Matt. 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 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.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Isn't it quite obvious how important it is that we love our fellow men and women! Notice that Christ said everything else hangs or maybe depends on or is designed to help us with those two commandments? Pretty cool. It sure helps narrow down what is important and what isn't.

If you think about your life, what are you most proud of? What brought you the most complete, longest lasting feelings of joy and happiness? I am sure whatever you list, right at the top are those things that took the most effort to accomplish. These things might include Eagle Scout, building something, accomplishing major goals, etc. However, be honest with yourself, did the joy and happiness really last that long from those?

My guess would be probably not. However, if you start to think about the times you did things with your family and friends, or the times you were in service of others, I bet you would realize that, though this joy and happiness did have a time frame to it as well, this joy was much longer lived, more full and more complete. Is it merely coincidental that the second great commandment is related to social interaction? I really do not think so.

Abraham 3:25
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
Moses 1:39
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Romans 13:8-10
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

If we go back to the scripture in Matt. 22, we can see that all the commandments have to do with loving God and our fellow mankind. You might break the entire gospel down into the following two statements.

1. Don't hurt anyone else; if possible do good by them.
2. Don't hurt yourself; better yourself.

Think about it... how could Heaven be Heaven if people are hurting each other, being rude, etc.? I don't see how it could be.

I imagine, for most people, if you thought of Heaven without your friends, family, and other people you have close relationships with, you might find yourself thinking it was quite literally Hell! In fact, I would bet that if you really tried to define Heaven, you might get a list like this:

• Family
• Good Friends
• Peace, kindness, love
• and most importantly, God and Jesus present!

To have love and good relationships is to know God; as said in 1 John 4:7-8,16-17
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17 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.

And knowing God is to have eternal life, as found in John 17: 3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

What kind of love or relationship characteristics are good? Which ones will last? Which ones will be Heaven? Which are required to enter Heaven? How do we go about developing these characteristics? I believe the scriptures below will help to answer these questions.

1 Corinthians 13:8,10,13
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Moroni 7:46-47
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Ether 12:34
34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

We are told how to go about obtaining such traits in Moroni 7:48: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

Some other scriptures, out of the many, that may offer insight in this area are: Moses 7:18 and Philip. 2:1-4.