Conformity and Consecration

A good friend of mine pointed me to a conference talk by Elder Maxwell from 1992 called Settle This in Your Hearts.  The title for his talk comes from a verse in the New Testament in the JST.  After telling His disciples that they would need to “bear his cross” and follow Him, He said, “Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you” (JST Luke 14:28).  After quoting this scripture Elder Maxwell commented, “More members need the immense relief and peace which can come from being ‘settled’ without which those individuals will be like ‘the troubled sea, when it cannot rest.’”  When we truly understand the gospel and have gained the witness of the Spirit and decided that we will follow Him, we don’t have to continually wonder whether the path we are on is the right one or whether we should obey this or that principle.  When we have become settled in our hearts then we can, even in this life, “enter into the rest of the Lord” (Moroni 7:3).  President Joseph F. Smith gave this explanation about entering into His rest: “It means that through the love of God I have been won over to Him, so that I can feel at rest in Christ, that I may no more be disturbed by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning and craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; and that I am established in the knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ, so that no power can turn me aside from the straight and narrow path that leads back into the presence of God, to enjoy exaltation in His glorious kingdom; that from this time henceforth I shall enjoy that rest until I shall rest with Him in the heavens” (see here).  Elder Maxwell suggested in his talk that being thus “settled” in our hearts and finding this rest relates to two principles: conformity and consecration. 

                As we become settled as to our commitment to the gospel, we will naturally want to conform our lives to its teachings.  Conformity of course has a negative connotation in our day in which we celebrate diversity to an extreme.  And yet, in some respect, conformity to certain things is a requirement of the gospel.  The world will tell us to “do what you want” and not be “blindly obedient” in following our leaders, and yet we know that such conformity to the teachings of God’s servants is exactly what will protect us in this day.  I love the scriptural example that Elder Maxwell gave: “Remember how, with Pharaoh’s angry army in hot pursuit, ancient Israel aligned themselves with the Lord’s instructions?  Moses stretched forth his hand and the Red Sea parted. With towering walls of water on each side, Israel walked through the narrow passage obediently, and no doubt quickly! There were no warnings about conforming on that day!”  In other words, with Pharoah’s army behind them none of the children of Israel refused to follow Moses across the sea because they didn’t want to “conform” or lose their individuality.  Elder Maxwell suggested that “there are passages ahead which will require similar obedience for us” as the prophets of our day lead us.  The world will surely continue with its increasingly loud voice telling us that we must not conform to the “outdated” principles of the gospel, and yet we trust that only through such conformity to the teachings of modern prophets can we have the fulfillment of this promise from the Lord in the difficult days ahead of us: “For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (D&C 21:6).
                The second principle that Elder Maxwell talked about in relation to being settled in our hearts was consecration.  He remarked that “unfortunately, we tend to think of consecration only in terms of property and money.”  I think we sometimes make the false claim that we no longer live the law of consecration today because early efforts in the Church at monetary consecration like the United Order have been done away with.  And yet as Elder McConkie said, “We are under covenant to live the law of consecration” even today.  That may not mean for now that we have to give all of our physical property to the Church, but it does mean that we must give “of our time, talents, and means to build up his kingdom” (see here).  Elder Maxwell suggested that “increased consecration is not so much a demand for more hours of Church work as it is for more awareness of Whose work this really is!  For now, consecration may not require giving up worldly possessions so much as being less possessed by them.”  Consecration is about giving our heart to God, something that can be far more difficult than giving up physical things.  But as we become “settled” in our hearts that His way is the life we have chosen, then consecrating that heart is far easier.

                The Old Testament speaks about those who are “settled on their lees,” a phrase that suggests being complacent about our lives and relationship to God (Zephaniah 1:12).  We have the choice, I think, between that kind of attitude and being settled in our conviction to live the gospel.  More and more the world is advocating the former position.  With sin itself losing its meaning altogether, many sit in the great and spacious building “settled on their lees” and scoff at the thought that their actions might displease some Diving Being.  Our task as Latter-day Saints, though, is to become more and more settled in our hearts to follow Jesus Christ, conform to His standards, and consecrate all that we are to Him.