4. To love God

Status: Active

"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." ~ Deuteronomy 6:5

 What does it mean to truly love God?  We are commanded to love him with all of our emotion, thought process, and physical action.  If we truly love God, we will keep his commandments.  Despite our imperfections and weaknesses we are commanded to continually change our will to the Lord's will.  The Lord's will is given to us via the scriptures and the commandments.

The focus of all commandments, and all scripture is that of repentance.  The message of Jesus Christ and all his holy prophets is repentance. "Repentance implies that a person turns away from evil and turns his heart and will to God, submitting to God’s commandments and desires and forsaking sin. True repentance comes from a love for God and a sincere desire to obey his commandments." If we love God, we will repent by changing our will to that of the Lord's, and obey his commandments. We will obey his definition of good and evil and not our own. Repentance is inherit in the message the scriptures convey.

While the commandment to repent is inherent in Deuteronomy 6:5, it is more explicitly stated here:

"Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent." 

~ Doctrine and Covenants 133:16

When we sin, the penalty is death. If we choose, Christ will take upon himself our penalty. He will die in our place. This was taught in the Law of Moses. If you sinned, even in ignorance, the penalty was of course death (transferred to an animal). To teach people about the mission of Jesus Christ, an innocent lamb, without blemish was brought to the Altar of Burnt Offerings. You would place your hands upon the lamb and press your weight down upon it. It would then be slaughtered because of your sin. Your punishment is transferred to the Lamb.

You are now able to devote your life to the Lord and reconciling your will to His. Any violation of any single one of the laws given by the Lord warrants death. The need of Christ in your life is never ending. While we can never physically accomplish the task, we can do so in our willingness. The Lord judges us by the intent of our heart. When we are truly willing to do all that the Lord has asked, we have made a sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit. We have given up our will to the will of the Father. Christ makes up for the infinite difference.

To love God means to repent.  To repent means to obey his law, and keep his commandments.  How can we obey if we do not know the commandments?  Studying the scriptures is a form of repentance.  God loves us, and wants us to become like Him.  The process is not easy, but there is nothing of greater worth.