OBEDIENCE AND AGENCY -- NOT MY WAY BUT YOURS, LORD.

I heard Elder Boyd K. Packer give this talk about OBEDIENCE back in December of 1971 at Brigham Young University. He was, I believe, the junior member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles at the time. Then, I heard him talk about the same subject the next summer at the Faculty and Staff summer dinner. The subject he addressed was something that the Lord definitely wanted me to hear and to strive for. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the point President Packer talks about until about seven years ago.

President Boyd K. Packer

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The following is a excerpt from the talk

Obedience–that which God will never take by force–He will accept when freely given. And He will then return to you freedom that you can hardly dream of–the freedom to feel and to know, the freedom to do, and the freedom to be, at least a thousandfold more than we offer Him. Strangely enough, the key to freedom is obedience.

I would expose you this morning to some tender, innermost feelings on this matter of agency. Perhaps the greatest discovery of my life, without question the greatest commitment, came when finally I had the confidence in God that I would loan or yield my agency to Him–without compulsion or pressure, without any duress, as a single individual alone, by myself, no counterfeiting, nothing expected other than the privilege. In a sense, speaking figuratively, to take one's agency, that precious gift which the scriptures make plain is essential to life itself, and say, "I will do as thou directs," is afterward to learn that in so doing you possess it all the more
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I Want to Do What You Want Me to Do

I illustrate with an experience. When I was president of the New England Mission, the Tabernacle Choir was to sing at the world's fair in Montreal. The choir had one day unscheduled and suggested a concert in New England. One of the industrial leaders there asked for the privilege of sponsoring the concert.

Brother Condie and Brother Stewart came to Boston to discuss this matter. We met at the Boston airport and then drove to Attleboro, Massachusetts. Along the way Mr. Yeager asked about the concert. He said, "I would like to have a reception for the choir members. I could have it either at my home or at my club." He wanted to invite his friends who were, of course, the prominent people of New England–indeed, of the nation. He talked of this, and then he asked about serving alcoholic beverages.

In answering, Brother Stewart said, "Well, Mr. Yeager, since it is your home and you are the host, I suppose you could do just as you want to do."

"That isn't what I had in mind," this wonderful man said. "I don't want to do what I want to do. I want to do what you want me to do."

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That is the point that we all need eventually arrive to -- I DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT I WANT TO DO, LORD. I WANT TO DO WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO.

Draw a large "X" on a piece of paper. The top part of the letter is the area that you are moving around in as you have the "I want to do what I want to do." attitude.Going down the "funnel" toward the crossing point describes you moving toward complete surrender, to the "I want to do what you want me to do." attitude. Speaking from my own experience, the nearer you get to the bottom of the funnel, the hotter it becomes spiritually -- white hot as a matter of fact. Moving down the funnel is full of refining and purging -- repentance and sacrifice (broken heart and contrite spirit). The Law of Sacrifice is the spiritual acceptance that nothing in mortality is ours, including ourselves (we have sold ourselves in sin and Christ has redeemed us [bought us back] through his infinite suffering). It also involves TRUST in Heavenly Father and the Savior -- that no matter what they put you through, you will trust that it is necessary.

Going through the focal point into the bottom side of the X represents our spiritual acceptance of the principle that we only want to do what the Lord wants. But, you need to understand that going though that focal point, as President Packer says, is to gain agency and freedom in magnified abundance. IT IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE MOST LIBERATING THING I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE! It brought with it, the realization that all service is accepted and expected of us. And, everyone who comes into our sphere of influence, no matter how short or long the time, is a part of our stewardship. We don't need an official call from the ward or stake. The call to service came automatically with our baptism.

The sooner you arrive at that point, the less the Lord has to direct you and the more you are attuned to everyone who is around you. And, the silly striving for position, attention, and power also goes away. At least, that is what I experienced. I didn't need to worry about my worth anymore, because I KNOW from the Lord whom I am. I didn't need anything to lean on for that knowledge anymore.

WHAT THE LORD SAYS ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE USA

1. D&C 98: 5-6

  5 And that ^alaw of the land which is ^bconstitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

  6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the ^aconstitutional law of the land;

2. D&C 101: 77, 80

  77 According to the laws and ^aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the ^brights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

      •  •  •

  80 And for this purpose have I established the ^aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the ^bshedding of blood.

