"The Love Of God"- My Talk

This is a talk I gave not to long ago in Sacrament meeting. I have to write it all out or I end up not saying the things I want to, so I thought I'd share it on my blog :) 

I was assigned to speak on an excellent talk, given by Elder Uchtdorf in the October 2009 General Conference titled “The Love of God”. He opens his talk by listing things that we as LDS people are typically known for. Then he asks what attribute *should* define us as members. His answer is this:

“Let us be known as a people who love God with all our heart, soul and mind and who love our neighbor as ourselves. When we understand and practice these two great commandments in our families, in our wards and branches, in our nations, and in our daily lives, we will begin to understand what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus the Christ.”

Matthew 22 tells us the story of Christ as he is being questioned by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Beginning in v. 36 the Pharisees ask Christ:
36- Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37- Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.
38- This is the first and great commandment.
39- And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40- On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

As I was re-reading these verses I was struck by how simple and profound that last verse is “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” It seems like the Beatles had it right, and all you need really is love 

As we increase in our love for our Heavenly Father, it naturally follows that we want to serve him, follow his commandments, communicate with him through prayer and receive answers through the Spirit.

Elder Uchtdorf teaches:
“How clearly the Savior spoke when He said that every other commandment hangs upon the principle of love. If we do not neglect the great laws- if we truly learn to love our Heavenly Father and our fellowman with all our heart, soul and mind- all else will fall into place.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught us “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines our actions and who we are. If we love God, we will seek for things that are pleasing to him and have great joy.

In Moroni 10:32, Moroni teaches us that it is through our love of God that we can be perfected:

“Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ…”

In his talk, Elder Uchtdorf asks: “Why should we love God? God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny or even defile his name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval or admiration. No, God does not need us to love him, but oh, how we need to love God!”

He later teaches how increasing our love for Heavenly Father blesses our lives. He said
“We increase our love for our Heavenly Father and demonstrate that love by aligning our thoughts and actions with God’s word. His pure love directs and encourages us to become more pure and holy. It inspires us to walk in righteousness- not out of fear or obligation but out of an earnest desire to become even more like Him because we love Him.”

The apostle John taught us in 1 John 4:16
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

As we seek to increase our love of God, we can feel his presence more readily and have his Spirit to be with us. He promises us in D&C 88:63 that if we draw near to him, he will draw near unto us.

Actively working to increase our love for God helps us to feel his love more and that in turn can help us know how to love and help others. There is a great example of this in the July Ensign:

A woman was heartbroken when her husband told her that he no longer believed in the gospel and that he didn’t even really know that God existed. She described the heartbreak as being “nearly unbearable”. After praying for help and understanding she finally received this answer: “Just love him”.

Her answer was to essentially apply the same unconditional love that God has for each of us to her struggling husband had a profound impact in her life and their marriage.

She says:
“As I seek to love my husband more each day, the Savior’s love seems to permeate my heart, causing it to expand with a deeper love than I have ever known. From my point of view, the overall feeling of love and the occurrence of spiritual experiences have been strengthened both in our relationship and in our home.”

Just like this sister learned we first feel the love our Heavenly Father has for us which prompts us to grow in our love for him. As we grow in our love for Him, we begin on the path to true discipleship, which includes the second great commandment- that we love our neighbors.

The Savior taught this principle in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Serving others with love can teach us so much. By serving with love, we can appreciate and understand God’s love for us more.

When you serve someone, you gain appreciation for how God loves us and cares for us. I have felt this in my own experience as a Relief Society President. After I was called and set apart, I found that I felt an increase of love for the sisters in our ward. Because I feel that love, I find that I want to see each sister is taken care of and for her, in turn, to feel the Savior’s love for her. The bonus for me is that by feeling that love makes serving the sisters in our ward a joy and I’m grateful for the blessing that it is in my life.

Elder Uchtdorf says: “When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden.”

