“To Obey is Better than Sacrifice”

Once the Israelites desired a king, Saul was chosen by the Lord to rule over them. He was handpicked by God, which means that he had great potential. However, Saul has two acts of disobedience that brought him low. Saul offered a burnt offering without the proper authority. Saul kept the livestock of the Amalekites for sacrifices instead of killing them as he was commanded by the Lord. “It is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” D&C 121:39. This is where Saul fell. He had been the king for two years and stretched himself out of his authority.

D&C 121:34-36, 41-42  gives us council of how to avoid the mistakes of Saul. We have to remember that the powers of heaven can only be handled by the righteous and that we cannot set our hearts on the things of this world, nor can we aspire to the honors of men. Also we must remember that no authority should be kept simply because of the priesthood. Authority and influence should be built upon persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love, kindness, and pure knowledge, without guile or hypocrisy.  

Reflecting on Saul’s decision to offer sacrifices improperly, Samul stated that “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). If a sacrifice is given, but unrighteously, it does not benefit the person who gave the sacrifice. It would have been better for Saul to have led the army into battle without offering a sacrifice than to break a commandment to offer the sacrifice. Also it would have been better for Saul to have given no sacrifice after fighting the Amalekites than to have used their animals in the sacrifice. Heavenly Father wants us to be righteous. That is what we sacrifice today. We sacrifice ourselves, our unrighteousness, so that we can follow Him.

Saul started out with great promise, but was brought low again because of his disobedience to the commandments of the Lord. It would have been better for him to obey the Lord than to give sacrifice to Him. Today, how many times to we mess up when we seek to offer a sacrifice to the Lord? How many times do we drive too fast to get to church on time? How many times do we only obey the Lord part way?

Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve

Joshua 10:12-14 reads:   

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

Did the Sun really stand still? No, the Sun moved as it always does, it just looked like it stopped moving because the Earth had stopped in order to lengthen out the day. The Lord can command the Earth to do as He wishes because He created it.

What were Israel’s successes?

·         Joshua uses an ambush, takes Ai, and slays its inhabitants

·         He builds an altar in Mount Ebal

·         Israel defeats the Amorites and their allies

·         Joshua and Israel conquer the whole land

·         The tabernacle of the congregation is set up at Shiloh

·         Built an altar of testimony by the Jordan to show they are the Lord’s people

What were Israel’s failures?

·         Israel is defeated by the people of Ai

·         Joshua complains to the Lord

·         Achan and his household are destroyed because he disobeyed the Lord by taking the spoils of Jericho.

·         The Gibeonites by craft obtain a league with Israel

·         Some inhabitants are not expelled

·         Some Canaanites continue to dwell among the Ephraimites.

What was the major theme of Joshua’s final address to his people? I believe that it is found in Joshua 24:15 “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” Joshua wants to people to actively choose whom they will serve, not just go with the flow, do whatever, or even just see what their friends are doing, but actually choosing for themselves and being responsible for their choice. (2 Nephi 10:23) How many times do we forget that we have chosen whom we will serve? How many times do we find ourselves going with the crowd because it is easier than standing up? Will you dare to stand alone?

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Obedience Brings Blessings; Disobedience Brings Curses

Moses was commanded to build the Ark of the Covenant and keep the tablets inside where they would be kept safe (Deuteronomy 10:1-5 ). The Lord did not want them to be destroyed or desecrated by man.  Note the Joseph Smith Translation in verse 2, The Lord rewrote the commandments that were on the tablet Moses cracked, but they still had the words of the covenant of the priesthood. The Lord did not command these words to be put in the ark because they needed these laws and would be responsible for keeping them.

Reading D&C 84:14-27 shows us that the children of Israel denied themselves of blessings through their disobedience in the wilderness, including having the Holy Priesthood (Melchizedek) taken away from them. In the Lord’s mercy He left the lesser priesthood (Aaronic) so that they could repent, be baptized, and receive a remission of their sins.

The Great Commandment was given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:1, 13-14, 22 and Deuteronomy 30:6, 16, 19-20. Christ gave a very similar commandment to the Jews in Matthew 22:36-40. The Great Commandment is to Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is to love thy neighbor as thyself. All of the Laws depend on these two commandments, if you follow these, you follow all the commandments, if you break one of the others, you break one of these.

