I also think that obedience proves how merciful and loving Heavenly Father is. My roommate and I were discussing how it seems like missionaries have SO many rules. Some of them even seem ridiculous. BUT I think that missionaries are given so many rules in order to allow missionaries to receive as many blessings as possible. God loves us and He wants to bless us. He wants us to listen and obey Him so that he can bless and help us for being so faithful. Missionaries especially need extra blessings so that they can find those who need the gospel most of all and so that they are able to bring as many people unto Christ as possible. Missionary work is hard! I hope to be completely obedient so that I can have the strength to work hard every day, the ability to have the Spirit with me at all times, and the compassion to serve and teach others.
One of the greatest examples to me of obedience is of the Two-Thousand Stripling Warriors. My favorite verse of their story is found in Alma 57:21 which reads, "Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." It doesn't say that the warriors followed "blindly," they had complete faith in Heavenly Father and knew that whatever happened to them was His will. I also like this scripture because it shows how important the role of a parent is. The stripling warriors had so much faith and chose to be obedient because they recognized the truth and wisdom of their mothers' teachings. The scriptures don't often single out how much impact mothers can have. They truly are amazing and are responsible for teaching their children valuable truths. I am grateful for my own parents, especially my mother for teaching me about the gospel and how to be obedient. As cheesy as it sounds, I would not even be close to the person I am today without them. I hope to make them proud as I serve a mission and continue to be obedient to Heavenly Father.
We discussed obedience in mission prep today and one thought that I really liked was how much obedience protects us. Elder L. Tom Perry once said, "The discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living and wholesome lives builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you as you proceed through mortality." Heavenly Father gives us commandments not only because He loves us, but because commandments keep us safe and save us from heartache and pain. In high school my friends were amazed at how no one, not even adults, drank alcohol or did drugs. Some people might claim that our lives are "boring" and "lame" but lemme tell ya, getting drunk and hurting my body with drugs does not sound all that appealing to me. I am grateful for commandments and how they help me realize how important it is to keep my mind and body pure and clean. And plus we get blessings for doing it! Its a win-win!
In my patriarchal blessing it says something along the lines of "do not be afraid to obey with exactness, for that is required."I love that. Sometimes I think I get afraid of being a goody-two-shoes and that I don't want to be too good. But that is an awful way to think. Nothing matters more than obeying Heavenly Father and keeping His commandments. I have a testimony that if we work hard to be the best we can be, we will be blessed and will be able to return to live with Heavenly Father again. I am grateful for this knowledge and I hope to be more obedient so that I will be blessed with the ability to bring others the truth on my mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment