Friendship according to Aristotle

Today in Elder's Quorum we were instructed on the friendship qualities of Joseph Smith. In that discussion, the teachings of Aristotle were brought up. The ancient Greek philosopher did not define "friendship" with simply a singular blanket term, but rather broke up friendship into three different categories:

1. Friendship because of pleasure - the friendship that exists because that there is a sensual pleasure derived from maintaining that relationship. This type of friendship is only maintained through the reciprocation of that pleasure by both sides and is relatively shallow in nature.

2. Utilitarian-friendship - the friendship that exists because of the usefulness of the other party. This type of friendship is maintained only as long as the other party is useful, and is deeper than the first type of friendship, but still relatively shallow.

3. Virtue-based friendship - This is the strongest form of friendship. It is a friendship that is concerned with the well-being and the best for the other friend. There are no ulterior motives in play, and there is a spirit of equality within the friendship. This friendship is lasting and strong because it is not rooted in one's self, but rather in the building up of the other party.

As I considered these different levels of friendship - the thought entered into my mind of Christ himself. We know that He is the greatest among us and the best friend to all. We understand his feelings of friendship towards us because we know that he desires what is best for us. His performance of the Atonement in our behalf and subsequent ultimate sacrifice reinforces this perspective. Further, His desire to continually bless our lives and guide us back to Father show that his cup overfloweth with that Charity present needed to establish a successful friendship.

What about us however? "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies that our children may know what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:25) Do we befriend Christ though? Are we as those spoken of in Isaiah: "...Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." (Isaiah 29:13) What about those of us that ask the Lord "When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" (Matthew 25:44)

I would submit that after some careful introspection on my end - that our friendship of Christ extends far beyond those words that we may say to another, or the writings we make concerning Christ, or even the charitable acts that one may perform "in the name of Christ."

Rather, our friendship of Christ is much deeper than that - or at least it should be. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, nation-wide research statistics showed a sharp increase in the number of churchgoers or those that considered themselves believers in God. Several studies show that personal prayer is more of a reality in individual's lives when faced with stressful or depressing situations. Even worse are those that are on "God's side" when "his blessings" favor them and their lives go well, but at the slightest onset of opposition, they become God-hating individuals.

Where do we stand on this spectrum? Do we consider God a friend because of the personal satisfaction that we get out of it? Is He our "go-to" individual because we know we can get blessings from Him while things are going well in our lives? Do we claim to worship God, but fail to supplicate ourselves to Him or follow His commandments while our lives are relatively opposition free? Are we "Sunday-only" worshipers - going to Church when mandated where we live, but then coming home immediately and changing out of our Sunday best and forgetting about him until the next?

If we are any of these things, we have improvements to make. The type of friend we must be to God is the type of friend that He is to us! We must have that feeling in our hearts that our friendship with Him is to further his glory and development - as Christ's work and glory was and is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of mankind, our work and glory is to keep the commandments with all our heart, might, mind and strength (Doctrine and Covenants 11:20) and at the same time serve those around us with godly-intent in our hearts. The conditions upon us being granted the blessing of baptism and subsequent cleansing of our souls mandates that we must be willing to mourn with those that mourn, stand in comfort of those that stand in need of comfort - in all places that we may be (Mosiah 18). Christ himself said during his mortal ministry that "inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these my brethren, ye do it unto me."

More than serving others, we must also fulfill our Church responsibilities and callings, share the gospel with others, and communicate personally with our Savior on a regular basis - not just when we feel that we can gain a blessing from doing so, or in some form be granted a modicum of salvation from the trials that are befalling our lives at the time. We must not carry a utilitarian or a self-serving motive in our hearts if we are to have a proper relationship with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ. Instead, we must be mindful of the furthering of their kingdom and be happy that we are doing so. Anything less requires us to make improvements in our lives until we are in compliance with this standard.

There you have it everyone! Enjoy! Signing out!