We have been commanded by Jesus Christ in 3 Nephi 12:48
to “be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” While it
would be great if it were as easy to do as it is to say, there is so much to
talk about it would be impossible to cover it all in a single Sacrament
Meeting, let alone one talk. Instead, there is just one aspect of Christ's life
that I wish to focus on today. In John chapter 6 we read about Jesus feeding
the 5000 and the lesson he taught those people shortly thereafter. In verse 38
he tells the people “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me.”
If we are to follow Christ’s example, then we too must
strive to live our lives in accordance with God’s will.
I like to think that
obtaining and following God’s will for us is something sort of like an
instruction manual for life. There are those of us that think “Instructions are
for other people. I’ll be fine.” Were life as simple as putting together
a bed stand from Ikea, then I’m sure those people would do great. However, the
complexities of life and living in such a way that we can return to our Heavenly
father are much more akin to that of building a mansion. By yourself. From scratch. Thankfully though, God realizes
that traversing the trials and challenges of life by ourselves would be
impossible and has in a place an instruction manual on how to get back to Him.
All we have to do is ask.
As with most everything else, we need to actively seek
out what our Father in Heaven wants us to do. We won’t be able to sit idly by
and wait for this instruction manual to come out of the sky and fall in our
laps. But one simple way of finding what He wants is through prayer. As we
pray, we communicate directly with Heavenly Father, much in the way a child
would talk with his real father. In that prayer, we can ask for guidance and
direction in what He would have us do. If we read James 1:5, it says that “if
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” In the footnotes, wisdom is tagged
as Divine Guidance. If we replace wisdom with Divine Guidance and continue on
with the verse, the scripture now reads “If any of you lack Divine Guidance,
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and
it shall be given him.” I personally find it very comforting to know that if I
get down on my knees to pray and ask God for what I should do, He will answer
me. And not just a little bit. He will answer me liberally. But it gets better.
He won’t criticize us or think less of us no matter what we ask. We are all
children of God, and as such, are still learning. Just as a parent wouldn’t
think less of their child for asking a simple question like what does a
lightbulb do, God is patient and is willing to answer any of our questions no
matter how small. Personally, I know that this is true and it is wonderful
being able to ask God for help in finding what He needs me to do without fear
or trepidation.
Another thing we can do to learn God’s will is to take
the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi’s example and turn to the scriptures. As Nephi
was teaching his brothers in 1 Nephi 19, he says that he “did liken the
scriptures unto [them], that it might be for [their] profit and learning.” The
scriptures are quite possibly one of the greatest tools that we have at our
disposal. Besides having some great stories like the Army of Helaman or the
Jaredites crossing the ocean, the scriptures are truly an inspired tool that
God has given us to help us in obtaining His plan for us. Reading from the
scriptures can help to put us in a calmer mood that invites the Spirit into our
lives. When we have the Holy Ghost as our companion, we can have clarity of
thought and be able to better ponder what God would have us do.
This is especially useful when we visit the temple. Going
through the temple provides a sense of peace and comfort that cannot be found
anywhere else on Earth. It provides the perfect opportunity to put away the
cares of the world for a while, forget about the stresses of day to day life,
and just focus on pondering what Heavenly Father wants us to do. If we combine
temple visits with reading and pondering the scriptures beforehand, I can
promise you that you will feel the Spirit and be able to understand and see
what God has in store.
Now if we want to dive deeper than just the seminary
answers like prayer and scripture study, we can turn to Mosiah 3:19, found in
the Book of Mormon. This verse is part of King Benjamin’s farewell
speech, where he tells his people that “the natural man is an enemy to God, and
has been from the fall of Adam.” The natural man that King Benjamin tells us to
be wary of is described in Doctrine and Covenants 121:37. It tells us that the
natural man is inclined to “cover [his] sins, or to gratify [his] pride, [his]
vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls
of the children of men.” If we fall victim and give into the temptations of
this natural man, we lose the companionship of the Holy Ghost. And without the
Holy Ghost, there is no way for God to communicate with us and tell us what He
would have us do. Fortunately for us, however, if we revisit Mosiah 3:19 and
read the rest of the verse, King Benjamin tells us how to overcome this natural
man.
