Intentional Obedience

(upbeat music) One of life favorite quotes comes from Ezra Tap Benson. In April conference, 1988, he stated, "The Great Test of Life is Obedience to God." I love this quote for a couple of reasons. One, it is short and to the point. Two, it comes from the prophet of my teen years or my childhood and the reek. 1988, I was a teen. And if ever there was a time in my life that I needed to understand the concept of obedience, it was sophomore junior year. That blend was a time for me to really learn about what it means to be obedient to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Obedience, if defined by our friends in the 1828 dictionary, means submission to another's authority or yielding to something. I love this concept of yielding because it means that as an individual, we have a different direction that we want to go, but if you remember yield means to do what? Give why. We are going to give why to a different direction or a different opinion or a different idea. And I have learned that obedience often is yielding to the authority, the opinion or an idea of someone else. Let me give you an example. I had a very life-changing lesson on obedience at a very young age. One of my favorite things to do in the late fall, evenings with my father, when I was in elementary school, was to go out and mobile alone with him. We had a very large lawn that with writing lawnmower would take about two hours to mull. And I didn't often, particularly in the fall, get to spend a lot of time with my father because of potato harvest, grain harvest, all the harvest. And he would work very long hours during that time of the year. Subsequently, lawn night was one of my favorite nights because it meant my dad was going to be home at an earlier time and that I would get to spend some time with him outside in the wonderful fall weather. On one particular August afternoon, really in the harvest season, my father was home mulling the lawn. And after dinner, I'd gone outside to help him as a six-year-old would. The way that I was helping my father that evening was writing in the grass catcher that was being pulled behind the writing lawnmower. I jumped in and out of that grass catcher. I don't even know how many times. And enjoyed helping my dad and running through the lawn and jumping on the trampoline and surveying all that was taking place. About 30 minutes or so into this two hour endeavor, my mother came outside and said, "Candace, it's time for you to go to bed." And I did what any six-year-old would do in that moment. And I said, "Oh, mom, come on, I don't want to." And I kind of wind and moaned and whatever. And she shook her head and walked back into the house. She'd asked me and told me what needed to happen. And I simply did not comply. About 20 minutes later and probably a half a dozen jumps in and out of the grass catcher. My mother came back out a second time and said, "Candace, I really need you to come into the house now. It's a school night." And because you've been in and out of the grass, you now need to take a bath. We need to get you ready for bed. To which, like a typical six-year-old and first grade, I responded, "Mom, I want to stay outside with her." And she shook her head and said, "Candace, you need to come in." And she walked into the house assuming that her six-year-old would follow. There is a large parallel in this week's reading. In fact, there are multiple parallels in this week's reading to my experience in the lawn and mowing with my dad and what transpires here in the book of Moses. Let me show you what I'm talking about. In Moses, chapter eight, in verse number 15, we learn this about the people. Now, to provide some context, we have reached the era of Noah, when I'm in our Noah period. And here in Moses eight, verse number 15, we learn this. And the Lord said unto Noah, the daughters of thy sons have sold themselves. For behold, mine anger is kindled against the sons of men for they will not harken to my voice. To pretty straightforward assessment of what's happening to the people in this time, they are not harkening to the voice of the Lord. Now, let us also recall that this is just after the time when people have literally what? With God, you have Noah's great-great-great-grandfather, right? That's Adam. And then you have Seth and then you have, and these are all overlapping individuals, particularly because of how long people live. So here we find, wait, they are not harkening. And I love this other concepts. The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves. The concept I am intrigued by in this verse is the idea of sold themselves. Friends, sometimes we sell ourselves to things of the world. We give what we want most for what we think we want right now. I'm gonna say that again. We sell ourselves by giving up what we want most. Those long-term goals by what's placed in front of us right now. So Noah, knowing that this is what is going on, he says this. I love this, verses 16 and 17. And it came to pass that Noah prophesied and taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning. So