FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT (Do we have it backwards?)
Jan Griffith,
February 2008
“Ah sinful nation, a
people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they
have forsaken
the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of
Truly,
we
are living in backward times. L Isaiah
wasn’t describing an atheist
nation. He was describing God’s own
people – a people who have “forsaken him,” having gone “backward.” I can just hear everyone now.
“Oh
there Jan goes quoting Isaiah 1:4 again!”
Well, what can I say? If my
repetitiveness has caused anyone to preserve this important fact to
memory,
then maybe I have accomplished something good.
J
Unity –
the mantra of our time
There
is a
cry in the world – in the name of Jesus – that is so deafening that
almost
nothing can be heard above it. That cry
is to love everyone, and in the Christian communities, that cry has
extended
not only to love, but to “be one” with each other.
Leaders of Restoration Branches are trying to find ways to “be
one,” not only with each other, but also with other factions within the
Restoration. Latter Day Saint
off-shoots are working tirelessly on internet discussion boards trying
to unite
the entire Restoration movement that we might “be one.”
Protestants under the banner of the
“emerging church movement” are trying to find ways to remove
denominational
lines so that they can “be one” with each other. Catholics
are calling for all lost sheep to come home so that the
sheep can “be one” with each other.
These are just the Christian communities. The
world is also calling us to “be one.” The
United Nations was established for this
purpose, so that nation states could be erased and so that mankind
could see
the day when peace and unity would prevail – a state of “be
one-ness.” It sounds
like a good idea. It even sounds
scriptural – the making of a heavenly kingdom on earth.
God
revealed
a latter day parable which warned of this very thing.
“Behold, this I have
given unto you a
parable, and it is even as I am: I say unto you, Be
one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine. And again I
say unto you, that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives.” (Section 38:6)
How
often
do we hear this verse today? “Be
one, and if ye are not one, ye are not
mine.” Yet for all the times we
hear it, how often do we also hear that it was a parable given to
Joseph Smith,
Jr. concerning secret chambers? And how
often do we hear it quoted in context; namely, that “The
enemy in secret chambers seeketh your lives?” Was
Jesus commanding us to “Be one” with each
other, or was he warning us about an agenda that would manifest itself
in the
last days?
But
wait,
you say! Didn’t Jesus himself preach
that we should be one with each other?
Here
is
what Jesus actually said as he prayed to his Father in heaven:
“I pray for them; I pray
not for the
world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And
all mine
are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am
no more
in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy
Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be
one, as
we are.”
(John
17:9-11)
Jesus
prayed to the Father, not for the world, but for those who followed the
voice
of the Good Shepherd. Jesus prayed that
they (his people) may be one, as the Father and the Son were one. Why are we trying to accomplish something
that Jesus prayed for and that his Father has already granted to him? Through the blood of Christ, we are one
seed, and members of the same Body. Why
is our generation on a fast track to fulfill something that has already
been
fulfilled for centuries, and that will be made manifest in the
resurrection?
Those
who
are awakened to their awful situation (it is a commandment that
we awaken, Ether 3:98) are familiar with secret
combinations, and know that the mantra of our times – unity
– is really the unity of the false spirit of apostasy which
is prevailing over the earth.
Alongside
the oft repeated mantra of “unity” and “Be one,” other verses commonly
repeated
today include, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and especially “Thou
shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself.” Loving our
neighbor is interpreted to mean “doing” for them (because faith without
works
is dead), and more often than not, “doing” means educating the needy
and
feeding the poor. By these methods, we
are producing a kingdom on earth. But
by what method are we educating the needy, and with what kind of food are we feeding the poor? Isaiah
said that we would be “eating our own
bread.” How does “eating our own bread”
fit with Jesus Christ being the bread of life, and his teaching that
man will
not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from his
mouth?
Setting
priorities
Under
the
old covenant, God made the priority clear to his people,
“Now these are the
commandments, the
statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach
you,
that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it; That
thou
mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his
commandments,
which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the
days of thy
life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and
observe
to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase
mightily, as
the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that
floweth with
milk and honey. Hear, O
The
first
and presumably therefore the greatest commandment given to ancient
When
the
scribes later quizzed Jesus about the first commandment, Jesus said:
“The first of all the
commandments
is; Hearken, and hear, O
See
the
chiasm? Jesus then went on to explain
the “second” greatest commandment.
“And the second is like
this, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mark 12:36)
Then
there
was the lawyer who came tempting Jesus, and asked him, “Which is the
great
commandment in the law?” Jesus
answered:
“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.” (Matthew 22:36-37)
This
time,
Jesus called it not only the first, but the great
commandment. And then Jesus went on to
explain the “second” commandment.