The most important commandment is to Love God. Why would you follow any of the other commandments if you do not love the being who gave them to you? If you don’t love Him, then you probably don’t believe that you will be able to return to Him again someday and become like Him. If you won’t return to Him or have a day of judgment, then you may as well do whatever you want to in this life, because it is the only life and after that you’re dead.

But how can we be commanded to love? It is an emotion, it is the one thing that dictators and tyrants cannot command, but can God? The answer is that He can require it for us to return to Him, but we already loved Him in the pre-earth life, we just have to remember that love and to love Him still.

It is a commandment given over and over again that we must love the Lord, that we must remember Him and what He has done for us, that we must not forget Him. Our Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him, and the only way we will be able to is by remembering Him and what He has done for us in the past, and what He is willing to do for us in the future so that we will do what He asks of us. D&C 130:20-21 reminds us that the blessings that we receive here on Earth are due to obedience to an eternal law.

Let’s look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14, in these verses are a list of the blessings of obedience.

·         The Lord shall set thee on high above all nations of the Earth

·         Blessed in

o   the city

o   the field

o   Blessed in the fruit of the body

o   the fruit of the ground

o   the fruit of the cattle

o   basket and store

o   when come in and go out

o   All that you set your hand to

o   The land you live in

·         The Lord shall cause thine enemies to be smitten when they come out against you

·         The Lord shall establish an holy people unto himself

·         The people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord

Disobeying the commandments of the Lord Deuteronomy 28:15-65:

·         Cursed in

o   City

o   Field

o   Basket and store

o   Fruit of thy body

o   Fruit of land

o   Increase in kine, and flocks

o   When come in and go out

·         Cursing, vexation, and rebuke on all you set your hand to

·         Pestilence

·         Consumption, fever, inflammation, burning, sword, blasting, mildew

·         Serve your enemies

·         Fear the name “THE LORD THY GOD”

Don’t these lists look similar? In what you are blessed for obedience, so are you cursed for disobedience. Helaman 12:3 states that unless the Lord chastens his people with may afflictions they will not remember Him. We are given the consequences for disobedience, but the Lord does not desire to curse His children. Moses 1:39 shows us that the Lord’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He wants us to come back to Him and that is what He works for every day.

The Brazen Serpent

In Numbers 21:4-9 we read about the fiery serpents that plagued the Israelites when they murmured in the wilderness and spoke against God and against Moses, the prophet.  These serpents were deadly, and the people finally realized that they had sinned and the serpents were their call to repentance. They asked Moses to pray to the Lord to take away the serpents. The Lord provided a way for the people to be healed from the serpents so that they could learn instead of just taking the problem away. Moses took a brass serpent and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten by a serpent could look to be healed. There were people who did not believe that looking at this serpent could save them from the bite of the very real serpent. Because it was so easy, they did not look and died. (1 Nephi 17:41)

 

The Lord wanted to teach His people about Christ. The brass serpent was a type of Christ. All the Israelites had to do was look up and see the serpent on top of the pole and believe that they would be saved and they would be. Today, we have to believe that Christ will be able to heal us before we will be healed. We have to put our trust in Him. By relying on the Savior to be healed, we allow Him to mend our broken hearts, ease our pains and afflictions, He can ease our guilt and sorrows. Many people try to heal themselves without the help of the Savior. They do everything that they can on their own and still are not healed. In the world, many people try to drown out their pain with alcohol or other addictions, including TV and other technology. 

We are very much like the Israelites, because it seems so easy to look to Christ and believe in Him, we don't always looked to be saved. We try to do it on our own, rely on science and our own ability, when we cannot make it without His help. One thing that can help heal us is service. Losing yourself by helping someone else can make your problems seem smaller, as well as bringing you closer to those you serve. 

I was angry for so long, mad at someone who I perceived as being in the wrong and hurting me. This anger festered in me for years until I was able to take my hurt and my pain to my Father in Heaven. Finally I was able to give up my anger and give it to Christ and let His love fill my heart instead. It has enabled me to forgive my friend and to work on rebuilding my relationship with them. Had I turned to the Savior sooner, I would have been able to give up my pain and not have wasted years in anger. By relying on the Savior, you can truly find peace. This is not just a temporary peace, it is a lasting peace. He truly can heal you.

