Submissiveness

Mosiah 3:19
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

I will focus on that Christlike and childlike characteristic of submissiveness.

When I submit myself to someone, their will and wants become prioritized above my will and wants. Whatever of my will is inconsistent with theirs, I get rid of it.

God is our loving Heavenly Father, and He loves us perfectly and wants what's best for us, He is filled with all wisdom and knowledge, and has nothing more to learn.

All these qualities and characteristics – Father, loving, wise – qualify Him to be the first to whom we should submit ourselves.

So, my will becomes secondary to His will.

His will is not always communicated directly to us through the Spirit, into our mind and heart. Sometimes it is through the events of life.

Not too long ago, I prayed for a trial that would strengthen my character. I received no response to this. Even up until now. I have not heard my Heavenly Father speak to me through His Spirit on this topic.

Well, He reached me without words – never in my life have I received a speeding fine, nor a red light offence. But in the space of a few weeks, I received both despite my continuous efforts to be a righteous driver. I accept full responsibility for them.

My licence has been suspended for three months. It is a little painful, these three months, but I have forgotten the pain. My life has been filled with surprises of friends offering randomly to drive me to my destinations, and the Lord always providing for me.

Upon my disappointment in myself, discovering my offences, I committed to accept that I could not drive, and make do with what I did have. A Go Card... ah, I mean an Opal Card. Friends. My feet to walk with. More opportunities to study on public transport as I travelled. More opportunities to appreciate and admire nature as I walked.

I have been happy despite this restriction of no driving. Of course, I don't plan to have my licence suspended again.

We submit ourselves to the Saviour's will. We learn that some priorities are more important than others.

This life is designed in one particular aspect, to be a test for how much we understand the weight of priorities, given factors of time, consequences, rewards and benefits, etc.

A great example was in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had this dilemma: Adam partakes of the fruit and joins Eve in a world of loneliness and dreariness. Or, Adam chooses not to partake of the fruit, and the two are separated, with mankind not replenishing the earth.

We know their choice. It was the lesser of two evils. It was the better of two choices. We are here because of their choice. We read of no prompting given of the Spirit. We read of no third party involvement, other than Satan desiring their consumption of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve discuss it in full, evaluating the weight of each choice for its benefits, risks and consequences.

Elder Dallin H Oaks said:

“[A person may have] a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but … unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.

“We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment. Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation” (“Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 13–14).

To submit to His will is to submit to His vision of us, in who we are to become in all our grand and glorious potential.

We all have the potential to become as our Heavenly Father is. How will we get there?

D&C 11:20
Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength.

Let us submit to His ways.