Dear Elders and Sisters,
Thank you for your faith, testimony and diligence. Thank you for every smile you give to others. Thank you for every testimony you share. Thank you for Opening Your Mouth and talking to everyone you can. Thank you for helping the Lord change the lives of these people you have grown to love. An angel is a "heavenly messenger." You are each angels to those you teach. You bring the spirit of the Lord with you. You bring the precious knowledge people need in order to go to their Heavenly Home. Thank you for who you are.
This week as I was studying a recent talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, I was impressed that there were some important truths for each of us to learn. We work so hard to help the people to keep their commitments. But sometimes we need to look at ourselves to see if we are actually doing what we teach.
"You and I may speak most eloquently of spiritual things. We may impress people with our keen intellectual interpretation of religious topics. We may rhapsodize about religion and "dream of our mansion above." BUT IF OUR FAITH DOES NOT CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE--IF OUR BELIEFS DO NOT INFLUENCE OUR DAILY DECISIONS--OUR RELIGION IS VAIN, and our faith, if not dead, is certainly not well and is in danger of eventually flatlining (dying).
AS WE INCREASE IN FAITH, WE MUST ALSO INCREASE IN FAITHFULNESS.
OBEDIENCE IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF FAITH. IT IS BY OBEDIENCE THAT WE GATHER LIGHT INTO OUR SOULS.
But sometimes I think we misunderstand obedience. We may see obedience as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Or we may pound the metaphorical hammer of obedience against the iron anvil of the commandments in an effort to shape those we love, through constant heating and repeated battering, into holier, heavenly matter.
No doubt about it, there are times when we need a stern call to repentance. Certainly, there are some who may be reached only in this manner.
But perhaps there is a different metaphor that can explain why we obey the commandments of God. MAYBE OBEDIENCE IS NOT SO MUCH THE PROCESS OF BENDING, TWISTING, AND POUNDING OUR SOULS INTO SOMETHING WE ARE NOT. INSTEAD, IT IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH WE DISCOVER WHAT WE TRULY ARE MADE OF.
We are created by the Almighty God. He is our Heavenly Father. We are literally His spirit children. We are made of supernal material most precious and highly refined, and thus we carry within ourselves the substance of divinity.
Here on earth, however, our thoughts and actions become encumbered with that which is corrupt, unholy, and impure. The dust and filth of the world stain our souls, making it difficult to recognize and remember our birthright and purpose.
But all this cannot change who we truly are. The fundamental divinity of our nature remains. And the moment we choose to incline our hearts to our beloved Savior and set foot upon the path of discipleship, something miraculous happens. The love of God fills our hearts, the light of truth fills our minds, we start to lose the desire to sin and we do not want to walk any longer in darkness.
We come to see obedience not as a punishment but as a liberating path to our divine destiny And gradually, the corruption, dust, and limitations of this earth begin to fall away. Eventually, the priceless, eternal spirit of the heavenly being within us is revealed, and the radiance of goodness becomes our nature."
Dear Elders and Sisters, now is the time to discover the divinity that is in you. Now is the time to be obedient to the things you know. Now is the time to not just have faith but to live faithfully. By doing this, you will gather light into your soul and you will receive all of the blessings of God in your life and for those you love.
May the Lord bless you to DO what you teach. May He bless you to BECOME what you teach others to become. Now is the time.
Mahal ko po kayo,
President Creg Ostler