Love Always-Tanner Zylstra

Love is one of the most important emotions a human being can obtain or feel. This commandment that is often preached to us can be found in the song "Love One Another". In this song, it explains how we need to love one another as Jesus love you. We are taught that we need to love everyone around us just as much as Jesus loves each one of us. In Mosiah 2: 4, King Benjamin is addressing his people and asks that they might "Keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men." In Mosiah 4: 15, it says that "But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another." In this verse, King Benjamin is explaining that children need to be taught to love and serve one another just as Jesus did. In our lives here on Earth, one of our main goals is to strive to become like Jesus. There is no better way to become like Him than by loving everyone and everything around you.

A person who has love in their life in general is a much more happy person. This love can be for anything. Whether your love is for a family member, your spouse, your friend, or for simply a hobby or sport that you enjoy it is vital to your well-being. My grandpa and grandma are a perfect example of this. My grandparents were happily married for over fifty years. They were very active and healthy until my grandma developed Alzheimer's Disease. Her health quickly declined but my grandpa's health still seemed to be better than ever. My grandma passed away a few years after being diagnosed and my grandpa was left all alone. Even though my grandpa still loved all of his children and grandchildren, he couldn't bare being apart from his wife. Because his love was so great for her, my perfectly healthy grandpa unexpectedly passed away just a few weeks after my grandma. It was very sad times for my family, but we all knew that they are happier now that they are reunited.

Throughout the scriptures it speaks of love. Perhaps the most commonly referenced scripture concerning love is Mosiah 23: 15. It says "Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them." Let's be honest, most human beings love themselves a whole lot more than we should. If we all took heed to these words and loved our enemies as much as we loved ourselves then the world would be a much better and happier place. There would be no wars, less people dying, and no one would be full of so much anger. On the other hand, I think that if there wasn't love at all the world would turn into complete chaos because no one would care about each other.

Although it is impossible to think that we can love everyone, especially our enemies, there are ways to help us. In True to the Faith, it states "Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters. The love that results from this realization has the power to transcend all boundaries of nation, creed, and color." By recognizing that we are all part of the same spiritual family it makes it much easier to love one another. True to the Faith also explains how to show love for our Heavenly Father. "We manifest our love for Heavenly Father by keeping His commandments and serving His children. Our expressions of love for others may include being kind to them, listening to them, mourning with them, comforting them, serving them, praying for them, sharing the gospel with them, and being their friend." It doesn't take much to show God and the people around us our love for them. All it takes is a little effort.

Having a love for God to me is the most important love we can obtain. In Alma 11: 24, it says "Believest thou that there is no God? I say unto you, Nay, thou knowest that there is a God, but thou lovest that lucre more than him." In this verse, we are warned of loving our money and riches so much that we will deny God. In today's day and age, it is getting extremely easy to fall in to this trap. Everywhere we look we see something that relates to money or how we can achieve a higher social status. Although it is not wrong to have worldy possessions, we need to be sure to put all our love towards things that matter and especially towards our Heavenly Father.

I know that if we fill our lives with love we will live a much more successful and happier lives. Jesus' greatest example of love for us is found in the Atonement. He suffered for each and every one of us. To not keep God's commandments and show love to all would be very selfish and ungrateful of us. As it says in Jacob 3: 2, "O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever," I know that if I always have a love for my Heavenly Father I will always know that the church is true. I am so thankful for God's love for me. I can feel it everyday.

Works Cited
1. Mosiah 23: 15
2. Mosiah 4: 15
3. Mosiah 2: 4
4. Alma 11: 24
5. http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4650-1,00.html
6. True to the Faith
7. Jacob 3: 2
8. http://www.jesuz.com/Jesus-with-children.jpg