“For the natural man
is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever
and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off
the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,
and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,
willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him,
even as a child doth submit to his father.”
Personally, I find the
last part of this verse extremely interesting to think about. “Willing to
submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a
child doth submit to his father.” At one point or another, each and every one
of us will be put through trials that we just don’t want to go through, plain
and simple. It is especially easy during these times to sucumb to the natural
man in all of us, but King Benjamin tells us that we just need to become like a
child. While I don’t think he means nap time at work followed by snack time,
there is still a great example to be learned by following how children will
listen to everything their father tells them and believe it to be true. All we
have to do is ask.
Now because our lives are always changing and we don't
know what is in store for us next, God can't give us the entire instruction
manual on how to build our mansion of life. He gives it to us a chapter at a
time. As we learn in Alma 36 verses 6-7, "by small and simple things are
great things brought to pass [...] and The Lord God doth work by means to bring
about his great and eternal purposes." When we ask God what His plan for
us is, He will only give it to us pertaining to what He needs at that time.
Often times, He will ask us to do things that we think are worthless or don't
mean much. But I can assure you, there is a purpose to it all, we just need to
exercise a little faith. After Adam left the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam a
new set of commandments which he should live by, one of which was to offer
animal sacrifices. After several days an angel came to Adam and asked him why
he was offering sacrifices. In Moses 5:6, Adam responds by saying "I know
not, save The Lord commanded me." This is the kind of faith that The Lord
asks of us. We may not always know why we do certain things, but The Lord just
asks we that we trust in Him and what he wants us to do.
For example, up until sixth grade, my parents had forced
me to take piano lessons. For a while I enjoyed them but as I got older the
less and less important they seemed. Why practice? I’m not going to need this.
Piano is lame. So on and so on. At the end of sixth grade, my mom caved in and
said you can quit now if you want, but I really feel you should stick with
lessons one more year. I prayed about it and decided that Heavenly Father wanted
me to stay with piano lessons. I wasn't terribly excited about the idea but I
knew that it was what I was supposed to do. Fast forward a couple of months to
one day after school when my new friend John who happened to be the son of the
instrumental director comes up to me and asks if I play the piano. I said I did
and he told me the piano player in the schools jazz band had to drop and they
desperately needed a replacement. I looked at the music and since I kept with
my piano lessons, I was able to take the spot. At the time, I didn't think much
of it. It was fun and I really enjoyed it, but I did not see how much of a
blessing it was and how important it would be to me later on. Looking back, it
was a defining moment of who I became and who I am now. It led me to marching
band and the instrumental program in high school which has given me so many
unbelievable experiences and memories. All because I kept with my piano lessons
in the seventh grade. I now can see that it truly was God's will for me that I
keep those lessons, and I can testify how important it is for each and every
one of you to find out God's will for you, even if it’s something as small as
keeping on with piano lessons, or as big as leaving on a mission for two years.
For those of you that don't know, when I leave on my
mission Tuesday to Mexico City and then to Kennewick, Washington, I am leaving
to become a full time ambassador for The Lord. For two years, I will be
dedicating every waking moment I have to serving the people of Washington and
through them The Lord. I have prayed about it and I know that this is what I am
supposed to do. God has given me everything, and dedicating two years of my
life are the least I can do to repay my immeasurable debt to Him. But I would
not be here if it were not for the immeasurable support of my friends and
family over the years, not to mention the support of my great teachers and
leaders over the years, especially Brother Henderson, Bishop Scoville, and
Brother Trebas who have really helped me get ready this past year in the final
push before I leave. I know they are all truly inspired men of God and I will
always be forever in their debt for what they've done for me.
I know this is the true Church of God, set up and
restored just as it was when Christ was on the Earth through the prophet Joseph
Smith. I know that these next two years will be some of the hardest years of my
life, but ultimately will be the most rewarding. I know this is what I am
supposed to do and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
