My father is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. One day I remember asking him why he joined the church. I was expecting this amazing long story of how he was struck dumb and saw an angel or something. Instead my father turned to me and said very simply "because it just made sense." That was it; that was all my father had to say. At first I was kind of bummed because frankly, it was a boring conversion story. Then I realized something! My father's conversion was what the gospel is all about! The gospel is about simplicity and "making sense" as my father put it. So I did some digging and some searching and decided to share my thoughts on the subject. Here are a couple things I pulled to prove my point.
"Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” When we look at the foundational principles of the plan of happiness, the plan of salvation, we can recognize and appreciate in its plainness and simplicity the elegance and beauty of our Heavenly Father’s wisdom. Then, turning our ways to His ways is the beginning of our wisdom." - Of Things That Matter Most, Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"The Lord sent forth the fullness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity" - D&C 133:57
As you can see the gospel is meant to be simple. It was not meant to be complicated by scholars or used to show ones intelligence. It was made simple so any man, women, and child, no matter their education or occupation, could understand the fullness of it.
- Why do we complicate it?
I can recall a couple occasions in my life where I remember talking with someone who struggled with accepting the fullness of the gospel. One experience I had was with an older women whom I worked with on occasion. She was kind, thoughtful, and seemed to want to accept the gospel into her life. However, she was caught up with one simple thing, the Word of Wisdom. She would always come back to this and always complicated it because her addiction was so strong she did not want to accept this commandment. Although I was able to answer the many questions she had for me regarding everything else with the gospel she would continue to focus all her attention on the Word of Wisdom because she didn't want anyone taking away her coffee. She would give the same excuses every time such as "I cant function without my coffee" or "I will quit smoking, just not yet". Everything else made sense to her, even the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these later days! But, the hardest thing for her to accept was just as simple as that and it is what stopped her from fully accepting the gospel.
I believe we complicate things because it is a great way to hide what we need to see. It allows us to blind our surroundings so we can ignore anything we wish to ignore. Complicate something too much and it won't make sense for anyone to accept, even yourself. But if we just settle down and think, we can see all of what the Lord wants from us in His simplicity.
- Why were we given these simple commandments to follow?
We already know that the Word of Wisdom can help us live a healthier life by being free of addictions and by promoting good health but not following this will keep you from going to the Temple where we can be sealed to our families. Why is it that such a simple commandment can carry such grave consequences for our eternal happiness? Our Heavenly Father gives us simple commandments to test our willingness to follow Him and to show Him that we are ready to obtain personal revelation and knowledge. If we cannot keep the most simple of commandments how can we expect to be ready to take on all that the Lord is willing to give us, if we are not willing to follow His sacred laws? Our Heavenly Father put out a simple plan for us for our benefit, because He loves us. This not only helps us see a clear path to eternal happiness, it shows the ultimate and eternal sophistication of our Heavenly Father. We need to trust Him fully and not justify the breaking of commandments because they seem insignificant.
- What if I mess up this simple path of eternal happiness?
Christ said "If ye love me keep my commandments". We are asked to keep all of His commandments given through Him and the Prophets who have been called through Him. Anyone who truly loves the Savior will do all that they can to follow His commandments. Sadly from time to time we are going to have a moment of weakness and mess up. But because our Heavenly Father knew this and loves us he gave us a net to fall back on. The atonement of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest gifts our Heavenly Father has given us. It allows to to become clean again so that we can continue to progress! Our Heavenly Father wants us to come home so don't worry, He has thought of everything.
- My testimony
Friends, family, or people who just dropped by the blog. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith and we continue to receive revelation though living Prophets today. I know that the atonement is real and that it is the key to the perfect plan of happiness and salvation. His plan is perfect, simple, and our way back home.
