Commandments come in incrementally more robust, informative, and effective instructions toward a fuller and more accurate understanding of God’s character. As you keep God’s commandments, you will learn more about his character and become more like him.3
God’s commandments are incremental, revealing more and more about him in greater breadth, depth, and accuracy as the recipient advances.4 Yielding to incremental commandments will open your access to the continuous supply of new information about God’s character.5 Your obedience to the incremental commandments that you have received from God so far will enable you to see more of his character than you could see previously.6
If you are progressing with God, you will receive commandments that expand or replace your previous understanding of his will in your life.7 You should expect God’s commandments to you to change with every step you take closer to him.8
The pattern and purpose of God giving new or expanded commandments is found throughout the scriptures and in the lives of every person who seeks God. Like scriptural personalities, every time you live up to how you presently understand God to be, he will teach you more about himself and you will find yourself with new or expanded commandments.
A lack of new commandments indicates that you still haven’t obeyed what he has already taught you. We must remain obedient to God as he increases the breadth, depth, and accuracy of our understanding of how he is,478 always possessing a willingness to change in our understanding of what is best.
God can and does command people to do what they formerly believed to be sinful. For example, the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda was commanded to take up his bed and walk,479 which he believed to be a violation of the Sabbath law. As another example, God commanded Ezekiel to bake bread on human dung, which he believed was a violation of the law of Moses.480 It is more important to listen to what God is telling you now than it is to cling to what you think he told you to do before.481
Footnotes
- 1. He that keepeth the law of the Lord getteth the understanding thereof: and the perfection of the fear of the Lord is wisdom. (Sirach 21:11) ↩
- 2. ...feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do....the Holy Ghost...will show unto you all things what ye should do....Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ... (2 Nephi 32:3,4,6) ↩
- 3. He that keepeth the law of the Lord getteth the understanding thereof: and the perfection of the fear of the Lord is wisdom. (Sirach 21:11) ↩
- 4. Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved. (Alma 41:8) This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. (D&C 132:24) ↩
- 5. But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life. (D&C 63:23) ↩
- 6. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) ↩
- 7. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (D&C 50:24) ↩
- 8. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14) ↩