Not As I Will, But As Thou Wilt

            My first bicycle was a thing of beauty. It was an Evel Knievel Roadmaster bike. For those who did not grow up in the 1900’s, Evel Knievel was a daredevil who performed death-defying stunts. He would jump his motorcycle over cars and even attempted to leap a canyon. He famously wore a white leather jumpsuit with white stars on blue-and-red stripes.

            My Evel Knievel bike was also white with blue and red stripes and white stars. I begged my parents to get it for me for my birthday. Despite their meager income, they surprised me with my dream bike on my birthday. I didn’t even know how to ride a bicycle when I received it. Motivated by Evel Knievel’s bravery, I quickly learned to ride with my dad’s help.

            I absolutely loved this bicycle. I would ride it all over my neighborhood and beyond, showing it off to all the other kids. It was the most unique bike any of my friends had ever seen. With it, I was the coolest kid on the block. Literally. (Google it, and you will see how amazing it looked.[1])

            Because this bike was so expensive and precious to me, my dad made a rule that I keep it locked in the metal shed attached to our covered car park. I had to get the key from my dad, unlock the padlock, put the bike in the shed, and then secure the lock. This process was not easy, but it was worth doing to protect my prized bike.

            One warm summer evening, I was out until dusk riding bikes with my friends. When I got home, I was tired, and I really didn’t want to go through the process of locking up my bike for the night.

            “I’ll just hide the bike behind the shed,” I thought. “Surely, no one will see it back there tonight. I’ll be right back out riding again tomorrow, so why bother locking it up?”

            So, I did just that. I hid the bike behind the shed instead of obeying my father and locking the bike in the shed.

            The next morning, I went out to get my bike. My heart dropped when I didn’t see my prized bicycle behind the shed where I had left it. It was gone!

            I spent the next several weeks searching for my bike. I looked all over our neighborhood, including the woods adjacent to it, but I never found it.

            My bike was gone forever. I lost it because of my disobedience. It was my fault, and I knew it.

            I learned a very tough lesson that day. I came to understand in a very real way what can happen when we do not obey rules or commandments, even if they seem inconvenient or unnecessary.

The Law of Obedience

            Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “Obedience is the first law of heaven, the cornerstone upon which all righteousness and progression rest. It consists in compliance with divine law, in conformity to the mind and will of Deity, in complete subjection to God and his commands.”[2] 

            Obedience is the first of five covenants we make during the temple endowment. It is a fundamental principle in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            When we are obedient, we willingly do what we are asked.  We sometimes talk about “exact obedience” in the Church, often equating it with perfect compliance. Although this is our aspiration, I might suggest that “exact obedience is synonymous with perfect submissiveness—not necessarily with perfect compliance—because our humanity often leads to imperfect execution. However, we can always strive to be perfect in our submission, willingness, and intent.”[3]

            There are three C’s of obedience: (1) Commandments, (2) Choices, and (3) Consequences.

 Commandments

            First, we must be given commandments to be obedient. Why do we need commandments? Like my Father with my bicycle, the intent of the Lord’s commandments is to teach us to become more like Him and prevent us from suffering negative consequences.

            We see this same protective intent in many of the laws we put into place in our society. For example, traffic laws enable drivers to get to their destination safely. Can you imagine what would happen if drivers did not know what side of the road to drive on or if there were no signals to regulate the flow of traffic at busy intersections?

            Chaos would result on our roads without any traffic laws. However, with them and with obedient drivers, we can feel confident that we can reach our destination safely. Isn’t it interesting that we experience more freedom driving on roads with appropriate traffic laws and not less?

            God’s laws have similar benefits. He gives us commandments to us to keep us safe from spiritual and, sometimes, physical danger. Ultimately, we are freer with commandments.

            As we study the Old Testament, we learn about the Ten Commandments—fundamental laws of morality that should govern God’s people. Imagine how much pain and suffering would be avoided if everyone obeyed the commands to not kill, steal, commit adultery, bear false witness, or covet!

            We must understand God’s will for us to be obedient. Generalized commandments are contained in the standard works. His servants, the living prophets, may also give the Saints inspired direction based on modern needs. Finally, God might speak to us through His Spirit and give us direct and personalized communication. When we seek His will for our specific circumstances and He directs us, His direction should be seen as a customized commandment for us.

Choices

            Once we know the Lord’s will, we are faced with a choice: To obey or not. We have the freedom to choose. Thus, commandments enable and protect agency. Without them, we would not have the choice to be obedient or not, and our agency could be compromised.

            The prophet Mormon was described as a boy who was “quick to observe,”[4] meaning he consistently chose to comply with commandments and rules promptly. If I had been “quick to observe” like Mormon when he was a boy, I would likely have not lost my bike.

