Sabbathought: Our first priority

In a funeral sermon for his close friend Ephraim Marks in April 1842, the Prophet, even though he felt the occasion was "a very solemn and awful time", so filled with grief was he, taught, "Our affections should be placed upon God and His work, more intensely than upon our fellow beings" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 215--6).

Truly this counsel echoes the first and great commandment, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, might, mind, strength, and soul. The second is like unto it, but it is a serious oversight to get the order of these two great commandments mixed up.

When Elder Boyd K. Packer was called by Harold B. Lee to head up the work of the Church Educational System in the early 1960s, he was counseled by Elder Lee to be sure he faced the Presiding Brethren and the Lord, not the teachers, students, and administrators in the system. This is an illustration of the same principle the Prophet Joseph was urging.

What then is the work of God upon which we are to place our affections and energies? We are all clear that "this is my work and my glory," as the Lord said to Moses, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

How do we make sure our work in the kingdom is consistent with and supportive of this grand purpose and objective? The scriptures make clear that "it must needs be done in mine own way" (Doctrine and Covenants 104:16), "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).

How do we ensure we conform to the Lord's ways of doing His work? Remember what Paul taught, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14), and "natural man" is the default condition of all mankind from day to day unless we consciously seek the Spirit of God daily.

Therefore, the only answer to these compelling questions is revelation, personal revelation to our spirits through the Holy Spirit. Consider with me the wisdom of these words from the LDS Bible Dictionary on "Revelation" (page 762): "Divine revelation is one of the grandest concepts and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for without it, man could not know of the things of God and could not be saved with any degree of salvation in the eternities. . . . The principle of gaining knowledge by revelation is the principle of salvation. . . . 'The Holy Ghost is a revelator,' said Joseph Smith, and 'no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations' (HC 6:58). Without revelation, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion" (emphasis added).

Again we say, such revelation is not automatic with the gift of the Holy Ghost; it must be sought and nurtured in hungering and thirsting after righteousness (see 3 Nephi 12:6).

A final thought: the house of the Lord---the temple---is a house of prayer and of revelation. "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths" (Isaiah 2:3, emphasis added).

In these ways our affections will be firmly placed upon God and His work more intensely and appropriately than on any other thing or person or place.

"When your priorities are out of order, you lose power" (Elder Gene R. Cook).

Please---leave a comment to let me know you have come this far with me. Thanks.

Steve