Chapter 9—The Law of Obedience
Salvation begins with our sincere willingness to be obedient to the laws and ordinances of His gospel. All are under covenant to obey the Lord, for it is a condition of mortality. His divine laws, including the law of obedience, were established before this world was created. Before we chose to come to earth, God decreed the purpose: “We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). Those willing to obey were permitted a mortal experience. In this lone and desolate telestial world, the Lord observes our faithfulness to this premortal covenant. Life’s challenges test our obedience. Because of a veil of flesh and deceptive teachings, most are not “obedient unto the end of [their] lives” (Mosiah 5:8). Many believe God’s laws constrain or limit us, but only laws of men do. Obedience to His laws brings divine blessings.
Salvation depends on strict obedience. “We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (AF 1:3). The law of obedience must be upheld for Christ’s atonement to be effective in our lives. “We believe that faith in God, and in the sufferings, death, and atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is given to all who obey the gospel and is one of the first conditions.” That “through the atonement thus wrought out, all men may come to God and find acceptance.”
Obedience is inseparably tied to the power of faith. True prophets implored people to obey that they might gain knowledge of Christ.
Obedience and faith are catalysts of creation that maintain order and hold power of transformation. The endowment and Bible both begin with details of the creation, recognizing a cosmic system maintained by obedience and order. After the plan was set in the heavenly council, the Gods “went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth . . . We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient.” And “it was so, even as they ordered.” When “the Gods saw that they would be obeyed and that their plan was good . . . the Gods said, we will bless them.” The Gods ordered creation—pronouncing, preparing, numbering, gathering, organizing, and observing—until they “saw that they were obeyed . . . The Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed” (Abraham 4:1, 31, 7, 21–22, 10, 18). Obedience made the divine plan “good,” even “very good.”
Contemplate all his works and observe the works of heaven, how they do not alter their paths . . . and do not transgress their own appointed order. They do not leave their course and they neither extend nor diminish their course. They keep faith with one another according to the oath they have sworn. (1 Enoch 2:1, 41:5)
Only after all things were prepared, organized, and obedient did the Gods “counsel among themselves” to form man (Abraham 4:26). Obedience of elements and creatures provided the proper setting to test man for exaltation. This was the plan of the premortal council.
While Lucifer’s unrealistic suggestion to ‘guarantee’ exaltation appealed to many, it had no solid foundation or substance. Because it was not built on faith in God, the bestower of blessings, it could only fail. His deviant plan could only lead people astray, promising exaltation while removing the need for obedience. Because blessings are predicated on obedience, his proposal would eliminate all blessings, including priesthood, eternal life, and exaltation. His deceptive but tempting plan was short-sighted, impossible, and guaranteed nothing but damnation.
Lucifer, meaning morning star or bringer of light, was once worthy to be in the heavenly council, but when his beliefs strayed from eternal laws and order, he became Satan, yea, even the devil” (Moses 4:4) “to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:8). Satan means adversary in Hebrew, distanced or astray in Arabic. His temptations intensified when man came to earth.
By partaking of what God had forbidden and transgressing His bounds, mankind fell. To be redeemed, men must hearken to the voice of the Lord to worthily pass the cherubim and flaming sword that guard the tree of life. For this reason a Savior would be provided so all who chose to obey could live forever redeemed from sin. Without Christ, “there was no possible chance that they should live forever” but must remain “lost and fallen.” And so, the doctrine of Christ is of utmost importance to God’s glorious plan.
After they were cast out of God’s presence, the fulness of the gospel was not immediately given to Adam and Eve. Having covenanted to live in obedience to God’s commandments, Adam tilled the earth to prepare the soil for fruitfulness and Eve bore children. Adam did “eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him” (Moses 5:1).
Satan did not hesitate to take advantage of their fallen condition in the world he claimed to rule and immediately began corrupting the way to God. His enticing plan to thwart salvation attacked the true points of Christ’s doctrine by offering a convincing, but counterfeit, alternative religion that was well received.
By rejecting the right way, Cain fell into the same predicament as his siblings as he too “loved Satan more than God.” So “the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men” (Moses 5:18, 55).
Obedience brings divine favor. God told Cain, “If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up” (Moses 5:23). “Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 12:28).
Unless preceded by sincere and strict obedience to true and godly principles, our sacrifices cannot be accepted.
Mortality proves us “in all things, whether you will abide my covenant . . . that you may be found worthy” (D&C 98:14), but few do.
