The Love of God

Andrew gave the lesson in EQ at the beginning of the month and in his preparation we reviewed the lesson together and I thought it was a great topic.

He gave it on a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf titled, The Love of God.

I had started this post that day but had abaoned it until I was reading the conferance edition of the Ensign this morning and came to his talk so I decided to finish what I started.

Preparing for this lesson got us thinking, does our life reflect what we truly believe?

A memorable quote by Ghandi was:

My life is my message"...

Andrew started his lesson with some random tombstone inscriptions that we thought were pretty funny.

Here lies a man names Zeke, second fastest draw in Cripple Creel

-Gunfighter, Silver City, Nevada

Here lies the body of Jonathon Blake.

Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.

--Jonathon Blake, Uniontown, Pennyslvania

Everybody love somebody sometime.

-Dean Martin

Here lies the body of our Ana,

gone teh death by a banana

It wasn't the fault of the fruit that laide her low, but the skin of the thing that made her go.
--Anna Hopewell, Enosburg Falls, Vermont.

"That's all folks."
-- Mel Blanc

Food for Thought:

What will we be known for when our time has past?

Below are parts of the talk and lesson that Andrew gave that I especially loved.When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align.

Why should we Love God?

...the greatest of all good things is God. Our Father in Heaven has given us, His children, much more than any mortal mind can comprehend...He offers his children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge until we receive a fullness of joy. He has promised us all that He has. I love that, He has promised us all that He has.

How Can We Increase Our Love of God?

We increase our love of 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 earnest desire to become even more like Him because we love Him. By doing so, we can become "born again...and cleansed by blood, even the blood of the Only Begotten; that we might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory.

My dear brothers and sisters, don't get discourage if you stuble at times. Don't feel downcast or despair if you don't feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times.

The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try.

We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you.

Why Is Love the Great Commandment?

The divine love of God turns ordinary acts into extraordinary service. Divine love is the motive that transports simple words into sacred scripture. Divine love is the factor that transforms reluctant compliance with God’s commandments into blessed dedication and consecration.

Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder.

Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship.

Love is the way of the disciple.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:2-3)

In this world where people doubt God and rationalize the things that they do I think it is important to remember The Love of God and to always be taking baby steps to perfection because what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do. And what we think and do determines who we are-and who we will become.