"The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.”
--- George Washington (First President of the United States of America)
The world in which we live often speaks of obedience as if it were akin to slavery. But obedience is the hallmark of humility, faith, and love. Without obedience, there could be no unity nor trust, or promise, not only in religion but in any facet of society. In truth, disobedience should be the word of distaste, not obedience. Obedience is a choice but it is the cornerstone of operable society. How great then should be the significance of obedience to the kingdom of heaven!
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4.1 --- OBEDIENCE TO GOD
Obedience is a prevalent underlying gospel topic in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and even more as a missionary but it boils down to "what our loving Heavenly Father expects of us". Still, first and foremost, obedience to the commandments is a personal decision, an important one with consequences, but still personal. God entrusts us with the ability to choose and act for ourselves, an essential ability commonly called "Agency" so that we may learn, be accountable for our own choices, and know happiness (See "The Return of the King -- Part 1"). Jesus said it short and simple, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Note that He didn’t say something along the lines of, “If you know what’s good for you, keep my commandments.” No. The strongest motivation to obey the commandments should be our love for God.
Jesus Christ was the perfect example of obedience to Heavenly Father. Taught the Savior in both the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24; 3 Nephi 13:24). It should be that simple. Those who love God love His commandments. Those who don’t love God above mammon [1] will not prioritize heavenly pursuits or conduct and will be unlikely to receive such spiritual blessings that only come through obedience to the commandments of God.
4.2 --- BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE
It should be understood why we have commandments. Firstly, commandments bring blessings. Some blessings are temporal, others spiritual, some now and some later. Enemies to the teaching of obedience insist that commandments are restricting and oppressing but in reality, commandments guard us against many terrible things and the damaging consequences that always follow them. They distance us from immorality, selfishness, addiction, aggression, and sin to name a few. The purposes of God’s laws are much the same as civil laws—to maintain order, to establish standards, to protect the general welfare, and so forth. If we can peacefully adhere to civil laws, why mustn’t we strive to abide by the more penetrating regulations of the eternities that will bring us everlasting happiness we can scarcely imagine? Commandments always endorse good things, even the best of things. I can't think of a single bad commandment to be honest and I don’t understand why some people think them unnecessary or bad. Whether we believe in commandments or not, the consequences good or bad of our behavior inevitably follow. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ repeatedly teaches, as a type of covenant, or agreement with God, “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence” (2 Nephi 4:4). If we obey, we shall prosper (not necessarily in a materialistic manner) but more importantly we will not be cut off from the Lord’s presence. Obedience to the commandments blesses my life greatly. I know from personal experience that the promise is true then and now for each of us.
Ponder Question: What blessings have you seen come from obeying the commandments? Apart from the temporal, think of the other blessings that come: the emotional blessings, the intellectual blessings, the physical blessings, the experiential blessings of doing what God asks of us.
4.3 --- A WILLING HEART
Although it's a commandment of God, we recognize that obedience is voluntary. Nobody is forced to keep the commandments but disobeying the commandments can lead to forfeited blessings. Such is simply how the laws of God operate (D&C 130:20-21). But rather than strictly monitoring and enforcing everything members of the church do, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are taught to govern themselves based on correct principles such as honesty, kindness, respect, and service. Diversity and differences of opinion both within and without the church can still exist harmoniously as we all strive to uphold gospel principles together. When a love of God and neighbor is instilled, man is naturally inclined to do good. (See "More Than Good")
Heavenly Father gives us commandments because He loves us. He is our father in Heaven. Parents want their children to obey because we want what's the best for them. We want them to be safe. We want them to be happy. We want them to know right from wrong. We want them to know how to survive in the world. We want them to learn from our experiences. If we love our parents, we listen to them and learn from them. If we love Heavenly Father, we listen to Him -- He who knows all and whose love in infinite.
I believe that there is something more to it than just obeying the commandments. After all, the Pharisees were notorious for their acclaimed strict obedience to the letter of the law of Moses. They thought themselves the most obedient and righteous of all and were quick to call out others who purportedly were “sinners” (although they themselves were no better as Jesus made clear). The hearts of the Pharisees were so removed from the "spirit of the law" that they went as far as accusing Jesus himself of breaking it, particularly criticizing His use of the Sabbath Day. If there were “obedience police” today, they would be Pharisees. Jesus called their type "hypocrites" (Matt. 15:7). Isaiah spoke of these self-righteous ones, “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me but have removed their heart far from me…” (Isa. 29:13). In our obedience, we focus on deepening our own relationship with God, not on comparing our efforts to those of others. In doing so we grow to love Him more and become like Him.
