Joey's Talk on Obedience (Farewell Talk)

Obedience Talk
9/23/07

“It is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determines whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen.”
~ Elder Bednar

Obedience is that important. What would be the point of having commandments if there is no call to obey them? In fact, we have been given revelation that this call to obedience is part of the first law God established before this world existed.

D&C 130:20 “There is a…blessings are predicated”
The Lord has shown us that law.
D&C 82:10 “I, the Lord…have no promise”

So even before the world was, before man inhabited this mortal state, our Heavenly Father established this agreement with us, as His spirit children. If we do the things that He asks, he promises to bless us. We saw how wonderful our Heavenly parents were, and we as spirit children wanted to become like them. So as part of this promise, when we are obedient, He blesses us by helping us become more like them. The law of obedience was even in effect during the Great War in heaven.

We were given the first chance to use our agency when there arose a division in heaven. Heavenly Father had taught us His plan for our salvation, and there was a disagreement on how that plan would be fulfilled. On one side, Jesus Christ agreed to be the Redeemer and fulfill God’s plan unaltered, with all the glory returning back to God. On the other hand, Satan offered salvation to all, regardless of deed, with all the glory going to Satan. We could either follow God’s plan, or we could follow Lucifer. Those who were obedient to God were blessed, because the Lord is bound to bless us when we do what He says. That blessing was a mortal body. And that mortal body was progress towards becoming like Him.

There are many other instances in which the Lord has given commandments with specific blessings attached.

Even in the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the Lord gives qualifiers to provide incentive for us to follow. We are commanded to “Honor thy father and thy mother.” If we do as Heavenly Father commands, He will bless us, “that thy days may be long upon the land.” By doing a simple thing like honoring our parents, the Lord gives us even more blessings than the work it takes for us to follow the commandment. So it is with many other commandments.

D&C 10:5 Pray always
If we exercise the gift of prayer properly and often as we are commanded to, we are promised to have personal revelation that we may know in our hearts and minds if things we sincerely ask about are true.

Moroni 10:4-5 Sincere heart + real intent + faith in Christ = know truth by HG
All we have to do is pray, but we feel the truth of all things. That is the fundamental basis of our religion. Each of us must pray to know. Whether it be the Restoration, tithing, or the Atonement, we may know the truth of anything. Heavenly Father does not expect us to have blind obedience.

President, then Elder, Spencer W. Kimball revealed this concept wonderfully in his 1954 October Conference address:

“When men obey commands of a creator, it is not blind obedience. How different is the cowering of a subject to his totalitarian monarch and the dignified, willing obedience one gives to his God. The dictator is ambitious, selfish, and has ulterior motives. God’s every command is righteous, every directive purposeful, and all for the good of the governed. The first may be blind obedience, but the latter is certainly faith obedience.”

If we struggle to understand the rules we have been given, we must ask our Heavenly Father in humble prayer for a witness that we may know that these commandments and rules are really from Him and really for us. The spirit will direct our feelings. We will know through the spirit of personal revelation: through both our hearts and our minds. It will make sense in our minds, and we will want to follow it in our hearts. This gift of personal revelation works in many cases.

If we are all spiritually in tune to the Lord, each of us will receive specific revelation to fit our needs. However, truth is truth, regardless of person, so when each of us move toward the real truth, we move closer to one another. By drawing upon that One Source, we become one as a people. We are one when we all listen for and heed our personal revelations from God. And when we finally feel unified as a people, we will be strengthened even further by our Lord. For He spoke: “if ye are not one, ye are not mine.” By obeying the direction to seek out personal revelation for ourselves, we start to understand and obey the direction to become one as a people. Obedience leads to progress. Obedience means becoming one as a people.

Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi gave a story during his recent conference address regarding obedience.

“A few years ago I received the assignment to reorganize the Carey Idaho Stake. The plane landed at Twin Falls, and President Roy Hubert, who had served so well, met me there and drove me to his home. While we were driving, I asked him, "Is there anything I can do for you and your Saints?"

