“Every Man Should Esteem His Neighbor As Himself”

Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet
Though salvation is an individual matter, it is of necessity a collective effort. We are saved as we help each other. “He that findeth his life shall lose it,” the Savior said, “and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39). Salvation is borne of humble service, not of haughty isolation; of lifting, not of belittling; of loving, not of hating. There is only one plan of salvation, one system whereby men are saved: “What I say unto one I say unto all,” the Lord has assured us (D&C 93:49). All the souls of men are of equal worth, and it is contrary to the spirit of heaven for us to hold one in greater esteem than another. That Spirit that comes from God is “without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17); it regards the rich and the poor, the great and the small, with the same courtesy. See Mosiah 23:7.

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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