The article this week is short and to the point. My commentary will be the same.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ and as bearers of the priesthood, we know the commandments and standards we have covenanted to uphold. When we choose another path from the one we know to be right, as taught by our parents and leaders and as confirmed to our own hearts by the Holy Ghost, it is like stepping onto the desert sand in flip-flops instead of shoes. We then seek to justify our lazy or rebellious behavior. We tell ourselves we’re not really doing anything that wrong, that it doesn’t really matter, and that nothing all that bad will result from letting go just a little from the iron rod. Perhaps we console ourselves with the thought that everyone else is doing it—or doing worse—and we won’t be negatively affected anyway. We somehow convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule and therefore immune to the consequences of breaking it. We refuse, sometimes willfully, to be “exactly obedient”1—as it says in Preach My Gospel—and we hold back a portion of our hearts from the Lord. And then we get stung.
In the most recent General Conference, Elder Patrick Kearon gave a talk entitled, "Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart and I Shall Heal You." In his talk, Elder Kearon taught:
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ and as bearers of the priesthood, we know the commandments and standards we have covenanted to uphold. When we choose another path from the one we know to be right, as taught by our parents and leaders and as confirmed to our own hearts by the Holy Ghost, it is like stepping onto the desert sand in flip-flops instead of shoes. We then seek to justify our lazy or rebellious behavior. We tell ourselves we’re not really doing anything that wrong, that it doesn’t really matter, and that nothing all that bad will result from letting go just a little from the iron rod. Perhaps we console ourselves with the thought that everyone else is doing it—or doing worse—and we won’t be negatively affected anyway. We somehow convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule and therefore immune to the consequences of breaking it. We refuse, sometimes willfully, to be “exactly obedient”1—as it says in Preach My Gospel—and we hold back a portion of our hearts from the Lord. And then we get stung.
Only by acknowledging that the Lord's thoughts are not our own and that His prophets do, indeed, speak His word do we begin down the path that leads to eternal life. We must cling to the rod with all energy and purpose of heart, not justifying, not finding what we wish to believe are loopholes, not comparing ourselves to our peers or the world, but sincerely striving to both understand and live the teachings of the Savior.
And when we feel alone, forsaken, have lost peace of mind or heart, or feel that we have given away our last chance, remember that "complete healing and peace can be found at the feet of the Savior."
Jeremy
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