Faithful obedience defines His servants. They are raised up in times of apostasy to preach repentance while false prophets assure us “all is well in Zion.” “He sent prophets to bring them again unto the Lord” (2 Chronicles 24:19). His servant’s love for God, His word, and fellow men motivates him to preach repentance in demanding, humiliating, and hostile circumstances. Although his concern for others is hardly reciprocated, servants faithfully continue for the sake of the few, hoping many will not “be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of my vineyard” (Jacob 5:69).
Joseph’s strict allegiance to God qualified him to restore lost truths: “I fear to offend Him and strive to keep His commandments,” for “in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21). The faithful “fear to sin” more than they fear death (Helaman 15:9). They keep His laws and ordinances “according to the exact interpretation of the Law.” At Qumran they “freely pledged to restore His covenant and heed all the precepts commanded by Him.”
Jesus, the greatest of all, was not exempt from obedience. Instead, He was the exemplar who “would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments” (2 Nephi 31:7) to glorify God and receive the fulness.
Just because a church has deviated and lost its power does not mean individuals who covenant are absolved of their responsibilities. Everyone is obligated to understand His word before they covenant, so relying on ritual itself while remaining ignorant of His revealed gospel puts many in danger’s way. Therefore, changing ordinances is a grievous sin because it binds many to terms they do not fully understand or intend to honor, polluting the temple. What could bring an endowment of power will bring curses. We are to ‘obey, honor, and sustain the law’ of God (AF 1:12), not man. The only way to obey all the ordinances of His house is to learn and obey precisely what God revealed.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). “Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne . . . as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods” (D&C 132:29, 37).
Partial obedience cannot suffice on the path to God. “Ye have not kept my ways but have been partial in the law” (Malachi 2:9). Priests depart from their duties by being distracted or absorbed in their reforms. If they transgress laws or permit change, it becomes their ritual, not God’s, so true prophets are tasked with a wearisome burden to preach repentance to those who refuse to hear or deny it applies to them.
Obedience with exactness is simple enough to understand, but what is obedience with honor? God’s honor is equated with His power. Captain Moroni said, “I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God” (Alma 60:36). What a contrast to Satan, who sought power and honor to glorify himself.
Ratified ordinances exalt the faithful and glorify God. God honors us as we receive “keys of the holy priesthood” (D&C 124:34). Obedience with honor acknowledges God’s right to be glorified, not men. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things” (Revelation 4:11). Glory and power come from knowledge. “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:28).
Honor has integrity to do what we covenant to do and what God commands. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NIV). Nephi understood the importance of obedience: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7).
The level of obedience required ties to the level of exactness found in a square, an instrument used to prove angles precise and exact. A two-sided square prepares pieces to fit securely in their proper place. From quadrare, it is to set in order and the same word that describes Christ as the chief corner stone. One who will not compromise or conform to society’s pressures is derogatorily called a ‘square,’ but exaltation requires obedience with the exactness of a square and separation from the world.
One of the symbols of the oldest Egyptian god Ptah was the square, a tool for building the universe. The God of beginnings, creative power, and opener of the way, Ptah “set all the gods in their places and gave all things the breath of life.” Osiris, another Egyptian god, is shown sitting in judgment on a seat made of the square that represented “right from wrong, to act on the square, to act rightly, to act justly, to act truthfully according to Ma’at,” the goddess of truth, justice, order, and balance. Ancient symbols in a stone tablet show a square and 90-degree ‘arm’ as representing strength and being established.
In Greek, square points to a corner or secret meeting place (G1137), from a root meaning to kneel down (G1119). A bended knee forms a right angle like a square, in contrast to hypocrites who, instead of praying in their closets, love to be seen and pray while “standing.” A square connects the law of obedience to faith in the Lord. Exactness to “every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God” is needed so that, “by faith, they [may] lay hold upon every good thing” (Moroni 7:25).
In the midst of overwhelming odds, the 2,060 stripling warriors remained “firm and undaunted” in their faith because “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” (Alma 57:21). All of these faithful young men were astonishingly preserved by “the miraculous power of God because of their exceeding faith . . . They do put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:26–27).
In contrast, the unfaithful “must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer . . . For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified” (D&C 105:6, 101:5).
