I have heard many members claim that God’s love is unconditional no matter what.
That no matter what we do, God loves us.
That we might disappoint God with our actions, but that He will always love us.
And when we were in the church,
We believed the exact same thing.
Which is interesting.
Considering the church’s blatant rhetoric categorizing God’s love as
You guessed it
“Conditional.”
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
Here the church blatantly and openly admits that the word “unconditional” is not in the scriptures;
And categorizes God’s love as perfect;
And yet…
Still conditional.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
What I find extremely ironic,
Is that when I, the wife, was serving mission
I had someone tell me that the religion we believed in taught that God’s love is conditional.
I fought back against that, of course; claimed urgently to this person that he was wrong; that the God we believed in loved us no matter what;
Even if we made some personal decisions that made God a little disappointed.
Oh how wrong I was.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
While I personally believed in a God that was all-loving;
The church had been proclaiming the opposite.
And like me, a lot of members had no idea.
Odd how that works;
Members not realizing what the church actually is preaching and teaching it’s members.
The church compared “Love” to words like “immortality,” and “eternal life.”
The church categorizes “Love” into separate, distinguishing features;
The belief that God loves us so much he made it so that none of us go to outer darkness (hell) and at least have some degree of glory in the afterlife.
Versus informing members that although God loves you enough to get you into the lowest kingdom of glory,
You have to earn the rest of his love
Through covenant and commandment-keeping.
“God has shown how much he loves you. Now prove it back!!”
“Or the limits of God’s love will no longer be able to reach you!”
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/15?lang=eng
What does this tell parents about parenting their children?
That it’s okay to remove love from a child because you don’t agree with the way they want to live their life?
Because they found a life partner in someone of the same sex?
Because they enjoy a glass of wine every other week?
Because they love a good cup of coffee in the morning?
Because they don’t believe in the Christian God like you do?
Does breaking these “commandments” thus remove your child from your love?
According to the church;
It does.
At least, it removes them from God’s love.
So why aren’t you following His example? And removing your love from your child, too?
–
Do you hear how this sounds?
Terrible, right?
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/17?lang=eng
The verbage regarding conditional love is extremely harmful.
It raises children with the mindset that love is something to be earned;
To work for.
To prove to be worthy of.
Is that how you want to raise your children?
Is that how anyone should believe that love is?
No.
Absolutely not.
Love just…is.
Love is love.
It’s not something we have to prove ourselves to deserve.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2019/05/51oaks?lang=eng
Why try to categorize “love” into boxes and explain yourself as to why you don’t believe in unconditional love?
What a hurtful thing to teach people.
Love is not something you have to prove that you are worthy of.
Love is not limited to where you have to complete additional tasks to receive more of it;
The fullness of it.
We are all inherently born with the right to be loved…
Unconditionally.
But Christian religions like to twist beautiful human things like love
And turn it for a profit.
To get members to do what they want.
“If you love me, I’ll love you back.”
“Prove you love me by X, Y, Z.”
“If you love me, you’ll…”
It gets dark,
When you think of all the ways a person can manipulate the human desire to be loved for their own benefit.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
It literally states right here,
“Understanding that divine love and blessings are not truly unconditional can defend us against common fallacies such as…”
“Since God is love, he will love me unconditionally, regardless…”
Tell me, active members;
What do you make of that? Genuinely?
So;
Active members of the church who claim that the God they believe in will love them no matter what, but might just be disappointed in some of their actions…
Are wrong.
Or at least,
Misinformed
About what the church they follow actually teaches.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/95?lang=eng
What a sad and devastating thing;
To believe so deeply that a God would love you so unconditionally;
And then realize that your religion teaches the complete opposite;
That God’s love for you…
Has limits.
Can be taken away.
Can be denied.
And it all hinges on you, and your abilities to follow and obey everything that He says and commands.
Like an abusive husband to his adoring wife who just wants to be cherished and adored;
But nothing she does is good enough.
“If you love me you’ll…”
“If you don’t obey me you’ll no longer be in my love…”
Disgusting.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/15?lang=eng
“If you obey me, you’ll be fine! If you don’t…you’ll fail. Wither away. I’ll cast you aside. I’ll be fine! But you won’t.”
“So, you better obey me or else.”
No love for you.
Can you imagine raising your children this way?
The ones you brought into the world?
Maybe that will put things into perspective;
At least a little.
“You misunderstand!”
Do we?
Do we really?
Who are you trying to fool?
Yourself?
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
“My love is a short stick because I want you to be truly happy…earning MY full love!”
Because that’s where we all want to be, right?
Trapped in a never-ending cycle of trying to earn the full love of someone else…
That is what the church deems as “happiness?”
To maybe, hopefully do well enough in this life to make it back to our “loving” God who made us spend our entire mortal lives trying to “prove ourselves herewith?”
What a life.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/12bednar?lang=eng
If you’re saying,
“You’re taking things out of context. You’re misunderstanding the message that…xyz.”
“God DOES love us unconditionally! It’s why He sent his son, so we wouldn’t only have two options of either heaven or being cast off into outer darkness (hell)! The kingdoms of glory prove He loves us unconditionally! It’s because of his love we don’t believe in the traditional hell!”
Not a traditional hell, maybe.
Just a belief that those in the lower kingdoms will serve those in the celestial and that they will always regret living single-y and not making it to the celestial level.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/rev/14?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2013/03/youth/what-happens-after-we-die?lang=eng
“They don’t proclaim that anymore! That’s old news and now they teach things differently! God’s love is everlasting!”
Then tell me…
• Please, actually, tell me, how THIS was taken out of context –
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
• Please tell me how offering your children the “lowest” degree of heaven by default is all-loving? And how getting into the celestial kingdom requires extra “proof of love?”
• And this is old news, right? They don’t teach this anymore?
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/33barlow?lang=eng
Oh,
But they do.
–
Imagine shaming someone for leaving the church –
Because they don’t believe that love should have to be earned and constantly proved.
