Obedience
By Jeanette Bennett
There are good, better and best reasons for OBEDIENCE to our Heavenly Father.
Good: Obey out of fear of punishment
Better: Obey to earn rewards for living a good life
Best: Obey because we love God and the Savior and want to serve them
So how do we show our love for the Lord?
By obeying him.
John 14:15 ... If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Nephi and his brothers reacted differently when the Lord commanded them to go back to Jerusalem for the plates. The brothers didn't see HOW they could obey. Nephi didn't necessarily see how it would work either, but he had faith that the Lord would prepare a way. When we are faced with a commandment, let's try to be more like Nephi and trust that the Lord will provide a way for us to obey — whether it's to pay tithing, overcome a bad habit, forgive someone, visit teach someone we wouldn't have chosen, serve a mission, etc.
Lastly, an IF/THEN statement.
Doctrine and Covenants 78:7
For IF you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, (THEN) you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you.
In other words, the Lord gives us commandments to prepare us for the celestial kingdom.
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