We are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27). Without strict obedience, priesthood cannot exist. We must obey the Lord’s voice, including counsel of others only if their counsel truly is from God. He “neither requires nor desires unwilling or begrudged compliance, nor ‘blind obedience.’ Every person has the right, and even the responsibility, to learn whether a commandment, prompting, or teaching comes from God.”
For footnotes and references, click HERE.
There is a law, 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 upon which it is predicated. (D&C 130:20–21)God cannot revoke an “irrevocably decreed” law or give blessings without obedience. Wealth, worldly acclaim, and honors of men are not the blessings God designs for men. Spiritual gifts, knowledge, divine power, perfection, and godliness await the righteous.
Salvation depends on strict obedience. “We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (AF 1:3). The law of obedience must be upheld for Christ’s atonement to be effective in our lives. “We believe that faith in God, and in the sufferings, death, and atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is given to all who obey the gospel and is one of the first conditions.” That “through the atonement thus wrought out, all men may come to God and find acceptance.”
Obedience is inseparably tied to the power of faith. True prophets implored people to obey that they might gain knowledge of Christ.
For this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ . . . [Holy prophets] believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name . . . and no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God. (Jacob 4:4–5, 8)We despise God’s word by turning to men. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). To not obey His voice is evil. All “reap their rewards according to their works . . . according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one. For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey” (Alma 3:26–27). We can “sin unto death” or be “obedient unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16). Without being “obedient unto his law,” we cannot “walk in his ways” (Isaiah 42:24). Believers seek to know “the way wherein we may walk and the thing that we may do . . . [to] obey the voice of the Lord our God . . . [that] it may be well with us” (Jeremiah 42:3, 6).
Obedience and faith are catalysts of creation that maintain order and hold power of transformation. The endowment and Bible both begin with details of the creation, recognizing a cosmic system maintained by obedience and order. After the plan was set in the heavenly council, the Gods “went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth . . . We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient.” And “it was so, even as they ordered.” When “the Gods saw that they would be obeyed and that their plan was good . . . the Gods said, we will bless them.” The Gods ordered creation—pronouncing, preparing, numbering, gathering, organizing, and observing—until they “saw that they were obeyed . . . The Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed” (Abraham 4:1, 31, 7, 21–22, 10, 18). Obedience made the divine plan “good,” even “very good.”
Contemplate all his works and observe the works of heaven, how they do not alter their paths . . . and do not transgress their own appointed order. They do not leave their course and they neither extend nor diminish their course. They keep faith with one another according to the oath they have sworn. (1 Enoch 2:1, 41:5)
Only after all things were prepared, organized, and obedient did the Gods “counsel among themselves” to form man (Abraham 4:26). Obedience of elements and creatures provided the proper setting to test man for exaltation. This was the plan of the premortal council.
While Lucifer’s unrealistic suggestion to ‘guarantee’ exaltation appealed to many, it had no solid foundation or substance. Because it was not built on faith in God, the bestower of blessings, it could only fail. His deviant plan could only lead people astray, promising exaltation while removing the need for obedience. Because blessings are predicated on obedience, his proposal would eliminate all blessings, including priesthood, eternal life, and exaltation. His deceptive but tempting plan was short-sighted, impossible, and guaranteed nothing but damnation.
Lucifer, meaning morning star or bringer of light, was once worthy to be in the heavenly council, but when his beliefs strayed from eternal laws and order, he became Satan, yea, even the devil” (Moses 4:4) “to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:8). Satan means adversary in Hebrew, distanced or astray in Arabic. His temptations intensified when man came to earth.
By partaking of what God had forbidden and transgressing His bounds, mankind fell. To be redeemed, men must hearken to the voice of the Lord to worthily pass the cherubim and flaming sword that guard the tree of life. For this reason a Savior would be provided so all who chose to obey could live forever redeemed from sin. Without Christ, “there was no possible chance that they should live forever” but must remain “lost and fallen.” And so, the doctrine of Christ is of utmost importance to God’s glorious plan.
After they were cast out of God’s presence, the fulness of the gospel was not immediately given to Adam and Eve. Having covenanted to live in obedience to God’s commandments, Adam tilled the earth to prepare the soil for fruitfulness and Eve bore children. Adam did “eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him” (Moses 5:1).
Satan did not hesitate to take advantage of their fallen condition in the world he claimed to rule and immediately began corrupting the way to God. His enticing plan to thwart salvation attacked the true points of Christ’s doctrine by offering a convincing, but counterfeit, alternative religion that was well received.