3. D&C 109: 54

  54 Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the ^anations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the ^bConstitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS

10 And I ^afell at his feet to ^bworship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy ^cfellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the ^dtestimony of Jesus is the spirit of ^eprophecy. Revelation 19:10

I have commented several times about receiving a witness through the Holy Ghost about the truth of principles, etc. The verse above was made by the Apostle John while imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. He mistakenly tries to kneel down to a heavenly being he assumed to be the Master. The angelic messenger stopped him and told him he was only a fellow servant from among the brethren who had the testimony of Jesus. Then he tells John that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.

The word used in Revelation which is translated as testimony is the Greek word  MARTYRΙΑ (μαρτυρια), which is better translated as WITNESS. It comes from the Greek verb MARTYREO (μαρτυρεω) and it means TO BEAR OR GIVE WITNESS..

 The word PROPHECY (προφητειας) means both to SPEAK FORTH and also to SPEAK BEFORE. HAND.. I think most of us Latter-Day Saints would accept "to prophecy" as the meaning.

THE WITNESS OF CHRIST IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.

It sounds like to me that to know that Jesus is in fact the Christ, one has to receive that knowledge through the Spirit of Prophecy (το πνευμα τησ προφητειας). The Spirit of Prophecy -- one of the Gifts of the Spirit. This kind of knowledge goes far beyond  assumption, belief, or faith that Jesus is the Christ. This is sure knowledge that is communicated from the Holy Ghost to a person's Spirit.

This concept of knowing by the Holy Ghost certainly adds meaning to another scripture penned by the Apostle John:

3 And this is ^alife ^beternal, that they might ^cknow thee the only true ^dGod, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast ^esent. John 17:3


To know either Christ or the Father or both can only come through the knowledge or witness that comes through the Holy Ghost. It is NOT knowing about them that is saving.

       UAdd a Note

APOSTLES, PROPHETS, PASTORS, TEACHERS, EVANGALISTS....

The Savior setting apart the twelve disciples as APOSTLES.

I "love" this passage of verses from the fourth chapter from Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. It demonstrates a number of things about Christ's earthly church.

11And he ^agave some, ^bapostles; and some, ^cprophets; and some, ^devangelists; and some, ^epastors and ^fteachers;

First of all, Paul indicates that Christ had an organization of laborers or church officials in his earthly kingdom or church. And, it also demonstrates that He was the one to call them (they didn't call themselves).
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12For the ^aperfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the ^bedifying of the body of Christ:

Paul also states the reasons why the Savior called and set these men apart from everyone else: They were to help in the perfecting of the saints (members of Christ church), they were to help in the ministry and for edifying (building up) the "body of Christ" or the Savior's kingdom.

13Till we all come in the ^aunity of the faith, and of the ^bknowledge of the Son of God, unto a ^cperfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

This statement by Paul is particularly interesting, He indicates how long these officers and offices were to be in the Church: Until we all come to a unity of the Faith. Think about that for a while. Do you see a unity of Christianity anywhere on the earth right now? No? Which Church has modern day Apostles and Prophets, etc. to carry out this mission?


 14That we henceforth be no more ^achildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of ^bdoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Here is a group of twelve men who are sustained and supported by fourteen million people world wide as a modern group of Apostles, holding the same authority and priesthood that the original twelve men whom the Savior called in His day had, before his crucifixion. They are also sustained as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. We refer to them as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Here is another group of three men, who are also apostles, who form a quorum of priesthood bearers who are designated as the First Presidency of Christ's Church. The gentleman sitting in the middle is named Thomas Spencer Monson. He is the Lord's Prophet on the earth right now and presides over all of Christ's Church on the Earth. He is assisted by two councilors who are also Apostles. On the left is Henry Bennion Eyring who has the designation as President Monson's First Councilor. On the right is Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf, a native born German who is the Second Councilor in the First Presidency.

None of these men called themselves to the ministry. As an Article of Faith in Christ's Church states, "We believe that a man must be called by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."  Article 5

All of these men came from ordinary walks of life, none of whom were part of a paid ministry. Some were educators, some attorneys. President Uchtdorf was a fighter pilot in the German Air Force and then an executive at Lufthansa Airlines. Three were former university presidents. One was on the bench as a state supreme court member. One was a famous heart surgeon. Some came from a business background, including one who owned an automobile dealership. The one thing they have in common, besides their Church Membership and priesthood, is the special witness they have through revelation from the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ and the special calling to be a witness of Him throughout the world.

