The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. The full book of 400 pages is available at Mormonism Research Ministry or Amazon.com.
Standard Works
“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for
I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children
of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish
the thing which he commandeth them” (The Book of Mormon,
1 Nephi 3:7).
“Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness
thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you
cannot come. And verily, verily I say unto you, that this is my voice
unto all. Amen” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:15-16).
“And again, every person who belongeth to this church of Christ,
shall observe to keep all the commandments and covenants of the
church” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:78).
“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations
of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And
when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that
law upon which it is predicated” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21).
“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind
may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel”
(Articles of Faith, Article 3).
“And now for a man to take up his cross, is to deny himself of
all ungodliness, and every worldly lust, and keep my commandments”
(Matthew 16:26, Joseph Smith Translation).
Joseph Smith
“Those who seek to enter in any other way will seek in vain; for
God will not receive them, neither will the angels acknowledge
their works as accepted, for they have not obeyed the ordinances,
nor attended to the signs which God ordained for the salvation of
man, to prepare him for, and give him a title to, a celestial glory;
and God had decreed that all who will not obey His voice shall not
escape the damnation of hell. What is the damnation of hell? To
go with that society who have not obeyed his commands” (Joseph
Smith, History of the Church 4:554-555).
“The Rev. Mr. De Wolfe, Episcopalian, lectured in the assembly
room in the evening. I attended and, after the sermon, at his request,
spoke to the people, showing them that to get salvation we
must not only do some things, but everything which God has commanded.
Men may preach and practice everything except those
things which God commands us to do, and will be damned at last”
(Joseph Smith, History of the Church 6:223. See also Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 332, Doctrinal of the Gospel Student Manual:
Religion 430 and 431, 2004, p. 48).
“We cannot keep all the commandments without first knowing
them, and we cannot expect to know all, or more than we now
know unless we comply with or keep those we have already received”
(Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 256).
4th President Wilford Woodruff
“In paying our tithing, in obeying every law that is given to exalt us
and to do us good, it is all for our individual benefit and the benefit
of our children, and it is not of any particular benefit to the
Lord, only as he is pleased in the faithfulness of his children and
desires to see them walk in the path which leads to salvation and
eternal life” (Wilford Woodruff, Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Wilford Woodruff, 2004, p. 231).
6th President Joseph F. Smith
“There is no salvation but in the way God has pointed out. There is
no hope of everlasting life but through obedience to the law that
has been affixed by the Father of life, ‘with whom there is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning’ [James 1:17]; and there is no
other way by which we may obtain that light and exaltation. Those
matters are beyond peradventure, beyond all doubt in my mind,
I know them to be true. Every blessing, privilege, glory, or exaltation
is obtained only through obedience to the law upon which
the same is promised. If we will abide the law, we shall receive
the reward; but we can receive it on no other ground” (Joseph
F. Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 1998,
p. 153. Brackets in original).
“You must not only believe, but you must obey and do the things
that [God] commands. You must not only do that, but you must
give your heart, your affection and your whole soul with a willing
mind to God. You must give up your will to the will of the Father,
and you must do all things that He requires at your hands, if you
will be saved and exalted in His presence” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 1998, p. 244. Brackets
in original).
8th President George Albert Smith
“The Lord has told us very plainly that all our blessings are predicated
upon obedience to His laws and His laws are so plain. Faith,
repentance, baptism, the laying on of hands for the gift of the
Holy Ghost are the first principles. Then He offers other things,
including Temple work, salvation for the dead and missionary
work in all the world. In our great universities we have marvelous
training, but I want to say that without the training of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ those who graduate from the great universities of
the world will be disappointed that they have not earned a place in
the Celestial Kingdom” (George Albert Smith, Conference Reports,
October 1941, p. 100).
“I have many times repeated what my grandfather said. He, too,
talked from this stand, and it was he who gave me his name. In
advising his family he said, ‘There is a line of demarcation, well
defined. On one side of the line is the Lord’s territory. On the
other side of the line is the devil’s territory.’ And he said, ‘If you
will stay on the Lord’s side of the line, you are perfectly safe,
because the adversary of all righteousness can not cross that
line.’ What does that mean? It means to me that those who are
living righteous lives, keeping all of the commandments of our
Heavenly Father are perfectly safe, but not those who trifle with
his advice and counsel” (George Albert Smith, Conference Reports,
Oct. 1949, pp. 5-6. See also The Presidents of the Church Teacher’s
Manual, p. 132).
“Being a member of the Church and holding the Priesthood will
not get us anywhere unless we are worthy. The Lord has said that
every blessing that we desire is predicated upon obedience to His
commandments. We may deceive our neighbors, and we may deceive
ourselves with the idea that we are going through all right,
but unless we keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father,
unless we bear worthily this holy Priesthood that is so precious, we
will not find our place in the celestial kingdom” (George Albert
Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith, 2011,
p. 53).
