This is my talk- I am posting it because I plan on taking all of my posts at the end of the year and putting them into a book of remembrance. I want this to be part of it. It is long so you don't need to read it. You can scroll down to my week 8 entry below.
Obedience is a very broad topic and I as sit and think about it I find my mind wandering in many directions. When I first heard the word Obedience my thoughts strayed to not wanting to be told what to do. That’s right, one of my weaknesses is when I feel as if someone is taking away my choice; or in other words when someone is telling me what to do. I remember as a youth when my mom and dad would tell me I couldn’t do something or when they would ask me to do something. For the most part I would fight them and try to convince them they didn’t understand my situation or I would try to negotiate my way out of doing whatever it was they were asking. Now I see my children doing the same thing and I have a greater understanding as to why they responded the way they did to my requests or why they were asking things of me that I just didn’t want to do.
Becoming a parent, I must say, changed my way of thinking. As I ponder obedience and how its meaning has changed throughout my life I am led to think of how my Heavenly Father, as well as my parents here on earth, have been so patient with me. I can only imagine that Heavenly Father feels the same way towards me, that my parents feel towards me and I feel towards my children. Each parent has experienced life ahead of the other. Each parent has a knowledge and understanding that as children we don’t yet possess. My parents prayed that I would heed their instructions and listen to their counsel, the same way I do for my children. I can only imagine, on a much larger scale, the kind of prayers our Heavenly Father says for us daily.
Because Heavenly Father knows each one of his sons and daughters personally, and because he has had experiences that we have not had, he has given us counsel, guidelines, laws and ordinances that will provide protection, blessings, guidance and an overall sense of his unconditional love for each and every one of his children. Obedience to these things will bring us joy beyond imagination and disobedience- destruction, pain, sorrow and needless trials. We left a pre-mortal existence in which we chose to follow our Savior, our brother, Jesus Christ. We knew it would not be easy but we also knew it would be necessary for us to become as our Father. As with all experiences we could only imagine what this life would be like and until we were living it we would never have a full understanding. Just as our Savior knew he would have to suffer “an infinite atonement” for each of us, until he was in the Garden pleading with His Father, he did not know how difficult it really would be and just as our Savior had to come to earth and grow in wisdom and stature by showing obedience not only to his earthly father, Joseph but also to his Heavenly Father- we too must do the same.
We came to this earth to have experiences, show our faith, and be free to choose for ourselves which path we would follow. We are free to choose— Ezra Taft Benson stated, “We are here to learn the first lesson toward exaltation-obedience to the Lord’s gospel plan.” In the third article of faith it states, “We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.” Heavenly Father sent us here with a plan- the plan of salvation, the plan of happiness, the plan of mercy. He sent his eldest son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins so that we could return to him.
Alma 34:9-10, 15 (infinite atonement)
9 For it is expedient that an aatonement should be made; for according to the great bplan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are cfallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.
10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last asacrifice; yea, not a bsacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an cinfinite and deternal esacrifice.
15 And thus he shall bring asalvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
But even still we must choose for ourselves whether or not we will be obedient to the laws and ordinances He has set forth through prophets of old, modern prophets and ultimately through the example he set forth while he resided here on earth. Notice that in the third article of faith it says “may be saved.” It is not set in stone, Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ have done their part and continue to do so- it is up to us to do our part. What is our part? Obedience!
When we become members of the church, at baptism we take upon us the covenant to be witnesses.
Mosiah 18: 8-11
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are adesirous to come into the bfold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are awilling to mourn with those that bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being abaptized in the bname of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ccovenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.
When we are baptized we are willing to be called his people, willing to bear one another’s burdens, willing to mourn with those that mourn, comfort, to stand as witnesses. In essence we become a stand in here on earth for our Savior. We covenant at baptism we will serve him and keep his commandments. In doing so, he will bless us even more abundantly by bestowing upon us the gift of the Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead, who will help ease our burdens, mourn with us, comfort us and witness to us of the truth- a witness of the plan of salvation and the unconditional love our Father in Heaven and Savior have for us.
