Sunday Lesson #35- Obedience

Taught by Mary L.


"No Commandment Is Too Small or Too Great to Obey"

     Sometimes we may think a commandment is not very important. The scriptures tell of a man named Naaman who thought that way. Naaman had a dreadful disease and traveled from Syria to Israel to ask the prophet Elisha to heal him. 

     Naaman was an important man in his own country, so he was offended when Elisha did not greet him in person but sent his servant instead.Naaman was even more offended when he received Elisha’s message: wash seven times in the river Jordan. 

     “Are not [the] rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?” he demanded. He went away in a rage. But his servants asked him: “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” 

     Naaman was wise enough to understand that it was important to obey the prophet of God, even if it seemed a small matter. So he washed in the Jordan and was healed. (See 2 Kings 5:1–14.)

 How can we liken this to our lives? When have we been a Naaman?

We too should be willing to do anything God requires. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 160). This can be our rule also.

Jesus Christ Obeyed His Father

    Jesus Christ was the sublime example of obedience to our Heavenly Father. He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). His whole life was  devoted to obeying His Father; yet it was not always easy for him. 

     He was tempted in all ways as other mortals (see Hebrews 4:15). In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

    Because Jesus obeyed the Father’s will in all things, He made salvation possible for all of us.

    The Lord counsels us, “If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7).