I was peeking through my study journal during church yesterday and came across this study that I had completed during my mission. It struck me again as true, so I'm reposting it on here with a few additional points added since then.
President Thomas S. Monson - Obedience Brings Blessings
"He that keepeth [God's] commandments recieveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things" - Doctrine and Covenants 93:28
- Obedience is a set of checkpoints that keeps us on the right path
- Willful obedience is God's plan. Forced or coerced obedience is Satan's plan.
- This statement should be a thought of its own
- "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" - Eccl. 12:13
- "The great test of this life is obedience" cf. Abr 3:25
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- Obedience is based on eternal truths
- Obedience is the standard by which we can stay the most spiritually sensitive. Less disobedience to commandments, or sin, means less time our spirits are offended by the acts of the flesh.
- God's commandments reflect truth.
- God is the source of all truth. Therefore, the commands He gives to us reflect a perfect understanding of the world, others, and ourselves. Living in "the dispensation of the fullness of times" (Eph. 1:10) means that we have all necessary knowledge of commandments.
- By searching God's commandments, we get a glimpse into God's (therefore the true!) view of the world
- Because of our access to the commandments of God, we have a clear sight into the results of His divine plan for us. While we still may not always know the "whys" of God, we do know the "whats": the commandments. The commandments, if we let them, will shape our paradigm of the world; we will be able to see the world more like God sees the world - the truth.
