The Truth About Love

I remember well my college years.  They were full of acedemic ambition and desires for a bright future with a family of my own.  I remember many times feeling very alone and wondering if I would ever reach my desired goals for a future family.  I remember wondering what was wrong with me.  As I prepared to serve a mission I was aprehensive and doubted my ablity to meet the challenges that would certainly come.  I had no doubt that I was where the Lord wanted me to be and still had many questions about life in general and how God felt about me.

In October 2004 during a world wide meeting for church I was touched by the remarks of John H. Groberg.  In his talk entitled, "The Power Of God's Love" he explains that we seek to be loved because we long for the love of God that we felt when we lived with Him before we were born.

The following are bits from this talk I'd like to share with you for Valentine's day (all from this talk):

There is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it.  To do this, Jesus explained we must “love the Lord they God with all they heart, …soul, …strength, and …mind; and they neighbor as thyself”

…trying to find love without helping and sacrificing for others is like trying to live without eating-it is against the laws of nature and cannot succeed.

God is anxious to help us feel His love wherever we are.

When we understand who God is, who we are, how He loves us, and what His plan is for us, fear evaporates.

…just as rockets must overcome the pull of gravity to roar into space, so we must overcome the pull of the world to soar into the eternal realms of understanding and love.

…our joy now and forever is inextricably tied to our capacity to love.

Being filled with God’s love is the most joyous of all things and is worth every cost.

When filled with God’s love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us.

Jesus Christ was filled with unfathomable love as He endured incomprehensible pain, cruelty, and injustice for us. Through His love for us, He rose above otherwise insurmountable barriers. His love knows no barriers. He invites us to follow Him and partake of His unlimited love so we too may rise above the pain and cruelty and injustice of this world and help and forgive and bless.

I testify that when we are ready, His pure love instantly moves across time and space, reaches down, and pulls us up from the depths of any tumultuous sea of darkness, sin, sorrow, death, or despair we may find ourselves in and brings us into the light and life and love of eternity.

It is my sincere hope that as we celebrate Valentine's Day this year we will remember that the world's view of love is not the important perspective and instead of worrying over the gifts or events of the day focus on feeling God's love for you and how you can help others feel that love.