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On the Joy of Service
“Service — purposeful service, not slavery — produces the highest satisfaction and is expressive of the divinest dignity.” — Paper 28:6.17
“When man dedicates his will to the doing of the Father’s will, when man gives God all that he has, then does God make that man more than he is.” — Paper 117:4.14
“The weak indulge in resolutions, but the strong act. Life is but a day’s work — do it well. The act is ours; the consequences God’s.” — Paper 48:7.13
“The measure of the spiritual capacity of the evolving soul is your faith in truth and your love for man.” — Paper 156:5.17
“Religion inspires man to live courageously and joyfully on the face of the earth; it joins patience with passion, insight to zeal, sympathy with power, and ideals with energy.” — Paper 99:4.1
On Serving Others
“You cannot stand still in the affairs of the eternal kingdom. My Father requires all his children to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth.” — Paper 176:3.5
“What I require of you, my apostles, is spirit unity — and that you can experience in the joy of your united dedication to the wholehearted doing of the will of my Father in heaven.” — Paper 141:5.1
“In everything do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” — Paper 140:3.15
“True religion is a living love, a life of service. The religionist’s detachment from much that is purely temporal and trivial never leads to social isolation.” — Paper 100:6.5
“Loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry — these are the fruits of the divine spirit.” — Paper 193:2.2
On Service and Love
“Love is the desire to do good to others.” — Paper 56:10.21
“The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows.” — Paper 117:6.10
“If you learn to love only those who love you, you are destined to live a narrow and circumscribed life.” — Paper 156:5.11
“It is not so important to love all men today as it is that each day you learn to love one more human being.” — Paper 100:4.6
“When a wise man understands the inner impulses of his fellows, he will love them. And when you love your brother, you have already forgiven him.” — Paper 174:1.5
On the Ministry of Jesus
“Jesus’ earthly life was devoted to one great purpose — doing the Father’s will, living the human life religiously and by faith.” — Paper 196:0.14
“He went about doing good, for God was in him. Jesus was not a stoic; he was a positivist. He always did positive good.” — Paper 100:7.9
“Jesus did not come to minister to temporal needs only; he came to reveal his heavenly Father to the children of earth, while he sought to lead the earth children to join him in a sincere effort to live so as to do the will of the Father in heaven.” — Paper 171:7.9
“The religion of Jesus fosters the highest type of human civilization in that it creates the highest type of spiritual personality and proclaims the sacredness of that person.” — Paper 195:10.17
“In winning souls for the Master, it is not the first mile of compulsion, duty, or convention that will transform man and his world, but rather the second mile of free service and liberty-loving devotion.” — Paper 195:10.5
Related Entities
Jesus of Nazareth
The supreme example of loving service, whose entire life was devoted to ministering to others.
Seraphim
Guardian angels who tirelessly serve mortal beings, guiding and protecting them on their ascension journey.
Universal Father
The ultimate servant-creator whose love flows outward to all creatures through the vast ministry of the universe.