he's teaching what Adam, Seth, the boys have all learned from a hand of God. Handed down. Verse 17, "And the Lord said in Tenoa, "My spirit shall not always strive with men, "for he shall know that all flesh shall die, "yet this but yet his day shall be and 120 years, "and if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them." Full concept here. How long did Noah get to prophesy and call people to repentance before the Lord flooded the land? I think this is a piece we don't often think about 'cause oh, the Lord got upset, Noah builds your ark and I'm gonna flood it. But did you catch the time frame in there? He says I'm gonna do what? Yet his day shall be 120 years. And if men do not repent, I'll send a flood. So for 120 years, Noah cries repentance. Now, if you were given 120 years to repent, do you think you could get it not? I would hold and I could get it done in that time frame. The guy really hope I'm getting it done right now in real time. Well, my mother had come out twice. To make it worse, she came out a third time and she said, "Candace, "you need to come into the house now "and by now I will own the sun was setting. "On this beautiful fall evening, "she then said, "you're in your school clothes. "You are dirty. "We had very strict rules at my house growing up. "You had school clothes and play clothes "and nairs should the two intersect. "When you get home from school, "take off your school clothes "and put on your play clothes. "But that happened to be picture day. "And I loved the outfit I was wearing in my hair "was in two really cute pigtails "and I had green ribbons to go with the green color "on my white shirt that had circus animals all over them. "It was a green ringer T-T-shirt, matching green pants, "green socks, my favorite leather shoes "that I'd gotten for school, they were so cold. "And that's when I was dressed in. "And my mother was upset." And rightfully so, because for the third time she had come out and said, "Candace, it is time. "Come into the house now." So Noah goes out for 120 years. And this is how the people respond, verse 18. And in those days, there were giants on the earth and they sought Noah to take away his life. But the Lord was with Noah and the power of the Lord was upon him. And the Lord ordained Noah after his own order and commanded him that he should go forth and declare his gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given to Enic. Now Enic's children, and his city did so well that they what? Well, we talked about this. Last week, they created Zion people. So Noah goes out and he calls upon the children of men that they should repent, they harkened. not to his word. Last sentence of verse 21, and they harken not, Antenua. In case we missed it, the end of verse number 24. They harken not. Wasn't they're not harkening to? 23, 24, and it came to pass that Noah continued his preaching. My mom continued to come outside. And the people saying harken and give heat into my word believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost that ye may have all things made manifest. And if you do not this, the floods will come in upon you. Nevertheless, they harken not. So if they would have harkened, everything's good, but they harkened not, so they're going to get the flood. Which makes me ask, am I harkening now? Or in one way, do I need to fine tune my spiritual hearing? Well, you know the drill here with Noah. You know what's going to happen. There's a flood. The ark is built. Animals come. How that works? I don't know. His family enters and it rains. Now, what's interesting to contemplate? And we don't have a really clear record. At least I couldn't find one that I felt confident sharing. But this potentially is the first time it actually rained. Because if you remember, there was a mist that came up. When Adam was in the Garden of Eden and the biosphere was different. Because we didn't have all of the pollution and all the things. It was a brand new earth. And so depending on which scholars you ask, some say, "Yeah, people understood rain." Some say, "No, where's the water even going to come from? How is the Lord going to flood it?" And so some argue that when it started to rain, that really freaked people out because all of a sudden water's falling from the sky. And they don't understand that concept. Again, which is it? Don't know. But either way, what matters is it rained. And it rained. And it rained. And it rained. And why did it rain? Well, because of what we learn in Genesis. See, if we pop back over into Genesis, chapter 6. We learned this about our friend Noah, his family, and the people. In chapter 6, verses 11 through 13, we read this. The earth also was corrupt before God. And the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth and behold, it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them and behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Why is it being destroyed? Well, because it is corrupt and it's filled with violence to the point everyone, except for Noah's little tiny cluster of family, is choosing not to listen to