Mandy’s Gift of Love

By Luana Willis

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12).

My name is Mandy. I’m three years old. I have a blanket that I love. I call it my “Animal Blanky” because it has animals all over it. I cuddle with it in my daddy’s lap while he rocks me in the rocking chair. Sometimes we both fall asleep. My blanky is soft and warm, and it makes me feel happy.

I like to have my blanky near me all the time. Sometimes I bring it to the dinner table. Mommy asks me to put it away until we finish eating.

When I go to bed at night, I cuddle with my blanky while Mommy tells me a story from the Book of Mormon. Once I left my blanky at my cousin’s house, and I was sad when I went to bed.

It’s hard for me to share my blanky. I have a little sister who’s two. Her name is Rachel. One night she got out of bed to go snuggle with Mommy. It was dark in the hallway, and she tripped over a stool. It made a loud bang, and she started to cry.

It woke me up. Mommy woke up too. She ran into the hallway and picked Rachel up. Rachel was crying and crying. Mommy took her into the living room and rocked her in the chair. She just kept crying, even when Mommy sang her a song.

I knew how to help her feel better. I climbed out of bed and took my blanky with me. I put it on Rachel and said, “You can use my blanky.” Then I sat down on the couch.

After a while Rachel stopped crying, and Mommy sang some quiet Primary songs. Then she put us both back into bed and spread my blanky over me.

Mommy told me that she was pleased with me and that Heavenly Father was too. She said she knew that it was hard for me to share my blanket, and that I had given Rachel a gift of love. That made me feel warm and happy too.

[illustrations] Illustrated by Susan Curtis