Living in a higher and holier way

This past Sunday, I led a discussion with our elders quorum. The topic was Elder Uchtdorf’s latest general conference talk, Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth, where he introduced the new guide, For the Strength of Youth. Although the guide and his talk were targeted to youth, I believe we all could benefit from the approach taken. 

My main takeaway is that our church leaders (actually, the Lord) are giving us less prescriptive direction so that we can be guided more by doctrines and principles. There is less “thou shalt not” and more “you are free to make your own choices.” We are also encouraged to get our own revelation. 

As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve liked having the checklist of do’s and don’t’s. It makes it easy to measure my performance against the expectations. But lately, we’ve been encouraged to live in a higher and holier way. 

I see it not only in this new guidebook, I also see it in:

Ministering vs. home teaching. It’s much less prescriptive. I’m not told how often to visit, or what to teach. In fact, the stat that is recorded is not how many families I visited, but how many ministering interviews were held. 

Come, Follow Me. Instead of just expecting the Church to teach us, learning the Gospel is now Home-centered, Church-supported. Yes, we are encouraged to study a particular topic, but how much or how little I study is up to me. And I’m responsible for my own learning. 

The temple endowment presentation. The newest version tells me up-front what covenants I’ll be making and provides more instruction about the “why’s” of what I’m doing. It’s less mysterious and simpler. It helps me prepare to focus on Jesus and to live the higher law that He taught. (See Hebrews 10:19-20)

Preach My Gospel. When I served a mission many years ago, we memorized the discussions word-perfect. Back then, I don’t think they trusted us to get it right. Now, missionaries are taught principles and doctrines and their teaching is guided more by the spirit. 

The General Handbook. Now that the General Handbook is online, it’s easy for anyone to see that it is more doctrinally based. 

Nevertheless, we do still have rules. The 10 commandments are still valid. But as we study what Jesus taught, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, we can see Him pointing us to a higher way of living: love God and love people. 

I find that when I attempt to live the Gospel in this way, it feels good in my heart. My motives aren’t as suspect. My reasons are more authentic. My desires feel purer. 

To be continued . . . with Part 96.