And Satan came among them, saying, I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying, Believe [the doctrine of Christ] not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish . . . [but] Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. (Moses 5:13, 16)That those in unbelief “love Satan more than God” is a powerful, terrifying thought. Having learned for themselves that Satan was clever, persuasive, and ever-present, Adam and Eve patiently awaited God’s counsel. Because of strict obedience to the portion of His word given, Adam and Eve eventually received the law of sacrifice.
Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord . . . speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.
And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. (Moses 5:4–6)Continued obedience to His first laws paved the way for ministering angels and other blessings. As Adam and Eve repented, learned the gospel, and received His Spirit, they testified of God’s plan, making “all things known unto their sons and their daughters” (Moses 5:12). Adam and Eve were heartbroken that their children refused His gospel. When Cain was born, Eve greatly desired that he too “may not reject [God’s] words. But behold, Cain hearkened not” to the Lord’s voice (Moses 5:16) and did not believe there was a need to know Him. Cain offered sacrifice, but without doing it precisely as revealed and by God’s command, he was under Satan’s power and his ‘priesthood’ proved to be a curse.
By rejecting the right way, Cain fell into the same predicament as his siblings as he too “loved Satan more than God.” So “the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men” (Moses 5:18, 55).
Obedience brings divine favor. God told Cain, “If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up” (Moses 5:23). “Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 12:28).
Unless preceded by sincere and strict obedience to true and godly principles, our sacrifices cannot be accepted.
I spake not unto your fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice and I will be your God and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and imaginations of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:22–24)The Lord will not command them to offer sacrifices until they first obey. Cain did not obey with exactness so his offering must be rejected. “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin . . . and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:22–23). Obedience is better than sacrifice because it is the first step. Without it, we forfeit blessings and eternal life. We cannot progress until we learn “the obedience of faith . . . according to the gospel” (JST Romans 16:26, 25).
Mortality proves us “in all things, whether you will abide my covenant . . . that you may be found worthy” (D&C 98:14), but few do.
The servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him and brought other servants, and they were few. And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things. (Jacob 5:70, 72)In our days (“for the last time”), His vineyard is again corrupted. “My vineyard has become corrupted every whit; and there is none which doeth good save it be a few; and they err in many instances because of priestcrafts, all having corrupt minds” (D&C 33:4). “Evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I be caused to be burned with fire” (Jacob 5:77).
Faithful obedience defines His servants. They are raised up in times of apostasy to preach repentance while false prophets assure us “all is well in Zion.” “He sent prophets to bring them again unto the Lord” (2 Chronicles 24:19). His servant’s love for God, His word, and fellow men motivates him to preach repentance in demanding, humiliating, and hostile circumstances. Although his concern for others is hardly reciprocated, servants faithfully continue for the sake of the few, hoping many will not “be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of my vineyard” (Jacob 5:69).
Joseph’s strict allegiance to God qualified him to restore lost truths: “I fear to offend Him and strive to keep His commandments,” for “in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21). The faithful “fear to sin” more than they fear death (Helaman 15:9). They keep His laws and ordinances “according to the exact interpretation of the Law.” At Qumran they “freely pledged to restore His covenant and heed all the precepts commanded by Him.”
Jesus, the greatest of all, was not exempt from obedience. Instead, He was the exemplar who “would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments” (2 Nephi 31:7) to glorify God and receive the fulness.
He received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; and he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace until he received a fulness; and thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first. I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace. The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying, He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth; and no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. (D&C 93:13–14, 19–20, 26–28)Jesus had to receive things in their proper order to attain strength and power to overcome sin and the world. “Yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.How can we obey God’s ordinances if temple ordinances become corrupt? If we covenant to live a law we are bound to it. It remains in effect regardless of our choices. We will either receive its blessings or its curses, so we must be conscious of which laws are of God and which are of men.
Just because a church has deviated and lost its power does not mean individuals who covenant are absolved of their responsibilities. Everyone is obligated to understand His word before they covenant, so relying on ritual itself while remaining ignorant of His revealed gospel puts many in danger’s way. Therefore, changing ordinances is a grievous sin because it binds many to terms they do not fully understand or intend to honor, polluting the temple. What could bring an endowment of power will bring curses. We are to ‘obey, honor, and sustain the law’ of God (AF 1:12), not man. The only way to obey all the ordinances of His house is to learn and obey precisely what God revealed.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). “Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne . . . as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods” (D&C 132:29, 37).
