Last time, we talked about how the first key to showing God’s love is to recognize the opportunity to show love—and then take that opportunity.

The second key is creating that elite difference, where love is what separates us from the rest of the world. You can think of it in terms of a simple statement: Be ELITE. In this case, ELITE is an acrostic. An acrostic is a word that’s made up of the first letter of other words or phrases. In this case, being ELITE has five different subparts. Let’s see what these are and how we can apply them.

E – Engaged Membership

To show our love, we have to be engaged (active) participants. For anything we do in life, we are either engaged or disengaged. If we’re engaged, we’re putting ourselves in a position to be used by the Lord. Whether it’s helping a brother or sister understand a piece of scripture, praying for someone who has asked to be anointed during a service, or listening to someone explain a dilemma that’s weighing on their heart, we need to be engaged and listening to the Holy Ghost. God will provide any answers that we need to help one another. 

Being engaged in this case doesn’t mean we need to do all the talking or be the expert. A lot of the time, all we need to do is actively listen. Many times, the best way to show love is to just listen and provide words only when asked. If we can do this with our brothers and sisters, we’ll be able to do it when the world comes looking for answers.

L – Love One Another

During my corporate training class, the L means Lateral Service, which is how the team treats each other. I always tell them, “If you want to see how your team is treating your customers, look at how they are treating each other. You can’t turn customer service on and off. You either have it on, or you’re faking it.” 

Loving one another is the exact same way. We’re either showing genuine love towards each other, or we’re faking it. And yes, it’s very easy to tell when it’s not coming from the heart. Jesus said that His disciples would be known by their love for one another (John 13:35), and love is at the core of all the commandments: in abbreviated terms, Jesus commands us to love God and love people (Mark 12:30-31). 

It starts with loving each other as saints. From there, it spreads to each person we meet. “How do I love someone I don’t know?” you might ask. The answer is what Jesus said, “…love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

I – Invest in Relationships

It’s a whole lot easier to love someone we know and can connect with. Rather than talk about generalities or offer to generally pray for them, we can be specific if we know them. We can talk about important issues or pray about a particular part of life. If we invest a little time and effort to have relationships with our brothers and sisters, we can show love in a much more meaningful way. 

I’m not saying to get super personal when someone isn’t comfortable. But what I am saying is try going beyond small talk. This will create lasting relationships that will help individuals and the church overall to spiritually grow.

T – Tailored Services

I tell the trainees that the services that we offer are not one-size-fits-all. What I do for this customer won’t necessarily work for the next one, because they most likely have different needs and circumstances. 

The same can be said about our services, or gatherings, for church. They aren’t “cookie-cutter” or “one-size-fits-all.” While there are common elements, each of our services around the world have a tailored fit to meet the needs of members. Most of the tailoring, though, is in the details. 

The reason for this is found in Moroni 6:9: 

And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done. 

The Lord knows what we, on an individual basis, need and when we need it. He works with us through the Holy Ghost and inspires what should transpire in a given meeting. The subject of the preaching, the songs to sing, the words used in a prayer…all of these are inspired by the Holy Ghost and allow each of our cups to be filled on an individual level. While the vast majority of Sunday services throughout the entire church have preaching, if we’re following the Holy Ghost, the messages will be tailored to what each congregation needs.

E – Elevated Meetings 

The training class talks about Elevated Facilities and Amenities, but we don’t need fancy buildings and souped-up A/V systems to feel the Spirit of God in our meetings. There are plenty of examples in the scriptures, the early days of the restored church, and the modern-day church, where Spirit-filled meetings were held outside with no building at all! What’s important for us here is that the Spirit of God is present, and it can be stated as fact that it is. 

On February 4, 1958, Sister Connie Moraco had a dream. It was presented to the priesthood at General Church Conference in April of the same year and was accepted as a revelation of God. It was accepted that the messenger she dreamt of was Jesus Himself. You can find the entire dream in Volume 2 of the church history book (pages 15-18), but the last paragraph shows that the Lord visits all our meetings: 

I then asked him if he ever attended our Church. He answered, “Yes, I always attend your Church.” I said, “Did you ever visit our branch on West Chicago?” He said, “Yes.” I answered, “I’ve never seen you there.” He said, “You probably never looked for me,” and smiled saying, “I attend all the various branches to see that the Faith which I wrote is kept.” I then awoke.

The Lord visits every one of our meetings and elevates them to places that we never could. That allows His love to pour over us and strengthen our love for each other.

Be ELITE today! Be Engaged, Love One Another, Invest in Relationships, and attend and enjoy the Tailored Services and Elevated Meetings. That will help create the elite difference and show the world our love.

Next time, we’ll review the final key. More to come. 

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.