Sinning Against the Greater Light

This week I would like to highlight something that someone talked about on the discussion board. One of my classmates talked about how if we are members of the church and go against what we have been taught, that it would have been better for us never to have found the gospel to begin with. Unfortunately, he did not reference the scripture from the New Testament where he got that information, but the scripture D&C 82:3 immediately came to my mind which states,

"For of him unto whom much is given much is required; 

and he who sins against the greater light 

shall receive the greater condemnation."

Do we understand what that means as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

As members of the Lord's true church, we are blessed with the knowledge of God's Plan of Happiness for us. We have the knowledge of the doctrine of Eternal Families. We know that the Lord gives us commandments to help us and because He loves us, not because He wishes to control us. We know that in the Pre-mortal life, Satan proposed a plan that took away our free agency and we fought to come down and exercise our free agency to prove ourselves to our Father in Heaven.

We know that when we make covenants with the Lord, we need to keep them. If we keep them, then the Lord is bound to keep His side of the promise. However, if we do not keep our side of the promise, then the Lord has no obligation to keep His (D&C 82:10).

With this knowledge gives us power and with that power we are given a great responsibility. A responsibility to keep our covenants. A responsibility to teach our children. To teach others. To live the commandments. To pay our tithing. To serve others. To love others. To make a conscious effort every day to be better than we were the day before. To trust in the Lord. To endure to the end.

Are we doing all of that? Are we as members of the Church doing all that we can to fulfill the great responsibility that we have been entrusted with?

I remember as a teenager sometimes feeling that I wish I hadn't ever learned of the gospel. After all, those outside the church seemed to have so much freedom. They could do whatever they wanted! But, understanding that going back on what I had learned could hold some serious consequences for me in the eternities, I never ventured too far from the strait and narrow path.

As I have grown I have watched as some friends and family members chose to abandon their testimonies (if they had them to begin with - after all, it's hard to be sure) for a more worldly lifestyle. They had many reasons for leaving the church. Maybe they had never really felt the spirit testify to them of the truth of the gospel. Maybe they were offended. Maybe they struggled with a piece of doctrine. I don't know all of the reasons for all of them leaving the Church.

What surprised me most about them leaving is that none of them seem better off. Some of them claim to be happy. And I believe that they really do believe that they are happy. But it is not because they are really happier than they were before. It's because they have forgotten (or have never really experienced) JOY. Joy comes along with the gospel of Jesus Christ. These individuals, although free from many responsibilities that the Church gave them, are free of feeling true joy in their lives.

So is the exchange worth it? Is it worth it to give up joy in this life and the next, just for a little bit more freedom in this life?

I think not.

And does deciding not to follow the word of wisdom, the law of chastity, the law of the fast, the law of tithing, and choosing not to keep the Sabbath holy (among other things) REALLY give you more freedom? I dare say that it does not.

I have never once had to worry about how I was going to get home, because I feared I might drink too much at a party. I have never once had to worry if I would test positive for an STD because I have kept the law of chastity. I have been greatly blessed by my efforts to fast and by my husband and I diligently paying our tithing. I have learned that keeping the Sabbath day holy does not mean that it's one less day to accomplish the things I need to get done - it's a day given to us for rest and, more importantly, a day for us to show the Lord how much we truly love Him with worship.

Do I have less freedom because I am a member of the Church? I actually think that I have more.

So when the scriptures tell us that much is required of us, let us all remember that we are given so many incredible things in this life and we will receive more than we can possibly comprehend in the next if we continue faithfully.