Obedience

 

Given Sunday, Sept 24, 2003

General Session of Stake Conference

Preface:

I want to take just a minute and thank everyone for all your incredible service this month.  As part of Utah State Constitution and Founding Fathers month, we had a marvelous patriotic program.  We were able to join together and enjoy each other’s company while participating in a solemn moment together as we retired an American Flag.  Thanks to those that participated in the program and in providing the desserts that we enjoyed.  Thanks also to all those that prepared remarks for a special Sacrament meeting where we remembered the founding fathers, the constitution and our Lord’s hand in the establishment of this country.

We also had an opportunity to commemorate the tragedy of Sept 11 by offering service to the community.  As you know, we conducted a drive to collect hygiene kit items for the children in our elementary schools.  Elder Huntsman, our Area Authority, asked Pres Francom if he would spearhead a project for our area.  We reached out to the other stakes in our area to see if they would like to participate and the Granger East Stake wanted to join with us.  We formed a committee to brainstorm ideas and came up with the hygiene kit drive as the project we thought would benefit the community best.  We had a drop off location at the West Valley Fitness Center, at our churches, and also the library the day of the project.  We received a lot of donations at each location.  We started at the Granger Library in the morning and started to assemble kits from the donations we had already received while still receiving more.  While at the Granger library we were blessed with a visit from Elder Kevin Pearson, the Utah Area President, and Elder Pepper Murray, the Area Authority over the 9/11 day of service.  It was a pleasure to meet them, and they were pleased with the efforts taking place.

We then moved to the Hunter Library and continued to take donations and assemble kits.  In the end we were able to help five different elementary schools in West Valley.  We assembled about 325 complete kits and about 200 partial kits that were only missing an item or two.  In addition to that we made five boxes of extra items, one for each school.  In addition to the hygiene kits, we wanted to collect socks since so many children at our schools don’t even have socks to wear.  We collected and distributed about 650 pairs of socks.

I want to thank all those from our stake that served on the committee.  They did an incredible job.  And I want to thank all of you who donated items and donated your time to help us to assemble everything and get it ready to distribute.  Thank you to everyone for everything done this month.

 

Obedience

One of the simple beautiful truths we learn from childhood is that we are children of Heavenly parents.  That we existed in a pre-mortal world where we made choices.  One of the choices we were faced with was to follow the Savior Jesus Christ in carrying out the Father’s plan for us or to follow Lucifer.  Ironically, the great eternal truth of agency that allowed us to make that decision would be eliminated if we followed Lucifer.  We know that everyone here on Earth chose to follow our Savior and we continue to enjoy the eternal blessing of agency.

 

The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob defined agency like this, Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil;¹

 

The way that we choose liberty and eternal life is by choosing to be obedient to the commandments of God.  Exercising our agency in being obedient brings so many benefits with it.  In my study, I identified four benefits of being obedient.

1.      Obedience helps us to develop love and is a symbol of our love.

2.      Obedience brings blessings.

3.      Obedience is liberating.

4.      Obedience brings us truth and knowledge.

 

1.         Obedience helps us to develop love and is a symbol of our love.

The Lord has said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.  Simply put, obedience is an expression of love to Heavenly Father and Jesus.  Our love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus is an extension of our love for others.  If we don’t feel the love for others that we would like, obedience will lead to developing that love.  Obedience helps us to see others as God sees them which is with perfect love.  Getting a glimpse of that perfect love will help our love to grow within us.

 

2.         Obedience brings blessings.

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says” “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated”²

 

There are many analogies in the scriptures that describe what the Lord has in store for us if we are obedient.  One of my favorites says that the windows of heaven will open and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.³

 

I envision receiving blessings in such abundance that we have never before considered all that they might be.  This is probably one of the opportunities in life; to try to identify all the blessings that the Lord has given us.  As we consider them, more and more becomes apparent to us.  It is a very humbling experience.

 

Lanta and I recently had a very difficult decision to make in our lives.  My parents are in their mid-80s, and my mother needs fairly constant care.  My father can do most things, but it is exhausting for him both physically and emotionally.  My mom needs care, and my dad needs help caring for her.  Lanta has been blessed with a good job that is helping us a lot to recover from past financial blunders and prepare for retirement where we want to use our time to serve missions and other sorts of good things.  But it seemed to us that maybe it was time for Lanta to quit working and help care for my parents.  We spent a lot of time talking about it together, then with my siblings, and with my parents.  After much prayer we felt that leaving work and helping my parents was the best thing we could do.  We considered the good, better, best.  We knew anything we decided was good, but we felt this decision was the best.

 

However, informing the people at her work, and wrapping up everything that needed to be done was quite daunting.  One evening she asked me for a priesthood blessing to help her.  One of the things the Lord said through that blessing was that she would receive many blessings for the decision she had made and that many of them were blessings she had not even considered.  In just a few short weeks, we have seen that come true.  She has realized blessings in her life that she had not even considered.  It has been an amazing and humbling experience for both of us.