(Interestingly enough, all the members of Christ's Church have the same witness of Christ's divinity and calling as the Savior of the World.)

AN INTERESTING STATISTICAL REPORT

The LDS Church prints a monthly publication titled the ENSIGN. In the May edition each year, the First Presidency releases the statistics of the Church as reflected on the last day of the previous year. (The report below was for the year 2008).


The report is fairly typical for a year within the last two decades. The number of "stakes" has grown since the last year -- a stake is the organization of several congregations (Wards) totaling, usually between 3000 and 5000 members in any particular geographic location. So, worldwide, there were 2,818 stakes throughout the world.


There were 348 missions throughout the world wherein there were 52,494 full time missionaries laboring (at their own expense, incidentally).


From the labors of those 52,000 plus missionaries came 265,593 convert baptisms in 2008.

Now, in all fairness, we are a missionary church. A past President of the Church, David O. McKay, instructed us that we should all be missionaries (Every member a missionary). So, technically, not all of those baptisms came from full time missionaries.


You can read the rest of the statistics at your leisure. And, while you are considering them, you should keep in mind that most of the the Christian Churches throughout the world are declining in church membership, particularly in youth. Yet, during every other church's decline, our Church keeps baptizing new members every year. Why? A good question you should think about. If you want some answers, look in your phone book for a listing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - preferably a mission home, call the number and request a free copy of the Book of Mormon and ask that the Elders deliver it to your home so that you can ask them why our Church membership keeps increasing every year while your church declined. (The LDS Church membership at the end of 2009 should be a little over 14,000,000.)

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“Statistical Report, 2008,” Ensign, May 2009, 30

Brothers and sisters, the First Presidency has issued the following report concerning the growth and activity of the Church as of December 31, 2008.

Church Units

Stakes	2,818
Missions	348
Districts	622
Wards and Branches	28,109

Church Membership

Total Church Membership	13,508,509
Increase in Children of Record	123,502
Converts Baptized	265,593

Missionaries

Full-Time Missionaries	52,494

Temples

Temples Dedicated during 2008 (Rexburg Idaho, Curitiba Brazil, Panama City Panama, and Twin Falls Idaho)	4
Temples Rededicated during 2008 (Mexico City Mexico)	1
Number of Temples in Operation as of December 31	128

Prominent Church Members Who Have Passed Away since Last April

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Sister Alice Thornley Evans, widow of Elder Richard L. Evans of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder J. Thomas Fyans, an emeritus General Authority; Elder Douglas H. Smith, a former member of the Seventy; Sister Harriet Barbara Washburn, wife of Elder J. Ballard Washburn, a former member of the Seventy; and Brother Daniel H. Ludlow, former director of the Church Correlation Department and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.

WORLDS WITHOUT NUMBER

HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD

Just about everyone in the world has seen this image. The Hubble Telescope people as NASA did a time exposure of a "keyhole" in the sky (about 1/10 the diameter of the full moon). In this small empty field, Hubble found at least 10,000 galaxies.

Just think about the billions of stars in one galaxy. Then multiply that number by ten thousand. Then, think about the rest of the universe. It's mind boggling!

So, tell me. Did God create this? And, if He did, what did He have in mind?

WHY ALL OF THIS CREATION? AND, JUST ONE PLANET FILLED WITH HIS CHILDREN?

YES, INDEED -- WHY?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SPECIFICALLY SAY ABOUT THIS? And, don't give me the lame excuse "for his own purposes." That's just an admission that you don't have any idea.

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

It was over a year ago that the stake executive secretary, Steve C. called me and said the the stake president wanted to talk to me. No biggy -- since I'm the senior member on the High Council. I talk with President O. frequently, so I didn't think much about it. I reported as requested, and went into his office and sat down and waited to see what he wanted."

He looked my in the eyes and said, "Rod, I have had a revelation about you. The Lord wants you to serve as an ordinance worker at the temple."

Zing! I surely wasn't expecting that. But, it immediately felt right. My wife, Jan, had just finished a 2 1/2 year service mission at the MTC and she had been pushing to serve in the temple, anyway.

