When I was a child, I was confused occasionally by Christian friends who said that God lives in your heart. This seemed so illogical, because I always envisioned God the Father as a person and His Son Jesus Christ as a distinctly separate person. And this was, of course, a foundational understanding Joseph Smith obtained when he had the First Vision in 1820. The Tree of Life vision outlined in The Book of Mormon also gives specific clarity to this confusing issue of Christianity in 1 Nephi 11. Here we learn that while God and Jesus are distinct individuals, it is the “Love of God” that sheds itself forth from them that can dwell in our hearts. It is the most joyous and desirable thing we can carry with us through this life.
1 Nephi 11:20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
LESSON LEARNED: God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are two distinctly separate beings. It is God's love that can dwell in our hearts; there is no greater joy in life.
FEEDBACK: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE FEELING THIS LOVE OR UNDERSTANDING THIS CONCEPT?
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