Area Leadership Message
Knowing of, Understanding, and Keeping the Commandments of God
It is one thing to know of the commandments. It is another thing to understand the commandments. It is yet another to willingly keep the commandments.
As a new convert to the Church at age thirteen, I came to know of the commandments. However, I did not understand the reason for some of the Lord’s commandments, nor did I think I could see the blessings of keeping them. For example, having faithfully kept the Word of Wisdom for a time, I found that my strength and stamina in playing sport was no better, and in some cases, far worse, than that of my teammates who disobeyed every facet of the Word of Wisdom. They seemed to be the ones who could “run and not be weary,”1 not me. However, in faith I continued to obey.
Furthermore, it seemed to me that the commandments were hemming me in and cramping my style. Now, however, some 48 years later I view the commandments as liberating, not confining. What changed? Certainly not the commandments. It is my understanding and attitude that have changed.
I now view the commandments as I view the “swim between the flags” signs at the beach—with appreciation. To freely enjoy a swim at the beach, in an area which has been predetermined as safe, I choose to swim between the flags. Of course, I can choose to swim elsewhere, but in so doing I must accept the consequences of that decision.
I now choose to keep the commandments because I find great peace and safety in doing so, and with the passage of time, I have seen the blessings of obeying them.
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaking of the commandments, noted: “God’s plan includes directions for us, referred to in the scriptures as commandments. These commandments are neither a whimsical set nor an arbitrary collection of imposed rules meant only to train us to be obedient. They are linked to our developing the attributes of godliness, returning to our Heavenly Father, and receiving enduring joy. . . . Though God wants us to be on the covenant path, He gives us the dignity of choosing.”2
Like Nephi, for my sake, I know “I must obey.”3
Joy, happiness, deep satisfaction, a sense of security and divine purpose come, in time, to those who understand and keep the commandments. In fact, it is as we in faith keep the commandments that we come to understand them. John quotes the Lord as saying, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”4
Edgar A. Guest penned these words capturing the virtue of doing as opposed to just talking:
I’d rather see a sermon than to hear one any day,
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil, more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear,
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see a good put in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you will let me see it done,
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give.
But there is no misunderstanding how you act and how you live. 5
Discipleship is not about just knowing of the commandments in an academic way and not living them. Discipleship is not about blindly keeping the commandments. True discipleship is about coming to understand the commandments and then willingly keeping them, because we have come to know that they are a blessing from our loving Father in Heaven.