This blog post is dedicated to Taylor. Mainly because the thought contained in this blog was originally from him. He shared this idea with the rest of the family a couple weeks ago and I loved it so much I had to share it with more people. He said he was pondering a BYU Devotional by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient" when he came up with this fantastic thought.
Before my brother left for Japan, he spent all of his time learning about Japan. He took classes on the language, he learned about the culture and the people. So when he actually got to Japan, he wanted to put into practice everything that he had studied. In his own words, he said he wanted to become "as Japanese-y as possible". He then compared that experience to our lives here on earth. Before we came to this earth, we lived in heaven with our Eternal Father, who is God. He came up with a plan that we might become more like him, but to do so we had to come to earth to gain a body and to have experiences that would teach us how to refine our characters and become like God. So in order to help us develop these God-like attributes, God has given us commandments. If we want to become like God, we must live as God lives, and he shows us how He lives through these commandments.
Here is an excellent quote by Elder D. Todd Christofferson in a talk he gave last April that goes along with what my brother was talking about. He said: "Our Heavenly Father is a God of high expectations. His expectations for us are expressed by His Son, Jesus Christ, in these words: “I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48). He proposes to make us holy so that we may “abide a celestial glory” (D&C 88:22) and “dwell in his presence” (Moses 6:57). He knows what is required, and so, to make our transformation possible, He provides His commandments and covenants, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and most important, the Atonement and Resurrection of His Beloved Son."
I think so often people don't see the big picture, or the eternal plan. They see commandments as limitations, or things that deny freedom. But in reality, these commandments are teaching us how to be like the Creator of all heaven and earth, the Lord Omnipotent, God our Heavenly Father. What could be more powerful than that? I am so grateful for the commandments in my life, that have taught me more about the character of God and have taught me more about my potential and what God has in store for me. I am so eternally grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and that through His Atonement we can be forgiven of our sins and made clean again as we continually repent. I am so grateful for God's plan, and that He truly is our loving Father in Heaven.
This is awesome! It reminded me of a C.S. Lewis quote that I read in Virtue and Vice but now I can't find it to quote it for you, but it was about how when we turn our lives over to Christ He demands that it is an all or nothing deal. He says that I will make of you the creature that I intended you to be, but you have to be willing to give me everything, and go through whatever molding process I have in store for you. Once you are on His path, He promises that you will be beautiful in the end, but you must be willing to submit to the journey. Someday I'll find it again and you can hear the whole thing, or maybe you've read it too.
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