Week 14: Come Follow Me/How Gentle God's commands

"Come, follow me," the Savior said.
Then let us in this footsteps tread,
For thus alone can we be one
With God's own loved, begotten Son.

"Come, follow me," a simple phrase,
Yet truth's sublime, efullgent rays
Are in these simple words combined
To urge, inspire the human mind.

Is it enough alone to know
That we must follow him below,
While trav'ling thru this vale of tears?
No, this extends to holier spheres.

Not only shall we emulate
His course while in this earthly state,
But when we're freed from present cares,
If with our Lord we would be heirs.

We must the onward path pursue
As wider fields expand to view,
And follow him unceasingly,
Whate'er our lot or sphere may be.

For thrones, dominions, kingdoms, pow'rs,
And glory great and bliss are ours,
If we, throughout eternity,
Obey his words, "Come, follow me."
Hymn #116
Text: John Nicholson, 1839-1909

Yesterday in sacrament we sang the song, "How Gentle God's Commands". So I put the lyrics here.

How gentle God's commands!
How kind His precepts are!
Come cast your burdens on the
Lord and trust His constant care.

Beneath his watchful eye,
His Saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guard His children well.

Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste, to your Heavenly Father's throne,
And sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day;
I'll drop my burden at His feet.
and bear a song away.
 

The words to this song kept coming to my mind. Sadly, I could not find a recording, or Video I wanted to share with it. However, the message was the same, "Come, follow Me" we keep his commandments when we follow Him. This I know...so in light of this, I wanted to review some of the words that touched me in both songs. He set the example for us, in everything we need to do.
The amazing part about commandments is that we are blessed when we obey them.
There is safety, protection and strength in them. We are promised blessings beyond our comprehension if we follow his commandments.

Both of these songs really teach the principle of obedience and the love that is in the commandments.
Amazing the freedom that comes from commandments.

I found this article to greater learn this principle.....

Robert D. Hales, "“If Thou Wilt Enter into Life, Keep the Commandments”", Ensign, May 1996, 35

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"...And think of our Savior’s example. He taught us how to live by the way He lived. Think of His tender compassion as He worked miracles and as He cared for the poor and the afflicted. He humbly chose to be obedient to His Father’s commandments—and He endured to the end, fulfilling His divine mission and completing the atoning sacrifice for all mankind."

"Some may ask, “Why did the Lord give us commandments?” In premortal councils, He determined that we, His spirit children, would be given commandments by which to live during our mortal lives. Jehovah, the firstborn spirit child of our Heavenly Father, said: “We will go down, … and we will make an earth whereon these [God’s other spirit children] may dwell,

“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

“And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon” (Abr. 3:24–26).

These commandments are loving instructions provided by God our Father for our physical and spiritual well-being and happiness while in mortality. Commandments allow us to know the mind and will of God regarding our eternal progression. And they test our willingness to be obedient to His will.

The commandments are not a burden or a restriction. Every commandment of the Lord is given for our development, progress, and growth. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “God has designed our happiness. … He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 256)."

"How I love the commandments of the Lord! They guide and protect us and allow us to return back into the presence of our Heavenly Father. If we faithfully obey the commandments, we are promised the blessings of eternal life. Eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7), is to be exalted and to live with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in all the eternities to come. He dearly wants us to return to Him."*

I echo the words of Elder Hales....I am so grateful to a loving Father, who has not left us here to our devices. Who loved us enough to give us a pattern and a plan and boundaries in which we can live and be protected from the filth and dirt that can be found out side of his commands.  So I can live with him.

Lately, I have been following a strict budget (to the penny). Something we, as a couple, have always struggled doing. But as times got tougher and more financial obligations came our way it became necessary to really get more focused on a budget. So, at first it was hard to not have the ability to just buy what we wanted, whenever we wanted. If we didn't follow the budget, it was hazardous to our account, it would be easy to be overdrawn in and ultimately would cost us more.

So as this began to happen, we started to get used to the idea of planning, saving, and waiting.
The times we didnt' do this I was often stressed at night, I didn't sleep and I would get physically sick as I worried about money. How would we pay for this, will we be overdraft, will we be able to pay this bill or that bill?  Don't get me wrong previous to this time we didn't have this problem, but our financial obligations changed and it could occur with out these limits. My husbands income went up, but so did our expenses.

Once, we laid a plan we were able to follow it, pay all our bills, and know where every dime was going, we could meet our obligations. The longer we practiced this budget the easier it got, the more I am able to sleep. The better I feel, I have more freedom even in the strictest of budgets. No I don't have the freedom to do what I want, buy what I want. But I am at ease when I see the bills come in, knowing that they can be paid.

This is like the commandments.
Keeping them us easy when you know them, when you practice following them and when you feel peace in knowing that you are doing all you can to be close to God.  His commandments provide a place of safety and peace. They provide a plan that when followed allows an unbounded happiness. It feels confining to some, to have commandments, but when it feels this way to you, it is time to ask why? Why is that commandment there? How does it keep me safe how does it strengthen me? What is the principle behind this commandment?

I may never fully understand each commandment, but if I do it simply because I trust God and his love for me then I can do it!  Following God's commandments allows us to grow and become more like him.
For  this I am grateful and want to keep His commandments and follow Him.