The Lord revealed that the purpose of it all is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) Ordinances and covenants were ordained to protect this power to generate life. When laws are obeyed, happiness follows, for “men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:25.)
Ever and always there is the destroyer waiting to disturb and disrupt, to scatter abrasives into this marvelous system. His purpose is to rupture those circuits which interconnect the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual, or to cross-connect them in ways that never were intended. His purpose is to pollute that sacred fountain of life and to generate, if he can, unnatural affections. (See 2 Tim. 3:2–3.)
Those who talk of blind obedience may appear to know many things, but they do not understand the doctrines of the gospel. There is an obedience that comes from a knowledge of the truth that transcends any external form of control. We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see.
Please note that knowledge is gained by obedience. It comes by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. In the ultimate and full sense it comes only by revelation from the Holy Ghost. There are some things a sinful man does not and cannot know. The Lord’s people are promised: “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). But if they do not seek the Spirit, if they do not accept the revelations God has given, if they cannot distinguish between the revealed word and the theories of men, they have no promise of gaining a fullness of truth by the power of the Holy Ghost.
The safety and happiness we are promised lie in keeping the commandments, not in discounting or multiplying them.
When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.
If every choice I make expresses a preference, if the world I build up is the world I really love and want, then with every choice I am judging myself, proclaiming all the day long to God, angels, and my fellowmen where my real values lie, where my treasure is, the things to which I give supreme importance. Hence, in this life every moment provides a perfect and foolproof test of your real character, making this life a time of testing and probation.
I remind us all that while reaching out to and helping bring back a lamb who has strayed, we also have a profound responsibility to the 99 who didn’t stray and to the wishes and will of the Shepherd. There is a sheepfold, and we are all supposed to be in it, to say nothing of the safety and blessings that come to us for being there.
My young brothers and sisters, this Church can never “dumb down” its doctrine in response to social goodwill or political expediency or any other reason. It is only the high ground of revealed truth that gives us any footing on which to lift another who may feel troubled or forsaken. Our compassion and our love—fundamental characteristics and requirements of our Christianity—must never be interpreted as compromising the commandments.
As the marvelous George MacDonald once said, in such situations “we are not bound to say all we [believe], but we are bound not even to look [like] what we do not [believe].
The object with me is to obey and teach others to obey God in just what He tells us to do. It mattereth not whether the principle is popular or unpopular, I will always maintain a true principle, even if I stand alone in it.
Third, waiting upon the Lord implies continued obedience and spiritual progress toward Him. Waiting upon the Lord does not imply biding one’s time. You should never feel like you are in a waiting room. Waiting upon the Lord implies action. I have learned over the years that our hope in Christ increases when we serve others. Serving as Jesus served, we naturally increase our hope in Him. The personal growth one can achieve now while waiting upon the Lord and His promises is an invaluable, sacred element of His plan for each one of us. The contributions one can make now to help build up the Church on earth and to gather Israel are much needed. Marital status has nothing to do with one’s capacity to serve. The Lord honors those who serve and wait upon Him in patience and faith.14
Since we cannot fully comprehend any one of God's perfected attributes, we surely cannot comprehend them in the aggregate. But we can have faith in Him and in His attributes as He has described these to us. This is what He asks of us. We may say that this is a lot to ask, but anything less will not do.
Neither is obedience a mindless shifting of our personal responsibility. Instead, it is tying ourselves to a living God who will introduce us—as soon as we are ready—to new and heavier responsibilities involving situations of high adventure. Obedience, therefore, is not evasion; it is an invasion—one that takes us deep into the realm of our possibilities
Our obedience assures that when required, we can qualify for divine power to accomplish an inspired objective.
The very first word in the Doctrine and Covenants is hearken.12 It means “to listen with the intent to obey.”13 To hearken means to “hear Him”—to hear what the Savior says and then to heed His counsel. In those two words—“Hear Him”—God gives us the pattern for success, happiness, and joy in this life. We are to hear the words of the Lord, hearken to them, and heed what He has told us!
With the help of two Hebrew scholars, I learned that one of the Hebraic meanings of the word Israel is “let God prevail.”4 Thus the very name of Israel refers to a person who is willing to let God prevail in his or her life. That concept stirs my soul! The word willing is crucial to this interpretation of Israel.5 We all have our agency. We can choose to be of Israel, or not. We can choose to let God prevail in our lives, or not. We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives, or not.
