On a wall, outside of the Brazilian Army Academy, cadets can read the words "Ides comandar, Aprendei a obedecer! You will command. Learn to obey!" These future leaders of men are reminded that before they can lead, they must first learn obedience.
The first law of heaven is obedience. After Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, "the Lord gave them commandments that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth." (Moses 5:5-7)
Animal sacrifice would have been foreign to Adam's nature, especially after living peacefully with the animals in the Garden of Eden. And it would have been even more so before Adam was taught the symbolism of the atonement embodied in the Law of Sacrifice. Yet he complied. And when he complied, the Lord was able to teach him and his descendents why the law was given. But remember, he first obeyed, not knowing why.
The scriptures give us another example. Abraham had been promised by the Lord that he would be "a father of many nations" and "I will make thee exceedingly fruitful" (Genesis 17:5-6). Yet it wasn't until his old age that he had a son, Isaac. And then the Lord gave Abraham a truly difficult commandment to obey. "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:2).
Abraham, not knowing why but questioning not, did as the Lord commanded. The scriptures tell us that Abraham prepared the altar, bound his son, and "took the knife to slay his son" (Genesis 22:10). That phrase is important because it gives us a glimpse into Abraham's mind at that difficult moment. He wasn't begging the Lord to change His mind; he was obeying the Lord's command. Another scripture adds more light to Abraham's mindset at that moment. In Paul's great dissertation on faith found in the Epistle to the Hebrews, he says, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead" (Hebrews 11:17-19). When Abraham took the knife and raised his arm, he didn't question why, and he didn't plead for the Lord to intervene. He was being obedient to the command he had received.
My brothers and sisters, in this life we are commanded to do things by the Lord, by the Prophet, and by the leaders that we sustain in our wards and stakes. Those commandments come in the form of covenants which we make, calls that we accept, and counsel that we receive. As we obey each commandment, we allow the Lord to bless us and enrich our lives. When we do not, we are cut off from his blessings and we flounder in darkness.
I teach a Missionary Preparation class here on campus. In one class we talked about obedience to the Lord's commandments, to the mission rules and to the BYU Honor Code. There is a directive on page 26 of the old Missionary manual that says, "Any indiscretion or violation of the missionary rules will impair your ability to serve and your salvation." We all know that not getting up at the appointed hour on your mission or being in violation of the dress code here at BYU-Hawaii is a minor transgression. By itself, it will not impair our eternal salvation. But when we seek to minimize or dismiss such rules that we have agreed to of our own will and choice, when we seek to rationalize disobedience with one excuse or another, then we have started down a slope that may prove most slippery indeed.
In that same discussion I asked the students what they thought was the hardest part of the Honor Code to keep. In my day, it was probably hair length as we all wanted to grow our hair long back in the early 70's. But the students in the class were almost unanimous in saying that the 12 midnight curfew on campus is the hardest to keep. We talked about college life for a bit, and then I made them a promise, and I make you the same promise. Get something important to do at 6:30 a.m. in the morning, be it exercise or study, or whatever you choose. If you have something important to do at 6:30 a.m., you will not have trouble with the 12 midnight curfew.
Now let's talk about motivation. When we are young, we may learn to obey our parents out of fear of punishment or desire for a reward. I am the oldest of three boys in my family. As youngsters we got into our share of trouble. Whenever my father decided that it was time to correct one of us, he would announce that he was sorry that we had chosen as we had, but tonight I, or one of my brothers, would have a "session" with him. Just the mention of the word "session" was enough to send a cold chill down my young spine. When my father gave me a session, the two of us would go alone to his bedroom. There we would sit down and calmly discuss the problem and the way to correct it. Then, to make sure the message was adequately engraven on my young mind, he would give me one spank. The spank was followed by my father waiting for any tears to subside, then taking me in his arms and telling me that he loved me and that he didn't want to have any more sessions. Now I know that today spanking is considered old-fashioned, but you young parents, I tell you that it worked in my family. I only had five or six sessions in my childhood but from those I learned to be obedient.
Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is much like the relationship between earthly parents and their children. There are many examples in the scriptures where God gave a commandment and then included a punishment if the commandment was disobeyed. And there are at least as many commandments that are given with a promised reward. But the real motivation that we should seek is out of love for the Lord. The Savior said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). He later declared, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father" (John 14:21). It is not wrong to obey out of fear or out of desire for reward. The purpose of this life is to learn to obey. But if we find that our obedience is motivated by either one, I suggest that there is a more excellent way, which I will return to in just a few minutes.
