Although Jesus Christ was very direct and spoke in boldness
against the iniquity and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes, He never once
forced anyone to follow Him. The
commandment to follow Him was only ever by, and will forever only be by,
invitation. It is not in the Character
of Christ to force people to convert to Him.
He will never force anyone to obey Him. He will never force anyone to
love Him. Jesus Christ is like this
because although He loves each one of us eternally, He wants us to love Him in
return. Not only does He want us to have
faith and trust in Him, He eventually, like Nephi in Helamen 10:4-5, wants to
have faith and trust in each one of us.
His love is Godly and perfect and therefore He wants a loving, two-way, two-sided
relationship with each of us. You cannot
have a pure loving relationship with someone if you force yourself upon them or
seek to limit their freedom by control, abuse, or manipulation. True love will only flourish and flow when
agency and free-will are present and un-manipulated. The person you are in love with must choose
freely for themselves to love you in return for that relationship to be “real”. Jesus is in love with you, but he wants a “real”
relationship. So instead of coming down
in a cloud of thunder and demanding your respect, He simply waits for you to first
choose to love Him.
That is why the Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, fought against Lucifer
in the pre-existence to protect the agency of man. (Moses 4:1-4) Because without
agency, there can be no love; And by definition God is love. (1st John 4:16, Lectures on Faith
3:24) This is why Jesus Christ will never seek to take away or manipulate our
agency. This is why Christ stands at the
door waiting for us to let Him in. (Rev
3:20) This is why He will sometimes appear to us as a stranger, engaging in
casual yet deep conversation. (See Luke 24) This is why He does not demand
worship because of his appearance or status- He commands worship by His word,
or what He says, or in other words by the context of His message and teachings.
(see 3rd Nephi 11:8-12)
Likewise, true followers and disciples of Jesus Christ will
never force anyone to convert or believe the way they believe. They will never exercise control or dominion or
compulsion upon the souls of the children of men. (D&C121:37) They will only
seek to persuade other to follow Christ, or “exercise” the priesthood, the way
the Lord does which is only by:
“persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love
unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the
soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness,
when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an
increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be
his enemy”
(Doctrine and Covenants 121:41–43)
Love, or the power of God, can be likened unto a
liquid. I find it interesting that among
the ordinances that Christ has given to mankind they all contain a liquid
element. Baptism uses water which can
represent being washed and cleaned from sin.
Concentrated oil is used to anoint and bless; Christ’s oil anoints us to
glory. Wine is used in the sacrament as a representation
of Christ’s blood, which blood sanctifies us.
(Moses6:60) These liquids signify holiness and spirituality. Both are preeminent symbols of God’s love or
power.
Liquids cannot be grasped or held in your hands, for the
tighter you squeeze your hand, the more and more liquid escapes from between
your fingers. The moment you try to control
the liquid with force, you lose it! The same concept can be applied to the
powers of heaven:
“The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers
of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only
upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is
true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our
vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls
of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens
withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is
withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 121:36–37)
The only way to handle a liquid with your hands is with open
and gently cupped hands. We cannot control God's love and power, all we can do is allow it to flow through us. You cannot share
the love of God or minster the gospel of Jesus Christ with clenched fist.
Keeping the commandments as a personal matter does not
involve you oppressing anyone else. If you are trying to impose a standard of
conduct upon others you are not only going to fail, you are going to be
violating the scriptures’ teachings as well. The Gospel is intended to be lived
“without compulsory means.”
“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an
unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an
everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee
forever and ever.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 121:46)
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