“And the second is like
unto it; Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:38)
The
Book of
Mormon speaks to this matter of loving the Lord God with all of our
might, mind
and strength at least four times that I counted (2 Nephi 11:56; Mosiah
1:42;
Alma 19:19; Moroni 10:29). The Doctrine
& Covenants speaks to this matter at least five times
(Sections 4:1b; 10:10a; 32:2c; 59:2a;
95:7f). The whole of scripture,
frankly, is about loving God, about desiring to seek God, and know God.
Has
anyone noticed
that in all of our efforts to “be one” with each other, and to “love
each
other,” that our focus has been on the second, rather than the first, great commandment? Has
Satan finally succeeded in his quest to
put men in the place of God, and to establish the kingdom he has so
long
desired?
Many
argue
that the scriptures are full of instruction concerning our
relationships with
each other, and that we are admonished repeatedly to love one another. I can’t argue with that. God’s
Word is an instruction manual for how
we are to behave and mature in this world, which very much includes
loving each
other. But God’s Word is also an
instruction manual on how to “love God.”
Many
also
declare that by “loving others,” we are keeping the first commandment
to “love
God.” I can’t argue with that either,
for Jesus himself made this clear in a parable. When
his disciples asked him to explain the way in which they
would take in Jesus in as a stranger, or clothe him, or comfort him,
Jesus
answered that “inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”
(Matthew 25:38-41). He also said that “By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35) When we love our brothers and sisters in
Christ, others witness that love, and we become witnesses of Christ’s
love for
all.
Yet
Jesus
also said that loving others was the second
commandment, and that loving him was the first and
greatest
commandment of all. If loving each
other is the same as loving God, then why was the first commandment
given, and
why was it given such special emphasis in scripture?
Why was God’s first commandment to “hear him,” and “know him,”
and “love him,” placed ahead of that second commandment, if both
commandments
are really just one in the same?
I
don’t
believe that the first two commandments are one in the same. I believe that God gave us the greatest
commandment first for a reason. When
we make “hearing” and “knowing” and
“loving” the Lord our first priority in life, the second commandment of
“loving
one another” naturally becomes fulfilled.
All that’s left, then, is being conformed into Christ’s image as
we
suffer, mature, and become perfected in that love.
When
priorities
are in the wrong order, we become subject to making incorrect judgments. Consider the consequences that many will
face when they stand someday before Jesus, pleading their case before
him that
they have prophesied in his name, even cast out devils, and done many
wonderful
works in his name; to which Jesus will answer, “Ye never
knew me, depart from me ye that work iniquity”
(Matthew 7:32-33). That is surely one
of the scariest verses in scripture.
These people thought they were doing good works in Jesus’ name,
and
Jesus then responded to them by saying, “Go away, you never knew me!” They hadn’t kept the first commandment.
When
priorities are in the wrong order, the celestial law itself becomes
backward. There is lack of
understanding that celestial is a law of the heart (freely give, freely
receive), rather than a law of the letter.
When we make commandment number two our first priority, the best
we can
hope for is the enforcement of something that looks like celestial law,
when in
fact, it isn’t.
The
kingdoms of this world have been seeking to accomplish such a law for a
very
long time. Satan has tried to bring
mankind together as “one,” but every attempt has failed.
Like the
The
marriage parable
I
have
written about this before, but please bear with me.
Envision a triangle where God is at the pinnacle, and the
husband
and wife are at the two bottom corners.
Like the two sides of a triangle will come closer and closer
together
the nearer they get to the pinnacle, the husband and wife will come
closer and
closer together in “oneness” and “unity” as they continue to make
Christ their
first priority (keeping the first commandment).
I
know
married couples whose priority is not God, who instead make their
marriage
their priority. Rather than keeping the
first commandment (loving God), they focus instead on the second one
(loving
each other). These types of couples
will insist that their marriages can weather any storm.
Through self-imposed rules and expectations,
they ensure themselves marital success.
For example, some couples expect their spouses to call them a
certain
number of times each day. Some couples
require being told “I love you” by their spouse a certain number of
times each
day. Some couples require the receiving
of gifts on routine occasions, and even not-so-routine occasions. Some couples require having sex at least
five or six times a week. Some couples
insist upon particular common courtesies like having the door held open
for
them, or holding hands, or playing kissy-face in front of others. Did you notice how many times I used words
like “expect” and “require?” It’s true.
Thousands
of self-help books (for a healthy and happy marriage) are loaded with
such
rules, and many more besides. But every
one of those books could be abandoned if the husband and wife would
simply
follow the first and great commandment – to “hear” the Lord their God,
and to
make “knowing” and “loving” him their priority.
The
very
same principle applies to God’s people who are trying right now so
desperately
to “be one” with each other. We, as his
children, are at the base of the triangle.