Where Can I turn for Peace

1. Where can I turn for peace?

Where is my solace

When other sources cease to make me whole?

When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,

I draw myself apart,

Searching my soul?

2. Where, when my aching grows,

Where, when I languish,

Where, in my need to know, where can I run?

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?

He, only One.

3. He answers privately,

Reaches my reaching

In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.

Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.

Constant he is and kind,

Love without end.

A shadow by day and a pillar by night

Redeemer of Israel,

Our only delight,

On whom for a blessing we call,

Our shadow by day

And our pillar by night,

Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!

LDS Hymn #6

Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing Redeemer of Israel

While the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptians they were literally saved by water and by fire (Exodus 14:19-30). A pillar of fire led them at night so that they would have the light they needed to travel in order to be beyond the Egyptian’s grasp. While they were crossing the Red Sea, they were saved by water. The water that had previously blocked their escape parted so they could pass through on dry ground while being chased by Egyptians. Once the Israelites were through, the Egyptians were caught in the middle of the Red Sea when the water returned to its place, freeing the Israelites from their captors.

That isn’t the end; the point wasn’t just to show that our God is a God of miracles, there is still more. The symbolism of what happened is amazing. If you replace “Israelites” with yourself and “Egyptians” with sin, “water” with baptism, and “fire” with the Holy Ghost you see a pattern

Here is the first paragraph with those changes

The Holy Ghost led me so that I would have the knowledge that I need to travel in order to be beyond sin’s grasp. While I was crossing through life, I was saved by baptism. The water of baptism parted so I could pass through while being chased by Sin. Once I was through, Sin was caught in the waters of baptism, freeing me from my captors.

The Lord saves us from the captivity of our sins through baptism and our continual repentance. After we are baptized by water, we are baptized by fire; that is by receiving the Holy Ghost. We are spiritually saved by water and by fire, just as the Israelites were literally saved by a pillar of fire and the water of the red sea.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 gives us an interesting insight to this situation as well. It states that “all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea” it continues that they were baptized “in the cloud and in the sea.” The Israelites were baptized by water and by fire. They were spiritually saved. 1 Corinthians 10:3-4 continues that they all are the same spiritual meat and drank the same spiritual drink. Does this make anyone else think of the sacrament? 

Joseph Endured His Trials

Jacob had twelve sons. In order (with their mother’s name in parenthesis) they are: Reuben (son of Leah), Simeon (son of Leah), Levi (son of Leah), Judah (son of Leah), Dan (son of Bilhah), Naphtali (son of Bilhah), Gad (son of Zilpah), Asher (son of Zilpah), Issachar (son of Leah), Zebulun (son of Leah), Joseph (son of Rachel), and Benjamin (son of Rachel).

It was after Reuben (the first son of Jacob’s first wife) had already forfeited the birthright through immorality that Jacob had a coat of many colors made for his eleventh son, Joseph.

This “coat of many colors” showed that Joseph would receive the birthright (Institute Student Manual Genesis 37:3). Since Joseph was the first son of Jacob’s second wife he was the next legal heir of his father, even though he was the eleventh son.

This can help to explain the hostility Joseph’s brothers had against him when he wore an outward symbol of having received the birthright. Reuben could have not accepted the fact that he had lost the birthright. Simeon was the second son and could have assumed that the birthright would be passed to him. Judah, the fourth son could have argued that Simeon and Levi had lost the right to the birthright because they massacred the Shechemites (Genesis 34). Dan could argue that he was technically Rachel’s firstborn since she owned his mother Bilhah and that the birthright should pass to him instead of Joseph. Gad could have believed that the birthright belonged to him when Reuben forfeited it because he was the first born son of Bilhah. Another reason Joseph’s brothers had hostility towards him is because of his dreams (Genesis37:5-11) which were a sign of his future leadership.

In Genesis 37 alone we see many trials that Joseph went through. Joseph’s brothers would not speak peaceably to him. His brothers plotted to kill him. His brothers stripped him of his coat, cast him into a pit, and sold him as a slave to Ishmeelites who then sold him to a man in Egypt.