Every Sunday we are able to renew that covenant by partaking of the sacrament. When we do so we are again promising we will be obedient (keep the commandment and serve him). Otherwise, “ …if you should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered and preserved…the man that doeth this cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness.” (Mosiah 2:36-37)
Obedience takes faith, as with all aspects of the gospel. Sometimes we don’t know why we are being asked to do something or not do something- all we need to know is that our Heavenly Father has asked it of us. We need to have faith that he knows us and loves us and would never ask anything of us unless it would bring us closer to him and strengthen us in our endeavors to build the kingdom of God. I must go back to my youth when I would argue with my parents about issues pertaining to my social life. It was hard to hear the answer “No” to a plethora of requests such as my dress, my friends, dating, curfews, dancing, media choices and so many others. At the time I didn’t understand and would always answer with a resounding “you just don’t understand- you never lived my life- you don’t care” something along those lines would come racing out of my mouth and I would try to rationalize, justify or find some way around it. Always they would remain consistent in their resolve- they would listen, they would hear and they would empathize but they did not change their minds. Over time I understood their reasoning and I would stop asking and obey- maybe at first it was because I had to, but it became something I knew was for my own good and because they loved me. Now as a parent I understand and see it all from the same perspective. The same is with our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are asked to do or not do things that we may not understand, we may want a different answer, we want to say that He doesn’t care or he is making requests of us that are not in harmony with the way the world is today. Again, it comes down to having faith and knowing that our Heavenly Father knows you and loves you as an individual.
So often we want to pick and choose which laws, commandments, guidelines and ordinances we want to be obedient too. We allow the things of the world to divert us from those things that are of an eternal nature. As members of the church we know that obedience may save us or in other words through obedience we will receive eternal life. But it is obedience to all the laws and ordinances not just the ones that are convenient at the time. President Spencer W. Kimball warned us, “The cares of the world are so many and so entangling, even very good people are diverted from following the truth because they care too much for the things of the world.”
We are all children of our Heavenly Father and we must be willing to submit to the requests of our Heavenly Father just as our children must submit to ours. Only the difference is Heavenly father and Jesus Christ are perfect. Jesus Christ follows the will of His Father and we are asked to follow Jesus Christ.
D&C 76:1-5
1 aHear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is bGod, and beside him there is cno dSavior.
2 aGreat is his wisdom, bmarvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.
3 His apurposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.
4 From eternity to eternity he is the asame, and his years never bfail.
5 For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am amerciful and gracious unto those who bfear me, and delight to honor those who cserve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.
6 Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their aglory.
Regardless of our age and stage in life, daily obedience to gospel principles is the only sure way to eternal happiness. President Ezra Taft Benson put it most poignantly when he said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”
Where does this power come from? It comes from the knowledge received as we do and heed his counsel. Joseph Smith stated in the History of the church, “In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed; and as God has designed our happiness … He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances.”
As with all things obedience must be learned. But, like Jesus, we must learn obedience. That is the purpose of our mortal life. If we fail in this experience, we will not find the true happiness that leads to exaltation. However, It is not something that comes naturally.
Mosiah 3:19
19 For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnatural man and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a jchild, ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father
How do we learn to be obedient? A talk given in October, 1977 by Elder Delbert Stapley of the Quorum of the twelve apostles outlines the line upon line process in which we become obedient.
First, we must recognize we are not to walk alone.
“The Lord has clearly revealed His will concerning His children and shown us His plan of redemption. His laws are explicitly recorded in the standard works of the Church, which are the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.”
We have life’s lesson manual at our fingertips. Everything we need to know is contained within the standard works. Do we use the scriptures in an effort to know the will of God and understand his commandments regarding his children?
Elder Stapley continues with the second step to learning obedience - heeding the words of our modern day prophets and leaders.
Their words are scripture and they speak in the language of today. Are we picking and choosing the words in which we will take counsel and tossing the rest aside? The Lord didn’t say obey the laws and ordinances that are convenient for you. “Thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.” (D&C 21:4–5
The people of King Benjamin recognized this when they covenanted with God after hearing the words of their modern day leader and example.
Mosiah 5:5
5 And we are willing to enter into a acovenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a bnever-ending torment, as has been spoken by the cangel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.
