The Commandment to Love

Elder Nash said this about Zion in his Ensign article this month: “In practical terms, Zion is every man esteem[ing] his brother as himself, and practic[ing] virtue and holiness before [the Lord]’ (D&C 38:24)”.  He continued by saying that Zion “was and is to be the result of ‘every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God’ (D&C 82:19)”.  Esteeming our brother as we do ourselves and seeking the interest of our neighbor is perhaps one of the most difficult things for us to do in this life and probably part of why we have not yet built up Zion as it should be.  And this is not a new commandment for this dispensation—the instruction for us to truly love those around us is a theme that we see all throughout the scriptures.  Again and again God has emphasized that one of our primary missions here on earth is to love our neighbor. 

                We see that the commandment to love was given in the very beginning in Enoch’s vision in Moses 7.  After seeing the Lord weep and asking why, the Lord said this: “And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood” (Moses 7:33).  God was weeping because His children would not love one another, and ultimately this must have been at least part of why the flood was sent. 

                Despite the common notion that the Law of Moses was all about “an eye for an eye”, the commandment to love one’s neighbor was also a part of those commandments.   In Leviticus we read, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18).  Further on in the same chapter the Lord told them, “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself” (Leviticus 19:34).  So the children of Israel were to love each other as they loved themselves, and then they were to love those who were not the children of Israel as if they were one of themselves—in order words, they were to love everyone. 

                The Savior of course spoke much about love and renewed this commandment for us to love our neighbor.  In the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).  He gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan and said, “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).  He told the people that one of the great commandments was this: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” second only to loving God Himself (Mark 12:31).  After washing the apostles’ feet, He told them, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”  A few verses later He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:15).  The “new” part of the commandment was not loving one another—it was doing it as the Savior did since now they had a perfect example of what love was and how to show it.

                So as we seek to “bring forth and establish the cause of Zion” we should remember that to do this we must love our neighbor as ourselves (D&C 11:6).  The Lord called his people Zion “because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18).  The most important thing that will help us to be “of one heart and one mind” is to love and serve each other as the Savior did.  It is surely the quest of a lifetime, and ultimately if we do not develop this kind of love, we are not His disciples (John 13:34).