Millions of
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as many
other interested people heard the Prophet speak on Sunday, April 7, 2013. President Thomas S. Monson spoke about the
importance of obedience to the commandments of God and said that knowledge of
truth and the answers to great questions come through obedience.
“There is no need for you or for
me, in this enlightened age when the fullness of the gospel has been restored,
to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our
course and provided an unfailing guide – even obedience.”
President Monson reminded us
that we all learn obedience throughout our lives. “Beginning when we are very young, those
responsible for our care set forth guidelines and rules to ensure our
safety. Life would be simpler for all of
us if we would obey such rules completely.
Many of us, however, learn through experience the wisdom of being
obedient.”
To illustrate this idea,
President Monson shared a personal experience that took place when he was eight
years old. He had been repeatedly taught
that fire was dangerous and to leave matches alone, but he disobediently used
matches to burn a circle of weeds to clear an area for a campfire later in the
day. The weeds were dry, and the fire
quickly burned more than the expected area.
In fact, the fire became so large that it threatened the trees and homes
in the area. After several hours of hard
work by many people, the fire was brought under control before it could reach
the trees and homes.
The Prophet said that he learned
several lessons that day, including the importance of obedience. He said that there are rules and laws to help
ensure physical safety. “Likewise, the
Lord has provided guidelines and commandments to help ensure our spiritual
safety so that we might successfully navigate this often treacherous mortal
existence and return eventually to our Heavenly Father.”
According to President Monson,
all prophets, ancient and modern, have known that obedience is essential to our
salvation. “Obedience is a hallmark of
prophets; it has provided strength and knowledge to them throughout the
ages. It is essential for us to realize
that we, as well, are entitled to this source of strength and knowledge. It is readily available to each of us today
as we obey God’s commandments.
President Monson shared the
experiences of two acquaintances - two of the “countless individuals” who have
been particularly faithful and obedient.
“I have been inspired by them.”
After sharing the experiences, he added, “My brothers and sisters, the
great test of this life is obedience.”
There is no greater example of
obedience than that of the Savior. “The
Savior demonstrated genuine love of God by living the perfect life, and by
honoring the sacred mission that was His.
Never was He haughty. Never was
He puffed up with pride. Never was He
disloyal. Ever was He humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He obedient.
“Though He was led up of the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by that master of deceit, even the
devil, though He was physically weakened from fasting forty days and forty
nights and was an hungered, yet when the evil one proffered Jesus the most
alluring and tempting proposals, He gave to us a divine example of obedience by
refusing to deviate from what He knew was right.”
President Monson told us that
rich rewards come to the obedient. “The
knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, the strength which we
desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours
when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments.”
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