"Strict Obedience"
James R. Gee
August 12, 2003
I am grateful for the opportunity to work at BYU–Idaho. I’ve been here for 30 years and have never wanted to work at any other place. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts from the scriptures with you. I’ve always appreciated the scriptures because it was through them that I have been able to learn about and come to love Jesus Christ. In addition, it is always comforting to me to read of others who have weaknesses similar to mine, but whom God has blessed and helped to overcome those weaknesses. Studying their experiences can help us avoid some of the challenges they faced. One such person that I have studied about recently is Lot who lived in the city of Sodom. You will remember that Lot was a faithful man who put his trust in the Lord and his uncle Abraham. Lot followed Abraham to the land of Canaan where he shared in the blessings the Lord poured out upon Abraham. After many years, Abraham and Lot had prospered so much that they decided to part ways because there was not room enough for both of them. Abraham gave Lot his choice of where to settle and Lot chose the fertile plains near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Although they parted ways there was still love between Abraham and Lot and later, when Lot was taken captive, Abraham sent his men to rescue him. Through the years Lot’s family fell away from the truth. The people became so wicked that the Lord decided he must destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because Lot was still righteous and loved by Abraham, the Lord sent angels to warn him and his family to leave the city before it was destroyed. Lot tried to warn his married children to heed the message of the angels and leave the city, but they refused. We can pick up the account in Genesis chapter 19 verse 15:
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (Genisis 19: 15-26, emphasis added).
Here are some of the things that strike me about that account. First, the Lord truly loved Lot to the point that he removed him forcefully out of harms way. Second, it is interesting that even as the angels are trying to save him, he is arguing that he doesn’t want to go to the mountains for fear that harm will come to him, Third, if an angel or any representative of the Lord tells us to do something, we should do it immediately. I’ve always wondered what caused Lot’s wife to look back, which resulted in her being turned into a pillar of salt. I wonder how long it was before Lot discovered that his wife wasn’t with him. Finally, I am fascinated with the message to not look back. I would like to spend some time today examining some of the things we learn from this account.
First, I would like to discuss how we should react when the Lord’s representatives give us a message. One of my favorite hymns is “How Great the Wisdom and the Love”. The third verse goes as follows: “By strict obedience, Jesus won, the prize with glory rife. Thy will oh God, not mine be done, adorned his mortal life.” I believe that one of the challenges we have today is learning the meaning of strict obedience. In Alma 35: 15 we read that Alma was grieved because of the wickedness of the people who were “…offended because of the strictness of the word,…” Later, Helaman speaking of humanity in general, foretold conditions which exist in our time this way. (Helaman 12:4)
O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world! Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths (Helaman 12: 4-5)!
All around us we see signs that our society is “offended because of the strictness of the word” and “is quick to do iniquity and slow to do good.” The attitude of strict obedience has been replaced with one of “moral relativity” and casual obedience. As a result the world does not believe there are such things as eternal truths or principles. Hence, there are no laws to which all people must answer. Most of the world does not believe that God has decreed that we should maintain moral cleanliness for example. Rather it advocates that what was previously called sin is okay if those involved feel that it is okay. The idea that we should strictly follow a moral code dictated by God is considered outdated or quaint or repressive. Even within the church too often those who are strict in their obedience to gospel principles are ridiculed or, at best, tolerated. In our society the word strict has a negative connotation and few of us want to be strict about anything, and yet, historically, God has required strict obedience of his people. In addition to the incident with Lot’s wife, I would like to share two other Old Testament examples. In the book of 1 Samuel chapter 15 we read that King Saul was commanded to take his army and destroy the Amalekites. The commandment required total destruction including all the people and animals so that there was not to be any living thing left. Saul took his men and carried out most of what he was commanded to do but he spared the life of the king and he took the best animals as spoils of war. When the prophet Samuel came to the battle scene to check on Saul he found that Saul and his men were offering sacrifices of the animals they had captured from their enemies. When challenged by Samuel, Saul defended himself saying we killed all the people and now we are offering sacrifice to the Lord. What could be wrong with that? Samuel’s response should be a warning to all those who would insert their own will into the commandments of God.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king (1 Samuel 15: 22-23).
From that time forward, King Saul’s life was a steady decline. A second example brings home the need of strict obedience even stronger. One of the strict rules in the house of Israel was that only the Levites were to touch the sacred Ark of the Covenant. Shortly after David was made king he determined to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. One of the men assigned to help move the Ark was a man names Uzzah. In 2 Samuel chapter 6 we read this account.
