On the Primacy of Love
I have it on good spiritual authority that there are only two commandments: to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Matthew 22:36-40. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul lists many of the indicia of religious involvement, but says they are meaningless without love. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
The Pharisees of Jesus’ time had built a “fence” around the law, hedging it in with additional commandments, but sometimes forgetting the original meaning of the thing they sought to protect. Likewise, Mormons have a lot of rules and social norms that were created with the best of intentions, to help people show love to God and to fellow human beings.
As I return to the faith, my job now is to prayerfully determine which of these rules help me love God and others, and which have outlived their usefulness. I do this not in the spirit of pride, but following guidance that we should study things out in our minds and then ask God about them with an open heart. D&C 9:8.
Finally, on the subject of love, I must say that I have felt only genuine warmth and acceptance from the members of my ward, and Mormon friends and family members who know I am returning. My sister sent me a really beautiful text message the other day, and the mother of a childhood friend messaged me on Facebook to share her love and excitement at my return.
I feel very loved and I hope to share my love with others in return.
