This week during our video call, W spent time seeing to the comfort of his stuffed animals. Here, gives a loving gaze, face to face. This was the “love lesson” of the week:
Take time to truly see and adore your loved one.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him. -Mark 10:21
When I want to understand my relationship with God, forged by covenant, my go-to article is by President Nelson. A key point revolves around the Hebrew word, hesed. This week, this paragraph stood out to me,
Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with Him. And we reciprocate with hesed for Him.
The Everlasting Covenant by President Russell M. Nelson, Liahona, October 2022.
Wait, I can reciprocate hesed (loving kindness) to God?
In other words, hesed isn’t just Heavenly Father’s role in the covenant relationship? He truly wants my love?
How, then, can I show that love?
in gratitude for God’s merciful love (hesed), we show our loyal love (emunah) by keeping His commandments.
Faith: A Bond of Trust and Loyalty by Elder Sandino Roman
So, keeping commandments is the way I show loving kindness/devotion to God. That seems obvious, now that I write it.
Elder Roman used a different Hebrew word, emunah, rather than hesed, to describe our role in the covenant relationship. What does the word, emunah mean?
The short answer is faith, but like all Hebrew words, it is rich in meaning.
So, I am to practice, hone, and create a lifestyle of action to show my love for God.
By doing, I come to know God. This is how I build a loving relationship with Him.
The process isn’t, “know then do.” The process is “do in order to know.” This is faith. This is love.
And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
Exodus 24:7
15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15
So, I can show love for God through obedience, crafting a life of faithful action.
If all of this is true, a key question is, What is the most important faithful/loving/obedient act that I can do right now?
Maybe it is to apologize to someone.
Or, it could be to share my faith with others.
Perhaps it is to praise God more and whine less.
It’s often going to be temple work.
Always, it is to acknowledge that the Savior makes a relationship with God possible.
Whatever the Spirit inspires us to do to show love for Heavenly Father today, may we do it and find rest in Him.
A question from the Doctrine and Covenants Come Follow Me curriculum:
To what can I compare commandments?
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15
What would you add to this list?
A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 14:16-24
This parable is referenced in Section 58 of the Doctrine and Covenants as the Lord uses it to teach about building Zion. (D&C 58:8-11) A key identifier of a Zion people is their focus on gathering others to the gospel feast. The servants in this parable go out and invite everyone, absolutely everyone.
How am I doing at accepting the invitation?
How am I doing at inviting others?
My favorite detail from this parable is that the Lord has prepared a wonderful feast and he wants his house filled. How parental. The older I get, the more I understand the longing for a full table with each child present. Magnify my small capacity and longing by an infinite amount and that would describe the Lord’s interest in helping all his children know that they are invited, numbered, and loved.
What was God’s will in Christ’s agony?
I have learned that Heavenly Father wants to give us experiences with his kingdom in our lives right now, not just in the afterlife. The following parables in Matthew 13 teach us how.
Life in the kingdom begins with small acts of faith and becomes a beautiful home, providing shelter and protection from the world. Others will be drawn to it, so all kinds of personalities will be in this “tree.” There is room to sit together and figure out life.
Small acts of faith bring great blessings because God is generous. The benefits of the kingdom impact all areas of life, and can bless the people within the believer’s influence.
The kingdom is the source of joy and will require the sacrifice of all worldly things to attain it.
It’s something we must seek, and nothing compares in value. It will be the pinnacle of life’s labors.
Great pains will be given to gather all, but eventually, only those who choose to obey may stay.
So, in whatever way you are experiencing the kingdom of heaven in your life: seeking answers, finding shelter, rejoicing, sacrificing, repenting, feeling pulled away from your old life…this is all part of the plan to gather you home to the Father.
I know His will for us is so, so good, so let’s hold on together.
Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
John 13:1
For years, I noticed the palms placed in the celestial room of my nearest temple. I saw them as a symbol associated with the shout of Hosanna from the Psalms and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Hosanna is used in hope and praise and means, “Please save us!”
Not too long ago, the palms in the celestial room of my temple were replaced with fig trees. Every detail of the temple can be a symbol of Christ, and these are just my reflections on the pretty plants in the room, and I don’t suggest any hidden intent in the change of greenery! The fig tree can serve as a reminder that the Savior will come again in the last days, or in other words, he answers our plea, “I’m coming!”
While we await a glorious Second Coming of the Savior when all will see him, I know when I pray for help, he is already moving to my aid. He gently reminds me that he’s coming. He’s already taken care of everything, but he is on his way to comfort me while I wait for resolution.
Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.
-President Russell M. Nelson
As I studied Joseph Smith’s First Vision this week, I made note of two words. What do you learn from the use of these words?
From President Eyring,
Joseph Smith’s experience is a pattern we can follow to recognize personal messages from God…
There may be many reasons God could speak so powerfully to young Joseph, but a primary reason was that his heart was ready.
A BROKEN HEART IS A PREPARED HEART
Joseph had a broken heart for at least two reasons. He wanted forgiveness of his sins and weaknesses, which he knew could only come through Jesus Christ. And he was desperate to know which of the contending churches was right and which he should join.
-Henry B Eyring, The First Vision: A Pattern for Personal Revelation, February 2020.
I think broken hearts are repentant and teachable, humble and malleable. I want a heart like Joseph.
In Ether 1 of the Book of Mormon it says that the prophet prayed for his family and friends who were refugees looking for a home. The Lord had compassion and told him to prepare to go to a choice land “…because this long time ye have cried unto me.” (Ether 1:43)
So, does this mean that all we need to do to get what we want is to pray long enough and hard enough?
I don’t think this is how things work. Jesus taught in the parable of the unjust judge that a corrupt official will show mercy just to be rid of someone who asks and asks for something, but God is surely better than that. (Luke 18:1-8)
I don’t think that the brother of Jared wearied the Lord or wore him down with requests so he finally said, fine, have what you want. I think this story illustrates how prayer makes us ready to receive the huge blessings that the Lord already has waiting for us.
In other words, prayer doesn’t chip away at the Lord’s iron will to withhold blessings. Rather, prayer chips away at our own wills and our pride, and helps prepare us to level up in understanding and joy.
After all, we pray to a God who knows our needs before they are spoken. (Matthew 6:33) So, prayer isn’t about informing Him of needs, but connecting with Him.
Please don’t let your prayers sound like a shopping list. The Lord’s perspective transcends your mortal wisdom.
President Russell M Nelson
Prayer is the vehicle for us to understand that God is there. He gets us. He will bless us in ways that will ultimately help us return to Him, and often that means He doesn’t remove every pain right away.
Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses- yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen!
President Russell M Nelson
Pray to have eyes to see God’s hand in your life and in the world around you. Ask him to tell you if He is really there-if He knows you. Ask him how He feels about you. And then listen.
President Russell M Nelson
I pray for an evolving list of people by name, but I have changed how I pray for them. I used to kind of whine and beg. Okay, I still do that sometimes. But, more and more, prayer has become the moment in the day where I can tell God that I trust Him with these precious people and that I trust His wisdom and His power to help. Sometimes during prayer I will quote a scripture of praise. This has been a helpful shift in how I approach my Father in Heaven in prayer.
One morning last week, my second counselor and I made a visit to a ward Primary leader. We were with her for about a half an hour and I shared a scripture and we prayed together before we said goodbye. As we walked to the car, I was feeling good until we saw the dog.
This large, unleashed dog saw us at the same moment that we saw him and he charged toward us to greet us. I have childhood trauma from mean dogs, and I never want to see a large dog running toward me, friendly or not. So, I was definitely not at my best when I saw this happy? savage? dog running straight for us. “I don’t like anything about this,” I said, and Barbara tried to divert the dog’s attention from me. (Bless her.)
But the owner of the dog was also there, unseen on his skateboard in the street. He ran over to fetch his friendly dog. Still, I hadn’t started breathing yet, and the fight-or-flight chemicals in my veins definitely continued to react.
But then I really looked at the young man. I recognized him! He had been on Tim’s ultimate Frisbee team before the pandemic. And in that moment I knew that I needed to be a friend to him.
I began where I was, flustered, not quite myself, and said, “I know you!”
And suddenly, I remembered his name, and then we were having a surprisingly vulnerable conversation about church. Church!
When he said he wasn’t part of our church, the words, “That’s just fine, we love you all,” came out of my mouth. The young man swept back his hair and we talked for a few more minutes.
“Did I just tell this young man that we loved him?” was the shaming thought that came to my mind as we left the scene. But as more hours and days have passed, I have realized that the words I spoke were really not my own. I also remembered that some of my favorite stories of Jesus happened during unexpected meetings. The woman with an issue of blood was not his original focus or destination, and neither was the Samaritan woman, but these “scenes by the wayside” show his disciples the perfect pattern:
Take time to talk to someone. Be real. Offer hope. Share love. The people you meet by the wayside might just be the ones you are meant to talk to that day.