And they brought it (the ark) out of the house of Abinadab which [was] at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of [instruments made of] fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth [his hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook [it]. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for [his] error; and there he died by the ark of God (2 Samuel 6: 4-7).
While the punishment for touching the Ark seems excessive to us, we need to remember the time in which it took place, but we should also be reminded that God requires not casual, but strict obedience. In modern times Joseph Smith taught the principle of strict obedience. I give three brief examples:
“Live in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and walk humbly before Him, and He will exalt thee in His own due time (HC 1: 408); and , I made this my rule.: When the Lord commands, do it (HC 2: 170); and finally, In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed” (HC5:135).
There are many examples of the expectation of strictness in obeying God in the church today. Tithing means ten percent of our increase. If we pay nine percent it is not tithing and we are listed as part tithe payers. Persons who pay less than ten percent are not allowed to have a recommend to enter the temple. The sacrament prayers and the baptismal prayers must be said word perfect. If they are not, the person in charge is instructed to have them said over again. You have to be a priest or an elder to bless the sacrament. Deacons don’t bless babies and only patriarchs give patriarchal blessings. Students at BYU-Idaho sign a statement before they are admitted that they will live the Honor Code and it is expected that they will strictly honor that covenant that they have made. We don’t decide we will go on a mission and then simply go and preach. We prove ourselves worthy and are called of God, by a prophet to serve as missionaries. The Lord expects us to be strictly obedient, but how often are we like Lot’s wife, or Saul, or Uzzah and fail to carefully and strictly obey the word of the Lord. Lot and his family were told not to look back. That seems like such an insignificant thing and yet it cost his wife her life. Why did she look back? Maybe it was the noise, or maybe she could feel the heat from the fire and brimstone raining down from heaven, maybe she was thinking of her children who had remained in the cities, or maybe she was just a contrary person who wasn’t going to let some man tell her what to do.
I believe that it is natural for all of us to have a little of that tendency to disobedience. If that weren’t true, there would be no need for the atonement. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that all of us have had times in our lives when we knew what was expected of us and did otherwise. I have had that experience in my own family. When our children were small, my wife and I sometimes punished their disobedience by making them go to their room or sit on a chair. I remember one particular time when one of my daughters who was about four or five was sent to her room for punishment. When she started her door was closed but pretty soon I heard it quietly and slowly open. It wasn’t long before a little foot appeared in the doorway and slid carefully into the hall. After a few minutes part of a body began to appear. Gradually, she extended more and more of her body into the hall until only her hand was left in the room. She then asked, “Can I come out of my room now?” In her mind she was still in her room because her hand was there, but the rest of her had escaped. She had basically disobeyed the order to stay in her room, but was going through enough of the motion of being there that she could think that she wasn’t violating what she was told. Too often in life we are like my daughter pretending to be obeying the Lord when in reality we have left the spirit of it far behind. In the account of King Saul, he attempted to divert attention from his sin by offering sacrifices which was also a commandment of God. As church members we sometimes act in a similar manner. I have seen people come for a temple recommend, who were doing everything right but living the word of wisdom. In their minds they were worthy of a recommend because of all the good things they were doing, but they wanted to have us overlook the fact that they were breaking the word of wisdom. Occasionally, people who have been full tithe payers for years will expect temple recommends even though they are not currently paying a full tithe. I have seen parents who were angry because their child was told to repent of his sins and wait an appropriate time before he sent in his mission papers. They could only see the good things about their child and rationalized themselves into believing he was worthy when he wasn’t. I remember being disappointed when talking to a couple about renewing their temple recommends only to learn that it was more important to them to drive a new sporty car than it was to pay their tithing so they could be worthy to go to the temple. Finally, in the spirit of Uzzah, I have seen well meaning people reassuring friends that it is okay to sin a little, or a lot, and not have need of going to the proper authorities to begin the repentance process. After hearing these accounts of God’s dealings with his people, one might decide to be obedient out of fear of the consequences of sin. While there might be some element of that in our lives, I believe that the stronger motivation to be strictly obedient would be our love of God. In John 14:15 the Savior taught: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” The Apostle Paul taught in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 13 verse 1,
THOUGH I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (or the pure love of Christ) I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13: 1-2).
The Lord expects us to not only do the right thing, but to do it for the right reason. As our children were growing up, each of them had duties to fulfill around our home. It was a constant battle getting them to do their jobs. Many times they would only do their work if they were threatened with serious punishment. I remember talking about that in one of our home evening lessons. I told them that our home would be a happier, more beautiful place if they did their chores not out of fear of punishment, but because they loved the family and wanted our home to look nice. Of course it didn’t work, but I was teaching them the truth. Our motivation to be strictly obedient should be the result of our love of God, not our fear of him. I pray that we will follow the Savior’s example and cultivate the quality of strict obedience in our lives.
