Elder Neal A. Maxwell
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In pondering and pursuing consecration, understandably
we tremble inwardly at what may be required. Yet the Lord has said consolingly,
"My grace is sufficient for you" (D&C
17:8).
These remarks are addressed to the imperfect but still
striving in the household of faith. As always, my immediate audience is myself.
We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up,
when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration
is the yielding up of oneself to God. Heart, soul, and mind
were the encompassing words of Christ in describing the first commandment, which
is constantly, not periodically, operative (see Matt.
22:37). If kept, then our performances will, in turn, be fully consecrated
for the lasting welfare of our souls (see 2
Ne. 32:9).
Such totality involves the submissive converging of feelings,
thoughts, words, and deeds, the very opposite of estrangement: "For how knoweth
a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and
is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (Mosiah
5:13).
Many ignore consecration because it seems too abstract
or too daunting. The conscientious among us, however, experience divine discontent
because of progression mixed with procrastination. Hence, loving counsel is
given with the confirmation of this direction, encouragement to continue the
journey, and consolation as we experience individually the inherent degrees
of difficulty.
Spiritual submissiveness is not accomplished in an instant,
but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of stepping-stones.
Stepping-stones are meant to be taken one at a time anyway. Eventually our wills
can be "swallowed up in the will of the Father" as we are "willing to submit . . . even as a child doth submit to his father" (see Mosiah
15:7; 3:19).
Otherwise, though striving, we will continue to feel the world's prop wash and
be partially diverted.
Illustrations involving economic consecration are relevant.
When Ananias and Sapphira sold their possessions, they "kept back part of the
price" (see Acts
5:1–11). So many of us cling tenaciously to a particular "part," even treating
our obsessions like possessions. Thus, whatever else we may have already given,
the last portion is the hardest to yield. Granted, partial surrender is still
commendable, but it resembles, more than faintly, the excuse, "I gave at the
office" (see James
1:7–8).
We may, for instance, have a specific set of skills which
we mistakenly come to think we somehow own. If we continue to cling to those
more than to God, we are flinching in the face of the consecrating first commandment.
Since God lends us "breath . . . from one moment to another," hyperventilating
over these distractions is not recommended! (Mosiah
2:21).
A stumbling block appears when we serve God generously
with time and checkbooks but still withhold portions of our inner selves, signifying
that we are not yet fully His!
Some have difficulty when particular tasks enter their
sunset phase. John the Baptist is a model, however, saying of Jesus' growing
flock, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John
3:30). Mistakenly regarding our present assignments as the only indicator
of how much God loves us only adds to our reluctance to let go. Brothers and
sisters, our individual worth is already divinely established as "great"; it
does not fluctuate like the stock market.
Other stepping-stones remain unused because, like the
rich, righteous young man, we are not yet willing to confront what we yet lack
(see Mark
10:21). A residue of selfishness is thereby exposed.
Shrinking occurs in so many ways. The terrestrial kingdom,
for example, will include the "honorable," clearly not bearers of false witness.
Yet they were still "not valiant in the testimony of Jesus" (D&C
76:75, 79). The best way to valiantly testify of Jesus is to become steadily
more like Him, and it is that consecration that carves out the emulative character
(see 3
Ne. 27:27).
In meeting these recited challenges, spiritual submissiveness
is fortunately and helpfully adroit—sometimes helping us to "let go" of things,
even mortal life, other times to "hold fast," and still other times to use the
next stepping-stone (see 1
Ne. 8:30).
But if we lack proportion, the next few yards can seem
so formidable. Though aware of how God blessed ancient Israel to escape from
mighty Pharaoh and his hosts, myopic Laman and Lemuel still lacked faith in
God to help them with a mere local Laban.
We can also be deflected if we are too anxious to please
those who are ascendant in our professional and avocational niches. Pleasing
"other gods" instead of the real God still violates the first commandment (Ex.
20:3).
We sometimes even defend our idiosyncrasies, as if these
protrusions somehow constituted our individuality. In a way, discipleship is
a "contact sport," as the Prophet Joseph testified:
"I am like a huge, rough stone . . . and the only polishing
I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something
else, striking with accelerated force. . . . Thus I will become a smooth and
polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty" (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 304).
Since knees often bend long before minds, holding back
this "part" deprives God's work of some of mankind's very best intellects. Far
better to be meek like Moses, who learned things he "never had supposed" (Moses
1:10). Yet, sadly, brothers and sisters, in the subtle interplay of agency
and identity, there is so much hesitation. The surrender of the mind is actually
a victory, because it then introduces us to God's stretching and "higher" ways!
(see Isa.
55:9).
Ironically, inordinate attention, even to good things,
can diminish our devotion to God. For instance, one can be too caught up in
sports and the forms of body worship we see among us. One can reverence nature
and yet neglect nature's God. One can have an exclusionary regard for good music
and similarly with a worthy profession. In such circumstances, the "weightier
matters" are often omitted (Matt.