 

3.         Obedience is liberating.

President Nelson has promised us that through obedience we will have greater strength to resist temptation, more peace of mind, freedom from fear, and greater unity in your families.⁴

 

We see so much unrest, fear, and contention in the world today.  We want to have peace of mind.  We want to be free from the fear that is all around us.  We want to have peace and contentment in our life despite the fiery darts of the adversary.  Simply choosing to follow the commands of God when a choice comes before us will do so much to temper the uncertainty that surrounds us.

 

One of the Ten Commandments is to honor our father and mother.  What does it mean to honor?  I think a big aspect of honor is obedience.  Youth and Primary children, do you honor or obey your mother and father.  Doing so will bring greater unity to your families.  It will bring more peace and contentment to your home. 

 

Also speaking to young people President Nelson said, “You are a child of God.  God gives us commandments to bless us and bring us joy.  Sometimes people pick which commandments they will keep and which ones they won’t.  Trying to obey all of God’s commandments will bless you with light and joy and protect your body and spirit.

 

Here are a few things that President Nelson said would help keep you safe and strong.

·         Listen to the Holy Ghost

·         Repent when you make a mistake

·         Don’t swear or use crude words

·         Listen to good music

·         Watch good things

·         Dress modestly

·         Treat people kindly

·         Be honest

·         Use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus reverently⁵

 

 

4.         Obedience brings us truth and knowledge.

Raising questions is a natural part of life.  We always want to know what is truth and how to gain knowledge.  The pursuit of knowledge is a life-long quest that I hold dear.  About truth and knowledge, President Thomas S. Monson said the following:  In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in May of 1833, the Lord declared:

 

“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. …

“The Spirit of truth is of God. …

“And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.

“He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”

 

What a glorious promise! “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”

 

There is no need for you or for me, in this enlightened age when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing guide—even obedience. A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God.⁶

 

If you really want to know what is true, be obedient to God.  And always remember, the will of God is communicated to us through prophets.  If we wonder why we need to attend church to partake of the sacrament every week, the path to gaining that knowledge and understanding is by obeying the command to attend church and partake of the sacrament.  If we wonder why we need to pay tithing when we can barely make ends meet, the path to gaining that knowledge is by paying tithing.  If there are certain elements to the temple that we don’t understand, the path to gaining that knowledge and understanding is by attending the temple!  Through our obedience God will bless us with truth, knowledge, and understanding.

 

I testify that obedience will bring more to your life than you can even comprehend.  I testify that through the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, all things are possible, and all things will be made right.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

 

 

1. 2 Nephi 2:27
2. D&C 130:20-21
3. Malachi 3:10
4. Nelson, President Russell M, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum”, April 2022, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/47nelson?lang=eng
5. Nelson, President Russell M, “Happiness and Obedience”, Friend August 2020
6. Monson, President Thomas S, “Obedience Brings Blessings”, April 2013, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-brings-blessings?lang=eng

Consecration

 

Given Saturday, Sept 23, 2003

Adult Session of Stake Conference

Consecration

As I was studying and preparing my talk for tonight, I came across a talk by Neal A Maxwell.  He begins his talk with these words, “These remarks are addressed to the imperfect but still striving in the household of faith. As always, my immediate audience is myself.”¹

I echo those same thoughts.  I have learned much as I have studied about Consecration.  My main intent is to teach myself what I have learned.  You are welcome to listen in!

We are a covenant people.  Covenants are central to our journey to become more like our Savior.  One thing that has become clearer to me is the purpose of our life here on earth.  I have been taught my whole life that our ultimate goal is to return to live with our Heavenly Father and his Son.  It has felt to me a bit like a treasure hunt.  That we get little clues in our life that lead us to the next clue and then at the end, if we do everything right, we end up in the Celestial Kingdom.  In later years, I have decided that it is not a place we are searching for but rather a state of being that we are striving to become.  No unclean thing can dwell with God.²  If we become as much like our Savior as possible then we will be able to reside in his presence.  In my mind that has made a big difference.  I have started to focus more on becoming someone different rather than just marking off the boxes of expectations.

Temple covenants help us do just that.  There is more than just checking off the box of regular temple attendance.  Concentrating on the covenants we have made will guide us to becoming better people.  In relation to our covenant to live the law of consecration, Boyd K Packer taught, “We covenant with the Lord to devote our time, talents, and means to His kingdom.  We covenant to give of our resources in time and money and talent—all we are and all we possess—to the interest of the kingdom of God upon the earth.”³

In my previous mindset, I wanted to make a list of the things I was supposed to do to obey this covenant.  First was tithing.  That was pretty easy to define.  Then we can add other donations such as Fast Offerings.  This is a little harder.  We have been asked to give a generous fast offering.  What would I define as generous?  Then there is time and talents.  Ok, how much time would fulfill this obligation?  Do I need to give 2 hours a week?  Maybe 5 hours a week, or maybe more to the kingdom of God.  What does that include?  Attending church, serving in my calling, ministering, attending other ward and stake activities? 