9th President David O. McKay
“FAITH, GRACE, AND WORKS. The fallacy that Jesus has done
all for us, and live as we may, if on our deathbed, we only believe,
we shall be saved in his glorious presence, is most pernicious. Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the world, has given us the means whereby
man may obtain eternal happiness and peace in the kingdom of
our Father, but man must work out his own salvation through obedience
to the eternal principles and ordinances of the gospel. For
centuries men have been blinded by the false teaching of ‘belief
alone sufficient’; and today there is manifest on every hand the
sorry plight into which this and other perverse doctrines have
thrown the pseudo-Christian sects. The world is in sore need at
the present time of the gospel of individual effort—the gospel of
faith and works. He who will not grasp this means provided him,
will sink beneath the waves of sin and falsehood” (David O. McKay,
Gospel Ideals, p. 8).
10th President Joseph Fielding Smith
“Through obedience to those commandments which are set forth
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and by continuance therein, we shall
receive immortality, glory, eternal life, and dwell in the presence
of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, where we shall truly
know them” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, 2013, p. 237).
11th President Harold B. Lee
“The Lord will bless us to the degree to which we keep His commandments.
Nephi put this principle in a tremendous orbit when
he said: ‘For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children,
and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to
God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we
can do.’ (2 Nephi 25:23.) The Savior’s blood, His atonement, will
save us, but only after we have done all we can to save ourselves by
keeping His commandments” (Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in the Holy
Places, p. 246. See also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold
B. Lee, p. 24).
“He has given us in another revelation the formula by which we
can prepare ourselves as the years pass. ‘Verily, thus saith the Lord:
It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and
cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice,
and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that
I am’ (D&C 93:1). Simple, isn’t it? But listen again. All you have to
do is to forsake your sins, come unto Him, call on His name, obey
His voice, and keep His commandments, and then you shall see
His face and shall know that He is” (Harold B. Lee, The Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 2000, p. 34).
“The greatest message that one in this position could give to the
membership of the Church is to keep the commandments of God,
for therein lies the safety of the Church and the safety of the individual.
Keep the commandments. There could be nothing that
I could say that would be a more powerful or important message
today” (Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold
B. Lee, 2000, p. 35).
12th President Spencer W. Kimball
“Each command we obey sends us another rung up the ladder
to perfected manhood and toward godhood; and every law disobeyed
is a sliding toward the bottom where man merges into the
brute world. Only he who obeys law is free. Serfdom comes to him
who defies law. ‘The truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32) was
another of the incontrovertible truths authored by the Master. He
truly is free who is master of situations, habits, passions, urges, and
desires. If one must yield to appetite or passion and follow its demands,
he is truly the servant of a dictator” (Spencer W. Kimball,
The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 153).
“An army officer called a soldier to him and ordered him to take
a message to another officer. The soldier saluted and said, ‘I’ll
try, sir! I’ll try!’ To this the officer responded: ‘I don’t want you
to try, I want you to deliver this message.’ The soldier, somewhat
embarrassed, now replied: ‘I’ll do the best I can, sir.’ At this the
officer, now disgusted, rejoined with some vigor: ‘I don’t want you
to try and I don’t want you to “do the best you can.” I want you to
deliver this message.’ Now the young soldier, straightening to his
full height, approached the matter magnificently, as he thought,
when he saluted again and said: ‘I’ll do it or die, sir.’ To this the
now irate officer responded: ‘I don’t want you to die, and I don’t
want you merely to do the best you can, and I don’t want you to try.
Now, the request is a reasonable one; the message is important;
the distance is not far; you are able-bodied; you can do what I
have ordered. Now get out of here and accomplish your mission’”
(Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 164).
“It is normal for children to try. They fall and get up numerous
times before they can be certain of their footing. But adults, who
have gone through these learning periods, must determine what
they will do, then proceed to do it. To ‘try’ is weak. To ‘do the best
I can’ is not strong. We must always do better than we can” (Spencer
W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 164-165).
“There are … many members of the Church who are lax and careless
and who continually procrastinate. They live the gospel casually
but not devoutly. They have complied with some requirements
but are not valiant. They do no major crime but merely fail to do
the things required—things like paying tithing, living the Word of
Wisdom, having family prayers, fasting, attending meetings, serving”
(Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer
W. Kimball, 2006, p. 8. Ellipsis in original).
“The Lord will not translate one’s good hopes and desires and intentions
into works. Each of us must do that for himself” (Spencer
W. Kimball, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball,
2006, p. 8).
“The Savior came ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life
of man’ (Moses 1:39). His birth, death, and resurrection brought
about the first. But we must join our efforts with his to bring about
the second, to attain eternal life” (Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 2006, p. 29).
13th President Ezra Taft Benson
“Listen to the spiritual promise: ‘All saints who remember to keep
and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments,…
shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden
treasures.” (D&C 89:18, 19; italics added.) Some have thought
this promise was contingent on just keeping the provisions of the
Word of Wisdom. But you will notice we must walk in obedience
to all the commandments. Then we shall receive specific spiritual
promises. This means we must obey the law of tithing, keep the
Sabbath day holy, keep morally clean and chaste, and obey all
other commandments” (Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Presidents
of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, 2014, p. 164. Italics and ellipsis in
original).
15th President Gordon B. Hinckley
“Even in an evil world we can so live our lives as to merit the protecting
care of our Father in Heaven. We can be as the righteous
living among the evils of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded
that these cities might be spared for the sake of the righteous”
(Gordon B. Hinckley, “War and Peace,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
May 2003, p. 81).
“The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latterday
Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of
the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of
this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God”
(Gordon B. Hinckley, “If Ye Be Willing and Obedient,” Ensign, December
1971, p. 125. See also Thomas S. Monson, “Obedience
Brings Blessings,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2013, p. 90.
Ellipsis in original).
16th President Thomas S. Monson
“Don’t put your eternal life at risk. Keep the commandments of
God” (Thomas S. Monson, “Preparation Brings Blessings,” Ensign
(Conference Edition), May 2010, p. 66).
“We remember the words of the familiar hymn: ‘Keep the commandments!
In this there is safety; in this there is peace.’ Our
Heavenly Father loves us enough to say: Thou shalt not lie; thou shalt
not steal; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself; and so on. We know the commandments. He understands
that when we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier,
more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems
will be easier to bear, and we will receive His promised blessings.
But while He gives us laws and commandments, He also allows
us to choose whether to accept them or to reject them. Our
decisions in this regard will determine our destiny” (Thomas S.
Monson, “Keep the Commandments,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
November 2015, p. 83. Italics in original).
“Essential to the plan [of salvation] is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Without His atoning sacrifice, all would be lost. It is not enough, however, merely to believe in Him and His mission. We need to work and learn, search and pray, repent and improve. We need to know God’s laws and live them. We need to receive His saving ordinances: Only by so doing will we obtain true, eternal happiness” (Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, January 2018, p. 5).
“Should there be anything amiss in your life, there is open to you a way out. Cease any unrighteousness” (Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, January 2018, p. 5).
First Presidency
“We also believe that in this one Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
there are laws and ordinances and precepts which must be observed,
or the blessings cannot come. We believe that all blessings
are predicated upon law. To every law there is a blessing, and also
a penalty. He that obeys the law will receive the blessing; he that
does not obey it will not receive the blessing. There is no favoritism
in this, but the principle of law, and obedience thereto is
required. He that wilfully rejects the law of God, that closes his
eyes to the light, that will not look upon it nor try to receive it
and comprehend it, is under condemnation, and will be punished
for his transgressions” (Charles Penrose, May 15, 1892, Collected
Discourses, 3:52-53).
“We believe that the doctrine of death-bed repentance or instantaneous
salvation is unscriptural, unreasonable, and unjust. Salvation,
like education, is an ongoing process, a lifetime endeavor,
an eternal quest. We believe in the efficacy of the atonement of
Christ, that He did for us what we could not do for ourselves;
that through His atoning blood all men will be raised from the
dead, but our individual exaltation will, through the atonement
of Christ, be achieved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of
the Gospel. A man cannot be saved in his sins. He may be saved
from them” (Hugh B. Brown, The Abundant Life, p. 316. Italics in
original).
“That testing of our limits in priesthood service is made necessary
by God’s plan to qualify His children to live with Him again
forever. Heavenly Father loves His children. He offered us eternal
life, to live with Him again in families and in glory forever. To
qualify us to receive that gift, He gave us a mortal body, the opportunity
to be tempted to sin, and a way to be cleansed from that
sin and to rise in the First Resurrection. He gave us His Beloved
Son, Jehovah, as our Savior to make that possible. The Savior was
born in mortal life, was tempted but never sinned, and then in
Gethsemane and on Golgotha paid the price of our sins so that we
could be cleansed. The purifying can come only to those who have
faith enough in Jesus Christ to repent of sin, be cleansed through
the ordinance of baptism, and make and keep covenants to obey
all His commandments. And there was to be a fierce enemy of
our souls, Lucifer, who would with his legions relentlessly try to
capture every child of God to keep him or her from having the
joy of eternal life” (Henry B. Eyring, “O Ye That Embark,” Ensign
(Conference Edition), November 2008, p. 57).
