UNEQUIVOCAL UNIVERSAL LOVE

With thoughts of the Savior’s birth being stimulated by every song we hear, every decoration we see and every greeting we exchange it would be difficult to not include thoughts about the Lord’s work in my Thoughts for a Sabbath Day.

As the vast majority of my days have been spent reading, speaking and thinking about various aspects or doctrines contained in the Lord’s Gospel or His birth, life, mission and Atonement it is difficult to say what the greatest impact Jesus the Christ has been on my progress.

If I were forced to choose what mighty change, which for me has come at a mighty slow rate, has been wrought upon me because the Lord has been such a significant part of my daily doings, it would be my coming to believe in a universal brotherhood and sisterhood, that all mankind are offspring of Universal and Eternal Parents and that the most important characteristic we can develop is unequivocal love for all.

Although my journey has been at times more halting than continual and contained more detours than staying on course, it is possible to outline the most direct course towards unequivocal universal love for others.

As you love thyself

This first step in conversion to unequivocal universal love may be the easiest step for some, but as we witness, it is also the most difficult for many. This step is pronounced in the second part of the Lord’s referenced command, ‘love thyself’.

I must love myself including all my warts, flaws and weaknesses.

I must love myself when others attempt to make me feel unloved.

I must love myself in lonely hours.

I must understand that I am a child of God and deserve love.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor

This second step in conversion to unequivocal universal love is on such a slippery slope that most of us find ourselves doing the one step forward and two steps backward quite often during our trials. The most dangerous thing that can happen in this trial is to believe you have conquered the fears, prejudices and pride which handicap all of us as we attempt to love every neighbor.

Much like being the good Samaritan it doesn’t matter who bears the label of neighbor, I must love.

My neighbor’s choices and actions do not determine my love for them.

It is not enough to love those neighbors who first showed love to me.

Love of neighbor must overcome being despitefully used.

Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, might and mind

The apostle John taught us that if we hate our neighbor and say we love God, we are liars and the truth is not in us. One of the great ironies of life is how often we find ourselves proclaiming we love God, but in very short order an unkind word about one of our Heaven Bound brothers or sisters comes out of our mouths.

I must understand I cannot say I have unequivocal love for God while I harbor any degree of hatred for a neighbor.

I will find my love for God increasing in harmony with the increase expansion of my circle of love for brothers and sisters.

If I am to move forward in my quest to have the same degree of unequivocal universal love which allowed the Savior to complete his Atoning sacrifice for all then I must continually include more neighbors in my circle of loved ones.

If the barometer measuring those whom I love is lowering rather than rising, I will likewise find myself finding corresponding changes in the level of my love for God.
I have often thought the Savior could easily have said all the laws and prophets hang on this one commandment.

Because if I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind and soul it will be as a result of me having developed an unequivocal universal love for all my neighbors.

Likewise, if I have developed an unequivocal universal love for my neighbor I will have come to love God with all my heart, mind and Soul.

It seems my love for God and my love for my neighbor are connected with an unbreakable law.

I finish this Thought with some excepts from the book of Enos, which I believe is an extended allegory teaching us about the importance of traversing the pathway leading us to have unequivocal universal love, which in turn will bring us to a complete love for God. In Enos’ testimony it is easy for us to see how tightly are knitted the principles of love for my neighbor and love for God.

I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away. And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them. And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.

And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites. And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith. And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation.

As in all our tests in mortality we will probably find ourselves ebbing and flowing in our attempt to come to having the attribute of unequivocal universal love become a permanent part of our being, but the Lord is constant in His counsel that we not be faint in our efforts.

We must forever remember that our Heavenly Father is unwavering in His Eternal Love and Jesus the Christ without exception demonstrated His Universal Love through His Atoning sacrifice. Never forget it is we who are in the process of staggering towards having unequivocal universal love.

This is another one of those principles whose perfection will be found wanting during mortality, which gives us one more reason to be grateful that eternity is a very long time.

WISHING YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY