Binding the Lord

I was reading a little booklet that was from the '80s (Yorgason, B&B, 1989) ...a father writing inspirational letters to his missionary child - each one a separate booklet. The first one was titled 'Binding the Lord'.

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
~Doctrine & Covenants 82:10

He shared a fictional (maybe based on truth) story of a sister missionary who read D&C 82:10 & D&C 132:5 in the MTC.

For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
~Doctrine & Covenants 132:5

These verses struck her with such force to realize righteous blessings were within her grasp. She just needed to KNOW what the eternal laws and conditions associated with her desire and abide by them. She knew that more than anything she wanted to serve a successful mission. She knew also that she had been called of God to her field of labor, and so, logically, it seemed to her that it would be God's will that she be successful at what He had called her there to do . She also realized that success should be her own desire. And the only one who could stop her from being successful, she realized then would be herself. So, she determined that if she could discipline herself for 18 months to keeping all of the mission rules and obeying all God's commandments to the absolute furthest limits of her abilities, and to offering the Gospel to others at every possible opportunity, then according the Lord's own words and promise, he would be bound to bless her with success as a missionary. (MOM's note: success in God's terms...not the world's! His ways are not our ways!)

In summary, the following POINTS were made:

God is a God of order! He is a God of law. He cannot lie, deceive or make mistakes.
Unless we abide by His laws we cannot attain exaltation.
If we want a blessing from Him, we must abide the law which was appointed for that blessing (D&C132:5)
Like the sister missionary committed to do, 1) Obey every mission rule
2) Obey every commandment
3) Offer the Gospel at every possible opportunity.
Sound simple...in theory yes! But, it's hard! Sometimes, we, or our investigators, don't obey because we don't really understand what blessings we are giving up through disobedience!
We have been commanded to study daily the BofM. Why? wouldn't it make sense since Mormon's assignment was to help latter-day readers to learn how to understand and live the Gospel during our day....that it was reasonable for him to select from the records of his people, experiences and circumstances that would almost exactly parallel our experiences and circumstances? This is the Lord's missionary tool for our day...without a doubt
Obey the voice of his servants: Who are they? Those we raise our arm to sustain - particularly those with direct stewardship like a mission president.
Rules vs Commandments: Rules require the same response from us when they come from the Lord's servants - obedience. As far as obedience goes there is no difference. But, there is one difference - one comes from God, the other from his servants. God won't make mistakes but servants can. If you question a rule - pray to understand - and obey whether you like it or not. If you really struggle with the correctness of something, you can go to a leader, in all humility and discuss this with them. In all things, follow the spirit! It may take years to understand the validity of a rule! So, just do it! (unrighteous dominion is another issue all together - and should you be dealt with unjustly, or unrighteously, revile not but be patient - pray fervently and let the Lord guide you)
Prayer - we have a right to go before the Lord to understand his rules and commandments!
D&C 75:2-4, 10-11, 5, 16, 12 - a few phrases: Lift up your voices....calling on the name of the Lord for the Comforter to teach you....Praying always... to recap these verses:
The Lord blesses hard working missionaries
Literally ask Heavenly Father, every morning, to let the Holy Ghost come forth and be with you to show you your way
Turn thoughts to Heavenly Father all day long - talk to him all the day long
In summary, strict cheerful obedience is key

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Binding the Lord

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
~Doctrine & Covenants 82:10

He shared a fictional (maybe based on truth) story of a sister missionary who read D&C 82:10 & D&C 132:5 in the MTC.

For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
~Doctrine & Covenants 132:5

Comments

Binding the Lord

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.~Doctrine & Covenants 82:10

He shared a fictional (maybe based on truth) story of a sister missionary who read D&C 82:10 & D&C 132:5 in the MTC.

For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.~Doctrine & Covenants 132:5

Comments

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
~Doctrine & Covenants 82:10

For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
~Doctrine & Covenants 132:5