Seminary Paper


Danielle Nicole Bozarth

Period # 4

                  

  Understanding the Love of Christ


I have been blessed immensely in my life to have been given  a testimony of the love that my savior, Jesus Christ, has for me. “It is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.”(1 Nephi 11:22)

I have felt that love engulf me as if it were a title wave. It has been there in my most utter moments  of sorrow, it has been there in the most joyful moments of my life.  Just recently I have learned the importance of understanding that love and possessing the blessing of  sharing that love.

I have learned  three main steps;


Love for   Christ
Love from Christ
3. Love like Christ


First and foremost, love for Christ;  We must “… love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut. 6:5)   We must have that motivation, that  desire. Only through that can we gain minuscule understanding, although we can never fully comprehend the love he has for us.  “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Gordon B. Hinckley said, “For it is as we tap into the power of love that we come to understand the great truth written by John: ”God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God”(1John 4:16)


Second, Love from Christ; How do we gain his love? In John 15:9 and 10 we read, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Fathers commandments, and abide in his love.” I know, simply, that the only way I can feel Christ’s love is through keeping his commandments. It works the same way in order to share that love. We must become his disciples, We must do all that he has asked. “ …I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the Lord thy God shall bless thee ...” (Deut. 30:16)  We must become our most Christ-like to gain  that  blessing.


Third, Love like Christ; Elder C. Max Caldwell Of the Seventy says; “Jesus’ love was inseparably connected to and resulted from his life of serving, sacrificing, and giving in behalf of others. We cannot develop Christ-like love except by practicing the process prescribed by the Master.” In order to become his disciples, his followers,  we must give our lives as he gave his. President Hinckley said, “ …This remarkable and miraculous process  occurs in our own lives as we reach out with charity to serve others. Each of us can, with effort, successfully root the virtue of deep love in our beings so that we may be nourished by its great power all of our lives.” The saviors wish for you is to know his love and give it. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48)


People who have charity have a love for the Savior, have received of his love, and love others as he does.

The Apostle John affirmed the process by saying, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” ( 1 Jn. 3:16 .) Through his compliance with the severe requirements of the Atonement, the Savior offered the ultimate expression of love. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” ( John 15:13 .) And by permitting his Son to make such a selfless and suffering sacrifice, the Father provided us with an ultimate expression of his love as his gift to the rest of his children. This gift of charity is to be received. The Savior’s act of redemption for our sins is of no effect without our willingness to comply with the conditions of his atonement. “ Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” (Moroni  7:47)