Introduction

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;" - D&C 58:27

The Lord said, "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward."¹ We are told that we are independent agents and we ought to be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" of our "own free will" to "bring to pass much righteousness." That notion, in and of itself, is correct. However, far too many seek to implement it by leaving God out of the equation. They interpret the Lord's instruction to mean that we ought to have two parallel channels of action: One channel where we consistently await any impromptu revelation to do good, and one channel where we go about doing what we think we ought to do to bring to pass much righteousness.

This is not the intent of the scripture, and following this path will always lead to far fewer interactions with heaven than God would have us receive.

God is not telling us that we ought not to seek to be dictated in all things. Those who do not desire more of God's direction in life are those of whom Nephi spoke when he said, "Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!"² What he is saying is that we should not rely on his impromptu revelations to guide us in all things. Those who do so are slothful. Rather, life is not a passive existence, and we ought to seek out God and be proactive in seeking his guidance. Nephi taught:

But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. (2 Nephi 32:9)

This is hardly a message to go about doing things without involving God. We ought to be observing the world, seeking to do good, and asking him all sorts of questions to know the best way to go about it. The Lord told us that "all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit;"³ Moroni said, "see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God."⁴ How can we do something in the name of Christ if Christ has not told us to do it? Asking him, it turns out, is a key to receiving God's word for us: Personal revelation to dictate us in all things.

The holy men of the scriptures are great examples of this principle. They sought revelation on what to do, and they followed it in God's power, having received his word. Joseph Smith said, Abraham was guided in all his family affairs by the Lord; was conversed with by angels, and by the Lord; was told where to go, and when to stop; and prospered exceedingly in all that he put his hand unto; it was because he and his family obeyed the counsel of the Lord. (TPJS, pp. 252-253)

If father Abraham was guided in all his affairs, including the temporal ones, ought we not to seek the same? Was Jesus Christ himself not commanded in all things? He said,

The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth. (John 5:19-20)

Brigham Young frequently preached that we ought to seek revelation from God that we may be dictated in all matters.⁵ On one occasion, he taught:

I will, in the commencement of my remarks, take up a subject upon which much has been said in the pulpit and in the chimney corner. It is regarding the Spirit of the Lord manifesting his will to his children. There is no doubt, if a person lives according to the revelations given to God's people, he may have the Spirit of the Lord to signify to him his will, and to guide and to direct him in the discharge of his duties, in his temporal as well as his spiritual exercises. I am satisfied, however, that in this respect, we live far beneath our privileges. (JD 12:104)

Seeking to be dictated is much more than a passive waiting process. Isaiah wrote "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."⁶ The promise here is that if you are already moving, God will speak to you and guide your paths. The sons of Mosiah lived this principle when they decided to go serve a mission among the Lamanites. The confirmation from God for their trip did not come until they were already many days into their journey:

And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct. And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted. And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and affiictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls. (Alma 17:9-11)

The best example of what it means is given to us by the Savior. In the premortal councils, he did not wait for the Father to announce a plan. He suggested one that best fit what he under-stood about the Father's will and character. The Father accepted it, dispensing his word to empower Christ to accomplish it. Obedience is not just agreeing to what God tells us. It means actively searching-with all our faculties-to learn God's will, while seeking his word on it prior to our accomplishing it.