the Word of God. It's this little tiny family. And so the rain comes, and the flood comes, and the ark, and all the things. And I know some of you are sitting back going, "Okay, Candace, we do know what happened to Noah, but what happened to you?" Well, that night my mom came out that third time, a little bit bothered, and rightfully so, called me in. And instead of going in, I said to my dad, "I want to stay with you and he was trying to support my mom," and he said, "Look, let's just do one more thing. Why don't you go get my hat out of my truck and bring it to me?" So I ran over to the pickup, and I got my dad's hat, and I ran over to the mower. I don't remember this detail of the story, surprise him, I remember all these other details, but this. My dad said something to me. Don't know what it was. Whatever it was though, it made my six-year-old body so excited. And any of you that have been around a six-year-old recently know that when they are excited, they often jump up and down. It is a natural response for a six-year-old to jump. And so I did exactly that. I went to hand my dad his baseball hat, and he said it, "I got excited. I jumped up and down, and in the process of jumping up and down, I landed on the blade guard of our riding lawnmower, fell backwards into the lawn, and both of my feet went under." And the blade was running. My father accidentally ran over me with a riding lawnmower. Well, the next few minutes, all may happen, soos, as my father tries to kill the mower, scoops me up out of the grass, and I remember him yelling, "Our daughter, our daughter, I've killed our daughter." As he carries me into the house, with blood shooting out of my leg, my mother doing the dishes with my brother just older than me, turns around and tells him he's gonna go back out. They need to get in a pickup. They need to drive me to the hospital. And the evening was changed dramatically. As we would go to the local hospital there in Blackfoot, get sent to the next hospital in Idaho Falls, and begin a series of surgeries to try to figure out what really has happened to my feet. There is universal application for all of us inside of these two stories. You see, there are everyday laws that are at play, and these laws are given to us by God, and God Himself keeps these laws. Let me show you what I mean. In Doctrine and Covenant section 130, verses 20 and 21, read this. Now, I could recite it, but I want to make sure that, occasionally in this award or two in this one, so I want to make sure that I read it correctly. Doctrine and Covenant's 130, 20 and 21. There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated. One way obtained any blessing from God, it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated. We're going to learn more time. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. Or, in other words, blessings are given based on obedience. Elder Barlow in October conference 2025 taught it this way, quote, "Another way we show our love for Heavenly Father and His beloved Son is to choose to obey them," close quote. That's Slay, straightforward. That's a lamb band, thank you, ma'am. Let me read it again. Quote, "Another way we show our love for Heavenly Father and His beloved Son is to choose to obey them," close quote. So, if we truly love God, what do we do? We obey. But what's awesome about this is when we obey, what happens? Well, blessings come. Why, 8210? Dr. Uncovenants, 8210 says, "I the Lord and bound when you do what I say." But when you do not, what I say, you have no promise. So here's Noah going out saying, "Repent, and it's all good." Harkened to the Word of God, it's all good. Repent, be baptized. Repent, be baptized. And what do they do? I don't mean to harken. I just want to be violent. Just want to be corrupted. Think about it. Modern day prophets are saying why? He was prepared, she'll not fear. Well, what does it mean to be prepared? Well, I got to be doing my spiritual workouts. And if I'm paying attention, if I'm aligned with the brethren, paying attention, focusing on what they're doing, obeying, that's all good. Why? Well, because it shows that I love God. Or in other words, the Savior taught in John 14, 15, "If you love me, keep my commandments." One more time, if you love me, keep my commandments. So one of the ways I know that my kids love me is when they give me hugs. One of the ways that I know that my kids love me is they sometimes say, "I love you." I love you, Mom. Kaisley, my kids will walk in, give me a kiss on the temple. Or sometimes I'll come home and somebody spontaneously emptied the dishwasher that just delights me. Or when I ask them to do something and they do it. First family rule is quickly I obey. That's our family rule, quickly I obey. Our second family rule is no crazies. Our third family rule is let's have fun. I stole those from one of my older brothers' families. I loved them. Quickly I obey. Let's have fun. No grace. The Lord says what? If you love me, don't keep my commandments. Quickly you obey. So one pivotal question that you need to ask that I need to ask, because we