            Alma also describes the obedient as “easy to be entreated.”[5] They choose to be readily reasonable, approachable, and open to persuasion rather than being obstinate or difficult. Like little children, the obedient are willing to “submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [them], even as a child doth submit to his [or her] father.”[6]

            Why do the obedient act in this way? It’s because of love. Jesus taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”[7] Our choice to obey commandments is a demonstration of our love for Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

            We can choose to love and obey God, or not. Consequences follow each choice.

Consequences

            Every choice has a consequence. Choosing to obey brings blessings and safety. Choosing disobedience brings eventual heartache and pain.

            Our youngest learned a very powerful lesson about what can happen when laws are disobeyed. Earlier this year, he was driving home from work late on a Saturday evening when he saw the traffic light ahead turn yellow. He began to slow down, and he stopped at the red light.

            Without warning, a car in the left-hand lane rushed by him and through the red light. A car had already entered the intersection, and it was struck broadside by this vehicle. The car that was hit burst into flames, and its teenage driver lost his life. The woman who ran the red light survived. Not only had she disobeyed the traffic signal, but she was also driving under the influence of alcohol.

            Her choice to drive drunk had very serious consequences. Perhaps, she had driven drunk in the past without any issues. But on this fateful night, her choice had a devastating outcome.

            My recommendation is this: Let the consequences be your guide. Disobedience doesn’t always bring immediate pain, but eventually the negative consequences of our disobedient choices will catch up to us—and sometimes others.

Jesus is the Way

            Fortunately, Jesus provides us a way to be forgiven for disobeying commandments. Through His infinite and eternal atonement, He offers us mercy on conditions of repentance. He can heal us perfectly when we come unto Him. When we are authentically repentant and are forgiven by Him, He leaves no scars and no evidence on our souls of our poor choices. He is mighty to save, and His grace is sufficient for us to become perfected through Him.

            Coming back to my stolen bike, that experience had a profound influence on me. I apologized to my parents for my disobedience. I received another bike—not one as nice as my Evel Knievel bike, but one that was serviceable and fun. Although I lost my original blessing, a compensatory blessing was given to me.

            I cannot tell you that I was perfectly obedient after that event. I made other mistakes. However, I learned that if I tried my best to be obedient to the Lord’s commands and repented when I failed, I received choice blessings. One of those came years after my incident with the bike.

            When I was a senior in high school, I was a percussionist in our state championship band. I had received a partial music scholarship to attend BYU and play in their marching band. However, I had always dreamed of marching in a drum corps, where I could learn from the best marching percussionists in the country.

            I had the chance to try out for a nationally recognized drum corps to march with them the summer after my senior year. My friends and I planned to try out the prior the fall. Much to my dismay, I found out that our ward’s youth temple trip was scheduled for the same weekend as tryouts.

            In these days, the closest temple to Nashville, Tennessee, was in Atlanta, Georgia. We would typically make the 3.5-hour drive on a Friday night, spend the night, do baptisms the next morning and drive back. Our ward only did this two times per year, so these trips were very special.

            I had attended every temple trip during high school. I thought, “Surely, I could miss this one.” I prayed about the issue. I felt the distinct impression that I should not go to the drum corps tryout, but I should go to the temple trip. Obedient to this command from the Lord to me, I went to Atlanta with the youth.

            I do not know what dangers I avoided by not marching in the drum corps. My friends who marched that next summer recounted stories of many performers partaking of alcohol, drugs, and engaging in immoral behavior. I surely avoided these dangers by not marching.

            In terms of spiritual blessings, nothing particularly amazing happened on that temple trip. It was as normal as all our other temple baptism trips. However, the blessings from my choice came a few months later.

            Because I did not march in the drum corps that summer, I worked for my bishop, who ran a landscaping business. I spent many hours in his truck learning from him. As a newly ordained elder, he taught me many things, including how to give blessings of healing.

            When I went to BYU that fall, I had the opportunity to use the Melchizedek priesthood to bless my roommate and witness a miraculous healing in his life. My faith and obedience truly preceded this miracle.[8]

            My choice to obey has led to many other positive choices in my life. Whenever I was confronted with the choice between obeying and disobeying the Lord’s will for me, these formative experiences helped me make the right choice, blessing my life immensely.

When we strive to keep the Lord’s commandments and do His will and not ours, we will experience peace, power, and protection.

We will be blessed when, like the Savior, we say, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” [9]  

[1] See https://bringatrailer.com/listing/amf-roadmaster-bicycle/#comments-anchor for an example.

[2] Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1966), 539, emphasis added.

[3] Aaron & Julie Bujnowski, Discovering Your Temple Insights (Springville: Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, 2003), 163-164.

[4] Mormon 1:2.

[5] Alma 7:23.

[6] Mosiah 3:19.

[7] John 14:15.

[8] See Aaron & Julie Bujnowski, Navigating to Jesus: A Journey of Faith (Springville: Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, 2005), 165-166.

[9] Matthew 26:29.