The Commandment to Love

Ever since I was little, with rules and chores and laws imposed by parents, society and governments, I've been fascinated by Matthew's account of the cunning Pharisee who tried to test the Savior by asking Him which commandment was greatest. The savior put him to shame and answered as simply and clearly as he could: 1st Love God with all your heart, soul and mind. 2nd Love your neighbor as your self.

As a child I was very interested to find that all we have to do is obey two commandments. Could it really be that simple? I wondered. 

As I matured and my understanding of the gospel grew, I realized the truth: it is that simple, and that difficult.

You see, each of the commandments has it's root in those two commandments. For Example: 

•Don't steal - if you Love your neighbor then you won't steal from them. But if you express your gratitude to God for all you have, you won't have the desire to steal, either.

•Don't take the Lord's name in vain - of course if you love God you wouldn't do that. But if you loved your neighbor then you wouldn't be likely to blaspheme or use foul language around them either.

I've since come to realize that the reason to obey every commandment is built upon those two commandments. Of course Jesus taught this in his mortal ministry, "if ye love me, keep my commandments".  

John taught that if we love God, then we keep His commandments-and that since we love Him, the commandments are not grevious or hard to do (1 John 3:5)

Could it really be all about love? 

What about tithing? If we love God then it is easy to give back 10%. And if we love our neighbor, we want a place for them to worship-be it for our immediate neighbor or our neighbors in 3rd World Countries.

What about modesty? If we love God then we cherish this gift we call a body. We also seek to use it to glorify God, not draw attention to ourselves. If we love our neighbor, then we wouldn't want to impose our immodesty on anyone.

I could go on and on. 

So . . . . What? How does this help? Does this help? Does it change anything?

That's up to you. What does it mean to you that all the commandments are based on love? How does that change your attitude on all the rules, laws, commandments and principles? How important is love?

 It's all about love. Can you see why Moroni taught that we should all pray to God with all the energy of our soul to be filled with love? Why John taught that God is Love, and that we should be as he is? Is it any wonder that Satan has blinded the eyes of the people to believe that lust is love, and that selfishness is the way to happiness? He too knows that Love is the Answer, and he'll do anything he can to hide it.