Different as Church members are in circumstances and experiences, they share a desire to become better than they are, said .
"There may be a few who mistakenly feel they are good enough and a few who have given up trying to be better," he said. "But, for all, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to become better as long as we live."
Speaking during the Sunday morning session, President Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, promised Church members that through living the gospel of Jesus Christ they can become like the Savior, who is perfect.
"Considering the attributes of Jesus Christ should quash the pride of the self-satisfied person who thinks he or she has no need to improve," he said. "And even the most humble person can take hope in the invitation to become like the Savior."
President Eyring said that the way that transformation happens is captured in a song written for children: "I'm trying to be like Jesus; I'm following in his ways. I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say."
President Eyring said he remembers watching the faces of children one Sunday while they sang the song. "It seemed to me that they were not just singing; they were declaring their determination. Jesus Christ was their example. To be like Him was their fixed goal. And their eager looks and their shining eyes convinced me that they had no doubts. They expected to succeed. They believed the instruction of the Savior to be perfect was not a hope but a command. And they were sure He had prepared the way.
"That determination and confidence can and must be in the heart of every Latter-day Saint. The Savior has prepared the way though His Atonement and His example," he said.
Love, he continued, "is the motivating principles by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others. There is no surprise in that, since the Lord proclaimed that the first and great commandment.
"It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."
President Eyring said just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered individuals the family as an example of an ideal setting in which they can learn how to love as He loves.
"That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is. And the sorrow comes primarily from selfishness, which is the absence of love. The ideal God holds for us is to form families in the way most likely to lead to happiness and away from sorrow."
President Eyring said his hope is to suggest some choices, which may seem difficult, that would assure Church members that their families can be together in the world to come.
First, he said, "I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion's joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion."
To the parents of a wandering child, President Eyring said the Savior is the perfect example of persisting in love. "You can pray for your children, love them and reach out to them with confidence that Jesus reaches for them with you. When you keep trying you are doing what Jesus does."
Next, President Eyring offered counsel to children.
"The Lord gave you a commandment with a promise," he said. " 'Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' It is the only one of the Ten Commandments with a promise.
"You may not have parents that are living. In some cases, you may not feel that your parents are worthy of the honor and respect of their children. You may not even have ever known them. But you owe them life. And in every case, even if your life is not lengthened, its quality will be improved simply by remembering your parents with honor."
President Eyring said it may be hard for Church members to see in their lives an increasing power to love and become more like the Savior, "our perfect example."
"I wish to encourage you," he said. "You have had evidences that you are moving along the road to becoming more like Jesus. It will help to remember how you have felt at times like a little child, even in the midst of cares and trials."
President Eyring told members of the congregation that they will feel the approval of their Heavenly Father for having done what Jesus did.
"I hope you will go out today looking for opportunities to do as He did and to love as He loves. ...
"None of us is perfect yet. But we can have frequent assurance that we are following on the way. He leads us and He beckons for us to follow Him.
"I testify that the way lies through faith in Jesus Christ, in baptism, in receiving the Holy Ghost and in enduring in love to keep His commandments."
