John knew a lot about love. (1-3 John; Jude)

1 John

1:5-7

Being hypocritical is so dangerous. When we say one thing but do another, it allows us to enjoy public respect while continuously degrading. "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Hypocrisy hides our regressing arc of spiritual growth. If this is maintained for years, serious spiritual decline will inevitably happen. We are definitely lying to others and perhaps lying to ourselves.

It is about walking the talk. We must "walk in the light," not just talk about it. Walking the talk of this gospel is about being obedient and loving each other. If we simply do those two things, we are walking in the light and should fully expect that the "blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

1:8-9

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The question is: who are these awful people who believe that they aren't sinning? The answer is: all of us to some degree. The church is filled with people who believe that they aren't committing sins - young and old.

This might sound cynical but I think it's true. There are plenty of us who do an inventory of our righteousness and recognize that we aren't breaking any of the commandments so we feel satisfied and accomplished. The truth is that, even the old couple toddling to the temple every other day is still not perfect. There is still sin in them. Even the stake president sitting on the stand is still imperfect and has sin in him.

We stop progressing and refining the day we "say that we have no sin." If we ever believe that and feel satisfied with our progress, we are deceiving ourselves. We all have a lot of development to accomplish. Let's not damn our progression by taking the foot off of the gas!

If you truly cannot see how you're currently sinning, pray for the Spirit to reveal your sin to you. The Spirit can help us see ourselves objectively and without bias. If you ask the Spirit to tell you this, be ready for the answers!

The good news is that if we accept our sin and confess it and repent, Christ will forgive us.

2:3

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." How do we know Christ if we keep his commandments? Look at it this way. I am a children's photographer. I have been a children's photographer my entire career. I've trained over 2000 photographers. I have very specific instruction about how to be a children's photographer.

If a new photographer will follow the principles I teach, they will become a good photographer. They have to trust me, have faith in what I'm teaching and be willing do do what I say.

Those who keep my photographic commandments will certainly understand those principles. But, they will know me as a photographer. They will know how I think and what I would do in any situation. You could say that they grow closer to me by following my technique. Their thinking begins to match my thinking. They become more familiar with me.

This is obviously true for Jesus and what he taught. We can get to know him if we follow what he taught.

2:9, 11

"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now." This is my struggle. I love the gospel. I love the scriptures. I love going to church and fellowshipping with others. I love serving in the temple. I love doing family history. I love expanding what I know. But I sometimes hate other people.

Just yesterday, after my scripture study, I left my house and drove down the mountain. There was a guy that was afraid of the snow and drove 10-15 miles per hour the entire trip down. It would have taken him ten seconds to pull to the side a little and let me pass but he kept me behind him and literally doubled how long it took me to get down off of this mountain. I was very irritated and frustrated and angry. I will say that the bulk of my brotherly hate is directed at drivers...

The Spirit that I felt as a studied the scriptures didn't translate to brotherly kindness twenty minutes after I finished reading. This demonstrates just how much progress I still have to make. It is easy to be Christlike and charitable when you're sitting at your desk studying the words of Christ. It's much harder to be Christlike when you introduce other people! ;)

When I am filled with rage on the road, I can't think straight. "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." My wisdom and ability to see things clearly and rationally go away. My sight is diminished. My perspective shrinks to where I'm looking through a pinhole. It's not good.

2:10

The challenge with hating my brothers and sisters is that my anger may create a stumbling block for them. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." I may behave poorly and, as a member of the church, may taint their opinion of what it means to be a disciple. Someone may have an opinion about our church by my bad behavior. That's not good.

2:15-17

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." We cannot be in love with this world. The world isn't offering up righteousness.

The two primary offerings of this fallen world is craving and pride. Think of all of the things that our bodies lust after and crave. Consider all of the opportunities to bolster our pride that the world provides. There might as well be a big sign over this world that reads Craving & Pride!

If we fall in love with this world and all of the things that are offered here, we will be disciples of craving and pride - not Heavenly Father. We cannot love the world and God at the same time. They are competing priorities!

We must remember that "the world passeth away." All of the pleasure and pride that this world offers will end. Our cravings will eventually end. The only meaningful thing that we take with us is our faith, obedience and love. Those are the only things that we are striving for that will continue. If we keep that in mind each day, we'll be just fine.

2:19

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." Those who leave the church demonstrate that they were never true disciples. Their reasons for leaving might be numerous - but it shouldn't hide the fact that their faith was not sufficient. That is the reason they leave.

