"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

Day # 27

I am grateful for the blessings this scripture has brought into my life.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

To love God is to keep His commandments. I have seen the blessings and the protection from keeping the commandments. Fear leaves, I am calm and know that God loves me and you. His commandments are a way of giving us freedom. Freedom from fear, freedom from hate or jealousy, freedom from addictions, or the burden of guilt.

When I finally chose to be obedient, to "love God with all my heart, might, mind, and strength" (see D&C 59:5), I no longer had the inner fight of should I or shouldn't I keep this or do that. As I have come to love God more and more there has been an inner peace that has filled my heart and mind. All I can say is that it is a wonderful feeling. Indeed, living this way is "after the manner of happiness." (2 Nephi 5:27) This I testify.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

A little "valentine" I made from my incredibly awesome husband...

I was thinking about love on Valentine's Day, which is appropriate for such a day. As I was pondering love and love stories and what love really means I thought about what I have learned from being married (to an incredibly amazing man I might add). I have learned that love is more than just gifts, romantic dinners, and making love whenever we want. True love takes work. True love is sacrifice. And in the end, true love is totally worth all the work, energy, and sacrifice.

As I continued to ponder true love this scripture popped into my head: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). To me, that is some pretty deep love (understatement). Actually, it is true love.

As I pondered this love, I thought about what we can do to show our love for Him. He tells us how: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).  He doesn't say "Buy me things and then I will know you love me", or "You only have to keep half of the commandments because you are so awesome and doing whatever you want will make you happy". Nope. He's actually really direct and doesn't beat around the bush about how to express our love for Him. "If ye love me, keep my commandments". That is true love of God.

"...lift up thy head and rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God..." (Alma 8:15)

The other day when I was a bit blue I decided to read my scriptures to see if that would help. I opened my scriptures to where our family had been reading and this is what I read: "Blessed art thou...therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God..." (Alma 8:15). All too often I get all concerned about being "perfect" and I focus on my mistakes rather than on my honest efforts of keeping the commandments. As we lift up our heads we get a very different view than when looking at our feet. Often times, the view is inspiring, guiding, and lifting. Unfortunately, I sometimes find it way too easy to just keep my head down. So, lift up your head- get a new view. Life may be difficult, but there is so much more than stones and pebbles to see.

Another thing I like about this scripture is "rejoice". Rejoicing means "to feel joy; be delighted" (The Free Dictionary). There is a wonderful Hymn that is about rejoicing. The chorus says: "Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say rejoice!" (Rejoice, the Lord is King!). When we lift up our heads and rejoice we are looking to God, for truly He is King.  As Paul taught the Philippians I add my voice and say: "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). We have great reason to rejoice in the fact that we have a Savior who loves us, cares for us, and wants all that is best for our good. He shows us the way to live by giving us guidance and laws of how to follow Him. These are called commandments.

I love the fact that the scripture also said, "rejoice, for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God" (Alma 8:15). Keeping the commandments doesn't mean we need to be perfect right now. It means we show our love for God though our obedience. Christ said: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" ( John 14:15).  There is much to rejoice about when we keep the commandments. It brings freedom and peace. Elder L. Tom Perry taught: "A useful way to think about the commandments is they are loving counsel from a wise, all-knowing Heavenly Father. His goal is our eternal happiness, and His commandments are the road map he has given us to return to Him, which is the only way we will be eternally happy" (Obedience to Law is Liberty).

I will keep practicing obedience because I know that when I am obedient I find great reason to rejoice...even when I am a bit blue. This I testify.

"Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children" (Moses 6:58)

When riding my trike I often see plants growing in the strangest places. I will see them in cracks in the road, between rocks, and growing out of walls. Sometimes I will see them all alone and far away from others of their kind and I wonder how they got there. The flowers below I saw growing on the side of the road. They were small, and beautiful. I was moved by where they had chosen to bloom. No one would ever notice them unless one walked on the side of the road, a busy highway, and then they would have to look closely in order to see them.

In this picture you can barely notice the purple flowers growing on the side of the highway.

Close-up of the purple flowers.

Picture of tiny white flowers that were also growing alongside the road.

As I have seen many blooming flowers and plants growing in strange places, it has led me to ponder on the words from Elder Stanley G. Ellis, of the Seventy. He stated: "One thing we have often been taught is to bloom where we are planted. Yet sometimes we are tempted to migrate to some new area, thinking our children will have more friends and therefore better youth programs...do we really think the critical factor in salvation of our children is the neighborhood where we live? The apostles and prophets have often taught that what happens inside the home is far more important than what our children encounter outside. How we raise our children is more important than where we raise them" (The Lord's Way). Seeing the places where plants, flowers, and trees have chosen to "bloom" has truly made me realize that the most important thing to help my children fulfill their purposes on earth is to teach them truth and then live what I teach.

