Obedience: Simply Live the Gospel

Obedience: Simply Live the Gospel. To me, that is not only the title of Chapter 12 but also the way Gordon B. Hinckley defines the word obedience. “Obedience in the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the Encyclopedia of Mormonism states, “means to comply with God's will, to live in accordance with his teachings and the promptings of his Spirit, and to keep his commandments.”1 Isn’t that simply living the gospel? The Oxford Dictionary defines being obedient as “complying or willing to comply with orders or requests; submissive to another’s will.”2 When we comply with the orders and requests of God, meaning His commandments, and when our submission to another’s will is to His will, we are living the gospel. When done in the right spirit, obedience and living the gospel really are the same thing. As we obey the commandments of God, we are living the gospel. And as we live the gospel, obedience naturally occurs.

“Simply live the gospel,” Gordon B. Hinckley encouraged. “Humble yourselves and walk in obedience. I promise that the results that follow will be marvelous to behold and satisfying to experience.” To achieve these marvelous results and satisfying experiences, however, requires more than just going through the motions. It requires what Kim B. Clark calls “obedience of the whole heart and soul.” He teaches, “Obedience of the heart and soul embraces all of who we are: our behavior and our attitudes, our actions and our desires, our diligence and our love. That kind of willing obedience connects us to Christ in a powerful way and brings His Spirit, love, power, and joy into our lives. A casual, reluctant, surface kind of obedience will not do. The Lord requires of us obedience that is exact, willing, and deep. He wants obedience of the whole heart and soul.”3

David A. Bednar encourages us to “examine our lives, to move to a higher spiritual plane, and to yearn and strive for … heartfelt and willing obedience. ... Obedience is not simply a passive steady state; rather, obedience must grow and develop and deepen and increase and expand. Our experience with and understanding of the principle of obedience should change as we develop spiritually and as we gain additional light and knowledge--line upon line and precept upon precept. Also, our spiritual expectations should increase and intensify as we continue to faithfully obey God's commandments.”4

Therefore, heartfelt and willing obedience comes because we love God. “The purest and best motivation for obedience to godly law is love.”1 And God gives us commandments because He loves us. “God’s … laws are a manifestation of His love for us," Carole M. Stephens said, "and obedience to His laws is an expression of our love for Him.”5

President Hinckley teaches us that “happiness lies in keeping the commandments.” He also teaches that our safety, our peace, our prosperity and our strength come from obedience to God’s commandments. But that doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges, disappointments or heartaches. We will. That is part of mortality. It is the strength we receive from our willing obedience that enables us to handle life’s challenges. We will feel the Lord’s love and His Spirit in powerful ways! Obedience that is exact, willing, and deep invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost. That is a tremendous blessing we sometimes do not fully appreciate! Do we underestimate the power that our obedience has to bring safety and peace into our lives?

Joseph B. Wirthlin reminds us, "Willing obedience provides lasting protection against Satan’s alluring and tantalizing temptations."6 Similarly, Elder Bednar declares, "Obedience is the principal weapon upon which the rising generation must rely in the latter-day battle between good and evil. Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons."7

Is there anything greater we could want for our children, and ourselves, than protection from evil? Since obedience is the principal weapon our children will need, how do we teach them heartfelt and willing obedience, especially when it is such a personal thing? The only way we can do that is by our example. In our most recent general conference, Joy D. Jones reminded us that the latter-day war is continuing with “increased intensity. The battle touches us all, and our children are on the front lines facing the opposing forces. Thus, the need intensifies for us to strengthen our spiritual strategies. … Hold your little ones close—so close that they see your daily religious behavior and watch you keeping your promises and covenants. ‘Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.’”8

Daily righteous behavior and covenant keeping was precisely what President Hinckley was talking about when he counseled us, “We are a covenant people, and great are the obligations which go with that covenant. We cannot be ordinary people. …The religion of which you are a part … isn’t just Sunday. It’s all the time – twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Lord expects that we will keep our lives in order, that we will live the gospel in every aspect.”

My hope is that we not only live the gospel with heartfelt and willing obedience but that we recognize the blessings that come to us as we do.