Teachings of the Presidents of the Church
Ezra Taft Benson
Lesson 1
“The Great Commandment—Love the Lord”
Lesson by Carly
Carly began her lesson by
quoting President Ezra Taft Benson, “When we put God first, all other things
fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims
for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the
order of our priorities.”
She asked us to think of a
word to describe Heavenly Father. Some
suggestions were: Patient, Loving,
Mighty, Merciful, Kind.
In 1John 4:8 it says:
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. And 1John 4:16 it
says: And we have known and believed the
love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him.
There are so many definitions
of love but love in its highest form is giving of oneself to others. Heavenly Father has given all for us, his
children. He sacrificed His only begotten
Son for us. He has dedicated His eternal
existence to us.
Moses 1:39 says, “This is my
work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
The following is an excerpt from the manual regarding
the life of Ezra Taft Benson: An extended family member once said, “To
Ezra and his family religion is a complete way of life—something to be lived
seven days a week. It takes first place in his consideration when the time
comes for making decisions.”
People outside the Benson family also noticed
President Benson’s love for the Lord. In 1939, when President Benson was
serving as a stake president, he was invited to Washington , D.C.
“‘Mr. Benson,’ Judge John D. Miller, head of the
group, replied, ‘that is why we selected you. We know what your standards are.’
With full assurance from the board that he would not be expected to seek an
understanding of agricultural problems over cocktail glasses, he was delighted
to accept the position, but only after consultation with the First Presidency
and his wife.”
President Benson taught that we manifest our love for
the Lord by our willingness to do the Lord’s will. He said: “I wish that every
Latter-day Saint could say and mean it with all his heart: ‘I’ll go where you
want me to go. I’ll say what you want me to say. I’ll be what you want me to
be’ [see Hymns, no. 270]. If we could all do that,
we would be assured of the maximum of happiness here and exaltation in the
celestial kingdom
of God
In a sermon at the April 1988 general conference—the
sermon upon which this chapter is based—President Benson focused on the first
and great commandment:
to love God. Regarding this sermon, Elder Francis M. Gibbons of the
Seventy observed, “All that President Ezra Taft Benson worked for, all that he
stood for, and all that he hoped for—for himself, for his family, and for the
Church—is embodied in this sermon.”
President Benson taught about the ways we can love God
and the ways God can love us.
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment.
John 3:16 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.
God loved us to give us the Holy Ghost to guide us and
to help us navigate throughout our lives.
The Spirit will continually guide us on a daily basis…that still, small
voice that we may or may not recognize.
God has given us prayer. Prayer
helps us feel Heavenly Father’s love.
Several sisters shared experiences of feeling God’s love and the results
of prayer.
President Benson said, “We show our love for God when
we put Him first in our lives. Why did
God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him
we would want to keep all of His other commandments. “For this is the love of
God,” says John, “that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3; see also
2 John 1:6).
We must put God in the forefront of everything else in
our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten
Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).”
1John 4:19 states, “We love him, because he first
loved us.” As parents, we are incredible at loving our children in spite of the
trouble they may get into. The same is
true with Heavenly Father. He is always
there for us.
President Benson said, “When I think of charity, I …
think of my father and that day he was called on his mission. I suppose some in
the world might say that his acceptance of that call was proof he did not
really love his family. To leave seven children and an expectant wife at home
alone for two years, how could that be true love? But my father knew a greater vision
of love. He knew that “all things shall work together for good to them that
love God” (Romans 8:28). He knew that the best thing he could do for his family
was to obey God.
To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and
strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing. It is no lukewarm endeavor. It
is total commitment of our very being—physically, mentally, emotionally, and
spiritually—to a love of the Lord.”
President Benson also stated, “When we choose to put
God first in our lives, His blessings come in abundance.”
It is not always easy putting the Lord first. To love Heavenly Father is to love His
children.
Carly mentioned the lyrics to
hymn #308: As I have
loved you,
Love one another.
This new commandment:
Love one another.
By this shall men know
Ye are my disciples,
If ye have love
One to another.
Carly closed her lesson with her testimony and this
quote from Ezra Taft Benson: I testify to you that God’s pay is the best pay
that this world or any other world knows anything about. And it comes in full
abundance only to those who love the Lord and put Him first. The great test of life
is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord
and then do it. The
great commandment of life is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength” (Mark 12:30).