If we will but look “up” and make the Lord our first priority,
we will
all become “one” with each other as we grow “upward” in our knowledge
of Jesus
Christ. No rigid rules are
necessary. In fact, rigid rules have no
place in Christ’s kingdom, for he came to set the captive’s free, not
to
re-enslave them.
Summary
The
celestial
law is not about rigid rules, nor is it about working ourselves into a
frenzy
trying to organize, plan, and institute criteria that will make us
“one.” The celestial law is about loving
and giving
ourselves to the Lord first. When we do
that, then our desires and our love toward others will be right. We will “be one” with our fellow brothers
and sisters automatically, with no strict law enforcement and doctrinal
rules
necessary to ensure our success.
Under
celestial law, we don’t need reminders to be kind to one another, or to
encourage one another, or to help one another.
We don’t need strict rules reminding us to say “I love you”
because we
already know that we do – our knowledge and actions reveal it. Under celestial law, we don’t need reminders
to “be one with each other,” because we already are.
When we give ourselves to the Lord first, we will give
automatically of ourselves to others.
When we love the Lord first, we will inevitably love others also.
The
world,
in conjunction with a harlot system, is trying to do things in reverse. Stiff rules and requirements are being
implemented everywhere (all in the name of “oneness”).
And these rules and requirements are
becoming more rigid by the day. Heavy
taxation is required of the people in order that they may “show forth
their
generosity and love” of the poor. Hate
crime legislation is required of the people in order that they may
“show forth
their tolerance and love” of those who don’t agree with them. In the churches, doctrinal differences are
constantly being legislated so that we might “be one,” even if that
means being
two different wings of the same “one bird,” or perhaps even seven
different
churches who follow the same “one man.”
Today,
in
the name of democracy (theocratic
democracy),
we can vote
ourselves into “being one.” Isn’t that
wonderful? Is that how it’s supposed to
work? Do we not understand that the
Lord will give us the desires of our hearts?
If it is “oneness” that we want with each other, “oneness” we
will surely
get; that is, a “oneness” of our own making, complete with firm and
rigorous
rules and laws. Let’s return to the
latter day parable of warning.
“And now I show unto you
a mystery,
a thing which is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your
destruction, in process of time…in time, ye shall have no king nor
ruler,
for I will be your king and watch over you, Wherefore, hear my voice
and follow
me (the first great
commandment), and you shall be a
free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws,
when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand? Behold,
this I have given unto you a parable, and it is even as I am: I say
unto you,
Be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine. And again I say unto
you, that
the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives. Ye hear of wars in
far
countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far
countries, but
ye know not the hearts of men in your own land. I tell you these things
because
of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the
wickedness of men reveal these things unto you, by their wickedness, in
a
manner that shall speak in your ears, with a voice louder than that
which shall
shake the earth: but if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”
(Section 38:4-6)
Can
we see
the great mystery that God is trying to reveal; that thing which is had
in
secret chambers? We are comforted if we
have an understanding of these things.
“If we are prepared,” the Lord says, “we will
not fear.” What is it we are to be
prepared for?
God
is
telling us to prepare for a voice that will be louder than that which
shakes
the earth. That voice is not the Voice
of our Redeemer. That voice is another
voice.
“Be one, and if ye are
not one, ye
are not mine.”
If
we obey
that voice, we will be putting the second commandment ahead of the
first
commandment. Obeying that voice will
enslave us to a king, or ruler, or lawgiver who is carrying out his
orders from
secret chambers. Fortunately, there is
also a great promise manifest in that warning, for we are told that
those who
keep the first great commandment have something to look forward to. All of the “Be one” laws will be abolished
when the Lord returns, because then, only his
laws will prevail. It is only by and
through Christ’s laws that we can be set free.
Jesus
said
that “no man can serve two masters, for
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and
despise the other” (3 Nephi 5:115).
We
cannot
serve both God and the world, Jesus said.
Yet we are trying to do exactly that.
More specifically, we are trying to serve the world in the name
of
God. And because of this, I am
confident that we will receive a king, or lawgiver, whose rule will be:
“Be one, and if ye are
not one, ye
are not mine.”
I
pray that
we all might hearken to the voice of our Good Shepherd instead. “Hear” O Israel…this is the first and great
commandment.
“Search the Scriptures;
for in them
ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.
And ye
will not come to me that ye might have life, lest ye should honor me. I
receive
not honor from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in
you. I
am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall
come in his
own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, who seek honor one
of
another, and seek not the honor which cometh from God only?” (John 5:39-45)
~~~~~
(Dedicated to Patricia
Ragan, who once
made a comment regarding the “mirror image” of the two greatest
commandments. Her comment inspired this
paper.)