I was uncomfortable with the idea of fearing God. I defended Him as One whose love is so great He needs not be feared. This was based on my own understanding of 1 John 4:18: “Perfect love drives out fear.” Today, I have come to understand that when the scriptures calls our attention to fear God as a means to be in awe or show reverence toward. Scripture frequently refers to this phrase so that we may gain greater understanding that goes beyond being in awe or showing reverence toward.
It is the kind of fear that terrified the disciples when they encountered the Most High during Christ’s Transfiguration (see, Matthew 17:6). The same fear that overwhelmed Isaiah when he proclaimed “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). Such fear where the Apostle John lay prostrate and face down when he encountered the glory of Christ (Revelation 1:17)?
How does a loving Heavenly Father instruct us that wisdom begins when we fear Him? Like most, I had approached with a casual attitude of familiarity. I was not living in reality. I did not take Him quite seriously in my season of adolescence. Even more truthful is that I never truly taken my sinful desires and temptations I had fallen into quite seriously. Much of my fear rested on that of punishment for walking in disobedience to the commandments I knew I was supposed to keep. The frailty and shallowness of my ignorant faith kept me from experiencing the overwhelming greatness of my Heavenly Father’s grace, compassion, and gentleness. I did not see Him correctly. [ READ MORE HERE ]
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
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