This is a series part 1 of 3 of Pressing The Reset Button By Tony Mucci
As we start the new year of 2014, many of us are reflective on past rewards and regrets. We reminisce about days past, decipher the lessons learned, and complete the journey by daydreaming of what is to become of us. What does the future hold for all of us?
January is a magical month, filled with hope and excitement for the unknown. Is this going to be the big year for all of us, or for just a few? Will you land that new position at a company, or finally make the team? Maybe you are wondering if you are willing to get the courage up this year to ask that wonderful woman out that makes your heart race. Perhaps you are that woman, hoping he gets the courage up as well.
Life is a graceful tango between your actions and the Lord’s will. Pray like it’s up to the Lord, work like it’s up to you. This article will supply you with some tips on how you can do what is necessary so the Lord can say to you “I am bound when ye do what I say” (D&C 82:10).
Obedience
Lehi and his family sailing to the promise land (1 Nephi 18)
We have learned from the Holy Scriptures that obedience is the exchange of our wills for the Father’s will. The Lord has given all people on earth the gentle, yet powerful, gift of agency; which is the ability to choose either good or evil for ourselves. The Lord will allow us to make our own choices, even if those choices create chaos and condemnation upon our souls. He hopes and prays that we choose the right in all that we do. His hope doesn’t reside in the pride that we see today with men who aspire to have subordinates under them. Nor does He hope we choose the right for any other vain or selfish reasons.
The reality of His hope is founded firmly in the knowledge that if we do what He asks of us, then the blessings of Heaven may rain upon us so heavily “that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10). By being obedient to the ordinances and commands of God, we earn the right to have bestowed upon us those blessings that will help us achieve what is worthy in the sight of the Lord.
In the April 1985 General Conference, Elder Neil A. Maxwell, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time, spoke about being submissive to the Lord in the path of obedience. He states: “It is only by yielding to God that we can begin to realize His will for us. And if we truly trust God, why not yield to His loving omniscience? After all, He knows us and our possibilities much better than [we do]” (Maxwell).
Now perhaps you might be a bit skeptical to be obedient to laws that don’t make sense to you, or commandments that you feel shouldn’t apply. It’s ok if you feel this way; there is nothing wrong with feeling that. It is human nature to question all things. Only by this can we truly understand our surroundings and ourselves. It is what you do after you have these feelings that the Lord is concerned about. Will you simply not obey those commandments that you feel don’t pertain to you? Or will you do as Alma the Younger taught the poor and will “ye awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words and exercise a particle of faith…until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words” (Alma 32:27)?
Faith
faith is things, which are hoped for and not seen (Ether 12:6)
How does one exercise their faith? Moroni wrote that “faith is things, which are hoped for and not seen” (Ether 12:6). What kind of test would life be if you could simply see the ending? How enjoyable would a story be, if you knew the ending at the beginning? Faith enables us to believe in a light at the end of the tunnel, even if we can’t see the light for ourselves. Luckily, the Lord can see all the many wonderful lights at the end of our tunnels.
When we rely on His wisdom we don’t need to worry about the big picture. We only need to worry about the things that are in our grasps. As children of God, our responsibilities are that of a child; to take one step at a time and do our best not to fall. Like the loving Heavenly Father he is, He continues to guide our steps in the divine direction that will inevitably lead us back into His presence.
However, as we step a bit closer to perfection, we need to be mindful that strong faith comes by obedience. Obedience is the fuel of faith and the principles of the true gospel of Jesus Christ is our rudder, which leads our faith on the correct path in these tumultuous tides of sin and recklessness that is abundant in our present dispensation. Having faith in principles that are not adulterated by the precepts of man is the only way to perpetuate faith into even greater strides as we walk with the Savior.
As obedience is the fuel for faith, faith is the fuel for action.
Join me next week (Jan 18th 2014) for the second installment of Pressing the Reset Button: New Year, New Life.
Tony Mucci is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is originally from Los Angeles, California and currently resides in Orem, Utah. He is an entrepreneur for Eklect Enterprises and a student at Utah Valley University majoring in Software Engineering.
Tony has been a member of the church since 1991, and his parents were converts to the church in 1984. He served a full-time mission in the Colorado Denver North Mission from 2003-2005 where he earned multiple awards, including the Gold Award in the Gospel Scholarship Program. After his mission service, he has held different auxiliary positions in the church, from Nursery to Bishopric and is currently the Elder’s Quorum teacher in his local ward. Tony has been married to his wife Liz since 2009 and has two furry babies, Sophie and Saki.
