Christlike Love

Matthew, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote about the Pharisee and lawyer who asked Christ which is the greatest of all the commandments. The Savior answered “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.... And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22: 36, 37, and 39)

President Thomas S. Monson (Prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) said “We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. Likewise, we cannot fully love our fellowmen if we do not love God, the Father of us all. The Apostle John tells us, 'This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also' (1 John 4:21). We are all spirit children of our Heavenly Father and, as such, are brothers and sisters. As we keep this truth in mind, loving all of God’s children will become easier.”

Many people, especially now-a-days, like to claim that those who do not profess a love of God at all and claim he does not exist are more loving than those who say they love God and want to follow Him. This belief seems incorrect to me. First, it is important to remember we are all on this earth to learn and grow and none of us are perfect. Not one of us has quite perfected loving others or God as Christ did. So will we always treat others with perfect kindness and charity? The answer is no. But I believe those who love God with everything in them will come closer than those who do not. Wait, what, why?

Because those who love God with everything in them, want to serve Him and keep His commandments. They understand who they are -children of God. Therefore, they understand who their fellow travelers are -children of God, brothers and sisters. Without this understanding, individuals cannot fully love their neighbors, especially not as they love themselves. Because they have not learned who they truly are yet, and do not fully love themselves yet. It is all intertwined.

God's love for all of His children is perfect, eternal, and unconditional. He will love us no matter what we choose to do here on earth. However, it is important to state that to love does not mean to approve, condone, or permit. His love never goes away, but there are consequences for our actions. If not so God would cease to be God. He has said no unclean thing can enter His presence. Therefore, He expects us to become clean. The way to cleanliness is through the Atoning sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. We are all sinners and therefore unclean, but the way has been provided for us to repent and forsake our sins that we may be made clean through the blood of the Savior of mankind.

A common problem today is that we do not want to be told we are sinners. We want to be patted on the head and told that we are just fine the way we are, that we are already perfect. We want to believe that if there is a god, he created us as good as we are going to get, or as perfect as he wants us to be. This is the “love” we desire from others. However, the purpose of this life is to improve and learn to love and obey as the only perfect living soul on the earth did, even Jesus Christ.

How do we learn this love? First, perfection is not anything we can achieve in the fallen world we live in, but we can become better and better as we continue to try. Jesus has shown us so many examples of how to love correctly, righteously. If we follow His example we will be well on our way.

One of my favorite stories of Jesus Christ showing His perfect love is when he was just 12 years old. He, His family and extended family had traveled to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. At the end of the celebration all His family started the journey home, after a day of traveling His parents realized that He was not in the group. They traveled another day back to Jerusalem and spent three days in search of Him. They eventually found Him in the temple teaching those who would listen. When they found Him they asked “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us, behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” Jesus answered “How is it that ye sought me, wist ye (know ye) not that I must be about my Father's (God's) business?” Then the scriptures say that Joseph and Mary didn't understand the saying, and Jesus went with them home and became subject unto them (under their control).

What I love about this story is that according to Jewish tradition, He was almost the age of a man and yet he acted in humility and out of love for His parents. He knew they didn't understand quite yet all that He was called to do. He understood the responsibility they felt toward Him that weighed heavily on them, and instead of being a teenager and arguing with them, He loved them as much as He loved Himself. He showed that love by putting their need to take care of Him before any desire to argue His side. For Him, it was not about making sure everyone understood He was in the right, it was about honoring His parents, keeping the 5th commandment.

Another great example from the life of Jesus Christ is the woman taken in adultery. Here, a woman is brought before Him caught in the very act of adultery, no other proof is needed to determine her sin. The law at the time is death by stoning for those whose crimes are so grievous. The Pharisees ask Jesus what will He do. Jesus does not answer right away, but when He does, He asks them to consider their own sins. He asks them to go ahead and stone her if they are without sin. They answer by saving her life and slowly walking away. Jesus speaks to her with love and a commandment. He asks her “where are those, thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee.” She answered that no man had and he said “Neither do I condemn thee, go, and sin no more.” The love He showed was saving her life and allowing her time to repent. The condemnation He was speaking of was death. He did not condemn her to death, and neither did her accusers when Christ pointed out that they were sinners as well. However, He did not say “you are forgiven”, or “you're fine, keep doing what you are doing.” He commanded her to repent when He said “go, and sin no more.”

