May we not conclude that obedience, in and of
itself, is a source of power…? Man an achieve naught of excellence in matters
material or spiritual except through the exercise, the utilization, of that supreme
form of energy, obedience (James E. Talmage, “Heaven’s First Law,” p. 4).
We must know and understand the doctrines in
order to be obedient, and we must be obedient in order to be free. This applies
to the laws of God and the laws of the land. Too often we think of freedom only
as the quality or state of being free from external restraint or compulsion,
and not subject to the will of another, where we have the power of choice with
every person free to “do his own thing,” regardless of its effect on him or
others (N. Eldon Tanner, “Ye Shall Know the Truth,” Ensign May 1978).
There is not a man of us but what is willing to
acknowledge at once that God demands strict obedience to his requirements. But
in rendering that strict obedience, are we made slaves? No, it is the only way
on the face of the earth for you and me to become free, and we shall become
slaves of our own passions, and of the wicked one, … and servants to the devil,
if we take any other course (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 18:246.).
Obedience assures us an answer to our prayers. We read in the
New Testament that “whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1John 3:22)
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Prayer and the Blue Horizon,” Liahona First Pres. Message Jun. 2009).
Do you love the Lord?
Spend time with Him. Meditate on His words. Take His yoke upon
you. Seek to understand and obey, because “this is the love of God, that we
keep his commandments.” 16
When we love the Lord, obedience ceases to be a burden. Obedience becomes
a delight. When we love the Lord, we seek less for things that benefit us and
turn our hearts toward things that will bless and uplift others (Joseph B.
Wirthlin, “The Great Commandment,” General Conference Oct. 2007)
There
will be some things that take patience and faith. You may not like what comes
from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It
may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social
life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord
himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that “the gates of hell shall
not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of
darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his
name’s glory” (D&C 21:6.), (President Harold B. Lee, In Conference
Report, Oct. 1970, p. 152.).
The test of the small things is a forerunner to the test of the big things. What are we asked to do everyday? We are asked to do the small things: pray, read the scriptures, be kind, be obedient, pay our tithing. To be fair, by worldly standards, these are not small things; they are huge! They can be a stumbling block to those who have never done them before. As we put them into practice every day, they become smaller and smaller. We begin to see the “great things” that are brought to pass through our diligence. The small things have consistently exercised our obedience muscles and when the big things come along, we are ready and able to pull our weight without murmuring.
ReplyDeleteWhy waste our time pushing against, bending and breaking Heavenly rules? Obedience to divine laws is the key that opens the gate of the strait and narrow path back to the Father. Even Eve in the Garden of Eden knew this when she transgressed. She had to obey the law that would start the mortal process if man were to progress. Her tempter knew that as well – indeed, there was no other way!
ReplyDeleteGod lives by eternal laws; in order to exist in its present form, everything we see and touch obeys these laws. Our bodies are voluntarily obedient in the way they are formed and grow and function and heal. There is only one who is disobedient to eternal laws; that is man. Pride says that we want to make our own rules and to be masters of our own fate. But if we do so without God as our mentor, guide and partner, the results will be, to say the least, disappointing. Only through humble obedience to divine laws can we be molded into someone who has truly grown, progressed and become free, and who will feel comfortable in the presence of God. In the words of Henry Ward Beecher: “laws are not masters, but servants, and he rules them who obeys them.”