Thursday, October 14, 2021

Elder D. Todd Christofferson on our love for the Father and Son

Elder D. Todd Christofferson (1945- ) was called to the Seventy in 1993, and as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 2008.
"Our Heavenly Father loves us profoundly and perfectly. In His love, He created a plan, a plan of redemption and happiness to open to us all the opportunities and joys we are willing to receive, up to and including all that He has and is. To achieve this, He was even willing to offer His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Redeemer. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' (John 3:16.) His is a Father’s pure love—universal to all yet personal to each.

"Jesus Christ shares with the Father this same perfect love. When the Father first elaborated His great plan of happiness, He called for one to act as a Savior to redeem us—an essential part of that plan. Jesus volunteered, 'Here am I, send me.' (Abr 3:27.) ...

"The love of the Father and the Son is freely given but also includes hopes and expectations. Again, quoting President Nelson, 'God’s laws are motivated entirely by His infinite love for us and His desire for us to become all we can become.' ("The Love and Laws of God," 3.)

"Because They love you, They do not want to leave you 'just as you are.' Because They love you, They want you to have joy and success. Because They love you, They want you to repent because that is the path to happiness. But it is your choice—They honor your agency. You must choose to love Them, to serve Them, to keep Their commandments. Then They can more abundantly bless you as well as love you.

"Their principal expectation of us is that we also love. 'He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.' (1 John 4:8.) As John wrote, 'Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.' (1 John 4:11.)"

- D. Todd Christofferson, "The Love of God," General Conference October 2021, Sunday morning
Click here to read or watch the full talk

What an important thing to recognize and remember: we are deeply and profoundly loved by our Heavenly Father and His Son! They love with a "perfect love" because their love is pure, infinite, and complete, and will bless us as much as we allow it to. They love us so much, that the greatest motivation is to help us be better, to grow and progress, to become more like Them.



The wishes for us include joy and success, repentance and happiess. Receiving those gifts is a choice we make; we must exercise our agency by choosing to love in return, then to serve and obey with a pure heart. Then we will experience even greater influence of Their love, and feel abundant blessings. What a beautiful and wonderful plan of happiness!

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2021)

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