When Jesus Christ lived on the earth He was perfect: perfect in His actions, perfect in His love, perfect in His teachings, perfect in His willingness to serve His Father.
He was willing to be baptized to show obedience,
“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
“But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
“And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-15).
He was willing to submit to all the will of His Father, even when it was seemingly unbearable.
“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” (Matthew 26:39).
I think He must have had an attitude of obedience, rather than convenience; an attitude of keeping His covenants, no matter what the cost. He must have decided that He would obey, and didn’t even entertain thoughts of whether He wanted to do something or not.
He was perfectly willing, and perfectly powerful. I have been wondering if the two are connected. What power is there in our willingness? Willingness to drop everything and follow Him (Matthew 4:20, 22), to take His name upon us (Doctrine & Covenants 20:77), to submit to His will (Mosiah 3:19), to stand as His witness (Mosiah 18:9), to flee temptation (Genesis 39:12), to give up our sins (Alma 22:18), to repent (3 Nephi 30:2), to be baptized to show our commitment to Him (Mosiah 18:10), to do as we have been commanded (1 Nephi 5:20), to take the Holy Spirit as our guide (Doctrine & Covenants 45:57), and to be willing to sacrifice in order to keep our covenants (Doctrine & Covenants 97:8)?
“[We] were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet but spirits; and the divine plan provided that [we] be free-born in the flesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and to act for [our]selves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of God’s children that they be subjected to the influences of both good and evil, that they will be tried and tested and proved withal, ‘to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.’ Free agency is an indispensable element of such a test.
“The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring…that in the school of life some of His children would succeed and others would fail; some would be faithful, others false; some would choose good, others the evil….He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrogress rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens” (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p16).
The spirit indeed is willing, and the flesh is weak. We will be tempted, tried, and tested individually, and one of the great challenges of this life is to learn to use our agency to overcome the temptations and desires of the flesh.
We know that without the Atonement of Jesus Christ our soul would be lost forever. Lehi taught that,“all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:6). Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we have been “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). He has paid our debt to Justice, and we now owe our debt to Him. He it is that will make the rules. He it is that will set the terms. It is our decision whether we are willing to abide by His rules, or follow our own way.
When Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee,
“[He] saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-19).
He was asking them to leave their livelihood, their way of life, everything they knew, and follow a higher road. This was a great turning point in their lives. The question is, were they prepared for the call? When the Lord needed them, were they ready to act?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of the need that each of us has to be prepared in these last days for when the Lord calls us.
“In the most difficult and discouraging days of World War II, Winston Churchill said to the people of England: ‘To every man there comes … that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talent. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.’
“In an even more serious kind of spiritual warfare…the day may come—indeed, I am certain will come—when in an unexpected circumstance or a time of critical need, lightning will strike, so to speak, and the future will be in your hands. Be ready when that day comes” (link to talk).
Are we prepared to turn our lives over to the Lord? Are we prepared to “immediately” (see Matthew 4:22) leave whatever worldly nets are entangling us in order to follow the Lord? If not, what is standing in our way?
In thinking about my own willingness to be perfectly obedient to the Lord’s will I have realized that I have a little bit of willing, but also unwilling, tendencies within me.
Unwillingness to abide by the laws the Lord has set reminds me of Lucifer, and the pre-mortal council in heaven. Our Father in Heaven presented a plan whereby all men could come to earth, receive a body, and progress eternally. However, because of our agency, there would be a risk that some of us would not return. If we followed God’s laws and relied on the Atonement of Jesus Christ we could be saved.
“[S]tudy the word of God in the scriptures and the words of the living prophets….Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!” (link to talk).
There are other times when I am willing to do something—my heart is in the right place—but I am waiting to be asked, or waiting for someone else to take the first step, so that I can follow. I don’t think this is what the Lord had in mind when He speaks of a willing heart and willing mind.
It is good to be willing, but even better to act. We have been placed on this earth to see if we will choose to do as we have been commanded (see Abraham 3:25). Thus, a critical step to willingness, in my opinion, is the willingness to act in obedience when no one is asking us to do it. Sometimes we are left to our own judgement to see if we will do what we know we are supposed to do.
An example of this can be found in the New Testament. We read that Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted of the devil. I find the wording in the inspired version to be very telling of how things sometimes are in our own life.
“And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was afterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:2 JST, emphasis added).
Just as the Savior was left to Himself to be tried and tested we are sometimes left on our own to see how we will respond, and how we will use our agency. We can find home in remembering that if we follow the plan the Lord has outlined we will not be tempted above that which we are able to handle; and a way will be provided for us to escape enough to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). This doesn’t mean we won’t have hard times, or that the really hard stuff will go away. I think this means that the Lord will test us to our limits, and if we’re at a breaking point (or even before our breaking point) we can turn to Him to find relief. It is through the Atonement of His Son that we can strength to endure the hard times.
Jesus did the will of Whom He was sent. He, “subjected the flesh to the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:2). To subject something means “to bring under domination, control, or influence” (link to definition). It was through His perfect obedience that He was able to gain control over His flesh—or worldly appetites and desires.
The Lord wants a willing heart and mind. President Boyd K. Packer taught that “Your body really is the instrument of your mind and the foundation of your character” (link to talk). We are here on this earth to learn to control our physical body in order to do the works of the Father, and we are able to do it by learning to control our mind.
When the Savior visited the Nephites, after his crucifixion, they had been observing the Law of Moses. He gave them a higher law to observe. Rather than merely doing (or not doing) certain things, they were asked to control their thoughts. Some examples include:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time…that thou shalt not kill…
“But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment….
“Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery;
“But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart….
“And behold, it is written, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;
“But I say unto you, that…whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (3 Nephi 12:21-22, 27-28, 38-39).
What the Lord asks of us is hard, because it is in opposition to the will of the flesh. But, it is the path we are required to follow if we want to become like He is. It is hard to overcome our physical nature, but with the help of our Savior it is possible. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (Articles of Faith 1:3). It is our willing obedience to His commandments and the covenants we make that will make all the difference.
The greatest commandment is to love God (see Mark 12:30). Are we willing to “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better” (Doctrine & Covenants 25:10)? Are we willing to seek to know His will, and to do it? James E. Talmage taught that the Savior’s “humility and willingness [is what] rendered Him acceptable to the Father” (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p20). We can likewise be acceptable to the Father through our humility and willing obedience.
The Lord has a plan for us, and as we are willing to obey Him we will be guided along our individual path. Alma taught,
“For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land” (Alma 37:44).
Rosemary M. Wixom taught,
“That is the key, and it is really quite simple: ‘I will follow God’s plan for me.’ And we do it by holding fast to His word, with His love, and through our prayers to Him while simply living life.
“Brigham Young said, ‘Live so that the spirit of our religion [lives] within us.’ We are a making-and-keeping-covenants people, and nothing better shapes us than the sacred covenants we make to the Lord. We live these covenants when we follow His plan, and we come to know who we really are….
“Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said: ‘We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming’” (link to talk).
As we live obediently to the laws, ordinance, and covenants we have made we can have the Holy Spirit by our side, we can be led through the storms and trials of life, and become who the Lord knows we can become.
We must be the one to take the first step, and then continue moving forward of our own free will and choice. Then if we choose to continue on the path, the spirit can lead us and guide us to eternal glory with our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. But, if we were unwilling, “[we] shall return again to [our] own place, to enjoy that which [we] are willing to receive, because [we] were not willing to enjoy that which [we] might have received” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:32) through our obedience.
Oh the glories that await! All that we can imagine—and more—is possible, if we are willing to act in obedience to the plan of our great God. Such was (and is) the life of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ; an example we can surely follow.
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