The Importance of Being "Exactly Obedient"

Hi Everyone!

I don't know how much I'll get off today, I'm at about half speed due to frozen fingers. Temperatures have been in the low 30's and high 20's the past few days, and the library feels about the same. :) We had our first snow fall of the season, and the mountains here are beautiful and the world looks brighter. The downside is that our car will soon have resrictions as the roads fill up, but this is a beautiful place to serve the Lord and help people in these small mountain towns!

We're seeing some results of service. This week a less-active family came to church for the first time in months. We have been helping them fix their truck that was slammed into a tree, and just needs a couple new parts to run again. It was an exciting day at chruch, we had 26 people in sacrament meeting!!! That's the highest it's ever been since I've been here. I hope we can keep the motivation level high and maintain there.

We also taught a small lesson to a lady who is fighting cancer. We did a little bit of service tracting and offered to help her with anything, after which she incredulously looked at us and said: "Really?" We assured her that we were serious, that we were just there to help in any way possible, so she gave us a couple rakes and set us to work on her lawn! It was a great feeling to help someone out, and afterwards we answered some of her questions about the church, taught a little of our beliefs, and invited her to be taught by the English missionaries! It was a great experience regardless whether or not she follows through, we were able to help someone in need and helped resolve some doubts and misconceptions she'd had of the church!

This morning I was preparing a training for a district meeting tomorrow, and I thought I'd share a little of what I learned. I was inspired to spend a little time on the importance of being "exactly obedient" and helping the missionaries understand a little better what it really means. We can look first at the story of Laman and Lemuel, who in 1 ne. 3 become angry with Nephi and Sam and start beating them with a rod. An angel appears and instructs them that they need to repent, and go do the Lord's commands. In the 4th verse of chapter 4, we learn that Laman and Lemuel remain angry, but go anyways to fulfil the commands of the angel. What's interesting is that they were obedient, they performed the action with "exactness", maybe even "perfectly". However from later chapters we learn what they eventually did and became, in spite of that obedient act.

In Alma 53 we learn of the 2000 Stripling Warriors, and how they chose for their leader a spiritual man, the living prophet actually. In 57 we read how their exact obedience to his commands kept them protected and safe from their enemies, and was the key factor that won the battle. We can contrast the rest of their lives and the change that occured with the lives of Nephi's brothers, after critical points of exact obedience, and at first it's confusing, because both did what was expected, both fulfilled and the blessings followed (getting the brass plates, and winning the battle). They key though is that their hearts were different. And so Laman and Lemuel remained unchanged, while the stripling warriors continued faithful the rest of thier lives.

When we give ourselves to God and follow His chosen prophets "with exactness", and our hearts are right and we give willingly, that is when God can change us and make of us more than we could ever imagine. That's the difference in obedience, it's not whether or not we drink coke, or if we do or don't watch the game on Sunday. It's about our hearts, and the sacrifice we make to follow Him willingly, and then we get the blessings, and we're changed people.

I love the Gospel, I love being a missionary! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Damon Janis