He Asked: Which is The Greatest Commandment in the Law?

Matthew 22: 35-40 

"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

“This is the first and great commandment."

What If Everything I Did Was Motivated by Love for God?

By Maryssa Dennis

Sometimes, being a good person feels like a lot of work.

I used to think of being Christlike as a hefty list of things I had to do and be. When I tried to set goals, I’d get overwhelmed thinking about how far I was from where I should be. I felt like I was failing in so many ways I didn’t know where to start—like when your room is so messy that you don’t know what to clean up first.

During a time when I felt extra inadequate, a scripture kept coming to my mind:

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

I realized that I’d been more focused on “doing” the gospel than becoming like the Savior. Somehow, with so many distractions, the love got lost along the way. But wasn’t love supposed to be the point? During His ministry, Jesus Christ taught the people a higher and holier law to love God with their whole hearts and to love others as they love themselves. Whenever I felt discouraged, I’d remember Jesus’s words and think, “As long as I make choices out of love for God and others, I’ll be on the right path.”

A Simple Goal

I decided to set a simple goal: “Do one thing each day to love God, others, and myself.”

I wrote it on the first page of a new journal. I’ve never been a great journal-keeper, but I thought it would be important to record what I was doing.

The first day was a fast Sunday. Before I went to bed, I wrote down what I’d done to work on my goal.

I wrote that I showed love for God by going to church and staying for both hours, even though I didn’t feel like it. I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting. And when I read my scriptures, I wrote down my thoughts for a more meaningful and focused study.

I wrote that I loved others by joining a family call with my parents even though I was tired. I fasted for a friend who I knew was struggling and sent her an encouraging message. I spent some time with my brother.

I loved myself by taking a nap and allowing myself to relax. And I went to bed earlier than usual so I could be more rested for work the next day.

None of these things were big, but when I looked over what I’d written, I felt peaceful. My day had been full of love, and that’s what Heavenly Father wanted for me.

All week I remembered my goal and wrote how I showed love. I went to the temple. I listened to people vent about their problems. I said kind things to others. I did things that made me happy. I took better care of myself. I made more space for the people in my life. I took time to reflect and connect with God.

Changed by God’s Love

After just a few days, I was amazed by the difference. With showing Christlike love as my goal, things that usually felt like a chore became expressions of love for God, others, and myself. I started looking for new opportunities to express love, whether it was getting a glass of water for my sister, making my bed, or pausing to say a prayer of gratitude.

I felt like I was seeing the world with new eyes, and as I looked for ways to love, I also noticed the love that was all around me every day. I added a new section to my journal entries: “How I’ve seen God’s love today.” I wrote down the thoughtful things people did for me and the kind words they offered. I wrote down nice things I saw people doing for others. I wrote down the small, tender mercies from God I noticed each day. I wrote down all the ways I felt uplifted, all the things that gave me hope.

Sister Susan H. Porter, Primary General President, taught: “When you know and understand how completely you are loved as a child of God, it changes everything. It changes the way you feel about yourself when you make mistakes. It changes how you feel when difficult things happen. It changes your view of God’s commandments. It changes your view of others and of your capacity to make a difference.”¹

As I continued with my goal, I discovered how true this was. I could feel my whole heart changing, and I understood the power of God’s love better than I ever had.

After a month, I wrote this in my journal:

“I feel hopeful instead of stressed. I’m aware of my weaknesses, but I feel that as long as I keep inclining my heart to God, things will be OK, even if I’m never able to fix the weak and broken parts of myself. My heart is the thing that matters most, and a heart that loves God and others and tries to serve and uplift is a good heart.”

A Better Heart

I wish I could say I’ve never missed a day in my journal. The truth is, I fall out of the habit sometimes, even for months at a time. But whenever I start again, I can feel the difference. I open my eyes once more to see the Savior’s love all around me—and all the ways I can add to it.

I’ve come to better understand the truth that “charity never faileth” (Moroni 7:46) because when I felt like I was failing, Jesus Christ’s love is what lifted me back up. When I feel the Savior’s love, I want to reflect it back into the world, and I know that as I strive to do this, He will bless me with a better, stronger heart—one that can love as He does.

“And the second is like unto it, 

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Matthew 22:37–39.

This means we are commanded to love everyone,

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness.

An experience shared by a woman named Sahié Hortense Yah, 

as told to Sadia Zouzou

"Seven years ago, my son Marc had an acute pain in the stomach area. It often woke him up late at night and we made regular trips to the medical clinic. The ultrasound examinations they performed on him did not provide any reason for the pain, and it continued until it began to seriously impact his schooling. The pediatrician suggested we put medicine in his bag and let the teacher give it to him when the pain got very bad.

One day, the teacher called me and was quite concerned because the pain was more excruciating than usual. He was going to send him to the hospital. Of course, I was very upset. The doctor prescribed some medicine and told my son to stay in bed at home because he could not walk. With tears in my eyes, I hurried to the pharmacy, not knowing if my son would live or not, his pain and moans were so bad.

When I got to the pharmacy, I saw a scene that greatly impacted me. There was a young mother there trying to purchase medicine for the baby she was holding that was about a year old and you could see that he was in very bad shape. Everyone in the pharmacy could hear the conversation between the pharmacy employee and the young mother when the employee told the mother that she did not have enough money to purchase medicine for both severe malaria and anemia. With tears in her eyes, the young mother said “my son must be hospitalized, and I only have 5000 f CFA, the last note I have left. If I buy two medications, my son will have nothing to eat to take his medication.” The employee could not help her. The young lady took one of her prescriptions and left sadly.

Listening to the exchange while standing in line, there was a battle going on in my head between two voices. One told me to buy the medicine for the young lady, while another dissuaded me from it, warning me of the risk of putting my own son’s life in danger without returning home with his medicine full.

After this internal fight of a few moments, another voice said to me: “She could be your daughter, or your mother. If you were in her place what would you have wanted someone to do for you?”

After thinking of this, I made my decision, to buy the drugs for the young stranger. I asked the guard who regulated the entries to call her back because she and her baby had left the pharmacy.

Before the mother returned, I asked the cashier to give her the entire medical prescription without mentioning my name or my presence, and I would pay the bill. The cashier respected my wishes and when the young mother asked for the identity of her benefactor, to offer thanks, she was simply told that she could return to her home.

I said a prayer within me: “May God strengthen your child and grant him healing”. After that, an indescribable deep peace and immense joy came into my mind. I was happy to see the lady leave with the medicine.

Given my now limited means, I bought a very small part of the medication prescribed for my son and went home with joy in my heart. I had arrived in tears at the pharmacy, but returned home joyfully, even though I was still feeling fear of knowing in what state I would find my son.

Imagine my surprise and joy when I returned home to see Marc sitting in the living room, quietly watching his favorite TV series called “Fireman Sam”. He was miraculously cured.

Later, becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and studying the scriptures, I was able to understand that the miraculous healing of my son was certainly linked to the gesture I made towards the unknown. While I was giving love to someone else, God was working for me.

Today my son is 13 years old and has not felt his pain since that day at the pharmacy.

"There is power in the love we give to our neighbor without expecting anything in return."

The Healing Power of Loving Your Neighbor