I am a practicing Christian, not a perfect one and therefore my children get to watch me practice what I preach. I am so grateful for repentance and that I can keep on practicing! There are many things I try to live and teach, but  these are some of my top priorities:

Teach them of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. I love this scripture: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). I want our children to know there is always hope in Christ! I want our children to know Him, not only through words, but also action. To truly know someone we must study, learn, and then do as they do.

Teach them we have a living prophet whom the Lord's speaks through. (see D&C 1:38). What a blessing to hear a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who teaches God's will for us today (read his most recent words here). Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said: "...if we have a prophet, we have everything. If we do not have a prophet, we have nothing. We do have a prophet. We have had prophets since the founding of this Church. We shall never be without a prophet if we live worthy of a prophet" (Believe His Prophets).

Teach them to love the commandments which is really loving God. "If ye love me keep my commandments" (John 14:15). The commandments are given for our protection, our growth, and our benefit. "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him" (2 Nephi 26:24).

Teach them to love their neighbor and each other. "...ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another" (Mosiah 4:15; see also John 13:34; John 15:12). What better way to teach our children that we are all children of God than to have them love and serve one another and our neighbors.

Teach them that happiness comes from living the gospel and keeping covenants.  Elder Maxwell said it beautifully when he stated: "You will also see that the living of one protective principle of the gospel is better than a thousand compensatory governmental programs- which programs are, so often, 'like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic'" (Why Not Now?; see also Alma 41:10). And the scriptures state: "Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy" (D&C 128:19).

As we teach our children these simple truths we will not only grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ, but we will also bloom where we are planted, the garden of our home. I love what the Lord says to Adam: "Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children" (Moses 6:58). It is a commandment to teach our children the plan of happiness, teach them of Christ, which leads to incredible growth no matter our location.

"...I am encircled about eternally in the arms of His love." (2 Nephi 1:15)

This morning at breakfast, as I heaved a huge sigh and said to my youngest son, "Sometimes I just..." "Need a hug?" He interjected. Yes, sometimes I just need a hug. And it started me thinking about how sometimes in life, we just need a hug. But what do you do on those days when you are alone and no one is there to give you a hug? Because right now, our weather is the beginning of grayer and shorter days and longer nights and cold weather...this could be the focus of darkness and feelings of loneliness. Not that you have this feeling all the time, but sometimes, you just... need a hug. So, how can we deal with these real feelings so that we don't "wallow" in this? (My friend said that yesterday "wallow",  and it was perfectly said! Wallowing isn't a good thing, it just leaves us stuck in the mud.) So, how do you get a hug when no one else is around?

I have found a way that helps me feel like I'm getting a hug and like hugging the whole world. It really is a simple thing. It is right in line with the "great commandment" (Matt. 22:36-40) and keeping the commandments is an automatic happy feeling (see Mosiah 2:41). But sometimes we need an extra boost because we are living in this "fallen state" (see 1 Nephi 10:6). The extra boost comes when we "are in the service of [our fellow beings [we] are only in the service of [our] God" (Mosiah 2:17). Serving others helps us get outside of ourselves and have a new view, and see things with a different perspective. Sometimes just giving us the opportunity to serve others helps us say, "I'll keep my bag of troubles, or trials. They aren't so bad." And we are able to "give thanks" for the trials or the little trip-me-ups with which we are blessed. As we serve others we are serving Christ. And it is a way we can "hug" Him. He wants us to love others. By keeping His commandments (the greatest is to love God and love our neighbor) we show our love for Him (John 14:15). We can "hug" Him and He hugs us back, "encircling [us] about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15). Feel Him loving you. Feel His hug as you serve others.

Giving thanks...that is a powerful way to give and receive a hug. We have been commanded to "give thanks in all things" (Mosiah 26:39; see also Ephesians 5:20; D&C 59:7). When we start giving thanks for everything something happens inside. There comes a feeling of love, of appreciation, of acceptance, of brotherly kindness. We let go of envy and are humbled by the blessings which Heavenly Father has given us individually and we stop comparing what we don't have to what others might have. Giving thanks is a gift we can give back to our Creator, because He has us specifically in mind when He gives us all we have. It is a way we can "hug" our Savior. He has given us EVERYTHING!!! He has given us our very lives, (Mosiah 4:21), even His own life, that we might live (see Mosiah 3:7-10).

In the Children's Primary Song I Feel My Savior's Love the last verse says: "I'll share my Savior's love by serving others freely. In serving I am blessed. In giving I receive." This is truth. Feel it. We can feel the Savior's love all around us as we serve and give thanks in all we have.This I testify is the way to receive and to give hugs!
Many Hugs!!! OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!