Feel as God feels

Your feelings reflect how closely you approach the ideal defined by your beliefs. In a sense, your beliefs are your instruction manual for enduringly obtaining what is most valuable. By intentionally thinking about what you believe, you generate a prioritization of possible actions to achieve what you expect to be the greatest possible meaning in life.

God holds the ideal set of beliefs that generate the ideal life and the greatest possible meaning. His commandments assist us in perceiving his example, and to the extent we emulate his example, we will come to enjoy the same meaning he does.

While God’s example is a composite of thoughts, feelings, and actions, our adherence to or rebellion from him begins and ends in our feelings.¹ What we desire will determine the actions we take, based on the beliefs we hold.

God has defined his desire, and the greatest joy is available to those who adopt it as their own: “For behold, this is my work and my glory— to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) A person walks in eternal life as they live up to all they know about Jesus and do all they can to learn more about him.² A person who has adopted God’s purpose will do this themselves and do all they can to help others do the same.

The Lord spent his mortal life learning about and living up to the Father’s example, doing all in his power to help others do the same. The sacrifice of Christ shows the value God sees in his purpose,³ which is to enable us all to achieve more of our potential.⁴ Christ is the most valuable person who has or will live here. You are purchased with the greatest price possible. That price is unknowable except as far as you have paid it yourself. You will only know and value the sacrifice that the Lord made and continues to make for you to the extent that you do the same for others.

God commands us to love all people as he loves us:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

Like all commandments, this—the chief commandment—is designed to maximally expand the depth, breadth, and endurance of your joy.⁵ Loving others with all your heart, might, mind and strength⁶ will maximally increase the value of what you receive from God and the value of what you give to others.⁷

To fully understand what this entails, it is necessary to know God’s definition of love: to sacrifice for the benefit of others. To love others as Jesus loves us requires us to do all we do for the benefit of the world,⁸ as he does.

As you fully adopt God’s purpose, you will come to feel more like he feels across all circumstances as he incrementally increases your understanding of himself, you, others, and the world around you. You cannot feel as God feels much more than you know what he knows, but by freely loving all people up to the limits of your present understanding of his love for you, you will open the way for him to help you perceive even greater love.

As you love others as Christ loves you, you will participate in a chain reaction of increasing receipt, giving, and appreciation of the love of God. The more of his love you give, the more you appreciate the love he has given you; the more you appreciate the love he has given you, the more you will give to others; the more love you give to others, the more love God will give to you.