He said: "Oh, we have had a terrible drought for the last few years. This year it is particularly severe, and many farmers have left town to find employment elsewhere."

I was so disturbed for our faithful members who love the Lord and the Church yet were losing their farms.

A young bishop, R. Spence Ellsworth, was called to serve as the new stake president. During the Sunday general session, results of the drought weighed heavily on my mind. As I was speaking, a strong prompting came. I asked them to do the following:
1. Faithfully pay an honest tithe, both young and old.
2. Humbly hold regular individual and family prayers.
3. Devotedly have daily personal and family scripture study.
4. Thankfully keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Gratefully go to the temple often, there offering thanksgiving.
6. Willingly sustain and follow the new leaders.
7. Hold a stakewide fast, including everyone in the affected communities who would like to participate.
For the next couple of days following the stake conference, many members planted their crops with complete faith, even though there was no forecast of rain.
On Wednesday, under the direction of President Ellsworth, the whole stake fasted. That same week many members, the leaders, and their spouses went to the Boise Idaho Temple and offered their thanksgiving. While these faithful Saints were in the temple, rain began to fall on the entire community, though the weather forecast indicated no moisture for the next few weeks. The following Saturday, good rain fell again and continued for a few days. This happened late in the month of April. Significant snow fell in the mountains, providing enough moisture. In the Dietrich and Richfield communities, their reservoir had been under 30 percent, but after the people fasted, the reservoir was nearly full. The Carey water supply increased from about 44 percent to more than 100 percent of normal. Through the rest of the growing season, as members of the Carey Stake increased their faith by fasting a few more times, paying honest tithes, and attending the temple more frequently, the Lord heard and answered their prayers. Frost came late that year, so the farmers were able to harvest grain, sugar beets, alfalfa, potatoes, and other crops. From that day, and each year since, they have offered their thanksgiving prayers, and "because of . . . his tender mercies,"7 the Lord continues to bless them.
In the book of Chronicles, the Lord said, "If my people, . . . called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."8”
The obedience of the people under the direction of Elder Kikuchi, who was lead by the spirit, provides a stunning example of the blessings we can receive.
We are commanded to “feast upon the words of Christ:” the standard works of the church including the Book of Mormon as another testament of Christ. As we study these sacred texts, we can more fully understand and get to know our savior Jesus Christ. It is in him that we receive a remission of our sins. We need to search out and glorify in Christ’s words. In the Book of Mormon, we have an amazing record of God’s revelations to the people of the Americas. Why not use it? We will grow closer to God.
Sometimes, it may seem that we have far too many commandments and guidelines to obey all at once. Surely, having only a strict way of living must bind you down. The way may be narrow, and the path may be straight, but Christ himself promises:
John 8:31-32 “If we continue in His word, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free.”
True freedom ONLY comes from following Him. Freedom is the feeling of not being bound by the consequences of bad choices. Freedom is being allowed to grow and progress without an upward limit. When we are obedient to His laws, the consequences give us more freedom to exercise our agency. When we do not follow His laws, we become trapped by the consequences of our poor choices.
When we earnestly strive to obey, the Lord will guide us, even if we do not understand how. Nephi understood this principle, for he said

1 Nephi 3:7

Brothers and sisters, obedience is everything. It is everything we do. It is our love for Heavenly Father. It is our love for Jesus Christ. Obedience is all about love. The pure love of Christ is charity, because serving others will bring us more in tune to each others’ needs. When we are able to understand and care for one another, we become of one heart and one mind, for we will desire the best for each other. When we love each other, it shows God that we love Him. When we are one with our brothers and sisters, we will be unified in our goals. We will all want to do as our Heavenly Father wants us.

Our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ both love us. They want to show us their love. It is called the Atonement. They offer it with open arms. We have to try our hardest to do what they ask of us. They give us commandments so we can become more like them.

I know that these things are true. I have prayed about them. I have received a witness in both my heart and my mind. I love all my brothers and sisters. I am excited to be able to serve the Lord full time. I will miss you all, but the time for work is at hand! I leave you these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.