Love is pointing others to the path of repentance. The path that leads to eternal life, happiness, and peace. Many feel that Christians teaching the Bible and the truth they have found to others is not love, but IT IS. It is what Christ did and what He asked His followers to do. If we teach with love and patience then we are following the example of our Savior. If we yell, condemn others to hell, or Bible bash, we have no love or charity. Love is founded upon righteousness, compassion, kindness, and unselfishness. Is it about lifting and helping others. It is not about who is right and who is wrong, it is about helping others find their true best selves.

It is also about not giving up when others think they already are their best selves, but through kindness and compassion serving and loving them until they can catch a vision of themselves as you see them and as God sees them.

So a tough question to ask when discussing love Is: “Is it love to support traditional marriage?” or as the world sees it “Is it love not to support same-sex marriage?”

Yes! It is love if we are doing it because we sincerely love God, His ways, all of His children, who they are and who they are to become, and who we are and who we are to become. It is love when we see the big eternal picture and know that those choices cannot bring about happiness, but that it will bring destruction and misery to all who follow that path. It is love to support righteousness and to decry evil. It is absolutely love to make sin undesirable and righteousness desirable and easy to follow after.

Is it inequality? Yes! Because sin and righteousness are not equal. They do not bring about equal results nor do they support one another. Where one is rampant the other is restrained. The conflict between the two comes to a head when the numbers on each side start to equal one another. Then people start to fight for their side and try to sway others from their beliefs. When one side wins and restrains the other the conflict subsides, until the pendulum swings again.

Alma, a prophet in The Book of Mormon, teaches us “And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men” (Alma 28:13). 

What we have to decide is which side is worth fighting for. For those who follow Jesus Christ and read and study the scriptures the decision is relatively easy. The outcome is known. No matter how much the side of sin and unrighteousness seems to be winning, the conflict will end with Christ fighting for His people. Those who fight against Him and His people are destroyed. “This is the inequality of man because of sin.” Some will be raised to inherit eternal glory, some will be raised to inherit some other glory, and a few will inherit no glory at all.

The justice of God is fair and right. Eventually, all will see and proclaim that fact. It will be much better for us all if we can come to this conclusion here on Earth and repent so that mercy can have claim on us.

Love is working for God's ways and working to help bring His children home to Him. We cannot truly love others if we do not first truly love and serve the Father of us all. We cannot truly love The Father if we do not love His children. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I Did it For Them or so I Thought

It has been about 6 to 8 years now, but I remember very clearly the prompting that came to me one day. I was told that my children needed daily scripture study. I started reading the scriptures to them during breakfast. These past several years of daily scripture study was for my kids, to build their testimonies and instill in them a love of the word of God. It was all for them or so I thought.

About 4 years ago I was in a Stake conference and the subject of a talk was temple work. We were admonished in this talk to attend the temple as often as possible, not once a month which had been the counsel. I felt impressed that with older children and my youngest at the age of 3 that I could set up play dates and attend the temple once a week. I made a new year resolution to attend the temple once a week. I had a really good friend who was willing to take my 3 year old each week for the 3 hours I was at the temple. I was excited, I could help 52 people throughout that year if I was diligent and kept my goal. I was doing it all for those people who had died and couldn't do the work themselves... or so I thought.

In the fall of 2012 I started back to college after 17 years. I had felt impressed months earlier that it was time to go back. So I filled out applications, took tests, and ordered transcripts so I could finish my education. I had had a baby in November of 2010 my first boy and 5th child. School seemed a little overwhelming, but I felt that this was what Heavenly Father wanted me to be doing so I waded in. I started with online classes and a Saturday class my first semester. You've probably started to wonder what this has to do with the first two paragraphs of this post.

As classes started, I was surprised to find my conservative beliefs, my traditional marriage style (being a stay at home mom), and my religious beliefs attacked. It was extremely frustrating to read in different textbooks that I was wrong, resistant to change and progress, and very old fashioned.

I lack confidence in myself and generally feel that I am in the wrong if my ways disagree with others, especially many many others. I found myself critically looking at was I was reading and learning along with what I have believed and known to be true all of my life. I started questioning many things. My most difficult class, that tested me the most, was my anthropology class which I took my second semester. The textbook attacked the Bible, religion in general, women's roles, and mankind and their origin as I understood it. It was a testimony shaking class for me. It led me to ponder and ask many questions.

