I was recently asked to teach a lesson in church based on an article by Henry B. Eyring. It was about the law of tithing, but taught important principles that I think apply to following any of God’s commandments. President Eyring stated, "…paying a full tithe in this life prepares us to feel what we need to feel to receive the gift of eternal life.” I think the same could be said of many other commandments, obedience to them isn’t an end unto itself, but prepares us to feel what we need to feel to receive eternal life. I thought this was an interesting statement because we often hear discussion about what we need to be or do, but rarely do we hear about what we need to feel. President Eyring didn’t teach any groundbreaking doctrine, but clearly expressed in a few words the process of conversion. In my personal experience, I have often made commitments to obey commandments before I truly felt what I needed to feel. I paid tithing because I was asked to before I learned to want to pay it even if no one asked. I followed many other commandments for the wrong reasons until I learned to want to follow them for the right reasons.
Christians have discussed and debated for centuries about works and grace, deeds and faith. While some believe our actions are inconsequential and belief is the only qualification for eternal life, some place more emphasis on the teaching in James 2:17, that, “faith, if it hath not works, is dead.” However, I think President Eyring’s statement clarifies the interdependent relationship between being and doing, believing and acting. It is in doing what God asks that we become who we should be. It is in action that we learn to believe. It is through obedience that we begin to feel what we need to feel. Faith, hope, and love are the eternal ends – obedience to the commandments are the divinely appointed means.
While I recognize that some people may have the right feelings before they take the right actions, I am not that good of a person. Perhaps some people could have faith without action, but I think the Bible makes it clear that this is difficult at best. It seems arrogant to me to think I could have the faith necessary for eternal life without putting forth some effort. I know my effort will fall drastically short and that I am completely reliant on the grace and mercy of Christ; but I also believe that nothing short of a full commitment to follow Christ in word and deed will teach me to feel what I need to feel – faith. Perhaps I feel that way because faith has been difficult for me to develop, and while I recognize that some people come by it more easily, I find it difficult to believe that such a precious gift doesn’t require diligence to attain. While I don’t believe that any diligence or deeds, no matter how great, small, many or few, will qualify me for eternal life, I do believe that constant and diligent effort will strengthen my faith and relationship with God. It is Christ’s atonement that qualifies us to live with God, our faith that qualifies us to partake of the healing power of the Atonement, and our commitment to obedience that teaches us how to have that faith. And so it is not out of a desire to earn salvation or be more righteous that I strive to follow God’s commandments, but with the humble hope that I will feel what I need to feel to receive the gift of eternal life.
