2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session

Bridging the Two Great Commandments

Elder Gary E. Stevenson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Main Points

  •  Our ability to follow Jesus Christ depends upon our strength and power to live the first and second commandments with balance and equal devotion.

Gospel Principles taught

 Our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, Agency, Faith in Christ

Gospel Doctrine taught

Commandments, The Covenant Path

Scriptures

Matt. 22:35; Mark 12:28; Luke 10:25, Matthew 22:36–40, John 14:15, Mosiah 2:41

Other Sources

Bible Dictionary, “Lawyer”

Explanatory footnotes:

  •  Anciently, Jewish scholars had enumerated 613 commandments in the Torah and actively debated the relative importance of one versus the other. Perhaps the lawyer intended to use Jesus’s answer against Him. If He said one commandment was the most important, it might allow an opening to accuse Jesus of ignoring another aspect of the law. But the Savior’s response silenced those who had come to entrap Him with a foundational statement that today is the bedrock for all we do in the Church.

Look for Jesus Christ:

  • Testimony of Christ.
    • May this strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, of which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
  • Description of His Teachings.
    • “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” The lawyer, “tempting him” and seeking a legalistic answer, with seemingly deceitful intent, received a genuine, sacred, divine response. “Jesus said unto him, 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.” Hearkening to our bridge analogy, the first tower! “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
    • “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
    • Jesus’s parable of the good Samaritan

Inspiring Words & Phrases

  • Bridges take us places we otherwise would not be able to go.
  • Love of the Lord is not complete if we neglect our neighbors.
  • Love of the Lord is not complete if we neglect our neighbors. This outward love includes all of God’s children without regard to gender, social class, race, sexuality, income, age, or ethnicity. We seek out those who are hurt and broken, the marginalized, for “all are alike unto God.” We “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”
  • “I often wonder if the Lord picked on you exclusively or if you were just the one who listened.”
  • President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Giving help to others—making a conscientious effort to care about others as much as or more than we care about ourselves—is our joy. Especially … when it is not convenient and when it takes us out of our comfort zone. Living that second great commandment is the key to becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ.”
  • There is an important interdependency between loving the Lord and loving one another.
  • For any suspension bridge to do what it was built to do, its towers must function together in complete harmony. Likewise, our ability to follow Jesus Christ depends upon our strength and power to live the first and second commandments with balance and equal devotion to both.
  • How do we build our own bridge of faith and devotion—erecting tall bridge towers of both loving God and loving our neighbors? Well, we just start.

Lists

A suspension bridge is likened to:

  • Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (tower one)
  • Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (tower two)
  • On these hang all the law and the prophets (the remaining elements of the bridge)

“Loving the Lord” condenses the essence of the law embodied in the sacred teachings of the Old Testament.:

  • love the Lord with all your heart—your very nature. 
  • love the Lord with all your soul—your entire consecrated being
  • love the Lord with all your mind—your intelligence and intellect
  • Love for God is infinite and eternal

Ways that we can love Heavenly Father and Jesus:

  • Prayer
  • Scripture study
  • Temple worship
  • Paying tithes
  • Keep the Sabbath day holy
  • Live a virtuous life
  • Live a chaste life
  • Be obedient
  • Use social media to build up instead of tear down
  • Leave a party/movie/activity if standards are challenged
  • Show reverence for sacred things

Love your neighbor includes all of God’s children without regard to:

  • gender
  • social class 
  • race
  • sexuality 
  • income
  • age
  • ethnicity

Ways we fail to keep the first and second commandments faithfully:

  • Some are so focused on keeping the commandments that they show little tolerance of those they see as less righteous. 
  • Some find it difficult to love those who are choosing to live their lives outside of the covenant or even away from any religious participation.
  • Some emphasize the importance of loving others without acknowledgment that we are all accountable to God. 
  • Some refuse entirely the notion that there is such a thing as absolute truth or right and wrong and believe that the only thing required of us is complete tolerance and acceptance of the choices of others.
  • Either of these imbalances could cause your spiritual bridge to tip or even fall.

Invitations/Challenges

  • Today I invite you to look at this stately bridge—with its ascending twin towers built on a strong foundation—through a gospel lens. 
  • Can you let go of grudges, forgive enemies, welcome and minister to your neighbors, and assist the elderly? You will each be inspired as you build your tower of love for neighbor.
  • Just start building your own bridge of loving God and loving your neighbor. It might consist of a few realistic goals to understand the Lord’s gospel more or to vow to judge others less. No one is too young or too old to begin.
  • In the days ahead, when you pass over a majestic suspension bridge or even when you see a picture, with its soaring towers, I invite you to remember the two great commandments, described by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Blessings/Promises

  • King Benjamin promised remarkable power for those who follow the first great commandment. “I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments. … They are blessed in all things, … and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven … in a state of never-ending happiness.”
  • May the Lord’s instructions inspire us. May our hearts and minds be lifted upward to love the Lord and turned outward to love our neighbor.
  • May this strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, of which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Equations

  • Loving the Lord → eternal happiness
  • Giving help to others=our joy

Stories:

  • Elder Stevenson shared a story of his passion for suspension bridges. “Whether it’s the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo, the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong, the Tower Bridge in London, or others I have seen, I marvel at the engineering genius built within these complicated structures.” He also offered condolences to those affected by the recent Baltimore Bridge collapse.
  • Elder Stevenson shares the story of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in California, which is considered one of the engineering wonders of the world. “It is a classic suspension bridge with bookend towers, supported by massive piers. The colossal, majestic weight-bearing twin towers soaring above the ocean were the first elements to be constructed. Together they shoulder the load of the sweeping main suspension cables and the vertical suspender cables, which cradle the roadway below. The extraordinary stabilizing capacity—the power of the tower—is the magic behind the engineering of the bridge.”
  • The story of collecting fast offerings from Sister Muellar, a German immigrant widow who was in his ward. She was legally blind, and very poor, but paid a fast offering. He could tell that she loved the Lord.
  • Brother Evans was surprised when he was prompted to stop his car and knock on an unknown door of an unknown family. When a widowed mother of over 10 answered the door, their difficult circumstances and great needs became readily apparent to him. The first was simple, paint for their home, which was followed by many years of temporal and spiritual ministering to this family.

Application Ideas

  1. In view of Elder Stevenson’s statement, “we seek out those who are hurt and broken and the marginalized.” This week, prayerfully watch for those who were hurt and broken and marginalized. Find a way to extend the love of God to them.
  2. Think of the ‘thankful mother’ Elder Stevenson quotes. “I often wonder if the Lord picked on you exclusively or if you were just the one who listened.” Choose a day this week to “be the one who listened.”
  3. This week in your personal and family prayers, ask for a greater love for God and for your ‘fellow man’. Write down and follow any promptings you have.
  4. Ponder this quote from Elder Stevenson, “Can you let go of grudges, forgive enemies, welcome and minister to your neighbors, and assist the elderly? You will each be inspired as you build your tower of love for neighbor.” Examine your own life and situation. Is there a grudge you can let go of? Is there an enemy you can forgive?

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