Naturally, before we can be strictly obedient to something it is necessary to understand it. Lot’s wife knew she was not supposed to look back, but she may not have known why she shouldn’t look back. If the angels had told her she would turn into a pillar of salt if she looked back she might not have done it. There is a difference between knowing something and understanding it. To know something deals with facts. To understand goes beyond the facts and addresses why or how something is the way it is. It has been said that we know with our heads and understand with our hearts. I have a three year old grand daughter who can recite her ABC’s. Yet she does not at this point understand that the ABC’s are the foundation of all our written communication. I have a five year old grand daughter who understands enough to be able to read words, but sometimes she pronounces words that she does not know the meaning of. I have a thirty two year old daughter who has a master’s degree and teaches English at BYU in Provo. She has learned why and how we put letters together to make words, and words together to make sentences, and that there are some words that are more powerful than others. Her understanding has become a powerful tool for her. Only after years of diligent study and experience will my granddaughters gain the understanding necessary to reach the level that my daughter has reached. Understanding the gospel is similar. We do a great job in home evenings, Sunday school, priesthood, and seminary of teaching important things like honesty, chastity, tithing, etc. In fact, I often hear people comment on how much knowledge today’s youth have, compared to my generation at that age. I believe that despite the knowledge young people have today, there is sometimes a disconnect when it comes to understanding those principles to the point that they know why it is important to live them. If people cannot connect the principles by which we live our lives to the basic doctrines of the kingdom, the principles soon become social rules which can change at the whim of society, rather than eternal truths. There is an interesting account in the Book of Mormon that illustrates this point. We all know the account of King Benjamin’s farewell address. He gathered his people together and in one of the greatest sermons ever recorded taught them important truths of the gospel. The people were so moved that they were, as they said… “ willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days…” (Mosiah 5:5). This was one of the spiritual high points of the Nephites. However, we read in Mosiah chapter 26 verse 1 that
…it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers. They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ. And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened (Mosiah 26: 1-3).
How could it be that the parents could reach one of the spiritual highs in the history of the Nephites but their children fall away because they were too young to understand the words of King Benjamin? We might ask how children could grow up in homes where the parents had covenanted to be obedient in all things the rest of their lives and not come to understand the word of God? I don’t know the reason why, but one can’t help but wonder just how the children were taught. In his great address King Benjamin taught of our relationship to God and to each other. In addition to the specific things they should do, he taught them the basic doctrines of the kingdom. Maybe, the parents then focused all of their energy on telling their children the things they needed to do, but they forgot to teach them why it was important to be honest or to not steal or not kill. Too often, the experience of the Nephites at the time of King Benjamin and King Mosiah is repeated in our times. Faithful parents prepare themselves in every way and go to the temple where they make eternal covenants with the Lord, then as they raise their children somehow there is a disconnect and the kids just don’t get it. Despite the pleas of their parents, they like the children in the Book of Mormon example do not believe the traditions of the parents and go astray. What happens? There are a lot of elements that cause such a thing to take place, but perhaps one is that we spend most of our time teaching our children what they should do, but not enough time teaching them why to do it. In Doctrine and Covenants 68 verse 25 we read “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.”
The key word here is understand. Simply teaching the way to live is not enough. It is important, even critical, but there is more involved in understanding. Lot’s wife was told not to look back, but apparently she didn’t understand why. The why becomes an essential part of teaching our children. Several years ago shortly before my mother died, I was talking to her one day and said surely it makes you feel good to know that all of your children are active in the church and have been to temple. Her response surprised me. She said that she would know how good a job she had done raising us when she saw how our children turned out. It took me a few years to learn that she was talking about the same thing I am talking to you about. She wanted to make sure that in addition to learning what to do we had also learned why it was all important. Over the last nine years I have observed hundreds of young men receive the Melchizedek priesthood and go on missions. I always listened carefully to the testimonies of these young men as they received the higher priesthood or left for missions. I was particularly listening to hear if they had a testimony of the living God and the atonement of Jesus Christ. I frequently heard things like, “I am thankful for my family or for my friends who are always there for me. Or, I know the church is true and that President Hinckley is a prophet.” While these things were all appropriate, to me the telling point was if they understood their relationship to God and Jesus Christ and had somehow personalized that knowledge. During this same period of time I have heard literally hundreds of young men and women report their missions. How gratifying it was to have almost 100% of them say they knew God lived and they knew that Jesus Christ had died for their sins. One young man left a lasting impression on me when summarizing his mission he simply said, “I did it for Christ”. The spirit told me that he knew why it was important to do things like serve a mission.
