Are You Adjusting the Gospel to Fit Your Life?

I recently saw a photo of a very unusual building. In front of the building, there was a large tree that had clearly been growing for much longer than the building had existed. On the side of the building, there were two levels of balconies with holes cut in them to allow the tree branches to go through. The tree continued to grow next to the building, with its trunk growing right through a hole in the roof.

As I looked at this picture, I thought a lot about the restored gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It made me think: Do we want to adjust our life to fit the gospel, or are we trying to adjust the gospel to fit our life?

At the April 2021 general conference, Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the Seventy said: “The gospel is not part of our life, but our life is actually part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think about it. Is that not true?”¹

I answer yes, it is true.

And understanding this important lesson can help us avoid heartache throughout our lives and learn to be completely converted and devoted to the Lord and His gospel.

The Wisdom and Voices of the World versus the Wisdom of God

Let’s talk about this pretty building and the tree that continued to grow right through it. The architect could have said that the tree was in the way—“It’s preventing the project I want to carry out.” Or the owner of the building could have said, “But I have money—just cut down this tree so that there is space to build the building.” But they didn’t. Instead, they chose to adjust their building design to accommodate the existing tree.

Looking at this from a gospel perspective, we can’t choose to change the gospel principles and doctrine that have existed eternally—principles and doctrine that are for our benefit. Indeed, we are “free to choose” (2 Nephi 2:27) whether we will live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we cannot choose the consequences of our choices.

Let us remember what happened to Uzzah in the Old Testament:

“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 6:6–7).

In trying to steady the ark, Uzzah showed that he thought he knew better than the Lord. Nowadays we face modern Uzzahs, who try to stretch out their hands, or use their wisdom, agendas, or ideas to impose their own laws instead of God’s laws. They believe that they know better than the Lord and seek to lead us away from the correct principles given by Him through His holy prophets. They may try to convince us to only make changes or support parts of the gospel that fit our ideal lifestyle.

But Heavenly Father invites us to make changes in our lives to follow the pure, eternal gospel of Jesus Christ. Because when we do, He can bless us.

The Blessings of Embracing the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

As this building and the tree illustrate, we can choose to respect the principles of the gospel that existed before us, just as the architect of the building chose to respect the nature that existed before him. We do this by adapting our lives to the gospel of Jesus Christ and not the other way around, which could lead us to painful consequences, like Uzzah so unfortunately experienced. When we remember that we don’t “comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend” (Mosiah 4:9) and that He “comprehendeth all things” (Alma 26:35), we can know that He has given us commandments or directions to live by for our happiness, safety, and, ultimately, eternal salvation (see Doctrine and Covenants 82:8–9).

I am fully convinced of the power and wisdom of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ—and that Their power and blessings can be ours when we obey Their commandments that They have instituted for our good. We came here to earth to exercise faith and obey Heavenly Father so we can experience everlasting happiness and joy and return to Him.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true place where we can learn to become more like our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, by following the directions of modern prophets—for their directions are worthy of faith and given by the Savior Himself to help guide us on our journey back to Him.

Note

1. Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, “They Cannot Prevail; We Cannot Fall,” Liahona, May 2021, 98.