The Higher Law

President Nelson invited us in the most recent general conference to focus more on the temple and the covenants we make there. While clearly his message was that we should seek to be in the temple more often, he also said this, “Should distance, health challenges, or other constraints prohibit your temple attendance for a season, I invite you to set a regular time to rehearse in your mind the covenants you have made.” Some of those covenants that we make are briefly listed in the updated handbook. One of them is this: “Obey the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the higher law that He taught while He was on the earth.” The gospel is an overloaded word that is used in the Church to refer to multiple things. For example, we might use it as a general term to represent the sum total of all our beliefs. Or we might use it to refer specifically to first principles and ordinances—faith, repentance, baptism, etc. Here, though, the clarifying statement is that the law of the gospel is the “higher law” that was given by the Savior while on the earth. I believe that this is referring specifically to the truths that He taught in the Sermon on the Mount which we often describe as the higher law. So as we go to the temple and make covenants there, we are promising to seek to live according to the principles that the Savior taught in Matthew 5-7.     

              The term “higher law” is not actually used in the teachings of Matthew 5-7, but clearly the Savior was comparing what they were used to doing under the law of Moses with a higher way of life He encouraged the people to live in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, six times he used the phrase “it hath been said” or “it was said” followed by “but I say unto you” in order to contrast an old way of life with a higher way of living. For example, He said, “It was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment” (JST Matt. 5:21-22). We don’t just avoid murder; we rid ourselves of anger. We don’t only shun adultery but we also cast out all lustful thoughts. Instead of being true only to the words which we swear in oaths, we tell the truth at all times in all our communication. Instead of meting out just retribution for wrongs we show longsuffering in the face of opposition and “give to him that asketh” instead of seeking only justice for ourselves. Instead of loving only those who are like us, we seek to follow this higher way: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:21-44). In Matthew 6 the Savior continued showing this higher way of living by teaching that true religion is done in humility and sincerity before God, and is not to be used to be seen of men like some of the hypocrites of the day used it. Instead of doing alms to be praised by others, we are do them in secret to be seen only of God. Instead of praying to be heard and admired in the synagogues we are to do this: “Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Instead of fasting with disfigured faces so others praise us for our piety, we fast secretly for the Lord alone. Instead of seeking to lay up for ourselves treasures upon the earth, we are to seek to live this way: “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:1-18). So as we strive to keep the “law of the gospel” we must seek to live the higher way of life that the Savior outlined, purifying our thoughts and motivations and desires as we turn our hearts humbly over to Him and work to live even as He did in mortality.