So, we went to our bishop -- he was expecting us -- and started the paper work. Next week, we talked with President O. And, then we waited for a couple of weeks for the calling papers.

President Merrill J. Bateman

We were interviewed by President Merrill Bateman on Thursday, September 17, 2009. He interviewed me first and then Jan. Then he talked with both of us together. Then he set me apart and then set Jan apart.

We purchased our temple clothes the next day, Friday the 18th and reported for our first shift at 3:30 PM on Saturday, the 19th. (That's the 3a shift, by the way.)

About six months later, we decided to pick up an additional shift. That was mainly at my insistence -- it seemed that the "rats were winning" some days. So, we tried a couple of different shifts and settled on the Friday 3a shift. So, now we work at the temple both Friday night and Saturday night. (We've had to move our date night to Thursday night.)

This calling, without a doubt, has been the most rewarding and fulfilling assignment I've ever had. It is so wonderful to be in "The House of the Lord" every week and to partake of the holiness, love and peace that permeates His House. It is also marvelous to associate with the members of the temple presidency and our fellow ordinance workers. Some of them have been temple workers for twenty years or longer.

One Sunday afternoon, our son, Jesse, came up to the temple with us and took a bunch of pictures of us in our "whites." (I think every missionary in the MTC was on the grounds, taking pictures, etc. It was actually quite fun.)

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A LITTLE DOCTRINAL DISCOURSE

Please remember that Jesus cleansed his "FATHER'S HOUSE" (the temple in Jerusalem) twice during his mortal ministry -- once at the beginning (John 2: 13-17) and again in the final week before his death (Matthew 21:12-17 & 23-27). He taught the people there frequently and the Apostles and disciples resorted there after the Savior's resurrection. As I explain below, the temple in Jerusalem wasn't like the temples of previous dispensations or current temples. However, Christ did recognize it as a holy place and called it HIS FATHER'S HOUSE. Regardless of the Apostle Paul's misunderstood teaching regarding pagan gods and temples (Acts 17:24), God, our Eternal Father did and does have a "house" on the earth. And, of course, He doesn't live there -- He is in celestial realms. The temple is a House of the Lord because it is supposed to be a TYPE, MODEL, or SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION of His celestial abode. It is also a holy place wherein He can reveal Himself to His children. It is also a place wherein He is able to ENDOW His children with knowledge and power.It is also a place where marital and family relationships can be made permanent.

The HOUSE OF THE LORD or TEMPLE, as He has designated it, and the ordinances performed in it are older than the earth itself. We are taught that Adam and Ever were taught the Gospel (Moses 5: 1-15) and the ordinances of the Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God were given to Adam and Eve and to subsequent generations of their offspring. The ordinances of the priesthood, along with the Gospel have been lost from the earth several times during its history, requiring their restoration by a Prophet of God.

Moses' attempts at preparing a celestial people at Mount Sinai failed because the people were not spiritually prepared. The Lord took Moses and the Melchizedek Priesthood (the current name of Christ's priesthood) away from the Children of Israel and instituted a lesser priesthood that was named after Aaron and held by Aaron's sons and the tribe of Levi (THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD).

The Lord gave the people the TABERNACLE in the desert while Moses was with them. The Tabernacle was the equivalent of the temple under the Melchizedek Order of the Priesthood. That included the Ordinances of the Temple. A few of the Children of Israel received these ordinances under the "higher" priesthood before it was taken away. Thereafter, the ordinances administered in the Tabernacle and later the temples in Jerusalem were after the order of the Aaronic Priesthood. So, when you read the Old Testament, don't expect to read about the Temple under the Melchizedek order. That Aaronic Order existed during a 1500 year period -- after Moses' rapture and until Christ's day. (read D&C 84)

At the time of the Savior's ministry on the earth, the Melchizedek priesthood was restored to the apostles. During the Savior's Forty Day Ministry, the ordinances of the temple were again administered to the Saints of that day. However, the Savior's Church fell into Apostasy shortly after the Apostles' deaths and their priesthood keys and authority were lost.

The Melchizedek Priesthood was restored again in 1829 to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The Priesthood KEYS necessary to the functioning of the temple and its ORDINANCES and COVENANTS were restored on April 3, 1836 to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the newly dedicated Kirtland, Ohio Temple by heavenly messengers.