Obedience.

I should have been suspicious when my roommate and I received a call from our Bishop. When she said that it was for me, I thought “Oh no. What did I do now?!” The first thing he asked was “When was the last time you gave a talk?” Uh… I came to school nearly 3 years ago and is was the first time I have been asked to speak. While I was home in Malaysia, I’d been asked to speak 3 times in the 10 months I was there. Opportunities to speak here are rare so I thought I’d better accept.

Then when he assigned me with the topic, I knew that I had done something wrong. Brothers and sisters, today my talk is about obedience.

This is an extremely difficult topic for me to address. I feel so inadequate and don’t want to come across as hypocritical. But we just had the wonderful opportunity to hear the word of the Lord through his servants during General conference. The next step is to obey. The Lord knew that I needed to hear this talk from myself, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Obedience. Such a broad topic. Every single principle of the gospel that we teach here in Church overlaps with this basic principle. We can talk about them all we want, but we get nowhere if we don’t put it into practice through our obedience. Obedience is said to be the first law in Heaven. Upon this principle are ALL are blessings predicated. (D&C 130:20)

So, to start at the very top, what is obedience? I like to be technical about things, so the first thing I did was to type in the word “obedience” into dictionary.com. Here’s what I got.

1: the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person [syn: obeisance] [ant: disobedience] 2: the trait of being willing to obey [ant: disobedience] 3: behavior intended to please your parents; [syn: respect]

Three words stuck out at me. 1) Duty 2) Submission 3) Respect.

Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. So why do we do it?

The Lord said. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) We have a duty to obey his commandments and submit to his will, willingly, out of our love and respect for him. Sounds simple, right? We all love our Heavenly Father, therefore we are ALL obedient to his commandments.

But we don’t always keep his commandments. I told a lie yesterday, or neglected to read my scriptures, or missed a couple of months in visiting teaching. Does that mean that I do not love my Heavenly Father?

How many times have we heard that love is more than an emotion, it is a verb - an action. Whenever we choose to disobey, we are allowing our love of something else to take priority over our love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

When I ask myself “Do I really love lying, cheating, slothfulness etc, more than I love my Heavenly Father?” it suddenly puts things into perspective and it becomes easier for me to choose to do the right thing.

It isn’t always that easy though. There is always this part of me that says, “Oh, I can obey LATER” or “It’s just a small thing, I’m mostly obedient to the big important stuff.” I have to remind myself that that's what Satan wants me to think.

Sometimes we don’t really understand why the Lord gives us certain commandments. So the question is, can and should we obey without understanding why? Adam was commanded by the Lord to offer sacrifices and he was obedient. Many days later an angel appeared unto Adam and asked: “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?” Adam’s reply was this. “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” (Moses 5:4-9)

Just being commanded was enough for Adam to obey, but it wasn’t till after he fully understood the significance of the commandment that he was filled with the Holy Ghost and enjoyed the fullness of its blessings.

The Lord does not require blind obedience, but he does require a lot of faith. Just because we don’t understand the reasoning behind a particular commandment, does not mean that we are exempted from obedience, or that we should deprive ourselves of the blessings that follow. John 7:17 teaches us that by first, doing what the Lord commands, we will then know for ourselves that the command comes from the Lord. We need to trust that he knows what is best for us.

As a little girl, I developed the bad habit of thumb sucking.* My mother gently explained that I should not suck on my thumb. I’m sure she gave me the reasons why, but I could not understand it then. How could I have had the foresight to worry about my teeth or the baggage of the shameful habit of thumb sucking at 45? Because I did not understand, I had to trust that my mother knew best. If I had not listened, it would have been a much harder habit to break if I had waited till I was old enough to appreciate the importance of her guidance.

So, we may not really understand what’s wrong with spending $10 on a game of poker, or why the prophet discourages us from having multiple ear piercings. These little things don’t look like they have an eternal consequence. What’s wrong with sucking my thumb anyway? Sure it wouldn’t be too bad if I did, but isn’t it so much better that I don’t?

All we are little children of our Heavenly Father and we don’t always appreciate the things that he tells us to do or not to do. But, if we exercise a little faith, trust in his omnipotence, and obey the commandments that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with regardless of what we think we know, we not only be able to avoid potential sorrows and pains that disobedience brings, but we will reap the blessings that is promised on condition of our obedience. It is always easier to obey than to repent.

There are many number reasons why I could have chosen to obey my mother’s counsel:

1) To avoid being punished if I was caught.
2) For that Barbie Doll I was promised if I successfully broke the habit.
3) Because I love my mother and wanted to please her.