How is this like the challenges youth and young adults face in today’s world?

His brothers would not speak peaceably to him: It is hard in today’s world to find youth who are kind and thoughtful. Many instead use foul language, are hateful, and don’t care about the people around them.

His brothers plotted to kill him: Most youth today do not have to worry about people literally plotting to kill them, however what about our spiritual selves, are people in our lives plotting to kill our spiritual selves? The answer to that question is yes. First of all Satan is plotting our destruction. He wants us to fail here on Earth and to not reach the people that we can touch in our special ways. Satan wants us to be as miserable as he is, he wants us to die a second death (a spiritual death).

His brothers strip him of his coat: Look at the world around us, how many people are there who would be willing to con you of everything you have, including the coat on your back. Joseph’s brothers trapped him in a pit where he could not escape: Today many youth and young adults are trapped by various habits and sins that they cannot break free of on their own. Joseph’s brother’s sold him as a slave to the Ishmeelites: Sometimes the friends that we trust to have our back aren’t actually there for us and will sell us out in a moment.

In Genesis 39 Joseph is in a dangerous situation. Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to commit adultery with her. He refused saying that the only thing being kept back from him in Potiphar’s entire house was Potiphar’s wife because she is his wife and it would be a “great wickedness and sin against God (Genesis 39:9).” Because Joseph did not listen to her or let her wear him down, the Lord was still with Joseph when he was sent away from Potiphar’s house.

There is no way that Joseph could have made the decision to be morally clean during this situation with Potiphar’s wife. That is a decision that he had made long before. There was no hesitation in Joseph’s decision; he had an answer readily available to him for why he would not commit this moral sin. We, like Joseph, have to decide at an early age to be righteous and to live our lives in a way that we can be proud of when we are at the judgment bar of God.

Joseph became the overseer of the prison because the keeper of the prison saw that everything that Joseph did prospered because the Lord was with him. Joseph was able to interpret the dreams for the butler and baker accurately because he was righteous and the Lord was with him.  The chief butler remembered Joseph’s accurate interpretations when the Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted. Joseph was able to interpret this dream as well and became part of the Pharaoh’s household and even the second in charge of all of Egypt, this is because Joseph was righteous, the Lord remembered him, and the Lord was with him.

Joseph reminds us to look at the bad experiences in our lives, learn from them, and even appreciate them. Because Joseph was faithful to the Lord he looked for the good in his situation. He did not look for people to blame nor did he give up and resign himself to a life of sorrow and despair. 

A Contrast in Choices

In Genesis 13:10 Lot chose to live on the plain of Jordan because it was greener, which meant that his flocks would be well fed, and that he himself could be more prosperous.

Pitching his tent toward Sodom meant that every day Lot saw the wickedness of the people of Sodom. He became desensitized to it and their wickedness eventually wouldn’t bother him.

When your friends and neighbors are doing things, they slowly urge you to join them. This is not a bad thing when they are righteous. But when the things they are doing are wicked, it can be detrimental to your spiritual wellbeing. 2 Nephi 28:7-9 puts this perfectly: 

7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

 8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

 9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

It can start with just a little bit of sin, just a little bit of lying- it’s expected it’s normal…. Then it will turn into do whatever you want, there will be no punishment for it in the last days. But it is not true; you have to do your absolute best. No, we are not perfect while we are here on this world, but we have to try our best. The Lord Loves us and knows we will make mistakes, but we cannot plan on making mistakes and paying for it later, it is so much harder to fix our mistake then, because we planned on it.

Lot lived in the cities of the plain outside Sodom, but he pitched his tent toward Sodom (Genesis 13:12). He was exposed to the wickedness of the people and eventually desensitized enough that he was later able to live in the city of Sodom itself (Genesis 14:12). Today people still “pitch their tents toward Sodom.” We put ourselves in situations where we aren’t quite comfortable with what is going on. Eventually it becomes comfortable and we will put ourselves in another situation that is even worse that is just a little uncomfortable again. We continue that cycle until we are living in “Sodom” a place that is not safe and eventually can destroy us.

