Friendship

Sunday was an inspirational day for me. We had a great RS lesson from the Joseph Smith manual on friendship. Joseph Smith said some very profound things that made me reflect on my feelings about friendship. Some of the attributes of friendship were, "...faithful, long suffering, noble, true, companion, social, kind, generous, mirth loving, holy, pure, just, undaunted, firm, unchangeable." When I look at that list I can think of many many friends that fit that description and, like Joseph Smith, I feel greatly blessed.
"I don't care what a man's character is; if he is my friend-a true friend, I will be a friend to him, and preach the Gospel of salvation to him, and give him good counsel, helping him out of his difficulties." In one of my book clubs we discussed what animal we are most like, a couple of friends said I was closest to a Wolf. Fierce and deadly if crossed, but loyal and protective to the pack. My friends are many things, but none of them are perfect and I try to look past that to the heart. They are my friends and no matter what others say about them, or how they are judged I continue to stand by them, giving them advice when needed, and hopefully peace of mind when they are troubled. That is what loyal means to me. I may not agree with what they do, but I never leave them alone in their trials. And on the flip side, friends may not agree with me, or what I do, but knowing they support me gives me the lift I need to keep going.
The last paragraph I really liked was a letter Joseph Smith wrote while he was in hiding, "These I have met in prosperity, and they were my friends; and I now meet them in adversity, and they are still my warmer friends. These love the God that I serve; they love the truths that I promulgate; they love those virtuous, and those holy doctrines that I cherish in my bosom with the warmest feelings of my heart, and with that zeal which cannot be denied..." Trials are the true test of friendships. I have a handful of friends that I have been through the fire with and they are still my truest and most loyal friends. They forgive me my weaknesses, my grouchy days, my weeks of no phone call, and they still come to my aide at a moments notice. I can only hope that I am also that type of friend to them. "...that I may toil for them, and administer to their comfort also. They shall not want a friend while I live; my heart shall love those, and my hands shall toil for those, who love and toil for me, and shall ever be found faithful to my friends. Shall I be ungrateful? Verily No! God forbid!"