The First Law in Heaven

Hey Everybody! This weeks blog is meant to branch off of last week's post about our personal agency...

Have you ever wondered what the first law in Heaven is that ties everything in the Plan of Salvation together? 

I have really come to understand on my mission this foundational law. In accordance to this law, true freedom and Eternal Joy is given. Anybody know what it is?

It's OBEDIENCE. 

"There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated." -Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21

Why would God make Obedience the first law in His Kingdom?

 Because blessings received from God are conditional of obedience to His laws, or...the Commandments! Heavenly Father works through the obedience of His Children to fulfill His purposes and to do His work.

Here are a few essential roles of obedience that are played in our Heavenly Father's plan of Salvation.

JESUS CHRIST- To me, our Savior Jesus Christ is the greatest example of obedience. I love the Savior. From the very beginning He was perfectly obedient to the will of the Father. If we read the Bible and the Book of Mormon, we will come to realize that if it weren't for His exact obedience to the Father's will, we wouldn't have been able to progress. We would have been lost forever! He lived a life without sin, never giving in to temptations of the world. He showed us how we need to live to reach eternal happiness!

Which leads to a really cool detail, have you ever wondered why the Son of God was baptized?

 He did it "To fulfill all righteousness" to show us how to return to our Heavenly Father.

"Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be ^aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments. 2 Nephi 31:7"

Imagine if Christ decided to give into temptation and sin. That would have destroyed the Plan of Salvation. But He didn't. He was perfect. He suffered the will of the Father, not His will, from the beginning. He overcame the temptations of Satan, drank out of the bitter cup to pay the price of sin, and overcame the sting of death, so that we can have Eternal Salvation. He truly was perfect, and loves us so perfectly, so He made sure to be obedient with exactness. 
 

"Love is the Grand Motive of the Plan of Salvation."

 

US- Yep, that's right. We have an essential role in the Plan of Salvation. Basically, we are the subjects. This whole marvelous Plan was created for US! In Moses 1:39 God states His purpose,  "For behold, this is my ^awork and my ^bglory—to bring to pass the ^cimmortality and ^deternal ^elife of man." 

I love that. What makes the All Powerful Creator of Heaven and Earth happy, is when WE are happy. He knows perfectly what will make us truly happy, so He gave us commandments to learn this true happiness.  In a very literal sense, obedience is the key to FREEDOM!

 24 And there stood ^aone among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and ^bwe will make an earth whereon these may ^cdwell;

 25 And we will ^aprove them herewith, to see if they will ^bdo all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; Abraham 3:24-25

So what is to be done? How do we reach this Eternal Joy? We must be OBEDIENT. It's ok that we aren't perfect. No one is. God and Jesus Christ already knew that, that is why we have the Atonement of Jesus Christ! It is a huge blessing for me to repent when I make mistakes, so that I can continue to be obedient to the Will of the Father. This is our purpose on the Earth. We have the example of the SAVIOR to help us know what to do. How blessed are we?! 

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. -Mosiah 2:41

All it takes to start to follow the Example of Jesus Christ and be obedient, is to have faith in Him. Stay tuned for next week's blog on the First Principle of the Gospel, Faith! 

"For as by one man’s ^adisobedience many were made sinners, so by the ^bobedience of one shall many be made righteous." -Romans 5:19