God's universal and perfect love is shown in all the blessings of His gospel plan, including the fact that His choicest blessings are reserved for those who obey His laws, said Elder Dallin H. Oaks.
"These are eternal principles that should guide parents in their love and teaching of their children," he said.
Speaking Saturday afternoon, Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve said he felt impressed to talk about God's love and God's commandments.
"The love of God does not supersede His laws and His commandments, and the effect of God's laws and commandments does not diminish the purpose and effect of His love," he said. "The same should be true of parental love and rules."
Elder Oaks said there is no greater evidence of the infinite power and perfection of God's love than is declared by the Apostle John: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son" (John 3:16).
"Think how it must have grieved our Heavenly Father to send His Son to endure incomprehensible suffering for our sins," he said. "That is the greatest evidence of His love for each of us."
Some, Elder Oaks continued, value God's love because of their hope that His love is so great and so unconditional that it will mercifully excuse them from obeying His laws. "In contrast, those who understand God's plan for His children know that God's laws are invariable, which is another great evidence of His love for His children. Mercy cannot rob justice."
Elder Oaks said God's love is so perfect that He lovingly requires His children to obey His commandments because He knows that only through obedience to His laws can they become perfect like He is. "God's anger and His wrath are not a contradiction of His love but an evidence of His love," he said. "Every parent knows that you can love a child totally and completely while still being creatively angry and disappointed at that child's self-defeating behavior."
The love of God is so universal that His perfect plan bestows many gifts on all of His children, Elder Oaks said. "If only we will listen, we can know of God's love and feel it, even when we are disobedient," he added.
However, he said, God's choices blessings are clearly contingent upon obedience to God's laws and commandments.
"This great principle helps us understand the why of many things, like justice and mercy balanced by the Atonement. It also explains why God will not forestall the exercise of agency by His children. Agency — our power to choose — is fundamental to the gospel plan that brings us to earth....
"If a person understands the teachings of Jesus, he or she cannot reasonably conclude that our loving Heavenly Father or His divine Son believed that their love supersedes their commandments."
The effect of God's commandments and laws is not changed to accommodate popular behavior or desires, he said. "If anyone thinks that Godly or parental love for an individual grants the loved one license to disobey the law, they do not understand either love or law."
Watch video of this talk and other conference talks at ksl.com