“Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that love is the foundational imperative of the gospel: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12, 3 Nephi 14:12).

Later, when He was asked to identify the most important commandment, He responded with a commandment from Deuteronomy—”Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”—and with a commandment from Leviticus—”Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Once again, He emphasized that all other commandments build on a foundation of love: “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

I appreciate heuristics that simplify decision-making. For example, I love President Russell M. Nelson’s guidance about Sabbath observance. Don’t memorize long lists of do’s and dont’s, he said. Just ask the question, “What sign do I want to give to God?” and act accordingly. (See “The Sabbath Is a Delight,” General Conference, April 2015).

In the same way, I think we can improve our decision-making overall by simply asking, “Am I showing love to God?” and “Am I showing love to other people?” If the answer is yes, then we ought to do it.

The apostle Paul elaborated on this principle in his epistle to the Romans. He provided specific examples of well-known commandments to illustrate that they are all manifestations of love:

Love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this statement, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:8-10; see also Galatians 5:14

Book of Mormon prophets also understood this principle. Alma, for example, encouraged the people of Gideon, “See that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works” (Alma 7:24). And Mormon explained the peace and happiness which the people experienced after Jesus visited them by saying, “There was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people” (4 Nephi 1:15).

Which raises the question: Why has God provided so many other commandments? The obvious answer is this: We wouldn’t need so many other commandments if we truly knew how to love Him and how to love others. Since we don’t yet, the commandments provide useful guidelines to help us learn how.

President Dallin H. Oaks has spoken many times about how to manage apparent conflicts between the first and second great commandments. See, for example, “Love and Law” (2009), “The Plan and the Proclamation” (2017), “Two Great Commandments” (2019). Earlier this year in a devotional address, he discussed how his understanding of the relationship between these laws has evolved over time:

When Jesus was asked which was the great commandment, He gave two. First was to love God, which we show by keeping His commandments. Second was to love our neighbor. We must do both, and that is not easy. Many of us have a tendency to give less attention to loving our neighbor and to over-emphasize keeping the law (commandments). That is surely my tendency because of my legal training….

I have previously referred to our “continually [trying] to balance the dual commandments of love and law,” but I now believe that goal to be better expressed as trying to live both of these commandments in a more complete way….

[God] loves all of us, and His perfect plan of happiness has a place for all. We show our love for Him by keeping His commandments, including love for His children.

“Stand for Truth,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 21 May 2023

That explanation rings true to me. God loves all of His children, so loving Him includes loving His children. The better we obey the first commandment, the better we obey the second, and vice versa. The two commandments are interconnected.

Today, I will strive to love God and to love my neighbor. I will make decisions based on these two laws, and I will remember that all other commandments serve to help me learn to fulfill these laws better. I will also remember that these laws are not in conflict. To love God is also to love His children.