Convert the Law

Sherem’s accusation against Jacob was that he led the people to “pervert the right way of God” because of his teachings of Christ.  Sherem wanted him to focus on the law of Moses “which is the right way,” instead of focusing on the coming of Christ.  In Sherem’s words, Jacob did “convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence” (Jacob 7:7).  That accusation, I think, is an invitation for us in our day to do as Jacob did.  We should see the commandments that we are given as actions that point us to Christ, not as an end in and of themselves.  Of course we do not have the law of Moses anymore, but there are many commandments that we are invited to follow, and it can be easy to lose sight of the real purpose of those commandments.  We should see the requirements of the gospel not as items to be checked off of a list, but as pointers to Christ.  

                I believe that the standard commandments that we speak of in the Church are all meant to lead us to Christ, and we like Jacob should “convert” them “into the worship” of Christ.  Christ said, “All things are created and made to bear record of me” and I think this includes the specific, temporal instructions that we receive as members of the Church.  One example is that of tithing.  We can see this commandment as simply a burdensome physical requirement with no real meaning, or we view it as the Lord intended it to be seen.  We are told that by this law we can “sanctify the law of Zion” (D&C 119:6).  Sanctification is how the Lord cleanses us through His atonement; as we pay our tithing we are then opening up ourselves to receive the cleansing and sanctification from the Savior.  The Word of Wisdom is another example.  It can be seen in a completely temporal way or we can understand that the real reason for following it is to gain “great treasures of knowledge” (D&C 89:19).  We abstain from things that are harmful to our physical body in large measure so that we can receive revelation from the Savior.  When we really understand and believe that principle, then keeping the Word of Wisdom becomes much more than a list of Don’ts but a means for communicating with the Lord.  Fasting is another temporal commandment that is really meant to point us to the Savior: we fast so that when we “call” then “the Lord shall answer” and so that “the Lord shall guide [us] continually” (Isaiah 58:9, 11).  But if we don’t see that then it merely becomes a means of making us hungry. 

                For the Nephites “the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ” (Alma 25:16).  Nephi put it this way, “My soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4).  If indeed all things are given of God to give witness to Him, then surely the commandments that we strive to keep in the Church today should be like the law of Moses to us: not the means of salvation but reminders of the Savior, His atonement, and our complete dependence on Him.  We, like Jacob, should convert the law into a witness of the Savior.