Their reasons may be:

• Incorrect teachings and weaknesses of past prophets.

• Seeing the current church leaders as out of touch.

• Offense from local church leaders.

• Seeing our church as too demanding of our time.

• Apparent nonsensical stories about the origin of the Book of Mormon.

• Being convinced that the entire premise of the church is untrue by reading a single, critical document.

However, in every case, the reason for their departure is lack of testimony and discipleship. Consider this question: what if someone gave you a document that clearly outlined the reasons for why the sky isn't actually blue? What if they showed scientifically backed proofs that it's orange. What if they presented compelling criticisms of any scientist who shared your belief that the sky is blue? What if the leading scientist that taught that the sky is blue said something unbelievably offensive to you? What if the "sky is blue scientists" seemed old fashioned and out of step with other leading scientists? Would any of that change your mind? Could anyone, no matter how compelling the argument, convince you that the sky is not blue? I suggest not.

You've seen too much evidence firsthand. You can see it with your own eyes. You've looked up countless times and it is always the same blue color. It doesn't matter what historical document emerges, it couldn't change your opinion.

This is how I feel about this church. I've seen too much to be dissuaded from its truthfulness. I've read the Book of Mormon too many times to consider that it was made up by a 23 year old. That book is in my hands. It's teachings are inspired and not the writing of one young man and it's clear as day. No amount of evidence can convince me that it isn't from God and not man.

3:2-3

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." If everyone could really internalize this thought, how great it would be! The principle here is identity. If we identify as sons and daughters of God, our world can change.

We can change into creatures who are living at a higher level. Instead of seeing ourselves as a little higher than the animals who have natural, controlling instincts that we must submit to, we can live as enlightened beings with divine potential who are not slaves to our basest desires.

What we see in the mirror "doth not yet appear what we shall be." If we could see our true selves, we would see strong, beautiful, light-filled beings filled with power. I am not simply a 52 year old man with loose neck skin and graying hair. I am not simply a photographer. I am not simply destined to grow old and die. My destiny is something far different and glorious.

We all imagine Jesus as a glorious being. He emits light that fills the universe. In this verse, we learn that "we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." This isn't about Jesus looking like us. It's about us looking like Jesus. We can also appear in glory as beings of light.

If we keep our potential in the front of our minds, it affects our daily behavior. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." If we hope in our glorious future, we are empowered to prepare ourselves now for that. We more diligently strive to refine and purify ourselves.

3:6

"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." If we have a close, intimate relationship with Jesus, we won't rebel against him. We won't consciously work against him. If he is in the front of our minds throughout each day, our appetite for sin vanishes.

The JST changes the last part of this verse. "...whosoever continueth in sin hath not seen..." Imperfect people can abide in Jesus. Those who abide will still make mistakes and sin. They will still have weakness. But those who chart a course of sin and stick to it, do not have a relationship with Jesus. If we openly rebel, we don't truly know Jesus.

3:10

"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." How can we discern who is a disciple of Christ? Those who do righteousness and love others. Our ability to submit to God's will and our unconditional love for others are the hallmarks of being a true child of God. Both are necessary. I am much better at one than the other...

3:13

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." We cannot be surprised if the world hates us. What will that hate look like? The world will:

• Consider us bigots because we don't perform same-sex sealings.

• Believe we are naive and uneducated to believe that the Book of Mormon came from a box in the ground.

• See us as religious fanatics who live by ridiculous, arbitrary rules.

• Understand our beliefs to be old-fashioned and out of style.

• Suggest that we disregard science.

• Fear our strength and organization.

• View us as "holier than thou" because we maintain high standards.

• Feel guilty as they compare their lifestyle and choices with ours.

It will soon become very clear who is a member of the Church. Members will suffer persecution and eventually violence. We must spiritually prepare for that day.

3:16-18

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." Of course Jesus's sacrifice is the ultimate demonstration of his love. But, what does this verse mean about us? Is it suggesting that we actually "lay down our lives?" It may come to that but, for us, I don't think John is saying that.

So how can we lay down our lives for others? I think a good thought is that we should sometimes lay aside our position. In other words, if we are in an argument with someone, we should sometimes set aside our position. We should submit to our neighbor more than we do currently. It may be that we choose something that may not be in our best interest to benefit a brother.

As I've said many times before, this life is partly about becoming selfless. We should look for all of the ways to practice that while we're here. "But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" Again, we may have to give up something to bless another. If we have an opportunity to bless someone, and withhold that blessing, the love of God does not dwell in us.