But consecration is not a list of actions.  In the words of Neal A. Maxwell.  “We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God. Heart, soul, and mind were the encompassing words of Christ in describing the first commandment.  If kept, then our performances will, in turn, be fully consecrated for the lasting welfare of our souls.”⁴

Elder Maxwell goes on to give these encouraging words to those of us that can feel that consecration is overwhelming and daunting.  “Spiritual submissiveness is not accomplished in an instant, but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of stepping-stones. Stepping-stones are meant to be taken one at a time anyway. Eventually our wills can be “swallowed up in the will of the Father” as we are “willing to submit … even as a child doth submit to his father”⁵

As you have listened tonight and tomorrow morning.  And then as you listen next weekend when we will hear from the prophets and apostles and those that lead this church, listen as the spirit teaches you what those incremental improvements are in your life.  You will receive revelation to know what your next stepping-stone should be.

It is instructive, if not a little dramatic, to read in Acts 5 about Ananias and Saphira.

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.⁶

We have covenanted to consecrate our time, our talents, and everything the Lord has blessed us with.  We are all a little guilty of keeping back part of the price.  That last little bit is always the hardest to yield to the Lord.  As we seek personal revelation, we will discover those things that we cling to.  Perhaps it is a favorite bad habit that we somehow believe defines our individuality.  Perhaps preoccupation with “other Gods” such as sports, hobbies, our vocation, or maybe even family.  All these are very good things and deserve our attention but if we are to pay the full price for consecration, they cannot diminish our devotion to the first great commandment, to love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.⁷

Maybe you already know what the next stepping-stone is.  Like me, maybe you lack the courage to take that step.  That step will take us out of our comfort zone.  It is a scary thought.  It will require that we truly believe that God’s grace is sufficient for you.⁸  It will require that we truly believe that He is capable of making weak things become strong.⁹  Are we ready to submit to that process or are we still holding back?  I learned in preparing for today that I am still holding back in certain ways.  Being comfortable is very important to me.  I don’t like uncertainty.  I always want to know the end from the beginning.  Therefore, the Lord has placed me in many situations in life where I have had to function despite uncertainty.  It always turns out well.  So why do I sometimes feel I am a bit like Laman and Lemuel who experienced numerous miracles in their life, yet still doubted every time a new challenge arose?

I began to think to myself, what is it that I can learn from others who I feel have allowed their will to be swallowed up in the will of the Father?

My great-great-grandmother Marna Anderdotter was born in Malmo, Sweden in 1839.  She was the youngest of 9 children.  Her parents were weaving merchants and quite well-to-do according to the standards of the day.  Most children had to leave home to apprentice somewhere to earn money for the family.  However, Marna’s parents were able to provide work for her spinning and carding wool for the family business.  Marna was 11 years old when she began working.

Marna’s oldest sister, Ingeborg, was married and lived about 7 miles from the family.  In about 1857, Ingeborg met the LDS missionaries in Sweden and was baptized.  A couple of years later, when Marna was about 20 years old, she went to stay with her sister for a time.  During that visit she was taught the Gospel and was baptized in the Baltic Sea on March 11, 1861.  Marna returned home and said nothing to her mother.  (Her father had died two years previously).  She went straight to work on her spinning wheel, but her mother could sense something was different.   She approached Marna and asked if she had joined that despised religion, the Mormons.  Marna’s mother was horrified and told her that she must renounce the religion immediately or leave the house.  Marna left her comfortable home with no possessions and moved to live with her sister.  Unrelenting, her mother sent the Lutheran priests to her daughter’s home to try and persuade them to leave that evil religion.  They stayed true to the testimonies that they had gained.  About a year later, Ingeborg’s family, along with Marna, emigrated to America and made their way across the plains to join the Saints in Utah.  Their mother met them on the docks and made final pleading efforts to get them to stay.

Marna eventually married and had several children and lived a long but very impoverished life.  Much different than she might have enjoyed in Sweden.

As I think about this story, I am amazed at the courage that was shown by my great-great-grandmother.  She could have tried to please both God and her family.  I think she could have quietly attended secret meetings with the missionaries while trying to appease her mother.  She could have studied on her own.  She could have helped others in similar situations in Sweden.  She could have done much good.  But the call of the prophet at that time was to come to Zion.  Marna and her sister worked long hours in a glove factory to raise enough money to emigrate.  But I can still imagine all the uncertainty.  Did they have enough money to get all the way to Utah?  Would they be able to get along without the ability to speak English?  How would they find work once they arrived?  It is questions like this that keep me from fully aligning my will with the will of my Father.  But I am learning, and I am striving.  I am still taking small steps along the stepping-stones.  Opportunities like this to study more about consecration have helped me to move a little closer.  To understand a little more.  To gain a little more courage.  To keep making progress.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am grateful that He has made it possible for someone as weak as me to join him in Heaven.  I love the words of the hymn, I Stand All Amazed.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

 

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,

That he should extend his great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.¹⁰

 

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

 

1. Maxwell, Neal A., “Consecrate Thy Performance”, April 2022, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2002/04/consecrate-thy-performance?lang=eng

2. 1 Nephi 10:21

3. Packer, Boyd K, Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple?lang=eng

4. See #1

5. Ibid

6. Acts 5:1-11

7. Matthew 22:37

8. D&C 17:8

9. Ether 12:27

10. Hymns, #193, “I Stand All Amazed”