If ye Love Me Keep My Commandments

Today I read John 14, where the Savior teaches His Apostles about the Father and about the Holy Ghost. I wonder if Jesus ever got frustrated with His Apostles and how they just didn't get it? But can you really blame them? I mean Jesus was teaching them very different doctrine than they were used to. Love them that hate you? Who honestly does that? Be good to them that do evil to you? Almost nobody is willing to do that. So I am not surprised at how Jesus' Apostles didn't seem to understand His doctrine at times and needed Him to explain it to them. It doesn't surprise me because if I read it without the help of the Spirit, there are times where I don't really understand what He is saying either.

But this chapter contains some scripture masteries and verses most people recognize. The first one is If ye love me, keep my commandments. It is one of the most well known verses in the New Testament. It seems to be a concept not really understood anymore these days, to do as someone asks you to do as a sign of love, respect and loyalty. Oddly enough, it seems that the people who understand this concept more than more, at least in the movies and books because I have never met one, are the people in organized crime! They do as their boss commands them to do and don't question why. There are always exceptions, but for the most part they do as they are told. That is very ironic to me. How is that the followers of Satan are better at showing their love for him than the followers of Christ seem to be? Now granted, I am sure that in the world of organized crime, a large part of their desire to please and do as they are told is fear, but they are still doing it. Whereas in the Christian world, almost no one seems to understand the concept of following the commandments anymore.

Everywhere you look you see people drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, lying, stealing, being promiscuous, taking advantage of their neighbor and the list goes on and on. People showing a profound lack of respect for the Savior and His commandments. Now I am sure that most of the world does not consider drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco to be against the commandments but it's so funny to me. I sometimes I want to ask them if they can picture Jesus with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth? Or can you picture Him at a bar drinking a mug of whatever? I sure can't. The very imagine is SO out of character as to be laughable. And as we've been counseled to do by our past Presidents of the Church, if our leaders are not doing it, why are we? I think part of the statement that if we love Him we will keep His commandments is because if we love Him, we will want to be like Him and do as He does.

Truth be told His commandments are not that arduous or outrageous. They are quite simple actually and it is only the world that has made them seem outdated and sinning as being the ideal lifestyle. It used to be that the masses obeyed God's law and followed His commandments almost to point of being zealots. But now we have swung the other way and it is the popular thing to do to be coarse and unrefined and break God's laws and commandments. It is up to us who still love the Lord to follow His commandments and show the world that we are not afraid to be righteous and that we love the Lord! It is the only way to lasting happiness, I promise you that. Don't be afraid of the world and don't be afraid to do what is right. You can be a light to the world and when you come face to face with God again, you can say with a clean conscience that you did the best you could. Until tomorrow.