look at Noah's narrative is this. Do I really love God? And if my answer to that is yes, do I speak his love language? Now think about that. In modern psychology, we talk about love languages, for example. Some people's love languages touch. Some people's love language is affirmation. Some people's love language is quality-time. Some people's love language is gifts. Some people's love language are acts of service. What is God's love language? Obedience. His love language, the way he hears that we love him, is not necessarily by what we say, but definitely it is by what we do. Action speak louder to the Lord. Why? Because his love language is obedience. So if you love him, are you speaking his love language? Are you truly speaking it? So elder Barlow, he pushes this a step further, and he says this quote, "This kind of obedience is neither blind nor compulsory, but is a sincere and willing expression of love. Father in heaven wants us to want to be obedient." Sister Tamara W. Runia called this affectionate obedience. She said, "Even though we don't have perfect obedience yet, we try affectionate obedience now, choosing to stay again and again because we love him." "Hav only father gave us agency to inspire us to want to choose him. His work and glory is not only to bring to pass our eternal light, but also includes a hope that our greatest desire is to return to him." However, he will never force us to obey close quote. So if we pick that apart, what are we saying? We're saying, speaking God's love language is not blind obedience. It's because we desire or want to be obedient. Sister Runia explains it inside of that as or calls it affectionate obedience. We choose now, we choose the Savior to show him that we love him because we love him we're trying to be obedient. We're going to get it wrong. That's why we have the Atonement of Christ. And then our friend Elder Barlow says, "What?" Well, he says, "God will never force us to obey." But he's also not going to alleviate for you and I the consequences of our choices. Noah prophesied repentance and baptism for 120 years prior to the flood. Talk about a series of second chances. My mother came out three different times exhorting me to come into the house. Had I gone into the house? I would not have been run over the Lamura, which means I would not have lost all feeling in the bottom of my foot, which means I would not have lost part of my heel bone, which means that my feet would be the same size, not a full size different, which means that I could go on and on to these consequences of life lasting. You give her an over by the Lamura kind of? Change it up a little bit for you. When you and I choose not to speak God's love language, it changes us also. Just like when we choose to be obedient, it can change us. So friends, we gotta go and do some things here. Like, we can spend more time talking about Noah and the dove. And we can spend more time talking about Noah and the rainbow and the promise that the Lord will not flood the earth again. But instead, think that we need to give ourselves a call to action now. And that call to action is, what are ways that we can more obediently show our love to God? That's what we need to go and do. We need to go and speak God's love language and what is his love language? His love language is obedience. For example, if we look at calls to action in general conference from just October, Sunday sessions, we were called to take upon us the name of Christ. We were called to look to God first. We were called to gain a testimony of living prophets. We were called to cultivate joy and gratitude. Now, if you'd like to know other things that we were called to do, all you have to do is go ask Chats GPT because that's what I did. Said Chats GPT. What calls to action were given in October general conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it spit out a multiplicity of them. So what I've shared her, just a few. So friends, will you go and show your love in this love mongue by being intentionally obedient? See later this week is Valentine's Day. Some of you have celebrated a Valentine's Day. Some of you are celebrating single awareness. Some of you call it the Black Day of the Year. In my family, it's a birthday. I have a brother whose birthday it is. I have a son whose birthday it is. In this month where we seem to focus more on love, may you go and speak God's love language of obedience. I have a testimony that when I obey God, life is better. I am blessed and I find joy. That's what's waiting for you. I love you. Let's go and do. Take care. The Go-and-Do podcast is created by me, Candice Shoeb, and edited and produced by Cammy Fisher. We'd absolutely love it if you would take the time to follow us where you listen to your podcasts, along with download. And if you like what you're listening to, please leave us a review. We also invite you to follow us on Instagram @GoAndDoPodcast. And if you want to talk to me personally, feel free to email the Go-and-Do podcast at gmail.com. Remember friends, to have a good time, don't be a good time. Let's go and do.