Brothers and Sisters, I testify to you that Heavenly Father loves us. There is evidence in the beauty and abundance of this Earth. He gave us our bodies and a plan that will allow us to become like him one day. He gives us families and friends to love, and blessings to make our lives comfortable. He sends the Holy Ghost to comfort us and teach us. He gives us music and scriptures.

I know that if we let ourselves feel and appreciate his love for us, we will find that we have a desire to obey him and keep his commandments. By actively working to love him more and learn of him, we will find direction in our lives. I know that when we align our priorities with Him and set our heart on heavenly treasures, we will find joy and peace, no matter what life throws at us.

Elder Uchtdorf says “As we draw near to Heavenly Father, we become more holy. As we become more holy, we will overcome disbelief and our soul will be filled with His blessed light.”

Brothers and Sisters, I’m grateful for that light, and the times and opportunity I have had to feel it myself. I am grateful for the joy that I find in the gospel and in doing what is right.

I know that God loves each of us, no matter our choices or circumstance. He wants whats very best and happiest for us- to return to be like Him. I testify that as we love Him and follow his commandments, we will find happiness and a desire to love and serve others.

An inspiring and good read....

My friend Shellie (she was also the RS prez before me) wrote a couple of really good, thought-provoking blog posts on Courage.  They are well worth a read, and since I'm not coming up with anything too inspiring to write lately, I thought I'd send you there :)

Courage
Courage pt 2

So True...

"Should a parent need added inspiration to commence his God-given teaching task, let him remember that the most powerful combination of emotions in the world is not called out by any grand cosmic event nor found in novels or history books—but merely by a parent gazing down upon a sleeping child."
Thomas S. Monson, "Only a Teacher: A Personal Observation," Ensign, May 1973, 27

blurry phone camera shot- it's quieter than the SLR

Well Worth a Read

I'm so blessed to have a wonderful friend who is my example in all things spiritual. I hope to be like her (even a little bit) one day. I'm always amazed at her perspective and knowledge on spiritual matters. It also helps that she is a much, much better writer than I'll ever be.

She just posted a blog about her thoughts on Elder Packer's confrence talk and the uproar following it. It is well worth a read since it is well-written and articulates my thoughts on the issue as well. Please also read at least the first two comments.
http://mormonandhappy.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-i-believe-about-president-packers.html

A testimony

Thanks to Jenn's heads up, I signed up for "Daily Gems" to be delivered to my email every day. It makes for an awesome way to start my work day. You can sign up here.

A couple of days ago, this quote was the "Family Gem" quote of the day:

"Men and women joined together in marriage need to work together as a full partnership. However, a full and equal partnership between men and women does not imply the roles played by the two sexes are the same in God's grand design for His children. As the proclamation clearly states, men and women though spiritually equal, are entrusted with different but equally significant roles."
~M. Russell Ballard, "The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood," Ensign, Mar. 2006, 29

I have a testimony of this divine view of equality between men and women. Women and men have unique roles that each play in our families and lives. I believe that we have been blessed with gifts and talents that help us fulfill these roles. When I stop and think about it, I'm amazed at how perfect and inspired it is.

I think you can see evidence of it not only in our families, but in the organization of the church. Many non-LDS women see that organization as patriarchal and oppressive to women but I think anyone who has been in a RS or Primary Presidency would agree that women have as much leadership ability and contribute equally at all levels of organiztion of the church.

However, just as Elder Ballard says- there needs to be a full and equal partnership between men and women. I think this applies in more than just the family relationship. I think that this idea of "equality" can apply to our greater society. Women should have equal opportunities and treatment as men when it comes to education and careers. Just as it is inappropriate for men to excersize "unrighteous dominion" in their marriage, they shouldn't do the same outside of it either.

As I was trying (unsuccessfully) to find a quote about this topic that our Bishop used in his Mother's day talk I came accross this 1991 Confrence talk given by President Hinkley on this topic in general. If you are interested at all I would encourage you to read it- it is pretty short and there was too much good stuff to pull out as a quote. It is called "Daughters of God".