I imagine choosing it because I wanted to be like my mother. I didn’t see any grown-ups sucking on their thumbs. I wanted to be just like them.

Similarly, the Savior set an example of obedience for us to follow. Because of his submission to the will of the Father, he has a place at the right hand of God. If our desire is to become as they are, we are required to be obedient. In the words or Aristotle: “He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander". Obedience is essential to attaining Godhood.

Our obedience is also inescapably bound to our testimony and spiritual welfare. The more obedient we are to the commandments, the more light and knowledge the Lord will be able to bless us with. But this knowledge does not remain stagnant. The scriptures warn us that “the wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth… through disobedience” (D&C 93:39). Such is the will of the devil, to lure us into the pleasurable acts of worldliness that will not only diminish our capacity to choose the right, but also put us in danger of losing the testimony that we once had. Those who find themselves becoming disillusioned with the church and its leaders, often begin their apostasy by neglecting to obey certain commandments.

Disobedience and sin is what brings about the second death: spiritual death. We know that no unclean thing can enter into the presence of God. In this life, as we disobey, his spirit will slowly withdraw from us. If we don't turn around, we will eventually be completely deprived of his presence in this world and in the world to come. Disobedience is what made Satan what he is today and his desire is to lead us down that same path of death and destruction.

On the other hand, what great blessings Heavenly Father promises to those who obey!

Just as my mother helped wean me from thumb-sucking so I could be free from such a humiliating habit today and won’t have to go off every 5 minutes to secretly suck on my thumb, Heavenly Father’s commandments empower us with freedom to make righteous choices.

It sounds quite paradoxical. The more we obey Him, the more freedom we have? But we see it happen. When we obey the word of wisdom, we free ourselves from addictions that can limit our options. Elder Oaks sternly admonished us about pornography warning us against becoming subject to the influence that it has upon our thoughts and our actions. Elder Monson counseled us to live within our means, if we are obedient, we will avoid being a slave to debt and interest.

I’d like to quote Dennis Rasmussen, an LDS philosopher. In his book, ‘The Lord’s Question’, he writes: “It is occasionally said that man is naturally self interested. But most men do not pursue their own interest. Instead, they follow illusions, momentary desires and conflicting wants. They are directed by whim rather than purpose and seek pleasure rather than perfection. The paradox is that man never gains control over his own mind and will until he surrenders them to something higher than himself. The beginning of true self-interest is self-forgetfulness, and the source of real freedom is humility before another. Only the disciple can learn discipline.”

When I first start writing this talk, I thought the word “obedience” sounded so tedious. I don’t really like being called a servant who has to submit and obey. These are heavy words. I felt tempted to challenge: how can being servants of somebody else’s will bring happiness?

I was then reminded of the scripture that says: “For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey… whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.” (Alma 3:26-27)

So, in the end, we cannot escape from obedience. We can either choose to obey the will of our Heavenly Father, or choose not to. But we need to remember that if we make such a choice, we really aren’t acting on our own will, but are, in fact, being subject to the will of the devil.

Obedience – it’s not simply about being submissive. It’s about who we choose to submit to.

The obedient are promised “all that the Father hath”. If we choose to serve our Heavenly Father, we will receive the richness of his blessing, even its fullness: exaltation, and eternal happiness. All that Satan has to offer is endless misery and woe. Personally, I’d very much rather follow Heavenly Father.

So, how can I show obedience to him? I can evaluate my actions and ask myself: “what can I be doing better?” “Am I being the kind of child I want to be a parent to?” “What do my actions say about who I love most?” It takes sacrifice and putting aside a lot of pride, but, oh the joy and blessings that follow! I look at all the blessings I receive now for the little things that I do obey now, and can only imagine the blessings that could be in store for me in the life to come if I am completely obedient.

It will be a seemingly never-ending struggle to completely align our will with the will of the Father. It will always seem easier to do the wrong thing. But I, like Nephi, have a testimony that the Lord doesn’t give us a commandment that we cannot accomplish. (Nephi 3:7). In my moments of weakness, I have prayed for strength and He has delivered. I testify that if we truly seek to be obedient He will clear the path for us.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”

I challenge you all to recommit yourselves to the gospel this week, to look for ways to be more obedient and I promise that he will pour out the blessings of Heaven upon you.

In the words of Joshua: “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

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*The thumb sucking analogy isn't actually true. The actual habit was a lot more grevious, and I chose not to trust and have struggled with it for years since. I think it would have been inappropriate to bring that up (a little too much) and this analogy is simpler and a lot more positive. It could be true.