Trust is a vital part of the plan of salvation. (D&C 81-83)

81:3-4

The Lord appears to give an “if…then” statement through Joseph Smith to Frederick Williams (eventually). IF Frederick does certain things, THEN he will receive certain promises from the Lord. So, what are the things that Frederick must do?

• “Inasmuch as thou art faithful in counsel, in the office which I have appointed unto you…” He must magnify his calling. He is asked to be a counselor in the First Presidency and the Lord is asking him to be faithful in that calling.

• “…in prayer always, vocally and in thy heart, in public and in private…” Once again, prayer is emphasized. I’ve written lately about my continuing impression that prayer is much more than I have believed it to be. My prayers are generally short and ineffective. This has obviously got to change. I’m clearly missing out on a multitude of significant blessings.

• “…also in thy ministry in proclaiming the gospel in the land of the living, and among thy brethren.” As always, preaching the Lord’s gospel is paramount. We are to gather as many of Father’s children as possible.

What are the promised blessings if Frederick will do these three things: “And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord.” We all want to do good. We all want to have a positive effect on others. We want to be good influences. We want to act as the Lord’s hands and gather Israel. Our Heavenly Father has many, many children who are living on the earth completely unaware of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can each apply this revelation to ourselves. If we commit to do what Frederick did, we can expect to receive the same blessings.

81:5-6

The Lord promises another “if…then” covenant in these verses. What are we asked to do?

• “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you;”

• “…succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”

What are the promised blessings? “And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father.” If we can remain faithful to the end, we will receive the crown of immortality and eternal life.

I should mention that “faithful” does not just mean to go to church until we die. Faith is about progressing. Faith is evidence of our hope that we can progress forever. Being faithful isn’t about simply not breaking any commandments (although that’s important). It’s about action. It is about forward motion. It’s about continuing to step into the dark. We’ve got to keep our foot on the faith gas pedal folks.

82:2, 6

It’s essential that all of us see ourselves as sinners. We all have reason to repent. None of us are walking, talking perfection. The Lord really makes this clear in these verses. “Nevertheless, there are those among you who have sinned exceedingly; yea, even all of you have sinned; but verily I say unto you, beware from henceforth, and refrain from sin, lest sore judgments fall upon your heads.” We all sin.

None of us should view ourselves as “good” in the way that Heavenly Father is good. Even Jesus Christ made this point about himself. In Mark 10:18, we read, “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” Jesus was giving all credit and glory to God. Christ himself saw that he still could progress. Our progression relies partly on our ability to see ourselves as beings who need to progress!

In D&C 82:6, the Lord says, “And the anger of God kindleth against the inhabitants of the earth; and none doeth good, for all have gone out of the way.” This is very clear that we all need Jesus Christ and his atonement.

82:3-4

This verse is very well known. “For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.” This isn’t about a scorecard and punishment. We are not going to hear, “you were at gold level and you sinned too much - here’s your condemnation”

This is more about the natural effects of sinning against greater light and knowledge. The key point here is the level of rebellion. If we are blessed to have knowledge, testimony and spiritual experiences - and yet turn our backs on that - the natural consequences will be a shallower progression angle - if not a digression. We are sinning against greater light and knowledge. If we do that here, we will also do that in the spirit world and, perhaps, also after final judgment.

Imagine I am training a new photographer. If I teach her thoroughly and she fully understands the principles but then blows them off, her progression is limited. She is “condemned” to be a bad photographer. Her “photographic character” is such that she will never be as good as she could have been. Her condemnation is much worse than someone else who I haven’t taught - who hasn’t had the chance to learn. It could be that someone else would have accepted it gladly. Her potential is greater in that she isn’t actively rejecting what she knows to be true.

He further explains, “Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.” This is the same principle. It’s not about “penalties” as we see them. The Lord isn’t going to throw a yellow flag and add a penalty on our shoulders. Again, it is more about the natural effects of breaking the laws of God. The penalty is eternally affixed when we transgress His laws.

82:7

“And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God.” If we sin and repent, that sin will not be remembered. It is in our past and doesn’t have any effect on our present or future.

However, if we go through the repentance process but then return to that sin, the sin and all of its consequences return. It’s actually worse than before because we are technically spiritually more mature and are sinning against greater light and knowledge.

AGAIN, it’s not about a scorecard and all of our red marks return. It’s about progression and returning to a sin that caused us spiritual pain will cause us to spiritually digress. The progress that we had made is reversed and we are technically worse off than before.

82:10, 15

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” It’s essential that this is true. We have to believe God. What he says has to be true. If there is any doubt that he will follow through with that he has said, this whole system of being proven here on earth falls apart. Trust is the heart of the plan of salvation.

“Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of the Lord.” We can be blessed by relying on God’s promises. If we will covenant and then “bind ourselves” through the covenant, we can be assured that blessings will happen. On what timetable and in what way? That’s the for the Lord to decide - but we should rest assured that whatever he does will be according to the covenant and for our best.

82:16

“Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good.” This could be true for whatever revelations the Lord gives us. His wisdom is greater than our wisdom. We must know and trust that. Also, every interaction between God and man will be for man’s good. God is not going to reveal or do anything that will set us back in our progress. He will not allow anything to happen that runs against his plan.

Sometimes we don’t understand. Sometimes things don’t make sense. Sometimes events appear to be a tragic mistake. It never is when it comes to dealings with the Lord. Everything that happens in life can be for our good. We must trust in the Lord.

82:19

“Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” How would the world be if we all were this way? Imagine this world where everyone’s primary interest is in his neighbor? No one motivated by self interest - but for the benefit of others. On top of that, all action taken is for the glory of God - not for promoting one’s self.

Who is the greatest example of this the universe? Jesus Christ. His entire work has been for his brothers and sisters. He gave up his time and energy in the creation of the universe. He gave up any worldly comforts in serving others. He even gave his very life for all of us. His work continues in blessing others.

Thankfully, the scripture doesn’t read, “My work and glory is to get ahead and be more and more powerful and awesome.” God is seeking the best interest of us. Jesus is doing all of his work “with an eye single to the glory of God.”