Let's not just talk this talk (I'm saying this to myself). Let's not just write about it in a blog and not actually do it. "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." What I write about or think doesn't really matter if it doesn't affect my behavior. There is a person in my life that I am withholding help because I don't believe that he can be helped - or wants to be helped. I shouldn't think this way and should offer to help. I do feel compassion for him but that compassion does no good if it stays in my brain. Compassion is only helpful if it is expressed "in deed." Acts of compassion are superior to thoughts of compassion.

4:4-6

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." Those who are of the world will always have an advantage convincing others using worldly arguments. Their worldly arguments will always resonate with the world.

We shouldn't worry about this. As disciples of Christ, we have overcome the world. The world may not hear us because we speak of heavenly things. We must ask ourselves, what do we resonate with? If we are drawn to gospel principles, we possess the spirit of truth and are following the true Spirit. If we are drawn to worldly wisdom, we must ask the question why. There is a spirit of error that draws people to it. It's not a good spirit - it is the "spirit of antichrist."

4:12

"No man hath seen God at any time (except them who believe). If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." God hasn't revealed himself to anyone who does not have faith in Him. That's not how he works.

John reinforces the idea that loving each other is an expression of God dwelling in us. It's interesting that he adds the phrase "his love is perfected in us." What does that mean? I think that loving others is the final result of God's love. It is the reason he created the plan of salvation in the first place. He is striving to get us to a point where we love others as he loves them.

Consider this, if God's love was just spraying out into space, what would it do? God's love receives its power through us. We are the manifestations of God's love. God's children CHOOSING to love is the purpose of God's love.

4:17-18

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." If we are mirrors of God's love, we are perfectly aligned. A perfectly aligned soul, striving to save God's children, is not afraid of the judgment. A soul aligned with God is not worried about condemnation. Instead, he or she is an "officer of the court" and has the same goals as the judge himself. We are his representatives. We are on his team. "As he is, so are we in this world."

If we love God and love each other, what are we afraid of? We know what God has done for us. We have faith in Jesus Christ and understand the results of the atonement. We need not fear what happens to us in this life and shouldn't fear what happens after. If we love God, we need not fear meeting him.

Another way to look at this is to consider the fear that we sometimes feel when we are thinking about approaching someone about the gospel. How fearful are we sometimes when we are prompted to share the gospel? If we truly, deeply love God's children, we won't hesitate sharing the purpose of life when prompted.

4:19

Why should we love God? John explains, "We love him, because he first loved us." He has given us a reason to love us. How?

• His loving work began before we were even created as spirits.

• His loving work was on display as he taught us over the course of an almost infinite development.

• His love was obvious has he created this world for us.

• He loved us so much and wanted us to progress that he created a plan to save us that relied on our agency. He was so committed to our development that he was willing to watch 1/3 of his spirit children leave him.

• The crowning evidence of his love was allowing his glorious son, who created the universe under his direction, to be born a fragile human who would suffer and die for us.

Truly, his love for us has existed long before we had the capacity to love him back. He has demonstrated his selfless love for us again and again. We shouldn't love him because he is great. We should love him because he loved us first.

4:20, 5:1-2

The best evidences that there is a God are the people we are surrounded by. We can see God's children with our eyeballs. "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

If the King of England sent an emissary to me, I would certainly treat him with respect. I wouldn't be rude or dismissive. I would respect this person - and I don't even have any feelings for the King of England.

If I would treat a paid emissary so well, how should I treat a child of God? If we mistreat a fellow child of God, how does that illustrate our feelings for God himself?! Let us love children of God who are before our eyes everyday.

In chapter five, we read, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." We love who begat so we love who was begotten.

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." It goes the other way too. If we love the children of God, we love God and keep his commandments. Love for others and love for God are inseparably paired. One cannot be without the other.

5:3

In addition to loving God's children, John clearly explains the other way we can demonstrate our love for God. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." We keep his commandments because we love him.

By the way, his commandments are NOT unreasonable, pointless, or grievous. His commandments are simply expressions of love. He doesn't want us to have unnecessary pain and suffering through making bad choices. He guides our choices through commandments. We should show our love and appreciation for doing the things that he's taken the time to tell us.

5:21

"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." These are the final words in this first epistle. He's not simply telling them to not worship idols, he's warning them from focusing on something other than God. He doesn't want anything else in the center of our hearts.

