Obedience to God’s Gentle Commands – March 18, 2001
Like the shining beams of a lighthouse, God’s commandments offer direction and protection to all who follow them. Obedience brings safety, happiness, and peace. Life’s greatest blessings come from learning what God wants us to do and then obeying. As one great leader expressed it, “I made this my rule: When God commands, do it.”1
As we obey our Heavenly Father, we learn that obedience to God’s commandments does not restrict our options, but actually increases our freedom. Thrilled by how high their kite was flying, a young boy pled with his father to cut the string so it could go even higher. Patiently his father explained that the string was not holding the kite down. Like obedience, the string was the very thing that allowed the kite to ride the winds to heights it could not have attained otherwise.
God is our loving Heavenly Father. He provides His children with directions designed to increase their happiness. As obedience to God makes us more like Him, we come to better understand the purpose behind His commandments. We learn to love Him even more for giving them to us.
In a world of situational ethics and constantly changing standards, the commandments of God remain constant and unchanged.
Our Heavenly Father’s commandments are an expression of His love for us. Through the commandments, God lovingly pilots us safely through the storms of life to peaceful, joyful life with Him.
Program #3735
1. Truman G. Madsen, The Prophet Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1989), 47.