4:

Repent and Be Obedient

Report:Briefly share with the group your progress tracking income and expenses last week.

Ponder:How are repentance and obedience connected to self-reliance?

Watch:“Obedience Brings Blessings,” available at srs.lds.org/videos. (No video? Read page 13.)

Obedience Brings Blessings

Obedience Brings Blessings

If you are unable to watch the video, read this script.

President Thomas S. Monson: What a glorious promise! “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” [D&C 93:28]. …

My brothers and sisters, the great test of this life is obedience. “We will prove them herewith,” said the Lord, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” [Abraham 3:25].

Declared the Savior, “For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world” [D&C 132:5].

No greater example of obedience exists than that of our Savior. Of Him, Paul observed:

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

“And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” [Hebrews 5:8–9].

The Savior demonstrated genuine love of God by living the perfect life, by honoring the sacred mission that was His. Never was He haughty. Never was He puffed up with pride. Never was He disloyal. Ever was He humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He obedient. …

When faced with the agony of Gethsemane, where He endured such pain that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” [Luke 22:44], He exemplified the obedient Son by saying, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” [Luke 22:42].

As the Savior instructed His early Apostles, so He instructs you and me, “Follow thou me” [John 21:22]. Are we willing to obey?

The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments. I quote once again the words of the Lord: “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” [D&C 93:28].

It is my humble prayer that we may be blessed with the rich rewards promised to the obedient. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.

(“Obedience Brings Blessings,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 89, 92)

Back to page 12.

Discuss:What blessings have you received by obeying God’s laws? How does repentance help us progress?

Read:Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21 and the quote by the Prophet Joseph Smith (on the right)

“There is a law … 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.”

Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21

“I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 160

Activity

Obedience to specific laws leads to specific blessings.

Step 1: On your own, write some blessings you desire in the left column.

Step 2: Identify which laws or principles you will need to obey in order to receive the blessings you desire.

Discuss:Read Joshua 3:5 and the quotes by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and President Spencer W. Kimball (on page 13). Why do we need to repent, sanctify ourselves, and try to do good as we seek to become self-reliant?

“Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Joshua 3:5

“The Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them. … He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek.”

Jeffrey R. Holland, “Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 126

“If we like luxuries or even necessities more than we like obedience, we will miss the blessings which he would like to give us.”

Spencer W. Kimball, in The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 212

Commit:Commit to do the following actions during the week. Check the box when you complete each action.

• Obey the law you chose in the activity above.

• Share what you’ve learned today about obedience with your family or friends.