We can also obey because we recognize that a parent or a leader is older and has already passed through many of life's experiences, and is trying to help us avoid the pitfalls they have observed. We should learn to rely on such sage advice. As was mentioned in the introduction, a few years ago I got interested in mountain climbing. My first big mountain was Aconcagua, the highest point in South America at 22,800 feet. I joined a commercial group that was led by paid guides. Our lead guide, Sergio, was from Mexico and had been leading climbs all over the world for 20 years. Our second guide, Augusto from Peru, had already summited Aconcagua 22 times.
It takes time to climb a big mountain. The guides lay out a schedule where the group moves up about 1,000 feet each day allowing everyone to gradually acclimatize to the thinning air. Conditions on the mountain are harsh; biting cold, fierce winds, heavy snow, and it's difficult to eat and sleep. There is a great desire among all the climbers to stick to the schedule and get to the summit. One morning about half way up the mountain, we arose and ate breakfast as usual. The wind was calm, the sky was blue with only a few clouds gathering harmlessly below us. We assembled to get our instructions for the day only to be informed that the guides had met and decided that the weather looked bad for the afternoon and we would remain in camp that day. The prospect of wasting a day was made even more distasteful when the other groups camped near us packed up their gear and headed up the mountain.
It was a difficult morning as we tried to find things to do, cast doubtful looks at our guides and muttered about the wasted time. Soon after lunch all that changed. The "harmless" clouds below boiled up and covered us in a dense fog. Then the wind and snow began and soon we were hunkered down in our tents with blinding snow blowing sideways outside the flap. This was the deadly Viento Blanco (White Wind) that Aconcagua is famous for. A few hours into the storm the other groups stumbled back into camp, cold and tired from their unsuccessful attempt to move up. The storm abated overnight and the next morning we were able to move up while the other groups had to spend a recovery day in camp. There was no more second-guessing our guides' decisions the rest of the trip. We were kept safe that day by following our guides' decisions.
But in this life, we are all sinners. We are natural men and women. We will not keep the commandments, but the commandments will keep us. They will keep us from the consequences of disobedience. And when we submit to Our Father through obedience, we open the door to allow Him to bless us. "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). How sure is that promise? "I, the Lord, am abound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise" (D&C 82:10). The laws are irrevocable and the blessings are sure when we submit and obey.
We face a very powerful and cunning adversary in our quest for obedience. One of his ploys is to belittle our obedience to the principles and commandments of God. Those who are under his influence accuse us of "blind obedience." They say that by following the prophets and obeying the commandments we are being childish and not thinking for ourselves. They would have us follow the ways of the world and our selfish desires.
President Boyd K. Packer taught,
"Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God. We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see." ("Agency and Control," Ensign, May 1983, 66)
Our faithful obedience to the Lord's commandments is not blind obedience, rather, it is seeing obedience.
If someone accuses you of blind obedience, ask them this question: "Have you ever known anyone who has ruined their life by cheating on their spouse and breaking up their family?" The answer from your accuser will probably be "Yes." You can then ask, "Do you know anyone who has ruined their life by loving their spouse and keeping their marriage vows?" The long silence that follows will be answer enough. You can also ask, "Do you know anyone who has ruined their life with drugs or alcohol?" Again the answer will probably be "Yes." Then ask, "Do you know anyone who has ruined their life by staying drug and alcohol free?" Then look them in the eye and say, "You may call it blind obedience. We call it seeing obedience because we can see the consequences of disobedience all around us." Brethren and sisters, we should take as our mantra one of the teachings of Joseph Smith. He said, "I made this my rule: when the Lord commands, do it" (HC 2:170).
It is easy for those without a spiritual eye to diagnose blind obedience rather than faithful, seeing obedience. The economic system of the Lord is not the same as the economic system of the world. In fact, in some cases it works exactly the opposite. The Lord has said "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). For example, in the worldly economy many hoard and protect in order to preserve what they believe to be their own. But in the Lord's economic system, we recognize that everything we have comes as a gift from God. So we obey the law of tithing and willingly give up ten percent of our increase. When we do so the Lord promises to "open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). Those are not the laws of investing for return that are taught in the business schools of this world, but they are true nonetheless.
Likewise is the use of our time. Some may feel that it is their right to spend their time in any way they choose. And many choose unwisely wasting precious hours of their mortality in pursuit of the trivial, video games, social networks on the internet, and the like. Again the Lord prescribes a better way. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). In another of the gospels, this dichotomy is beautifully expressed like this: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
We have a great example of obedience in Church history. Reddick Allred was a stalwart member of the Church, having worked on the Nauvoo Temple, marched with the Mormon Battalion, and emigrated with the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. Of even greater interest perhaps to this audience is his mission to Hawaii, which he served from 1852 to 1855. During part of that mission he was President of the Maui Conference. But it was just after his return from that mission, in October of 1856, that Reddick Allred etched his name among the heros of the western migration.
The handcart pioneers are part of our Church heritage. We know the stories of their faith, their courage and their great suffering. We also know of the great faith and courage of the rescuers in the Fall of 1856 who went to their aid. Reddick Allred was among those who responded to the call from Brigham Young to "Go and bring in the people now on the plains." It is important to note, and difficult to appreciate in our day of cell phones and instant communication, that when Brigham Young issued that call, he had no good information about the Willie and Martin handcart companies that were in distress. So when the rescue teams left Salt Lake, they had no idea where they were going or how many people they would need to assist.
But they went anyway. Reddick Allred was among the express team of 27 men and 16 wagons that raced ahead of the main rescue party. They averaged close to 30 miles a day through deep snow and bitter cold. On Oct 18th, eleven days after leaving the valley, the express team decided to establish a relief station near South Pass. Captain Grant, leader of the express team, assigned Reddick to take charge of the station and a few men. It was an unenviable task. South Pass is a high, treeless plain at the crest of the continent lashed by a bitter wind in the winter. And only one day after leaving Salt Lake, Reddick contracted pleurisy, an inflammation of the lungs that makes it difficult and painful to breathe. The only treatment for pleurisy was bed rest, but it would be some time before Reddick got to lie in his own bed again.
A few days after the express team continued on they encountered the Willie company. They sent word to Brother Allred and his men who hurried east and were able to deliver life-saving food and equipment to the struggling group soon after their terrible climb up Rocky Ridge. Allred and his men saw the Willie company and their rescuers on their way to the valley and returned to await word of the Martin company at the relief station. For three cold and tedious weeks full of doubt and uncertainty, they waited. At one point, two of the men decided that the Martin company was either lost or had camped for the winter. They decided to return to Salt Lake and tried to persuade Allred to return with them.
Reddick Allred refused to budge. Brigham Young had sent them out, his priesthood leader had assigned him this post, and he would remain until released. The other men left him and returned, tragically turning other relief wagons around as they met them. But Reddick remained. On November 18, his faith and obedience were vindicated when the rescuers arrived with the Martin company. Captain Grant was so happy to see Reddick that he greeted him with a cheer, "Hurrah for the Bulldog. Good for hanging on." Reddick Allred had plenty of reasons for leaving his post; the cold, the uncertainty, his own ill health. But he had one good reason to stay; his faith in his leaders and desire to be obedient.
In the April 1997 General Conference, President Eyring paid tribute to Allred:
"Those with the faith of Reddick Newton Allred will ... feel the same divine approval [he] felt when he saw those handcart pioneers struggling toward him, knowing he could offer them safety because he had followed counsel when it was hard to do.
"While the record does not prove it, I am confident that Brother Allred prayed while he waited. I am confident that his prayers were answered. He then knew that the counsel to stand fast was from God. We must pray to know that. I promise you answers to such prayers of faith." (Henry B. Eyring, "Finding Safety in Counsel," April 1997, Saturday Afternoon Session, 167th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
I too pay tribute to Reddick Allred. My great great grandmother's sister, Elizabeth Green, was an 18-year-old member of the Martin Company that he helped to rescue. She continued her journey to the Salt Lake Valley where she later married, raised a family of nine children and died at the age of 78.
And now, let me return to the more excellent way I spoke of a few minutes ago. When we speak of obedience to law, we must also speak of its companion principle--agency. Without agency this earth life would not be a test; the Lord could not prove us to see if we would keep his commandments. But we do have our agency and we are free to choose. But, contrary to what many of us think, we do not have free agency, the ability to pick and choose the commandments we will keep. No, we have agency, or moral agency, and that is simply the ability to choose between life and death. Nephi tells us, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:27). Or, as the farmer says, "Every choice has consequences. When you pick up one end of the stick, you also pick up the other."
