This month we will focus on the Christlike attribute of friendship. Again, the Savior is our perfect example of what it means to be a friend. Perhaps some of His best friends while He was here on the earth, were His apostles. They were with Him throughout His earthly ministry and He chose to spend the final hours of His mortal life with them, in the story that we now call "The Last Supper."
During these final hours with His disciples, the Savior shows us how to be a true friend. He serves the apostles by washing their feet, He teaches them eternal truths about the Atonement, He reminds them to love one another, He offers them peace, He comforts them, and He encourages them to be of good cheer - even in tribulation.
Here are more eternal truths about the Savior, or taught by the Savior himself, that teach us how to be a better friend:
"the Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade"
"the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil"
"He is a light that is endless, that can never be darkened"
"I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you"
"I will ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders"
"I have lifted thee up out of thine afflictions"
"He had compassion on her"
"Behold, I stand at the door"
"I will encircle thee in the arms of my love"
"I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions"
"Great love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
For the Strength of Youth teaches this: "To have good friends, be a good friend. Show genuine interest in others; smile and let them know you care about them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, and refrain from judging and criticizing those around you. Do not participate in any form of bullying. Make a special effort to be a friend to those who are shy or lonely, have special needs, or do not feel included."
It is our hope that each sister in our Relief Society has a friend. Someone she can talk to, someone she can trust, someone who will spend time with her, someone she can laugh with, someone who is nice to her, someone she can call in an emergency, someone who knows her likes and dislikes, her trials and challenges.
The thing we must remember, is that in order to have that friend, you must be that friend!