In the latest Gilead graduation video, at around 1 hour, 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the speaker says that "being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable".
Nice. Shame he doesn't quote the source (doesn't even say the WT phrase "it was once said"). A quick google attributes it to David W. Ausburger in his book "Caring enough to be heard: How to hear and how to be heard in equal communication".
The funny thing is that this flies in the face of shunning. Shunning is a "cruel and unusual punishment", precisely for this reason. How can refusing to speak with someone (or listen to them) be equated with love if this statement is true?!