Fortunately, our ward Sunday School teacher had had a similar class and had some of the same questions and struggles I was having. He mentioned a little bit of his struggle in a class one Sunday, so afterward I asked him about it more in depth. The things he shared with me that had helped him made so much sense to me. Also President Uchdorf had given a CES fireside around this time. His talk was called “What is Truth”. When I had listened to it the first time, I was thinking of it in context of religious beliefs, but after talking with my Sunday school teacher and his wife, I saw it in context of science, religion, and anything that lays claim to truth. I was able to read and study words of the prophets, scriptures, and to pray for answers and help. I was able to find confidence in my differences. After all, if I was so different from my secular learning, I had to be doing something right, right? ;) I was able to really strengthen my testimony.

My testimony had never been tried as hard as it was during this first year of school. My friends were LDS, I was a stay at home mom in Utah. It was easy to be LDS. I also had had many evidences of God in my life that made it easy to believe in God, Jesus Christ, and in Their church because it had brought me so much peace and happiness. During my struggles I understood that I really had two choices, hold on to what I believed and continue on in happiness and peace, or let it go and stop doing all of the things that I knew to be right and which I knew was the source of my peace and happiness and live in darkness, sorrow, and uncertainty. The choice was really a no-brainer, even though the struggle was real. The struggle made me stronger and a fighter.

My second year I took a philosophy class where my religious beliefs came under attack again. This time I didn't question what I knew to be true, but with every paper I wrote for that class, I bore testimony of God and the purpose of our lives and my last paper was all about my Savior Jesus Christ and His teachings.

Now back to the first two paragraphs. The scriptures and temple attendance were not only for my kids and those who had died. Heavenly Father had and has a plan for me and knew the struggles I would face, because he knows me, my personality, and my lack of confidence. He prepared me for school. It was for me, as well as for the others.

Without that preparation, the filling my lamp with oil, I could be telling a different story, a story of loss, of confusion, and of suffering. Fortunately, my loving Heavenly Father knew what I needed, and through His spirit, was leading and guiding me to spiritual light and knowledge and a foundation built on my Savior Jesus Christ. Helaman counseled “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

It is so important to nourish our testimonies with daily prayer and scripture study and regular temple attendance. These things will get us through times of struggle, questions, and trouble. Heavenly Father has given us tools to help us stay on the strait and narrow path, but they can't benefit us if we ignore them. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

To King David, God Will Be as Merciful as Justice Allows

Last week in Gospel Doctrine class at church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) we talked about King David and his fall. The question of his forgiveness or seemingly lack of it was raised. My thoughts have wondered to that question many times throughout the week. I know that David will receive as much mercy as can be given without robbing justice (Alma 42).  I loved the explanations given in the Old Testament Student manual (institute) on the subject:

"Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, commenting on David’s sin, said: “David committed a dreadful crime, and all his life afterwards sought for forgiveness. Some of the Psalms portray the anguish of his soul; yet David is still paying for his sin. He did not receive the resurrection at the time of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter declared that his body was still in the tomb, and the Prophet Joseph Smith has said, ‘David sought repentance at the hand of God carefully with tears, for the murder of Uriah; but he could only get it through hell: he got a promise that his soul should not be left in hell.’ Again we ask: Who wishes to spend a term in hell with the devil before being cleansed from sin?” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:74.)...

"Consider that David was destined for exaltation, destined to rule in heaven forever and ever as a Creator and a God to his future children. As the Lord said, there is no greater gift that He could offer a man than eternal life (see D&C 6:13). David had it within his grasp, and then, in a foolish attempt to hide his sin, sent a man to his death. Had he even come to himself after his transgression with Bath-sheba and sought repentance as sincerely and earnestly as he did after Nathan’s parable, there is every indication that he could have come back and received forgiveness. It would have been difficult, but not impossible. But he did the very thing of which so many are guilty—he compounded his sin by trying to cover it up. Elder Spencer W. Kimball indicated that there is no restitution possible for murder."

“As to crimes for which no adequate restoration is possible, I have suggested … that perhaps the reason murder is an unforgivable sin is that, once having taken a life—whether that life be innocent or reprobate—the life-taker cannot restore it. He may give his own life as payment, but this does not wholly undo the injury done by his crime. He might support the widow and children; he might do many other noble things; but a life is gone and the restitution of it in full is impossible. Repentance in the ordinary sense seems futile.

“Murder is so treacherous and so far-reaching! Those who lose their possessions may be able to recover their wealth. Those defamed may still be able to prove themselves above reproach. Even the loss of chastity leaves the soul in mortality with opportunity to recover and repent and to make amends to some degree. But to take a life... cuts off the victim’s experiences of mortality and thus his opportunity to repent, to keep God’s commandments in this earth life. It interferes with his potential of having ‘glory added upon [his head] for ever and ever.’ (Abraham 3:26.)” (Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 195–96.)