Through this wrestle, Jacob proved what was most important to him. He demonstrated that he was willing to let God prevail in his life. In response, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel,7 meaning “let God prevail.” God then promised Israel that all the blessings that had been pronounced upon Abraham’s head would also be his.8
With the Hebraic definition of Israel in mind, we find that the gathering of Israel takes on added meaning. The Lord is gathering those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives. The Lord is gathering those who will choose to let God be the most important influence in their lives.
For centuries, prophets have foretold this gathering,11 and it is happening right now! As an essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord, it is the most important work in the world!
When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.
By choosing to let God prevail, she is finding peace.
When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become nonissues!
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. . . . He [Jesus] received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth; And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things." (D&C 93:24, 26-28.) There is no need for you or me in this enlightened age, when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or travel unmarked roads in search of a "fountain of truth." For a living Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing map—obedience
Such was the burden of our Savior's message, when He declared: "For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world." (D&C 132:5.)
Jesus changed men. He changed their habits, their opinions, their ambitions. He changed their tempers, their dispositions, their natures. He changed men's hearts. The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men's lives. As He said to the dead Lazarus, so He says to you and me: "Come forth." (John 11:43.) Come forth from the despair of doubt. Come forth from the sorrow of sin. Come forth from the death of disbelief. Come forth to a newness of life. Come forth.
When a member of your bishopric stopped by your home and asked that you serve the Lord as a Scoutmaster, a teacher of a Beehive class, or perhaps a secretary or executive in the Sunday School, did you actually stop and contemplate the true meaning of your acceptance? Did you look upon your assignment in terms of twenty-four Boy Scouts, or twelve Beehive girls, or perhaps an obligation to devote two hours each Sunday morning? Or did you reflect upon the real meaning of your opportunity as the words of the Lord found lodgment in your heart: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." (D&C 18:10.) If so, you were humbled as you became aware that God, our Eternal Father, and His Beloved Son had chosen you to play a vital role in a glorious cause. "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.) First, the successful leader has faith. He recognizes that the greatest force in this world today is the power of God as it works through man. He takes comfort from the very real assurance that divine help can be his blessing. He is, through his faith, a believer in prayer, knowing that prayer provides power-spiritual power, and that prayer provides peace-spiritual peace. He knows and he teaches youth that the recognition of a power higher than man himself does not in any sense debase him; rather, it exalts him. He further declares, "If we will but realize that we have been created in the image of God, we will not find Him difficult to approach." This knowledge, acquired through faith, accounts for the inner calm that characterizes the successful leader. Second, the successful leader lives as he teaches. He is honest with others. He is honest with himself. He is honest with God. He is honest by habit and as a matter of course. Third, the successful leader works willingly. Formula "W" applies to him. What is Formula "W"? Simply this: Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't. Victory is bound to come to him who gives all of himself to the cause he represents when there be truth in the cause. Fourth, the successful leader leads with love. Where love prevails in a class, discipline problems vanish. Fifth, the successful leader is prepared. In his mind, he has carefully stored full information with respect to his assignment. He knows the program. He knows what is expected of him. He does not approach his assignment just hoping or wishing for success. In his heart, he has made spiritual preparation, too. He has earned, through his faithfulness, the companionship of the Holy Spirit. He has knowledge to give. He has a testimony to share. Sixth, the successful leader achieves results. To begin with, he recognizes that no aim leads to no end. In short, he develops goals of accomplishment. If he be a Scoutmaster, he determines that each boy will achieve. You see such a leader at every court of honor in full uniform, his boys receiving award upon award. Their leader has taught them that we were not placed on earth to fail, but rather to succeed; that we cannot rest content with mediocrity when excellence is within our reach. Such a leader recognizes that his attitude determines his altitude. He knows full well that nothing is as contagious as enthusiasm, unless it is a lack of enthusiasm. He carries others to accomplishment through the sheer strength of his overwhelming desire to bring success to his assignment. The leader who gets the job done is one who inspires confidence, who motivates action, and who generates enthusiasm. You will ever recognize his work-for it will be well done.
Adequate preparation enhances the ability to think and to decide.
The wisdom of God ofttimes appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.
The Lord revealed that the purpose of it all is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) Ordinances and covenants were ordained to protect this power to generate life. When laws are obeyed, happiness follows, for “men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:25.)