One More Reason to Love Hugs

No, not this kind...

THIS kind! :-)

In close connection to my previous post, I recently learned something pretty cool about hugs. Now, I love hugs. I'm a very huggy, snuggly person by nature. I grew up giving them to everyone (including the missionaries, until Mom told me that I couldn't hug them anymore -- I still remember how crushed I was about that). I've also always been most keenly affected by the feeling of peace and safety I could find in a hug from someone who cared.

Don't get me wrong, kisses are probably my favorite form of expressing romantic affection, but there's something a little more unconditional and, well, secure about a hug. It doesn't have to be romantic, but it carries with it a strong indication of love, support, and genuine investment.

(Keep in mind, I'm talking about the good hugs, not those half-hearted, limp-noodled hugs you may bestow on a date or a new acquaintance)

I've always rather liked that, no matter where you're from, what language you speak, or what culture you're raised in, the hug is fairly universal in its meaning. Sure, some of the nuances vary from place to place, but the heart of the meaning remains the same: you are loved.

Well, I was reading in The Infinite Atonement today, and it talked about the Atonement as a means of restoring us to God's presence. One of the main purposes of the Atonement is to make us "at one" with God, both in literal location (living with Him) and in actually being like Him. The book says, "It should be clear what kind of oneness is meant by the Atonement -- it is being received in a close embrace of the prodigal son, expressing not only forgiveness but oneness of heart and mind that amounts to identity." Elder Callister goes on to cite many of the countless scriptural references to being "encircled in the arms of his redeeming love" found in the scriptures. Many such passages are closely tied to discussions of the Atonement and returning to live with our Father in Heaven.

Essentially, an embrace serves as a tangible symbol of the kind of union we can experience with our Heavenly Father if we use the Atonement to return to Him.

Isn't that cool? Is it any wonder that hugs hold so much meaning for so many people? Yes, there are those who may not like hugs, but they still understand the connotation of such a gesture and will often still accept one offered sincerely.

Forgive me a personal rumination, but I like to believe that our propensity to use hugs to express love, support, devotion, and sometimes even commiseration, is a reflection of a divine heritage in us. An outward expression, if you will, of a truth that each of our spirits is intimately connected to. Because we all knew the significance of the Atonement before we came to earth. And though we all had the veil drawn over our minds at birth, we each have the light of Christ and therefore a connection to that divinity and that spiritual knowledge.

And so we give hugs. Because somewhere, buried deep in our spiritual subconscious, we understand that this special gesture is a mortal approximation of a far more powerful gesture of love demonstrated by our Savior's atonement for our sins so that we could be reunited with our Father.

Those are my personal thoughts on the matter. I don't pretend to present them as doctrine. But I love the imagery, and the optimist inside me wants to believe that every member of humanity has some connection to the divine, no matter how small it is, even if it only manifests itself in the impulse to hug.