Partial obedience cannot suffice on the path to God. “Ye have not kept my ways but have been partial in the law” (Malachi 2:9). Priests depart from their duties by being distracted or absorbed in their reforms. If they transgress laws or permit change, it becomes their ritual, not God’s, so true prophets are tasked with a wearisome burden to preach repentance to those who refuse to hear or deny it applies to them.
When God provided and ordered the ritual and ordinances in connection with His worship, He ordained everything, and appointed every office and duty from that of High Priest down to the hewers of wood and drawers of water. But there was no provision for [the office of] a prophet! A prophet was not necessary while the priests attended to their duty of teaching the knowledge of God, and while men continued in obedience to God’s laws. Not until the Priests departed from their first duties to teach the people the word of God and became absorbed in their ritual were prophets sent to supply the deficiency and to be spokesmen for God.Moses never aspired to the office of a prophet. It was required when the children of Israel refused to seek the counsel or face of God. We are to seek the gift of prophesy, not the office. If the office of a ‘prophet’ becomes the object of our adoration instead of the experience of coming to God to receive His commission, we are in apostasy. Having an office of a prophet lulls us into false security, thinking the Lord must be among us and that Zion is ours—but it is not. A pure heart and being of one mind with God defines Zion. “This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after” (Jeremiah 30:17), for this is not what the people want.
Obedience with exactness is simple enough to understand, but what is obedience with honor? God’s honor is equated with His power. Captain Moroni said, “I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God” (Alma 60:36). What a contrast to Satan, who sought power and honor to glorify himself.
Ratified ordinances exalt the faithful and glorify God. God honors us as we receive “keys of the holy priesthood” (D&C 124:34). Obedience with honor acknowledges God’s right to be glorified, not men. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things” (Revelation 4:11). Glory and power come from knowledge. “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:28).
Honor has integrity to do what we covenant to do and what God commands. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NIV). Nephi understood the importance of obedience: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7).
The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven. And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts. (D&C 1:31–33)Obedience brings “knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20), even our own sins. Repentance begins as we realize we dishonor God through our pride, vanity, and unbelief so obedience with honor requires us to turn to the Lord. If we are exact, “honest, and upright in all things and . . . firm in the faith of Christ” we are numbered in His church. Obeying with honor exchanges unbelief, sin, and worldly desires to glorify God. In return, the righteous “inherit the throne of glory” (1 Samuel 2:8).
The level of obedience required ties to the level of exactness found in a square, an instrument used to prove angles precise and exact. A two-sided square prepares pieces to fit securely in their proper place. From quadrare, it is to set in order and the same word that describes Christ as the chief corner stone. One who will not compromise or conform to society’s pressures is derogatorily called a ‘square,’ but exaltation requires obedience with the exactness of a square and separation from the world.
One of the symbols of the oldest Egyptian god Ptah was the square, a tool for building the universe. The God of beginnings, creative power, and opener of the way, Ptah “set all the gods in their places and gave all things the breath of life.” Osiris, another Egyptian god, is shown sitting in judgment on a seat made of the square that represented “right from wrong, to act on the square, to act rightly, to act justly, to act truthfully according to Ma’at,” the goddess of truth, justice, order, and balance. Ancient symbols in a stone tablet show a square and 90-degree ‘arm’ as representing strength and being established.
In Greek, square points to a corner or secret meeting place (G1137), from a root meaning to kneel down (G1119). A bended knee forms a right angle like a square, in contrast to hypocrites who, instead of praying in their closets, love to be seen and pray while “standing.” A square connects the law of obedience to faith in the Lord. Exactness to “every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God” is needed so that, “by faith, they [may] lay hold upon every good thing” (Moroni 7:25).
In the midst of overwhelming odds, the 2,060 stripling warriors remained “firm and undaunted” in their faith because “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” (Alma 57:21). All of these faithful young men were astonishingly preserved by “the miraculous power of God because of their exceeding faith . . . They do put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:26–27).
In contrast, the unfaithful “must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer . . . For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified” (D&C 105:6, 101:5).
We are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27). Without strict obedience, priesthood cannot exist. We must obey the Lord’s voice, including counsel of others only if their counsel truly is from God. He “neither requires nor desires unwilling or begrudged compliance, nor ‘blind obedience.’ Every person has the right, and even the responsibility, to learn whether a commandment, prompting, or teaching comes from God.”
I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. (D&C 84:43–44)
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