The key to true freedom lies in this paradox; we must give up our freedom voluntarily in order to know the freedom that only Christ can give. Many of us ask for things from our Heavenly Father in our prayers. We may ask for blessings, for help in difficult situations, for others to be influenced on our behalf. I fear that we may be praying for the wrong things. Our Heavenly Father knows each of us individually and has designed our mortal test here on this earth individually for each of us. While we may desire to get out of a difficult situation, He may leave us there, knowing that we will learn and grow. Instead of praying for things that we want, we should consider asking the Lord to show us His will, and then we should do it. When we align our will with the will of the Lord, as the tuning fork picks up the vibrations and itself begins to vibrate, then we will participate in miracles in our lives.
The Savior set the ultimate example of obedience with his life and death for each of us. "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). Our obedience, our submission to the will of the Father, should be like the Savior. The prophet Omni taught that we are to "come unto him, and offer [our] whole souls as an offering unto him" (Omni 1:26). Elder B. H. Roberts wrote that "to submit his mind and his will to God [is] man's highest act of worship--self-surrender" (The B. H. Roberts Story [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980], p. 378).
When we submit, then His grace is sufficient. It will make up for our shortcomings. Most of us have had the experience of being at a sacrament service where the young priest makes a mistake in the sacrament prayer and the bishop directs him with a shake of his head to repeat the prayer. And many of us may have felt embarrassed for the young man, and thought that perhaps it is a bit much to make him redo the prayer. After all, we think, he made his best effort.
But the priests have been directed to give the prayer word perfect. God does not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He does not overlook our sins and let us into heaven anyway. But the atonement of Christ does allow us a do-over, a second chance, a third chance, or however many chances it takes until we get it right. And when we get it right with exactness, then we are accepted of the Lord and His grace covers the rest of our feeble attempts.
The abundant life that I spoke of earlier comes through obedience. 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." We all desire the abundant life but sometimes in the moment we forget that we are eternal beings with a heavenly past and a glorious future. If we are not vigilant, we may trade our royal birthright for a mess of pottage.
My wife and I tried to think of ways to help our four children remember who they are. We had a Family Home Evening lesson on obedience when they were young, I think ages 6 to 12. In that lesson we talked about the temple and how much we wanted our family to be together forever. I wrote up a contract which said, "I promise to remain worthy so that I can go to the temple with my whole family on the day that the last child gets married." Each of us signed our name to the contract. Over the years, that promise became a regular part of our family conversation. When someone would leave the house on a school trip or a sleepover, or later when they went to college or on their mission, we would say, "Remember who you are. We'll see you in the temple."
About 15 years later, in our last Family Home Evening before we left on our mission to Brazil, our children surprised us by redoing the contract. Two of the children had been married in the temple by then, and the third was engaged. We talked about it again, how we all wanted to be together in the temple on that important day, and then we renewed our promise by signing our names again. I'm happy to report that we were able to keep our contract. Our youngest daughter was married on January 12, 2007. On that day all of our children and all of their spouses were gathered in the sealing room of the Salt Lake Temple. As we looked in each other's eyes we saw tears and we saw commitment and we caught a glimpse of the Celestial Kingdom.
As our mission in Brazil came to a close, we felt a similar desire to help our missionaries commit to lifelong obedience. In our last zone conference, we talked about our potential as children of our Heavenly Father. We read Doctrine & Covenants 132:19-20, which talks about the moment when we will enter into the celestial kingdom:
"They shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
"Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them."
In that conference we all made a commitment to each other. By a raise of hands, we promised to live our lives worthy to always be able to enter the temple, and to be able to join together again in the celestial kingdom. We then gave each missionary a silver ring with our mission name and this scripture reference on it. 2006 was the summer of one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. We became the Missionaries of the Rings. When we see our missionaries at reunions or other occasions, we speak of our rings and are reminded of the promises we made.
Each of us has this glorious potential, this royal birthright. You, the marvelous students of BYU-Hawaii, have come from all over the Pacific to this sacred place. Here you will learn and grow so that you can return and build the Kingdom in your home country. You will lead; learn to obey.
And then when we finish our mortal sojourn and leave this earth, we will return to live with our Father in Heaven where we will be gods and will preside over our own eternal increase. We will lead, so we must learn to obey.
Of this truth I bear my solemn witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.