24 September, 2000

Brother Thompson directed me to a talk given by Elder Donald L. Staheli from the April 1998 conference entitled: Obedience - Life's Great Challenge. He does a marvelous job.

One gets a sense of the significance of a topic by searching the Topical Guide. If you have ever leafed through its pages, you will know that the topics are of varying lengths. Some only take a small portion of a column. Others take up the column. If you look up Priesthood, you find that it takes up about five pages, and if you look up Jesus Christ you will find that combined, it covers about 17 pages. Repentance, Autumn’s topic and Obedience my subject each take up about a single page.

This past year I attended a leadership meeting where President Connors spoke about the blessings we receive because of our membership in the church and the importance of keeping our membership in good standing. Obedience allows us to maintain our good standing before the Lord. 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. D&C 130:20-21. I have come to the conclusion that we too often take these blessings for granted. He wants us to have them, one way or another. And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer. D&C 105:6. In my opinion, the easier way is: If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7:17. When studying the prophets, we find that great spiritual blessings come from obedience and a testing of their resolve. Lehi, Nephi, Mormon, Moroni, Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, and Joseph Smith to name a few, all had powerful spiritual experiences - but it wasn't until after they showed their obedience. They always had trials that tested their commitments. The same will be true with us to one degree or another. We should look for them, expect them, plan for them, and prepare for them. There is great comfort to Nephi's statement: ...for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.1Nephi 3:7. The Lord will never ask that which we are incapable of doing.

Elder Boyd K. Packer said ...we all have the right to inspiration and direction by the spirit of the Holy Ghost... We all live far below our privileges. Elder Staheli goes on to add As I have pondered the implications of his statement, it becomes clear that many of us are missing some spiritual opportunities and blessings by letting "the things that should matter most in life be at the mercy of the things that matter least."

If correct, and I believe it is, how sad his statement is. Few of us would disagree that the most important thing in our lives should be our family and the opportunity the Gospel provides for us to obtain Celestial glory. I quite agree with Elder Staheli when he says the pressures of everyday living frequently and subtly move us away from that pursuit which we so proudly proclaim. And in the process, the priorities that should really matter most to us become captive to those things that, while seemingly important at the moment, have little or no relevance to our long-term goal. And in many cases, the temptations and pressures to pursue the less-important matters lead us down the wrong paths of life.

President Spencer W. Kimball warned us, The cares of the world are so many and so entangling, even very good people are diverted from following the truth because they care too much for the things of the world.

How is it that even very good people, are diverted? When we become sidetracked and fail to be obedient to instructions that we each receive, we then are in danger of moving off track of where we in reality should be. Simple obedience is what is required. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt. 7:21 spoke the Lord.

It is simply not enough to enter into the waters of baptism, but it requires faithful maintenance of gospel principles if we are to obtain our goal of life with Father in Heaven in the Celestial Kingdom. As stated in Luke But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Luke 11:28 And we find in in Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Easy to say, but much more difficult to pull off. More often than not, we seemingly forget this duty.

Early on in the book of Mormon, Lehi very elegantly describes his vision of the Tree of Life and talks about the significance of the iron rod and how it leads to that tree. In great detail he talks about this most precious gift that he was able to partake of and how he searchingly looked for his family, that they might share in his joy. He talks about how the rod led to the tree and of its importance as a guide. How tightly do we hold to that rod? Do we stay as close to it as we travel through our lives, or do we find ourselves stepping away on other paths while reaching out and trying to touch it with the tips of our fingers? Being obedient and holding tightly to the rod of iron provides safety for our eternal salvation.

I love the story of Naaman the leper in the Old Testament.
He was a great warier of substantial fame and is described as one who was honorable and a mighty man in valor. His wife's maid had been taken captive from Israel and told her mistress that Naaman could be cured of his leprosy if he were to see the Prophet in the land of Israel. Her testimony must have been great because Naaman became convinced that it was possible. The King of Syria even sent a letter to the King of Israel that he was sending Naaman to be cured. It is also interesting to note in the scripture that Naaman departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. This was a rather large amount to take to offer. Ten talents of silver would be about 756 pounds. The King of Israel was very distrot to receive the letter because he had not the power to cure Naaman. The account continues:

2 Kgs. 5:8-10
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

Naaman was incensed. How could this man, this prophet, not even consider seeing Naaman? Even worse, in Naaman's opinion, there were as he says rivers in Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

President Hinkley’s comment about this scripture was Sometimes it is the very assignment we would avoid that gives us a great blessing. How great a blessing Naaman received because of his obedience.

