “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt 26:33, see Mark 14:29).

The Savior then prophesied to Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice” (Matt 26:34, see Mark 14:30). Peter exclaimed, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matt 26:35; Mark 14:31).

Everything that the Savior told them happened the way He said it would. Judas betrayed Him with a kiss. Peter denied knowing Him three times. The other ten fled and left Him alone once He was captured.

How He must have felt knowing that He would be betrayed, rejected, and forsaken by those He loved the very most. What sorrow He must have felt when they did exactly what He warned them that they would do.

On top of that, His later experiences in Gethsemane, in Caiaphas’ court, in Pilate’s place, and on the cross at Calvary compounded in one incomprehensible suffering. Why did He do this?

President D. Todd Christofferson stated-

It was pure love that, before the Creation, led Him to offer Himself as our Redeemer. His Atonement was and is the supreme act of love. (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Character of Christ,” April 2026 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session). 

The prophet Nephi told us that Jesus suffered for us because “of [H]is loving kindness and [H]is long-suffering towards [us]” (1 Ne. 19:9). His pure love and patience for each of us strengthened Him in His suffering so He could fulfill the Father’s plan.

As the Master felt pain and sorrow over His disciples’ offenses and failures, we too have felt the pain and sorrow from the offenses and failures of those close to us. Whether it’s a family member who hurts us, a friend who ignores us, a church member who judges us, a colleague at work who speaks poorly about us, or a school classmate who lies about us, each of us, from time to time, has had to drink the bitter cup that this life brings. 

Yet, we too, at times, have filled the bitter cups of those close to us by hurting, ignoring, judging, speaking poorly, and lying about them. Having swallowed all our sins and sorrows in His suffering, the Master is mighty to succor and save each of us.

The Savior’s resurrection and intercession allows us to live with Him, our Heavenly Father, our families, and our friends again. Yet, it also allows us to live with those who have betrayed us, rejected us, and forsaken us. It also allows us to live with those we have betrayed, rejected and forsaken. The Redeemer, through His Atonement, not only reconciles us with Him and His Father, but He also reconciles us with those who have harmed us and those we have harmed. 

Like His disciples, I too have had times where I pleaded to the Lord for forgiveness because of my failures to follow Him. Like them, He kindly and gently extended His grace to me that was sufficient for my weakness (see Ether 12:27).

Like many of you, I too have been betrayed and, unfortunately, have betrayed, been rejected and have rejected, been forsaken and have forsaken. Through the love and mercy of the Father and the Son, I have not only been able to forgive, but I also have been forgiven.

Considering our Master and Lord commanded us to love everyone as He not only loves us, but also as He loves everyone, how do we do this? Fortunately, for you and me, as our beloved prophet, President Dallin H Oaks, reminded us, Jesus is the Way (see John 14:6; Church News “‘Jesus Christ is the way,’ President Oaks says in first interview as Church president,” October 16, 2025).

Before telling Simon Peter about his future denials, the Lord shared with him—

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren (Luke 22:31-32).

With His limited breaths while on the cross, the Master pleaded to His Father on behalf of the Roman soldiers who crucified and mocked him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Our Savior and Redeemer not only prayed unto the Father with all the energy of His heart for Peter, Judas, and the Roman soldiers, He does so today for you, me, and everyone (see Moroni 7:46). He told us what He tells the Father about each of us who believes in Him—

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren [and my sisters] that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life (D&C 45:3-5).

Jesus shows us that His truth and His life are found in following Him in praying and pleading to our Heavenly Father for one another, even for those we hate and who hate us, even for those we curse and who curse us, even for those we despitefully use and who despitefully use us, and even for those we persecute and who persecute us.

President Henry B Eyring told us that, “[t]he feelings of [our] heart and the love for our Heavenly Father and for His Beloved Son can be so constant that [our] prayers will ascend always” (Henry B Eyring, “Prayers for Peace,” April 2026 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session). 

Our prayers that ascend always to heaven and our love for those we pray for will lead us to one day, with them, be “crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man, with crowns of glory.” (Moses 7:55).

President Dallin H Oaks taught us—

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, taught us how to relate to one another. The great commandments in the law, He taught, were to love—God and neighbor.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He declared:

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–44).

What a revolutionary teaching for personal relationships! Love even your enemies!

…[A]ll of us [need] to see each other as children of God who belong to each other.

We can follow the example of Jesus Christ, who is our role model, by choosing to love others—even if they show little or no love toward us.

(Dallin H. Oaks, “Alive in Christ,” April 2026 General Conference, Sunday Morning Session).

Our Heavenly Father and Savior love us with all Their heart, might, mind, and strength (see Jeffrey R. Holland, “Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You,” April 2016 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session). 

My beloved brothers and sisters, you and I can love one another as the Father and the Son love us. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we will be filled with that pure and perfect love because of our prayers and petitions on behalf of those around us (see Moro. 8:26). 

We can, as Elder David A Bednar testified, endure valiantly to the end in following the example of our Lord and Master, being possessed by His pure love, and being filled with “exceedingly great and indescribable joy.” (David A. Bednar, “All Who Have Endured Valiantly,” April 2026 General Conference, Sunday Morning Session)

May the spirit of our supplications for and the strength of our service to one another reflect the sweetness of this hymn–

Savior, may I learn to love thee,
Walk the path that thou hast shown,
Pause to help and lift another,
Finding strength beyond my own.
Savior, may I learn to love thee—
Lord, I would follow thee.

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can’t see.
Who am I to judge another?
Lord, I would follow thee. 

I would be my brother’s keeper;
I would learn the healer’s art.
To the wounded and the weary
I would show a gentle heart.
I would be my brother’s keeper—
Lord, I would follow thee. (“Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Susan Evans McCloud, Hymns, no. 220)

In the sacred name of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Art: Comfort the Children, by Greg Collins