Obedience

“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.” (1 Nephi 3:7)

"A soul-stirring account of obedience is that of Abraham and Isaac. How painfully difficult it must have been for Abraham, in obedience to God’s command, to take his beloved Isaac into the land of Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice. Can we imagine the heaviness of Abraham’s heart as he journeyed to the appointed place? Surely anguish must have racked his body and tortured his mind as he bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and took the knife to slay him. With unwavering faith and implicit trust in the Lord, he responded to the Lord’s command. 

How glorious was the pronouncement;

 “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” 

Abraham had been tried and tested, and for his faithfulness and obedience the Lord gave him this glorious promise: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Of course, the story of Abraham and Isaac is a representation of the sacrifice of the son of God; our Saviour Jesus Christ. It is important to remember that our father in heaven still had agency, but, through perfect love, chose exact obedience to the plan which had been prepared.

"God heard the cry of his Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when, it is said, the pores of his body opened and drops of blood stood upon him, and he cried out: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.”

I ask you, what father and mother could stand by and listen to the cry of their children in distress, in this world, and not render aid and assistance?

 I have heard of mothers throwing themselves into raging streams when they could not swim a stroke to save their drowning children, rushing into burning buildings, to rescue those whom they loved. 

In that hour I think I can see our dear Father, behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer, and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. 

Oh, in that moment when He might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us." -Melvin J Ballard

In his talk "Israel, Israel God is calling", Jeffrey R Holland spoke about the importance of "taking a moral stand according to what God has declared and the laws He has given, but doing it compassionately and with understanding and great charity." He speaks of the need to be obedient - to diligently strive to be obedient ourselves and always hope that others will choose to be obedient. We must, however, always be sensitive and compassionate towards those who (including ourselves) make mistakes or choose to live contrary to the laws of God. 

Sometimes we worry that we are being judgemental when we implore others to be obedient also -

"It is a little like a teenager saying, “Now that I can drive, I know I am supposed to stop at a red light, but do we really have to be judgmental and try to get everyone else to stop at red lights? Does everyone have to do what we do? Don’t others have their agency? Must they behave as we do?” You then have to explain why, yes, we do hope all will stop at a red light. And you have to do this without demeaning those who transgress or who believe differently than we believe because, yes, they do have their moral agency."

"Keep the commandments; keep the commandments!

In this there is safety; in this there is peace."

The first law of heaven

 In October 1873 President Joseph F. Smith stated that “Obedience is the first law of heaven.”

“There is a law (1), irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— “And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law (2) upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20–21).

Discussing this with Dad, he and I came to the following conclusion:

THE LAW (1) - Obedience

A LAW (2) - A particular law e.g tithing, fasting, chastity etc.

We must follow "THE LAW" (1) to "A LAW" (2) to receive the predicated blessings. Exact obedience to all laws of the gospel will eventually result in a fullness of joy! =)

“The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God.” - Gordon B. Hinckley

41 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 outfaithful 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.

All heavenly father requires is our sincere obedience

“And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye 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.

“And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

“And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever.” (Mosiah 2:22–24.)

First and foremost, we must love the Lord our God -

References:

"Obedience brings blessings" Thomas S Monson

"Israel, Israel God is calling" Jeffrey R Holland