Of Rams and Oil

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Of Rams and Oil

Tonight I would like to speak to you of “thousands of rams and 10,000 rivers of oil.”  

First, though, I would like to start by discussing Heavenly Father’s plan from its basic, most fundamental understanding.  

The Lord has declared his own mission statement in the first chapter of Moses 1 where he declares:

“For behold, this is my work and glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Similarly, we have a vision statement as well,  set forth by our North American Central Area Presidency:

“With faith in Jesus Christ, we joyfully walk the covenant path that leads to life eternal, inviting all God’s children to join us in the journey.”

Our leaders have outlined priorities and goals which consist of

·       Member missionary work

·       Temple and family history work

·       Ministering one by one

·       Sabbath Day observance

On top of these responsibilities we are now asked by our prophet to engage in home-centered, church supported, gospel learning.  More and more responsibility is being squarely placed on our shoulders.  It can be frankly overwhelming.  We are asked to not only save ourselves and our families but also all of our brothers and sisters, those who have made sacred covenants in the church and those who have not-on both sides of the veil.  Have you ever felt the Lord’s expectations of us to assist him in his work as a burden on your shoulders?

To add yet another layer, not only do we help the Lord do his work He has declared that we have our own work to do as well.  

“Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength” (D&C 11:20).

Of these commandments, the most daunting one of all is given by the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount,

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48).

At a recent Stake Council meeting we discussed the layers of burden that we carry as we strive to juggle demands from taking care of our families, of our duties at work, fulfilling our callings at church and somehow finding time to care for ourselves.  We have all felt overwhelmed at times.  This brings me to the title of my talk. In the Old Testament the Prophet Micah asks:

“Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He is referencing the sacrifices offered at the temple to access the atonement.  In our day we may ask, will the Lord be pleased with 5,000 batches of cookies, 3,000 meals, the folding up of 30,000 metal chairs and thousands of lessons to prepare?

Of such tasks, Elder Bednar in this session of conference warned:

“We must be careful because Pharisaical focus on checklists can divert us from drawing closer to the Lord.  The purpose and purification, the happiness and joy and the continuing conversion and protection that come from yielding our hearts unto God and receiving his image in our countenances cannot be obtained merely by performing and checking off all the spiritual things that we are supposed to do” (Oct Conf 2018).

How then do we go forward with confidence and not with trepidation, with strength, not weakness? The apostle Paul provides the way simply and succinctly when he testified”

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

To take that a step further, I would like to revisit Christ’s command to be perfect.  When he visited the nephites he gave the same address to them that he gave to the Israelites.  There were slight variations this time around and it reads”

“Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48).

He is not asking us to do this on our own.  He is telling us it is his will that it be so.  This principle is also described in the closing chapter of the Book of Mormon, the parting words of the prophet Moroni speaking directly to us in our day.

“Come unto Christ and be perfected in him and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love god with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32-33).

We are not asked to be perfect.  We are asked to come unto Christ and be perfected in him.  None of us has sunk so low that when combined with his infinite goodness, we cannot be made perfect in him.  If we allow it, He takes each of us where we are and makes us whole, not because he is satisfied with our current state but because he knows what we can become with his help.  

As some of you know, my hobby is wood carving.  

This block of wood comes from a holly tree.  It is not much to look at in this form but when I start a carving I don’t start until I can carry in my mind an image of what I want it to become.  Likewise, the Savior knows our divine potential because he is our divine potential.  

So how do we come unto Christ and let him do his work?  We do so by being obedient.  Obedience unlocks the ability of the Lord to bless us and allows his grace to fully function in our lives.  In our busy, hectic lives, if we will but listen to the voice of the spirit, it is the “small and simple things” that he asks us to do that bring about the greatest blessings. Consider these examples from the scriptures where a simple request from Jesus lead to miraculous manifestations of his power.

To the fisherman on the shores of Galilee he called out, “cast the net on the right side of the ship” (John 21:6).  They obeyed and their nets were filled.  From this came the call to the original twelve apostles to carry his gospel to all the world.

To the woman at the well he simply asked, “give me to drink” (John 4:7).  She did and was given to understand his role as the promised Messiah.  She gladly testified of him to those in the town and multitudes were brought to be taught at the feet of Jesus.

Faced with the enormous task of feeding 4,000 hungry followers, Jesus simply instructed his apostles, “make the men sit down” (John 6:10).  They obeyed and witnessed the miracle of the never failing loaves of bread given from him who is the bread of life.

At the end of the Lord’s life, Jesus turned to his chief apostles, Peter, James and John and asked them to “tarry ye here and watch with me” (Matthew 26:37).  Their spirits were willing but their flesh was weak.  They slept while nearby Jesus became the Savior of the world, having entered the Garden of Gethsemane and enduring the atonement for each one of us.  

Days later, now a resurrected being, he appeared to the Nephites gathered at the temple in Bountiful.  He descended from heaven, spread forth his hands and asked the people to “arise and come forth unto me” (3 Nephi 11:14).  Each one of them were able to feel with their hands and testify with their hearts that they were ministered unto by the King of Kings.  

These same people were instructed by the Lord himself.  As he finished what must have been the greatest Sunday School lesson ever taught he commanded them, “Go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said” (3 Nephi 17:3).  Before leaving he healed their sick and kneeling with them in prayer, gathered their little children together and blessed them one by one.  They were encircled and ministered unto by angels.  So great was their experience with the Savior that their civilization lived in peace for over 200 years.  

Is this not the same request made of us from our living prophet?  After worshipping at church for two hours we are asked to go unto our homes and ponder together the things which we have learned.  “Come follow me,” (the gospel home study manual) the Savior asks.  As we kneel together in prayer, Jesus himself will be with us.  He will bind our broken hearts and touch the lives of our children.  We will be both ministered unto and be ministers to our fellow brothers and sisters, one by one.  

Remember that it was at the temple where the nephites experienced this singular event.  We, too, must make the temple the focal point of our worship which will center us on Christ, bring holiness to our homes and bind together our families.  

As we ponder how best to feed our families the word of God, remember that Nephi went to the top of the mountain, the scriptural equivalent to the temple, to know how to obtain food for his family (1 Nephi 16).  As he sought the Lord’s direction in how to take them to the promised land he was told, “Arise, and get thee into the mountain” (1 Nephi 17:7).  He did not build a ship after the manner of men but he did so after “the manner which the Lord had shown unto [him]” (1 Nephi 18:2). “And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (verse 3).

If we are to reach our promised land, we must let the Lord work on us.  He will mold us as the master carver, one cut, one slice, one chip at a time.  He will give unto us line upon line, precept upon precept.  President Nelson warned that “It will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost” (Pres. Russell M. Nelson, Apr Conf 2018).

So what is my next step on this path with the Savior?  Going back to Micah, it is not his thousands of rams and 10,000 rivers of oil that is required, but to “walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8).  

“Come unto me,” Jesus implores, “all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).

I bear testimony that as we choose to come unto Jesus he will make our weaknesses strengths (Ether 12:27), our whole bodies will be filled with light (D&C 88:67) and his image will be in our countenance (Alma 5:14).  We will see him as he is for we will be like him (Moroni 7:47).  

We live in the glorious dispensation of the fullness of times which has been prophesied from ancient days.  We are blessed to be instruments in the hand of the Lord to prepare the world for his Second Coming.  Nephi saw our very day in vision and recorded:

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).

We are the saints of the Church of Jesus Christ.  If we act in obedience, He will arm us with righteousness and power.  I testify that He lives and knows and loves each one of us.