September’s doctrinal topic was commandments.  “Commandments are the laws and requirements that a loving Heavenly Father gives His children to bless them, protect them, and guide them back to Him. When we keep the commandments, we show our love for Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. As we obey the commandments and continually repent, we become more like the Savior and we are blessed with happiness, peace, testimony, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost.”1  As I have studied what President Nelson has taught us about commandments, I thought about his gentle reminder to “do better and be better.”2   I also could hear his plea for us to do things in a higher and holier way.  Imagine the great blessings that can be ours if we keep God’s commandments in a holier and higher way.  How blessed we are to have a prophet who is encouraging us to be more faithful and faith-filled.  His loving counsel is to be more obedient to God’s commands, continuously improving our lives to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and ultimately qualifying us to return home to our Father in Heaven.


Russell M. Nelson once said, “The ultimate objective in our mortal journey has been revealed by our Creator, who said, ‘If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.’ … When we covenant to follow the Lord and obey His commandments, we accept His standards in every thought, action, and deed. Living the Lord’s standards requires that we cultivate the gift of the Holy Ghost. That gift helps us understand doctrine and apply it personally.”3 

Think for a moment about some of the words used in that quote—commandments, covenant, standards, doctrine.  Each of these words describes what our loving Heavenly Father has given us because He loves us and wants us to return home to Him.  He has given us the Holy Ghost to teach us, to guide us and to warn us.  He has also given us a living prophet to help us on our journey.


President Nelson once said, “Know and obey the relevant teachings of the Lord. Some of His timeless truths are applicable generally, such as the commandments not to steal, not to kill, and not to bear false witness. Other teachings or commandments are also general, such as those regarding the Sabbath, the sacrament, baptism, and confirmation.  Some revelations have been given for unique circumstances, such as Noah’s building of the ark or the necessity for prophets like Moses, Lehi, and Brigham to lead their followers in arduous travel. God’s long-established pattern of teaching His children through prophets assures us that He will bless each prophet and that He will bless those who heed prophetic counsel.”4 


Consider the prophetic counsel President Nelson gave us in the general conference he was sustained as our prophet, and which has been repeated quite often, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”  He then pleaded with us to “increase your spiritual capacity. … Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.”5  That spiritual work includes keeping commandments, honoring covenants, living God’s standards, and knowing His doctrine.  


And as surely as we try to do the necessary spiritual work, the adversary will try to discourage us. President Nelson taught, “Because the evil one is ever at work, our vigilance cannot be relaxed—not even for a moment. A small and seemingly innocent invitation can turn into a tall temptation which can lead to tragic transgression. Night and day, at home or away, we must shun sin and ‘hold fast that which is good.’”6


Think of some of the other prophetic counsel we have been given over the last few years.  We have been warned that there will be much discontent in the world.  We have been encouraged to take a personal inventory to determine where we can make improvements to safeguard against the evils of our day.  We are being encouraged to make our study time and our worship time more of a priority.  It seemed to me that much of our recent general conference was a reminder to make the Savior the center of our lives.


President Nelson spoke to us of personal temple worthiness, which of course includes obedience to God’s commandments, reading the temple recommend questions, which “have recently been edited for clarity.”  He said, “Each temple is a holy place; each temple patron strives to become more holy. … All requirements to enter the temple relate to personal holiness. Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord, to be an honest citizen, to be a better example, and to be a holier person.  I testify that such preparatory work brings innumerable blessings in this life and inconceivable blessings for the life to come.”7  Some of the sweetest interviews I have had have been with my bishop or a stake presidency member to renew my temple recommend.  What an incredible experience it is to vocalize my commitment to follow God’s commands and to give an accounting of my actions.  We know that at some future time we will likewise give an accounting, for one day “each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.”8       

President Nelson once shared, “When the Prophet Joseph Smith faced death, he said, ‘I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men.’  Now is the time to prepare for your own ultimate interview. You might ask yourself: ‘Do I pay tithing with a willing heart? Do I obey the Word of Wisdom? Is my language free from obscenities and swearing? Am I morally righteous? Am I truly grateful for the Atonement that makes my resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility? Do I honor temple covenants that seal loved ones to me forever?’”9 

Alma 34:32 teaches us that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.”10   President Nelson said that “our sojourn in mortality is a period of probation, a time of trial and testing to see if we will do whatever the Lord commands us to do.”  He encouraged us to “keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy.”  And he warned that we “will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith.”  I love what he says next! “Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow without constraint.”11


Whenever we do what our Heavenly Father asks us to do, He blesses us!  In the second chapter of Mosiah, King Benjamin reminds his people over and over to keep the commandments.  He teaches them that the Lord “has promised that if you would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. … He doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you.”12  King Benjamin ends his preaching with these beautiful words, “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.”13 

   
President Nelson has reminded us, “Spiritual truth cannot be ignored—especially divine commandments. Keeping divine commandments brings blessings, every time! Breaking divine commandments brings a loss of blessings, every time!”14 

In a world that has lost its moral bearings, we need to be examples of morality.  Keeping God’s commandments, honoring covenants, living His standards and knowing His doctrine will provide us incredible moral strength.  Specifically to the women of the Church, the prophet recently said, “From the dawning of time, women have been blessed with a unique moral compass—the ability to distinguish right from wrong. This gift is enhanced in those who make and keep covenants. And it diminishes in those who willfully ignore the commandments of God.  I hasten to add that I do not absolve men in any way from God’s requirement for them also to distinguish between right and wrong. But my dear sisters, your ability to discern truth from error, to be society’s guardians of morality, is crucial in these latter days. And we depend upon you to teach others to do likewise. Let me be very clear about this: if the world loses the moral rectitude of its women, the world will never recover.”15

May we each take a moment to evaluate our lives and find places where we can do better and be better. As we make a more concerted effort to keep the commandments of God, I know we will be blessed!   Even those commandments we feel we are keeping well, I pray we can live in a higher and holier way.

References:

  1.  Commandments – Come, Follow Me-For Young Women

  2.  We Can Do Better and Be Better – Russell M. Nelson

  3.  Living By Scriptural Guidance – Russell M. Nelson

  4.  Ask, Seek, Knock – Russell M. Nelson

  5.  Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives – Russell M. Nelson

  6.  Set in Order Thy House – Russell M. Nelson

  7.  Closing Remarks – Russell M. Nelson

  8.  The Living Christ

  9.  Personal Priesthood Responsibility – Russell M. Nelson

10.  Alma 34:32

11.  Face the Future With Faith – Russell M. Nelson

12.  Mosiah 2:22, 24

13.  Mosiah 2:41

14.  Let Your Faith Show – Russell M. Nelson

15.  Spiritual Treasures – Russell M. Nelson

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