It is important to teach the principles and rules by which we live. My challenge to you as you raise your children is too also teach them the basic doctrines of the church which explain why it is important to do these things. Why is a powerful word. It makes parents cringe. Children always want to know why and too often as parents we can’t give a good answer so we try to divert them to something else. If I could start over as a parent I would respect my children’s need to know why and even encourage them to ask why. The why questions are the tough ones and we need to discipline ourselves to study things out to the point that we know why we do the things we do. I was recently reading a lesson in the Teaching of the President’s of the Church – John Taylor which is the current course of study for the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Relief Society. At the end of the lesson it seemed that all the questions started with why or how (which could just as easily been why). I frowned and started to turn to a different page when it occurred to me that I was exhibiting the same behavior I was teaching against. I returned to the end of the chapter and tried to figure out the answer to those why questions. I challenge all of you as well as myself to begin studying not just what we should do, but why we should do it so we wont find ourselves in the position of Lot’s wife when it really matters.
I would like to return now to the story of Lot and his wife. The message of … “look not behind thee…” is an important one for members of the church. We read this account in the New Testament in Luke chapter 9 starting with verse 57:
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
As this scripture indicates, once we have given our lives to God, He expects us to serve him diligently. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back.. In Jeremiah we read of God’s anger at the children of Israel for turning back to the sins of their fathers. Beginning in Chapter 11 verse 9 we read
And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
The command to not look back or turn back is significant to all Latter-day Saints. We are expected to put sin behind us, and focus on righteous living. To turn back is to return to sin. We cannot afford to do that. Looking back makes us lose our focus on the business that we must be about. Just as in the case of Lot’s wife, we risk losing our eternal lives if we fail to keep the covenants that we make to the Lord. Several years ago Elder Howard W. Hunter gave this example:
To dig a straight furrow, the plowman needs to keep his eyes on a fixed point ahead of him. That keeps him on a true course. If, however, he happens to look back to see where he has been, his chances of straying are increased. The results are crooked and irregular furrows. … If our energies are focused not behind us but ahead of us—on eternal life and the joy of salvation—we assuredly will obtain it. Ensign, May 1987, p. 16.
When I was growing up, I was taught that same concept. Since I lived on a farm I had many opportunities to practice making a straight line. When I was plowing I would focus on a point and try to make a straight furrow to that point. When moving sprinkler pipe I tried focusing on one point and making a straight line of pipe. It was more difficult with the pipe because with each pipe I had to find my target and aim toward it, then look away when I went for the next pipe. More that once I found that I had made a straight line but to the wrong point which is worse than making a crooked line to the right point. The Lord expects us to commit ourselves totally to him and live our lives in accordance with his will. As I consider the idea that we shouldn’t look back it occurs to me that whether or not we look back depends on what our starting point is. When I was making a furrow it was important that I not look back but remain focused on my goal. However when I was moving sprinkler pipe I learned that looking back and then looking forward helped me keep aimed in the right direction.
If we have been raised by faithful parents who taught us to follow Christ, we can find strength in our times of trial by turning back to those strong roots from our youth. However, if by the time we are adults, we have not developed our own understanding of who we are and our relationship to God and Christ, there will inevitably come a time when what we gained from our parents will not be enough, hence we need to set our own focus on Christ and study and grow until our understanding of the atonement permeates our whole being.
In closing I would like to summarize what I have tried to convey today. First, we must be strictly obedient to the teaching of the savior through his messengers, both ancient and modern. Second, we must learn why we do what we do. One of the greatest tools parents have as they teach their children ‘why’ is to bear their testimonies of the basic doctrines of the church. If children hear their parents’ testimonies, it gives the Holy Ghost the opportunity to confirm the truthfulness of that testimony and paves the way for the children to understand. Third, don’t turn back. Once you have committed yourself to Jesus Christ don’t turn back to the sins of your earlier life. One of the greatest blessing of the atonement is that if we repent of our sins, that is totally turn from them, the Lord will remember them no more. If we focus on giving our lives in the service of God, there is no need to dwell on sins for which we have repented.
Once again, I am grateful for the opportunity to share these thoughts with you today. I pray that they will make a difference in your lives. I bear you my witness that God lives and knows and loves each of us; and that we are his children. Jesus Christ did atone for our sins and made it possible for us to return to the presence of God and have eternal increase.
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.