Visiting Teaching Message for January 2015

I will obey the words of the prophets

The Attributes of Jesus Christ: Obedient Son

Following Jesus Christ’s example of obedience increases our faith in Him.

1.  “Is it any wonder,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “that Christ chooses first and foremost to define himself in relation to his father—that he loved him and obeyed him and submitted to him like the loyal son he was? ….”

 2 Nephi 31:7 … [Jesus Christ] showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.

• John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

John 8:29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

2.  "Obedience is the first law of heaven." (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Will of the Father in All Things” (Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 17, 1989), 4, speeches.byu.edu.)

•D&C 120:20-21 "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."

3.  “As we walk in obedience to the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we enjoy a continual flow of blessings promised by God in His covenant with us. … Obedience gives us greater control over our lives, greater capacity to come and go, to work and create.” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Power of Covenants,” Liahona, May 2009, 21.)

•D& C 82:10  "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."

•D&C 93:28  "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."

4.  What are some examples of obedience in the scriptures? 

Adam - "And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.  And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord (see Moses 5:5).

Noah - Noah did according to all that God commanded (see Gen. 6:22).

Abraham - The sacred records show that he committed himself to do all that God commanded, even being willing to sacrifice, in response to God’s command, what was most precious to him—his son. (See Gen. 22:1–18.)

Moses - The Lord commanded Moses to deliver his people (Israel) from bondage. (see Moses 11: 26).

Elijah - "The last of the prophets in old Israel who held a fullness of divine authority was Elijah the Tishbite. A famine came in the land when Elijah, as commanded of God, sealed the heavens shut that it did not rain. (The Power of Elijah, Theodore M. Burton, CR, April 1974.)

 Simon Peter and his brother Andrew - "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (see Matthew 4:19) and they obeyed the Savior.

•Nephi - "All prophets, ancient and modern, have known that obedience is essential to our salvation. Nephi declared, 'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded' (1Nephi 3:7). Though others faltered in their faith and their obedience, never once did Nephi fail to do that which the Lord asked of him. Untold generations have been blessed as a result" (President Thomas S. Monson, CR, Obedience Brings Blessings, April 2013).

5.  "Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote that through the prophets ‘the Lord reveals the truths of salvation, … the salvation that is in Christ; and he charts … the course leading to eternal life. … In every age the Lord gives his people the direction they need at the moment of their peril and danger. And surely in the days ahead there will be times when nothing but the wisdom of God, descending from heaven and flowing forth from prophetic lips, will be able to save his people.’ ”  (Bruce R.  McConkie,  A New Witness for the Articles of Faith; Deseret Book Company, 1985, 478; from CR, "Live according to the Words of the Prophets," Carol F. McConkie, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, October 2014).