The Love of God, Elder D. Todd Christofferson
God loves us.
"His is a Father’s pure love—universal to all yet personal to each.”
“Our Heavenly Father loves us profoundly and perfectly. In His love, He created a plan, a plan of redemption and happiness to open to us all the opportunities and joys we are willing to receive, up to and including all that He has and is. To achieve this, He was even willing to offer His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Redeemer. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” His is a Father’s pure love—universal to all yet personal to each.”
Elder Holland - “But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed, it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, to keep seeking forgiveness for our sins and to keep extending that grace to our neighbor.”
O, Love effulgent, love divine.
What debt of gratitude is mine?
That is His offering I have part
And hold a place within His heart.
~God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the acondescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
The love of God- the tree from Lehi’s dream represented the love of God. The fruit from the tree was desirable to make one happy. And most joyous to the soul. Most desirable above all things.
Question- How have you felt the love of God in your life?
God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.
Tender mercies, answering prayers, feeling His help when we go through something hard,gratitude, service
If you want to feel more of God’s love, do more of that.
God loves you; Do you love Him?
By repenting, we can feel His love even more profoundly.
“This divine love should give us abundant comfort and confidence as we pray to the Father in the name of Christ. Not one of us is a stranger to Them. We need not hesitate to call upon God, even when we feel unworthy. We can rely on the mercy and merits of Jesus Christ to be heard.”
“Because God’s love is all-embracing, some speak of it as “unconditional,” and in their minds they may project that thought to mean that God’s blessings are “unconditional” and that salvation is “unconditional.” They are not. Some are wont to say, “The Savior loves me just as I am,” and that is certainly true. But He cannot take any of us into His kingdom just as we are, “for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence.” Our sins must first be resolved.”
After making it clear that He cannot excuse or wink at sin, the Lord assures us:
“Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”
Ours is not a religion of rationalization nor a religion of perfectionism but a religion of redemption—redemption through Jesus Christ. If we are among the penitent, with His Atonement our sins are nailed to His cross, and “with his stripes we are healed.”
When we repent and serve Him, we show our love for him.
Because They love you, They do not want to leave you “just as you are.” Because They love you, They want you to have joy and success. Because They love you, They want you to repent because that is the path to happiness. But it is your choice—They honor your agency. You must choose to love Them, to serve Them, to keep Their commandments. Then They can more abundantly bless you as well as love you.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:5
5 Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.
In acknowledging that God loves us perfectly, we each might ask, “How well do I love God? Can He rely on my love as I rely on His?”
Conclusion:
Here is the solution for our incessantly quarrelsome times—the love of God. In the golden age of Book of Mormon history following the Savior’s ministry, it is reported that “there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.”
