One important thing I learned when I joined this Church is how not to say no. When I was called to serve as a counselor to President Tai, without hesitation and without any question I accepted it with a resounding, “Yes”. I could have said, “No”. But I didn’t. Because, when I joined the Church, in my baptism I have solemnly promised the Lord, I will follow and do whatever Heavenly Father wants me to do for His Church.
I was given an assignment today to speak about the Law of
Obedience. As I think through about this topic I realize how inadequate my
knowledge when it comes to law. I am no lawyer, - I am an interior designer.
Ask me about designing your home and we can sit here for hours about the right
colours and lightings for your home.
Yet there is only one thing I know about the law of
obedience – and that is when Heavenly Father created the universe in which we
live, He created a law. The scriptures tells us that, “There is a law,
irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which
all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to
that law upon which it is predicated.
Heavenly Father is bound to this law. Even God himself
cannot break that law. For the Lord said, “I, the Lord, am bound if ye do what
I say, but if ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” The sun, the moon, the
stars and the planets are governed by this law. They gracefully glide in space without
collision. They are bound to follow this law.
When I was little, I would lie down beneath the stars at
night and delight to watch the magnificent splendor of the universe. It’s
wonderfully beautiful to witness the majestic power of God in action.
When God created the
earth, He commanded the heavens and the earth to follow the same law. He
commanded the trees to grow and bear fruits. He commanded the beasts and the
fowls of the air to multiply in its own kind. Apples grows apples, grapes will
grow grapes. Lions will bear lions. Humans will bear humans.
Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were also given a law; and
to break that law will bear serious consequences. Disobedience to the laws of
God will mean suffering, misery, heartache, sickness, trouble and sadness.
Obedience to the commandments of God means happiness and joy in life.
But the question is … of all the good knowledge that we know
that this is true, yet why do we stray? Why do we let ourselves be influenced
by the deception of Satan? In this dispensation the power of Satan will
increase; we see it in every hand. We must learn to listen and follow the
commandments of God. There will be some things that will take patience and
faith. Some come to believe that you can just choose and pick whichever
commandment to follow. Things like saying our prayers, honoring the Sabbath,
reading the scriptures, paying our tithing, attending our meetings, and the
list goes on.
The blessings of obedience will only come to those who
follow. I love listening stories in
talks; that’s why I love President Monson’s talks because they are full of
personal stories. I love sharing my missionary experiences because they are
full of the many colors of faith.
One day, my companion and I were walking down a road on our
way to visit a new member. Under the beating heat of the sun, we found a man
lying on the street half naked. He was drunk and dirty. With full of
compassion, my companion and I stopped and decided to help the man. We pulled
the man up bearing his arms on our shoulders and carrying him back to his home.
His family was so delighted to see us. They know that we are missionaries and
they always wanted to know more about us. His wife told us that the time was
long and overdue. They have suffered much and have given up hope on him. They
were poor and only the wife earns the living for the family.
We laid her husband on the floor and asked to come back to
teach their family the following day. The children were delighted. And the
mother, too! They promised that when their father recovers, they will tell him
the whole story about us.
The following day, we visited the family and to our
surprise, the whole family was present. Their little nipa house looks a little
bit tidier now than yesterday. The children were neat and clean, the mother and
the father, too! Happily we asked the family if we can share a message about
Jesus Christ to them. They gladly accepted. The mother promised that if we can
make her husband give up his drinking habit they will all join the Church. It
was a challenge my companion and I gladfully accepted. Then we taught them the
first missionary discussion. After the lesson, we taught the family how to
pray. Then we challenged them to read the Book of Mormon. Then, we invited them
to come to Church.
On the Church that Sunday, the mother and the children came
as they have promised. But the father stayed at home refusing to come. The rest
of the family enjoys the Church meetings and before they left, my companion and
I promised the children that we will not give up with their father.
Finally, after a few
visits, it was the time to teach the family about the Word of Wisdom. To his
families’ delight, the father accepted the challenge. At last, after a few
Sundays, my companion and I were delighted to see the father joined his family
to the Church. Finally, the family accepted the invitation to be baptized. It
was a beautifully spiritual experience for my companion and I as the family follow,
one by one, their father into the waters of baptism.
The joy that comes by obedience to the laws of God brings
peace and happiness to all. Heavenly Father’s law to us His children is a
loving law. It is a law that will lead us back to the right path towards our
journey to the kingdom of God
As a father to my sons, perhaps the most compelling story of
faith and obedience in the scriptures is the story of Abraham. Abraham was
challenge by the Lord to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. As I
contemplate upon this story, I asked myself a question. If I was asked by the
Lord to sacrifice my own son as Abraham did, will I have that same faith and
courage to obey Him?
Because of his magnificent faith and obedience to God, the
Lord blessed Abraham and his seeds, and he was called the father of all nations
for his seeds shall multiply as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the sea.
Contrast this to the story of the children of Israel Israel Egypt Israel
Brothers and sisters, if we will not be ruled by God, we
will certainly be ruled by tyrants – and there is no tyranny more superior or
more destructive than our own selfishness without the law. I testify that we
cannot break God’s law. We can only break ourselves against them. Satan wants
us to believe that we can make exceptions to God’s rule; and that our
transgressions are justifiable – but that is a lie. And not only we offend God
by breaking His laws, we also offend ourselves and others, thereby, we
experience heartaches, suffering, and misery – the exact opposite of happiness.
I know that one of the keys to a truly happy life is to
learn, as early as possible, that wickedness never was happiness and to never
forget the truth, preferably learning from others’ mistake rather than making
our own.
I know that each one of us, who made the first step to enter
the waters of baptism, has demonstrated of our sincere faith and obedience to
God’s law. We were challenged by the missionaries to pray and seek for guidance
and direction from God – and we followed. We are here today as members of the
Church because we were obedient to His teachings and its leaders. We are here
because we want to listen and to learn how to follow.
Our obedience to the commandments is an expression of our
love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior said, “If ye love me,
keep my commandments”
Isaiah declared to ancient Israel
I was reminded of my decision to follow the desires of my
heart to serve God as a full time missionary. As you all know how hard it is to
get a decent job in the Philippines
As a missionary, I labored as hard as I can. I remembered
stricken twice by typhoid fever after long hard months of walking under the
scourging heat of sun and heavy rains. I was almost sent home because of my weakening
health. But I promised my Mission President that I don’t want to quit. I don’t
want to give up. I want to bring the bacon back to my home ward.
I finished my mission with honors. I arrived home with no
job waiting. I waited for answers from my Father in Heaven. Then one beautiful
day, I received a letter from my mission president with an invitation for me to
work in the Philippines Presiding Bishopric Office as an architectural
designer. That was an open door to the other blessings Heavenly Father has
promised me.
Brothers and sisters please don’t give up. Sometimes it is
necessary to be obedient even when we do not understand the reason for the law.
It takes faith to be obedient. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in teaching obedience,
said that whatever God requires is right, though we may not know the reason
until much later.
The blessings of heaven await us. As we bow our heads each
night with a humble prayer, may we ask for strength and guidance, for light and
direction, that we may always be led by the light to the eternal glory of the
Father.
It is with my humble prayer, that may each one of us feel
the love of our Savior in our lives. May we always be grateful in all things,
whether it be great or small, because all of these are blessings from our
loving Father above.
I know that this church is true. I’m so grateful for the
atoning sacrifice of my loving Savior. I know that President Monson is a true
prophet of God. His counsels are not only for us, members of this Church. His
message is for the whole world to hear and obey. For obedience to the laws and
commandments of God means happiness and joy to everyone who listens and obey.
In the sacred name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
