Continuing from As obedient Children IV. . . .
Paul spoke for more than his own suffering in observing that “no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous” (Hebrews 12:11). We are not expected to pretend it is pleasant. Only afterward is “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” enjoyed by those who are exercised thereby.” In the Greek rendition, “exercised” is trained, disciplined.” Moroni said that only “after the trial of [our] faith” do we receive certain assurances and blessings (Ether 12:6, emphasis added). The developmental dues of discipleship must be paid before all the blessings are received (Doctrine & Covenants 130:20).
We cannot plan our own lives wisely unless we know about Heavenly Father’s plan, including His commandments to the agency of His children. When we understand the plan, we can pursue participative and intelligent discipleship in the context of our inherent right to choose. Jesus chose in the premortal council whether He would be the Great Volunteer, and later whether He would undergo the tremendous rigors of the mortal Messiahship and the agonies of the Atonement, laying down His life voluntarily. We too must choose—sometimes between vexing alternatives but always with consequences.
In this mortal process all individuals have great worth, but not all individuals make equally worthwhile choices. The significance of this fact is that, while we are free to choose, we are not free to alter the consequences of our choices. We may decide to merely play at life, but that will not affect the seriousness of the immutable realities, the ordering principles, laws, and truths that are at work in the universe. We are free to pursue wrong choices, but we cannot shield ourselves from the attending consequences.
Wise choices, therefore, can best be made in the context of obedience to God’s plan. The very notion of such obedience, such submission of will, however, is unpopular in this age of anti-authority. Increasing numbers of people think they live in an “unsponsored universe,” in an “empire of chance” wherein mortals experience the “trampling march of unconscious power.”3 Some who accept this philosophy say, “Why should I obey anyone?”
Some disbelievers, decent and fine people, have genuinely and sincerely concluded there is no God. They feel He has not made Himself sufficiently known—at least on their terms. Trusting the intellect and the five senses, such persons learn little “of things as they really are, and things as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13).
Still others prefer philosophical complexity to simple gospel declarations. Each time Jesus or His prophets say “This is my gospel,” the brief declaration implies a loving Heavenly Father who has sent His Only Begotten Son to rescue and redeem mankind. “And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:62; see also 3 Nephi 27:13, 20-21; Doctrine and covenants 76:40-42, 50). Yet some people reject this simple truth, seeking instead things they cannot understand. There’s a mistake of reckoning involving more than a few degrees on life’s compass. It is an enormous error resulting from “looking beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14)—the mark of Christ, who is the center of it all.
As George MacDonald wisely wrote, “The one principle of hell is, I am my own!”4 Fierce pride usually protects this wrong perception.
Neal A. Maxwell, Not My Will, but Thine (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2008),6-8
For the next post of this series by Elder Neal A. Maxwell click ‘As Obedient Children VI’ or to start at the beginning post click ‘As Obedient Children‘:
