The First Great Commandment

King Benjamin has always been a favorite of mine. I can imagine a sweet old man that has worked hard his whole life, not unlike our beloved prophet today. I can see his trembling old body as he stands before his people looking more like a giant among men as the spirit pores from his countenance.

In his heart felt way he pleads for us to lay aside our natural man, to forget about ourselves and turn to a loving God who we are forever indebted to. He truly understood who to look to for peace, strength and life. Our Heavenly Father has given us everything, "He who created us from the beginning, and is preserving us from day to day, by lending us breath" asks only that we keep His commandments.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty."

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before."

I testify that we have all been called to the work, we have all been given the charge and if we truly love God we must share, we must work, we must believe and we must testify! 

Christ is pleading with us. "What I need are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do."

Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world!