Our idols are our career, our possessions, even our earthly relationships. I love Marci so much but she can't take God's place in my heart. God must be the center of my worship.

2 John

1:8

"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." It is possible to lose a testimony. If we stop striving diligently to build our faith, we will lose it. We can "look to ourselves" by studying, praying, fasting, fellowshipping others, caring for the living and the dead. If we cease doing these things, we are not looking to ourselves. We are in danger of losing "those things which we have wrought (achieved)." When it comes to spiritual strength, we are either gaining or losing. We can't just hold position. We must strive until we "receive a full reward" in the end.

3 John

1:4

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." Is this true for me? Is my greatest joy when someone is staying faithful in the gospel? If my children (who have fallen away from the gospel) return, that would bring me more joy than almost any event I could experience - second only to my sealing to Marci.

May I be like John where I feel this pure joy for anyone - child or not - who is walking in truth. If I feel more joy for a great increase in money or a job promotion or an educational accomplishment, my priorities are out of whack and I'm not seeing this worldly experience for what it is.

1:5

John is feeling my struggle with feeling joy for others' righteousness, be it children or strangers. "Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers." It is easy to do good to those I love. It's harder with strangers.

I must keep my perspective clear about who is and who isn't God's children. The answer is, we are ALL God's children - be it family, friends or strangers. I should treat all equally. I should love all men and women - even those who drive slowly in the passing lane.

1:9

"I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not." Some leaders love being leaders. I love being a leader. I love feeling superior. It's probably my most limiting sin. This love of preeminence clouds my motivation to serve others. I sometimes question my motivation to serve. I've got to get that motivation refined and purified so I am serving simply because I love - not that I want to be respected and looked up to. I suspect I'm not the only one with this problem. I can report that I'm getting better at this. :)

Jude

1:4

"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." There are many who will see the infinite grace of God as permission to sin. We've got to get this right. God will and does show infinite grace. However, the point of this plan of salvation is to build us into beings that will choose to submit to God's will and love other unconditionally. We must use this mortal experience as a place where this is developed. Stalling in our growth or digressing by giving into our lasciviousness doesn't help us take advantage of this fantastic, mortal stage to become more like our Heavenly Father.

1:5-7

Jude reminds us with three examples that there are consequences of sin:

1. "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

2. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

3. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

These are different but similar stories that illustrate different ways to sin:

1. Israel forgot what God had done for them.

2. Spirits knowingly rebelled against God in the premortal world.

3. Sodomites gave into the temptation of the natural man.

There are many pathways to a sinful existence but forgetting, rebellion and embracing temptation are three big ones. Notice how all sinful options seem to begin with pride.

1:16

"These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage." The internet is filled with men and women who do this. They:

• Murmur and complain. They criticize the current church policies and past prophets. They broadcast anything that contradicts the accepted wisdom of the world. They are easily offended.

• Put themselves as the center of the universe. It is all about self-care. What matters is what works for them. It's all about what makes them happy. If it pleases them and doesn't hurt anyone else, it is good. If something is taught that makes them feel guilty, the teaching must be false.

• Are very articulate. These people can make wonderful, PowerPoint-illustrated arguments. They can assemble large collections of widely-accepted logic. They have a gift of communicating their point of view in compelling ways.

• Act kindly to others because they will benefit from the relationship. I see lots of partnerships with others. They guest-appear on each other's channels. These relationships are borne out of mutual financial benefit - whatever it takes to get more viewers and subscribers so they can get paid by YouTube. They yearn for more prominence among their peers.

1:20-21

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." This is the path of enlightenment. We must diligently build our testimonies and understanding of the plan of salvation and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our faith and hope must not be in ourselves but in Jesus Christ. Our strength must not come from ourselves but will come from the Holy Ghost.

Our responsibility is to build others up too. We must continually be looking for opportunities to build others' testimonies and understanding and faith. Every week at church offers a multitude of opportunities to strengthen others if we're looking. During the week, there are many chances to bring others to Christ. If we respond to promptings from the Spirit to share the gospel or build someone's existing testimony, God will give us even more promptings. We tend to use tools that work - God does too.

Our path should be through the love of God. You must "keep yourselves in the love of God." Our hope should be in "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." If we are not living in love and focused on Jesus Christ, our path is going to be more windy or even the wrong direction.

If we have selfless love for others, we will be saviors among men. "And of some have compassion, making a difference." Possessing and demonstrating compassion on others will certainly make a difference in many lives - including our own. :)