23:23; see also 1
Cor. 2:16). Only the Highest One can fully guide us as to the highest good
which you and I can do.
On the two great commandments, Jesus declared emphatically,
everything else hangs, not vice versa (see Matt.
22:40). The first commandment is not suspended just because of our vigorous
pursuit of a lesser good, for we do not worship a lesser god.
Before enjoying the harvests of righteous efforts, let
us therefore first acknowledge God's hand. Otherwise, the rationalizations appear,
and they include, "My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth"
(Deut.
8:17). Or, we "vaunt" ourselves, as ancient Israel would have done (except
for Gideon's deliberately small army), by boasting that "mine own hand hath
saved me" (Judg.
7:2). Touting our own "hand" makes it doubly hard to confess God's hand
in all things (see Alma
14:11; D&C
59:21).
At a place called Meribah, one of the greatest ever, Moses,
was fatigued by people clamoring for water. Momentarily, Moses "spake unadvisedly,"
saying, "Must we fetch you water?" (Ps.
106:33; Num.
20:10; see also Deut.
4:21). The Lord mentored remarkable Moses through the pronoun problem and
further magnified him. We would do well to be as meek as Moses (see Num.
12:3).
Jesus never, never, never lost His focus! Though He went
about doing so very much good, He always knew that the Atonement awaited, pleading
with perspective, "Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I
unto this hour" (John
12:27; see also 5:30;
6:38).
As you and I develop additional love, patience, and meekness,
the more we have to give God and humanity. Moreover, no one else is placed exactly
as we are in our opportune human orbits.
Granted, the stepping-stones take us into new territory
which we may be very reluctant to explore. Hence, the successful users of the
stepping-stones are powerful motivators for the rest of us. We usually pay more
attention to those we quietly admire. The hungry prodigal son remembered the
menus in his home, but he was also drawn by other memories, declaring, "I will
arise and go to my father" (Luke
15:18).
In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute
all we really have to give God anyway. The usual gifts and their derivatives
we give to Him could be stamped justifiably "Return to Sender," with a capital
S. Even when God receives this one gift in return, the fully faithful
will receive "all that [He] hath" (D&C
84:38). What an exchange rate!
Meanwhile, certain realities remain: God has given us
our lives, our agency, our talents, and our opportunities; He has given us our
possessions; He has given us our appointed mortal spans complete with the needed
breaths (see D&C
64:32). Guided by such perspective, we will avoid serious errors of proportion.
Some of these are far less amusing than would be hearing a double quartet and
mistaking it for the Tabernacle Choir!
No wonder President Hinckley has stressed our being a
covenant people, emphasizing the covenants of the sacrament, tithing, and the
temple, citing sacrifice as the "very essence of the Atonement" (Teachings
of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 147).
Breathtaking submissiveness was achieved by the Savior
as He faced the anguish and agonies of the Atonement and "would that [He] might
not drink the bitter cup, and shrink" (D&C
19:18). On our small, imperfect scale, we face tests and wish that these
would somehow be taken away.
Consider this: What of Jesus' ministry if He had performed
additional miracles but without the transcending miracle of Gethsemane and Calvary?
His other miracles brought blessed extensions of life and lessened suffering—for
some. But how could these miracles possibly compare with the greatest miracle
of the universal Resurrection? (see 1
Cor. 15:22). The multiplying of the loaves and fishes fed a hungry multitude.
Even so, recipients were soon hungry again, while those who partake of the Bread
of Life will never hunger again (see John
6:51, 58).
In pondering and pursuing consecration, understandably
we tremble inwardly at what may be required. Yet the Lord has said consolingly,
"My grace is sufficient for you" (D&C
17:8). Do we really believe Him? He has also promised to make weak things
strong (see Ether
12:27). Are we really willing to submit to that process? Yet if we desire
fulness, we cannot hold back part!
Having our wills increasingly swallowed up by the will
of the Father actually means an enhanced individuality, stretched and more capable
of receiving "all that [God] hath" (D&C
84:38). Besides, how could we be entrusted with His "all" until our wills
are much more like His? Nor could His "all" be fully appreciated by the partially
committed.
Frankly, it is our prospective selves we betray by holding
back whatever the "part." No need therefore to ask, "Lord, is it I?" (Matt.
26:22). Rather, let us inquire about our individual stumbling blocks, "Lord,
is it this?" We may have known the answer for a long time and may need resolve
more than His response.
The greatest happiness in God's generous plan is finally
reserved for those who are willing to stretch and to pay the costs of journeying
to His regal realm. Brothers and sisters, "come, let us anew [this] journey
pursue" ("Come, Let Us Anew," Hymns, no. 217).
In the name of the Lord of the outstretched arm (see D&C
103:17; 136:22),
even Jesus Christ, amen.
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