We continue to learn obedience, as Elder Stapley states, by disciplining ourselves in all things. He continues by saying, “We must recognize that mortality has been granted to us as a probationary state where all physical appetites are to be mastered. It is far more difficult to repent in the spirit world of sins which involve physical habits and actions.”
Alma 34:31-34
31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the bday of your csalvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and dharden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
32 For behold, this alife is the time for men to bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of cthis life is the day for men to perform their dlabors.
33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not bprocrastinate the day of your crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the dnight of edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful acrisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth bpossess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
And finally we learn obedience by the things we suffer. Trials and afflictions are times in which we can draw strength and gain a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior. By remaining obedient in times of tribulation we begin to recognize that we are not alone. Oftentimes it isn’t until after the trial has passed that we come to understand fully the reasoning for the heartache however if we have remained obedient it is then we are able to see that obedience does have power and ultimately, the happiness for which we are searching.
Elder Stapley comments, “Sometime in the eternities to come, we will see that our trials were calculated to cause us to turn to our Heavenly Father for strength and support. Any affliction or suffering we are called upon to bear may be directed to give us experience, refinement, and perfection.
The Lord has revealed in this dispensation that our rewards in the eternities are predicated on our level of obedience. If we are fully obedient to celestial law, fulfilling the laws of Christ, we will be worthy of a celestial glory.”
Following these steps will lead to lasting happiness as long as we do it with an open heart and mind. If we do these things complaining all along the way we won’t be able to see the good. Just the other day we had a party for my daughter Natalee in which we invited her kindergarten class to watch a movie. The day came and only a few of her friends were able to attend. She was so disappointed and moped and whined the entire duration of the movie. At the end she came to me and explained her sentiments. My reply was, “Natalee you can choose to moan and groan about your other friends not being able to come or you can find joy in the friends that did come. It’s your choice.” I say to you today the same thing, You can moan and groan about how hard it is to be obedient to all of the counsels, laws, and guidelines set forth today or you can find joy the joy in it.”
Mosiah 2:41
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out cfaithful to the end they are received into dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
Elder Donald L. Staheli Of the Seventy stated in April of 1998 conference, “As we grow in the gospel, we learn the value of obedience to principles which will consistently align us with the teachings of our Savior and prophets. As we are obedient to their teachings, we then begin to understand what the Savior meant when He said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
When we are obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel we will find growth that changes, molds, encourages, refines, and cleanses us. We will find that the natural man, who is an enemy to God, will be set aside and we will become the Son or Daughter of God with potential far beyond our capacity to know at this time. This cannot be obtained without entering into the waters of baptism and covenanting with our Heavenly Father, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and remaining obedient until then end. We are imperfect beings and Heavenly Father in his great plan knew this which is why he sent his Son to atone for our sins and make it possible to repent. By earnestly striving to do better, correcting behavior that is not in compliance with gospel standards, and doing so without complaint we will find joy in obedience. It will no longer feel like a burden but will be a witness to our Heavenly Father of our faith and love in Him and His plan.
As King Benjamin ended his address to his people he stated the following
Mosiah 5:15
15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in agood works, that Christ, the bLord God Omnipotent, may cseal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who dcreated all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.
I would like to end with these words from a popular primary hymn
I am a child of god, He has sent me here, Has given me an earthly home, With parents kind and dear
To lead me guide me walk beside me, Help me find the way, Teach me all that I must do , To live with Him someday.
Not all of His children were born to homes with the gospel but that does not mean he hasn’t made the gospel accessible to all of His children. We, as members of the church, have a responsibility- to share his message with our brothers and sisters. Our Heavenly Father is a kind and dear parent, He leads us, he guides us, he walks beside us- he’ll help us all find the way- he’ll teach us all that we must do- to live with him again. When we share our knowledge with others we are representing our Savior and serving him.
I have a deep testimony of this gospel. I know it is true. I know that by following the counsels found within the scriptures as well as that of prophets and leaders today we will find a happiness that will be eternal in nature. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and knows me. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored by Joseph Smith in the latter days and the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. By reading the words contained therein we will find a power we cannot find anywhere else. It is the power of truth and by asking sincerely we can know that truth for ourselves.
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