In his book Teachings of Gordon B. Hinkley , President Hinkley relates an experience on obedience that I especially appreciated:

Years ago I was on a mission in England. I had been called to labor in the European Mission office in London under President Joseph F. Merrial of the Council of the Twelve, then president of the European Mission. One day three or four of the London papers carried reviews of a reprint of an old book, snide and ugly in tone, indicating that the book was a history of the Mormons. President Merrill said to me, "I want you to go down to the publisher and protest this." I looked at him and was about to say, "Surely not me." But I meekly said, "Yes, sir."

I do not hesitate to say that I was frightened. I went to my room and felt something as I think Moses must have felt when the Lord asked him to go and see Pharaoh. I offered a prayer. My stomach was churning as I walked over... to get the underground train to Fleet Street. I found the office of the president and presented my card to the receptionist. She took it into the inner office and soon returned to say that the president was too busy to see me. I replied that I had come five thousand miles and that I would wait. During the next hour she made two or three trips to his office; then finally he invited me in. I shall never forget the picture when I entered. He was smoking a long cigar with a look that seemed to say, "Don't bother me."

I held in my hand the reviews. I do not recall what I said after that. Another power seemed to be speaking through me. At first he was defensive and even belligerent. Then he began to soften. He concluded by promising to do something. Within an hour word went out to every book dealer in England to return the books to the publisher. At great expense he reprinted and tipped in the front of each volume a statement to the effect that the book was not to be considered as history, but only as fiction, and that no offense was intended against the respected Mormon people. Years later he granted another favor of substantial worth to the Church, and each year until the time of his death I received a Christmas card from him.

I came to know that when we try in faith to walk in obedience to the requests of the priesthood, the Lord opens the way, even when there appears to be no way.

Elder Staheli relates this personal experience:

While I have had my share of lessons on obedience during my life, one of the most memorable was taught to me as a young boy by my dog and my mother. When I was about eight years of age, my father brought home a puppy which I promptly named Spot. We became the greatest of pals as I tried to teach him a few tricks and obedience to my commands. He learned well, except he could not conquer an overwhelming desire to chase and bark at cars as they came down the dusty street by our home in our small southern Utah town. As hard as I tried, I could not break Spot of his bad habit. One day a neighbor came speeding by in his large truck. He knew Spot and he knew Spot's bad habit. This time, just as Spot approached the truck in his usual aggressive manner, this man swerved toward Spot, running over him with the rear wheel of his truck.

With tears streaming down my face, I cradled Spot in my arms and ran to the house, calling to my mother and brother for help. As we washed the blood from his head, it soon became apparent that Spot's disobedient act had dealt him a fatal blow. As the burial of Spot was completed and the tears dried, my mother then taught me one of the great lessons of life as she explained the principle of obedience and its application in my life. She made clear that seemingly small acts of disobedience can result in longer-term consequences of unhappiness, regrets, and even fatal results.

How appropriate it is for us to gain a greater understanding of the teachings of the Book of Mormon, for they were written for us and our day, so it is important for us to view that book and its teachings for us specifically. How often was the cycle of obedience, prosperity, pride, sin, and disobedience repeated? We would do well to heed Lehi's council:

2 Ne. 1:20
And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Obedience brings blessings.

On a personal note: many of you are familiar with my need of having surgery last year. This was a serious and delicate surgery, one that I needed quickly in order to help preserve my sight. The many experiences surrounding it were a blessing in my life and the life of my family. I am grateful for you extending your faith and prayers for my recovery and for assisting the surgeon. How well I remember the surgeon saying that it was no cakewalk, and of hearing Valerie repeat the surgeons words after the surgery. He remarked that as he was removing tumor tissue – I see pulsing over here… that must be the carotid artery… I think we will stay away from that. I have no doubt that his hands were guided, that his actions were watched over. I am grateful to Heavenly Father for extending His love to me and providing me with peace and comfort throughout the ordeal. I always had an overwhelming feeling that all would be well. That’s not to say that I didn’t have any anxiety, because I remember driving into the parking lot of the hospital and thinking I don’t want to do this! But I never doubted the eventual outcome – I was blessed with that peace. I am grateful for the priesthood blessing I received and for those who participated in that blessing. These men were obediently following and living the principles of the gospel on a daily basis. And I am grateful for a father who has lived his life worthily to be able to pronounce that blessing.

Obedience brings blessings.

Last week when we went to Stake Temple day, just before we went into the Endowment session, they said that they were short couples to do sealings and asked if there was anyone who would like to do that. Valerie and I decided that we would like to volunteer. When we got up to the sealing room, it turns out that my dad was the sealer. What rich blessings we felt participating in those ordinances. Obedience brings blessings.

And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments. D&C 59:21

Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days. D&C 64:34

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; D&C 93:1

I certainly have a great desire to be among those who will see His face and know that He is. It is my prayer that you will as well, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.