A specific example of this in my life is from high school. In high school I became desensitized to all that my “friends” did, the swearing, the pda, the drugs, the immoral lives, the attitude of “we won’t be caught, we won’t have to pay later for what we are doing now.” It is heart breaking to me now to look back and to see everything that my friends did to destroy themselves, and they didn’t even care. I am glad that I am now out of that situation and able to choose who I associate with having a much larger sphere of people to choose from.

Sodom was full of pride, gluttony, idleness, haughty, rejecting their fellow men, and sexual immorality, including homosexuality. (Romans 1:24-27, 31) explains how God feels about homosexuality. God abandoned the people of Sodom to their “vile affections.” The people “[dishonoured] their own bodies between themselves.” They “changed the truth of God into a lie.” They “served the creature more than the Creator.” Men and women were without “natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.” Is it any wonder that Abraham was challenged to find ten righteous people in the city? Is it any wonder that he was not successful?

In contrast to Lot and his choices is Abraham
and the choices that he made.

Abraham lived “in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.” (Genesis 13:18) Wait, what was the first thing that Abraham did when he moved? He built an alter so that he could worship God.

In Genesis 14:13, Abraham finds out that Lot was taken captive by foreign kings. He then goes out with his servants, who were trained to fight (318 of them), and pursued Lot’s captors into Dan. Once there he rescued Lot and all the other people and goods that had been captured.

In Genesis 14:22-23 Abraham shows that he loves and is committed to God. He will not take anything from the King so that the king will not be able to say that he has made Abraham rich. He does not want to be tied to a king who will ask for favors or make unrighteous demands. He wants to be able to serve God all the days of his life.

Abraham could have become a very rich man if he had taken the king up on his offer. He could have become a ruler of the people, but this would have taken him away from God. If you read Moroni 10:30, you will see that Abraham was touching “not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.” He was avoiding the temptations that would go along with the gifts he was offered.

How can I be more like Abraham, who did not even desire a “thread” of what the king of Sodom had to offer? I can be satisfied, and grateful with the things that I already have. I can praise the Lord for all the blessings that He has given me, and He has given me countless blessings. It makes me thing of the hymn Count Your Blessings; “When you look at others with their lands and gold, think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.”

How can you be more like Abraham, who did not even desire a thread of what the king of Sodom had to offer? Do not give up your wealth in heaven because you want something now that is worthless in the eternal perspective.

Whom God Calls He Qualifies

   In Moses 6:27 the Lord describes the people of Enoch’s day as having hard hearts, dull ears, and eyes that cannot see.

o   Moses 28-29

§  Gone astray, denied me, seek own counsels in the dark, devise murder, do not keep the commandments, forsworn themselves, brought upon themselves death

o   This is not a happy people

§  hard hearts= cannot feel for those around them, cannot feel the promptings of the spirit, cannot love anyone but self.

§  Dull ears= will not hear the spirit, will not hear counsel from others

§  Eyes that cannot see= can’t see needs of others, can’t see that they aren’t happy, cannot see what is right and what is wrong.

·         If the lord told you this and told you that He needed your help to make them see, and hear, and to feel again, how would you feel?

o   Me-shock, dismay, overwhelmed, How?

o   Enoch- “I am slow of speech,” (just like Moses) the people hate me, how have I found favor with Thee? Why do you want ME?

·         In Moses 6:32 we get the answer

o   Heavenly Father told Enoch- Open thy mouth and it shall be filled. God will give you what to say if you are prepared and are listening to what He wants you to say.

o   All flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Moses 6:32

o   Moses 6:39- when they heard him. They stopped in their tracks and could not harm him. (v47) They could not stand in his presence as he spoke the words of God.

o   God wanted Enoch because of his Faith- He will make weak things strong, if you have faith and come unto him.

·         Because of Enoch’s faith and because he did what the Lord commanded him to do:

o   Moses 7:18

§  And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

o   Enoch (slow of speech) was the tool that God used to change these wicked people into Zion!

o   (7:69) Zion is fled

o   God can do marvelous things, He can take water and turn it into wine, He can command the earth to do his will, He can put His words into our mouths to help those around us, and He can change me.

Testimony