For obedience to truly be righteous, I believe that it has to be with good intent. It was this void in the Pharisees that Jesus refuted, “…hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23). Jesus wasn't rebuking their tithing practices but rather their ignorance and neglect of the deeper principles behind it. He was trying to teach that we need to do both the little things as well as the "weightier" things. Even Nephi's brothers in the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel, went through the same experiences in the wilderness as he did and were technically obedient to the commandments they were given, but they complained every step of the way and eventually ended up falling away from the gospel and turning on their family. (1 Nephi 2)
As important as animal sacrifice was in ancient times, Saul [2] was rebuked for disobeying the Lord and sacrificing the spoils of war as a burnt offering, said the disapproving Lord “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). Unfortunately, this was an example of supposed good intent used to cover an act of willful disobedience. Good intentions only go so far where the commandments of God are concerned. Obedience done with good intent brings blessings. Both components --- heart and hand. God doesn’t purely judge what we do; God cares about the person we are becoming. That is one of the great reasons why He gives us commandments.
4.4 --- THE REPENTANT HEART
Sometimes members work with church leaders for help in the repentance process. Church leaders lovingly welcome those humble enough to recognize the need for change and seek the Lord's help as they work through things together. Obedience and repentance are required for things such as a temple recommend [3], a type of "letter of recommendation", so to speak, needed to enter the temple (See "Temples -- Holy Houses of the Lord"). Likewise, the sacrament --- bread and water we partake in every Sunday --- is intended for those striving to live in harmony with the gospel. If one knowingly has things to set right in their lives, they should forego the temple and taking the sacrament until appropriate amends are made (1 Cor. 11:27-28; 3 Nephi 18:28-32). Disobedience does not mean “Game Over”, it means “Please, Try Again”. So, some may wonder why only some people can go inside the temple, or partake of the sacrament? It's because obedience and repentance give value to the sacrament and temple because they are precisely at the heart of what they stand for. (See "Repentance" and "Sabbath Day Observance")
We can’t intentionally disobey the commandments with the intent of repenting later because repentance literally means "a turn of heart", godly sorrow, and sincerity. Repentance is not an excuse to do whatever we want and somehow get away with it. Said Paul to the Romans, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law [of Moses], but under grace? God forbid” (Rom. 6:15; See "More Than Good"). True repentance is based on faith in Jesus Christ. The Lord will not allow us to make a mockery of His atoning sacrifice (See "Great Sacrifice"). If our repentance is sincere, we can be forgiven of any sin, but if we are casual about it, nothing is guaranteed, nor frankly deserved.
Still, the gift of the atonement is freely given to all who will repent as often as they are willing. That's what it's there for. The scriptures are rich with examples of mercy and pleas to return to Him.
"O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart." (3 Nephi 10:6)
My thoughts return to a message shared by Jeffrey R. Holland, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, given in April 2012 entitled "Laborers in the Vineyard". Using the parable from the Bible of the same name as the foundation (Matt. 20:1-16), his message is that it is never to late to come unto Christ. If you can read or watch the message in full, please do. But for now, allow me to quote it in part, a sentiment that I wholeheartedly believe in:
"I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable, but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Mammon is Hebrew for “wealth” or “possessions”. The heed to not serve mammon is to not become entangled in worldly things that draw us away from God. Some have interpreted Mammon to symbolize greed. In the context of the Lord speaking, He instructs us to not lay up for ourselves treasures upon earth that do not last so much so that we neglect laying up treasures in heaven. The lesson includes trusting in the Lord and not the world.
[2] Not to be confused with the original Jewish name of the Apostle Paul; this Saul was the first king of Israel who was commanded to defeat the Amalekites and destroy all that they possessed (1 Sam. 15:2-3). But Saul disobeyed God and kept part of the spoils for a burnt sacrifice. As consequence for his disobedience, Saul is rejected as king. (vs. 23)
[3] A temple recommend is a card-sized document that signifies someone lives in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It represents one’s preparation to enter the temple and make additional covenants. A recommend must be renewed every two years through the individual’s local ecclesiastical leaders.
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