1 Nephi 17: beginning of 40

Nephi testifies that, "[the Lord] loveth those who will have him to be their God." This phrase has always interested me. First, I think about whether or not I fit into this category. I would quickly say that I love Him. However, do my actions reflect this? I would think so, but like all of us, we have faults. But, we cannot use this quality of our natural component as an excuse, because "the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:31).

What does it mean to have the Lord as our God? I think that it means that we follow the first commandment in Exodus 20:2-6:
"2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

It think that it is interesting that we have been talking a lot about the Israelites and that this phrase has yet another connection to them. Verse 6 of the quote is related to the phrase too, because He loves us that have Him as our God and we love Him by keeping His commandments.

There were two talks from Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that have discussed this commandment in light of an application to today's living. The first is called, "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods" and the second, "Living By Scriptural Guidance." From the second we find this quote:

"God declared in the first of His Ten Commandments, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Yet carnal man tends to let his loyalty drift toward idols.

"For example, we marvel at computers and the Internet that enable transmission of data with remarkable speed. We are truly grateful for these electronic servants. But if we let them take over our time, pervert our potential, or poison our minds with pornography, they cease being servants and become instead false gods.

"The Master warned of those who 'seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol.'

"False gods can only lead to dead ends. If our journey through life is to be successful, we need to follow divine direction. The Lord said, 'Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.' And the Psalmist wrote, 'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.'

Following such counsel demands not only conviction but conversion and often repentance. That would please the Lord, who said, 'Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn … from all your abominations.'"

False gods could mean any vice. We must turn to the Lord and serve Him above all.