Responding to the call of duty is always right

The call of duty came to the boy Nephi when he was instructed by the Lord, through his father Lehi, to return to Jerusalem with his brothers to obtain the brass plates from Laban. Nephi’s brothers murmured, saying it was a hard thing which had been asked of them. What was Nephi’s response? Said he, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, 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.”

When that same call comes to you and to me, what will be our response? Will we murmur, as did Laman and Lemuel, and say, “This is a hard thing required of us”? Or will we, with Nephi, individually declare, “I will go. I will do”? Will we be willing to serve and to obey?

At times the wisdom of God appears as being foolish or just too difficult, but one of the greatest and most valuable lessons we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.

Thomas S. Monson, “Willing and Worthy to Serve,” General Conference, April 2012

Leadership requires first learning to obey

. . . he who would learn to command well must, as men say, first of all learn to obey.

Aristotle, Politics, Book 7, XIV

Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

Paul taught the Corinthians that while we “walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” The war we have is against “imaginations, and every thigh thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).  Commenting on this passage, Mathew Henry (1662-1714) wrote of the opposition that is made “against the gospel by the powers of sin and Satan in the hearts of men.”

Ignorance, prejudices, beloved lusts, are Satan’s strong-holds in the souls of some; vain imaginations, carnal reasonings, and high thoughts, or proud conceits, in others, exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, that is, by these ways the devil endeavours to keep men from faith and obedience to the gospel, and secures his possession of the hearts of men, as his own house or property. (Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, 2 Cor. IX)

How do we gain power over these vain imaginations, these reasonings disconnected from the mind of God, this prideful conceit? Paul’s counsel to the Corinthians was to  “[bring] into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Lord Himself said to Joseph Smith, “Look unto me in every thought” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36). No wonder in partaking of the sacrament we covenant to always remember Him.

David O. McKay said, “That man is most truly great who is most Christlike. What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be. … By choosing him as our ideal, we create within ourselves a desire to be like him, to have fellowship with him” (Conference Report, Apr. 1951, 93, 98).

 

Shall the youth of Zion falter?

In October of 1997, Elder Neal A. Maxwell visited the campus of Brigham Young University–Idaho to speak in a devotional. During the day he was on the campus, we talked together about a variety of gospel topics in general and about the youth of the Church in particular. I remember Elder Maxwell making a statement that greatly impressed me. He said, “The youth of this generation have a greater capacity for obedience than any previous generation.”

He then indicated that his statement was based upon a truth taught by President George Q. Cannon: “God has reserved spirits for this dispensation who have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one, visible and invisible, to proclaim the Gospel, and maintain the truth, and establish and build up the Zion of our God, fearless of all consequences. He has sent these spirits in this generation to lay the foundation of Zion never more to be overthrown, and to raise up a seed that will be righteous, and that will honor God, and honor him supremely, and be obedient to him under all circumstances.”

Elder David A. Bednar, “Things as They Really Are,” CES Fireside, May 3, 2009

Choosing Christ’s living or suffering

We will end up either choosing Christ’s manner of living or His manner of suffering! It is either “suffer even as I” (D&C 19:16–17), or overcome “even as [He] … overcame” (Rev. 3:21). His beckoning command is to become “even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27). The spiritually settled accept that invitation, and “through the atonement of Christ,” they become and overcome! (see Mosiah 3:18, 19).

Neal A. Maxwell, “‘Overcome … Even As I Also Overcame’,” Ensign, May 1987, 70

Choose the right while the storms rage

The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home.

Henry B. Eyring, “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 37 (emphasis added)

Christ's gospel challenges us to become something

The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.

Many Bible and modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded according to their deeds or works or the desires of their hearts. But other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved.
Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32

Giving ourselves to God; giving Him our best

Here are three quotes about giving ourselves to God, and receiving in return His blessings.

“If you give anything for the building up of the Kingdom of God, give the best you have. What is the best thing you have to devote to the Kingdom of God? It is the talents God has given you. … Let us devote every qualification we are in possession of to the building up of God’s kingdom, and you will accomplish the whole of it.”
Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 445.

“Yes, men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life….

“Give God your best, and his best will come back to you.”
Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ–Gifts and Expectations,” BYU Devotional, 10 December 1974

“Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop I, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.'”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 167.

Our first enemy is within us

President Joseph F. Smith taught us: “Our first enemy we will find within ourselves. It is a good thing to overcome that enemy first and bring ourselves into subjection to the will of the Father, and into strict obedience to the principles of life and salvation which he has given to the world for the salvation of men.” In simple terms, this means that we need to strengthen the good within us and to overcome the temptations of Satan. The direction finder is sure. Alma tells us, “Whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.”

James E. Faust, “The Enemy Within,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 44–46

President David O. McKay said it this way:

“‘The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.’ … It is a good thing to sit down and commune with yourself, to come to an understanding with yourself and decide in that silent moment what your duty is to your family, to your Church, to your country, and … to your fellowmen.”
(In Conference Report, Apr. 1967, 84–85; or Improvement Era, June 1967, 80.)

See also this quote by Elder David Bednar.

Enduring well

…the test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us. And to endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation, and whatever the tumult around us.

…We need strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. For some it may be poverty, but for others it may be prosperity. It may be the ravages of age or the exuberance of youth. The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Heavenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us?

Henry B. Eyring, “In the Strength of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2004

 

. . . we may at times assume that the plan of salvation requires merely that we endure and survive when, in fact, as is always the case with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is required of us, not only that we endure, but also that we endure well, that we exhibit “grace under pressure.” This is necessary, not only so that our own passage through the trial can be a growth experience, but also because (more than we know) there are always people watching to see if we can cope, who therefore may resolve to venture forth and to cope themselves. Every time we navigate safely on the strait and narrow way, there are other ships that are lost which can find their way because of our steady light.

Neal A . Maxwell, “But For a Small Moment,” BYU Fireside, September 1, 1974