Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Gérald Caussé · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Saturday Afternoon Session
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This class in one line
God's love is both universal and intensely personal, and as disciples of Christ, we are called to love the same way: expansively toward all people, and attentively toward each individual.
Skip the Beauty and the Beast illustration as a retold story; if it comes up naturally in discussion, let it, but don't use class time to narrate it.
Before Sunday
Sunday's class: two little words that changed how an Apostle sees people
Elder Gérald Caussé noticed something while studying the scriptures in English: dozens of verses pair the words 'all' and 'each' (or 'every') together. He says God's love works on both scales at once, wide enough to reach the whole world, close enough to notice one person's unique story. Read or listen to his talk 'Love All; Love Each' from the Saturday afternoon session of general conference. As you do, ponder: Is there someone in your life you've been loving at a distance when they may need you to love them up close?
Pick one opening
Think of a moment when you felt genuinely seen by another person, not just noticed, but truly known and cared for. What did that feel like, and what did the other person actually do that made you feel that way? Take a moment, then share with the class.
Think of a moment when you felt genuinely seen by another person, not just noticed, but truly known and cared for. What did that feel like, and what did the other person actually do that made you feel that way? Take a moment, then share with the class.
Shortly after Elder Caussé was ordained to the Quorum of the Twelve, a journalist asked him a simple question: 'What do you know now that you didn't know before?' His answer came instantly, 'I have learned that I can love even more.' He said the prayers and love of Saints around the world had enlarged his own capacity to love in ways he never expected. That's where he starts this talk, and it's where we'll start today.
Teach this first
Though Jesus was constantly surrounded by crowds, He always gave His full attention to the one leper, one Samaritan woman, one child. Elder Caussé teaches that in the Church there should be no anonymity: every person who enters the covenant fold is known, accounted for, and cared for one at a time. As we genuinely seek to know each person, we begin to see them as the Lord sees them, a soul with divine potential.
Elder Caussé: 'Even those people who at first seemed insignificant have become some of the most remarkable and uplifting individuals I know. There is wonderful depth, so much to love, in every soul.'
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Caussé teaches that discipleship was never meant to be a comfortable circle of familiar friends. Service in the Church is one of the main ways our circle of love widens, we don't serve only those we already love; we come to love people as we serve them.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, identify one person you tend to interact with only at a surface level, a neighbor, a fellow member, a coworker, and do one specific thing to genuinely know them better: ask a real question, stay after a meeting to listen, or simply use their name.
Elder Caussé promises that as we extend Christlike love to each person we serve, our own lives are blessed, we become more like the Savior and are filled with great joy.
Your witness: Share, in your own words, what it has meant to you personally to feel known and loved by the Savior, not just as part of the whole human family, but as yourself.