Love God

Mark 12:30 reads, "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."

What does it mean to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

To understand what this means, we need to understand what love is. In Moroni 7:45 we read that charity, the pure love of Christ, "suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." To love God so deeply means that nothing is more important to us than Him- not our job, our money, or even our pride. God comes first. Loving God means that we're willing to give anything for Him and that we're obedient to His commandments. It means that we trust Him and have faith in Him, even when we don't always understand what He asks of us.

Why is it so important for us to love God above all else? And, why is this the first commandment?

President Ezra T. Benson stated, "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." This is the first commandment because loving God above all else leads us to keep the rest of His commandments. If we truly love Him, we won't break His commandments. And, if we do break His commandments, our love for Him will lead us to repentance.

Reference: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/the-great-commandment-love-the-lord?lang=eng