“To receive the gift of living with Him forever in families in the
celestial kingdom, we must be able to live the laws of that kingdom
(see D&C 88:22). He has given us commandments in this life to
help us develop that capacity” (Henry B. Eyring, “The Blessings of
Tithing,” Ensign, June 2011, p. 4).
“Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is
purchased by the blood of the Son of God. Thinking that we can
trade our good works for salvation is like buying a plane ticket and
then supposing we own the airline. Or thinking that after paying
rent for our home, we now hold title to the entire planet earth”
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
May 2015, p. 109).
Apostles
“Celestial Law, which governs the Celestial Kingdom, is revealed
only to those who are capable of obeying it. It demands and gives
all for all—the fulness of reward for the fulness of obedience” (Orson
F. Whitney, “Latter-Day Saint Ideals and Institutions,” Improvement
Era, August 1927, p. 858).
“No human being who has attained years of accountability in the
flesh, may hope for salvation in the kingdom of God until he has
rendered obedience to the requirements of Christ, the Redeemer
of the world. But while thus decisive, ‘Mormonism’ is not exclusive.
It does not claim that all who have failed to accept and obey
the gospel of eternal life shall be eternally and forever damned”
(James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, 1984, p. 468).
“Sometimes we discover that those who have entered into a covenant
to serve God do not live any better lives as Latter-day Saints
than they lived as Methodists or Baptists, and this will stand against
them as covenant breakers. We covenanted and agreed when we
were baptized to obey all God’s laws, and keep all the requirements
that He would make known unto us for our perfection and
salvation” (Melvin J. Ballard, Conference Reports, April 1915, p. 57).
“To the saints his everlasting counsel is: Obey, obey, obey; keep the
commandments; earn the attributes of godliness-and then, and
then only, cometh salvation!” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary 3:124).
“There is no language too strong and no repetition too frequent
to thunder into the ears of all who dwell upon the earth that salvation
comes to those and those only who keep the commandments…
Those who keep the commandments earn the right to receive the
blessings of the Lord; he, the Almighty, has ordained that blessings
do and shall follow obedience to law” (Bruce R. McConkie,
Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 3:591-592, Ellipsis mine).
“How can men become clean and pure? How can they be sanctified?
What power can burn dross and evil out of a human soul as
though by fire? To be saved men must be born again; they must
be sanctified by the Spirit; they must receive the baptism of fire
and of the Holy Ghost; they must become clean and spotless by
obedience to law” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah: From
Bethlehem to Calvary 4:383).
“We believe that he came into the world to do the will of his Father
and work out the infinite and eternal atonement, and that by
virtue of this atonement all men who believe and obey the gospel
laws will be raised in immortality unto eternal life. It is only by
obedience to his laws and his ordinances that we may gain the celestial
kingdom” (Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Reports, October
1949, p. 75).
“We believe that through his atoning blood and the sacrifice
which he worked out, all men will be raised in immortality, that is
to say, the body and the spirit will be reunited, a resurrection will
be brought to pass, and we believe that those who obey the laws
and ordinances of the gospel will gain, in addition to immortality,
the glorious gift of eternal life” (Bruce R. McConkie, Conference
Reports, October 1951, p. 146).
“‘Come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except
ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded
you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven.’ (3 Ne. 12:20.) Stop and think what those words can mean
to you and your family. Study them. Ponder over them. They are
most serious—‘except ye shall keep my commandments, which I
have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven.’ In the early history of our church the
Savior gave a revelation in which he said essentially the same
thing: ‘Keep my commandments continually. … And except thou
do this, where I am you cannot come.’ (D&C 25:15.)” (Mark E.
Petersen, “Eternal Togetherness,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
November 1974, p. 49. Ellipsis in original).
“Half obedience will be rejected as readily as full violation, and
maybe quicker, for half rejection and half acceptance is but a
sham, an admission of lack of character, a lack of love for Him. It is
actually an effort to live both sides of the line” (Mark E. Petersen,
“We Believe in Being Honest,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May
1982, p. 16. See also Doctrinal of the Gospel Student Manual: Religion
430 and 431, 2004, p. 48).
“There are several ways the Lord has set for us to learn obedience,
so we may prove ourselves and merit His approval and blessings
here and eternal glory with Him in the worlds to come. (Delbert
L. Stapley, “The Blessings of Righteous Obedience,” Ensign (Conference
Edition), November 1977, p. 18).
“Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a man of great faith, said, ‘Faith is a gift
of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness.…The greater
the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment
of the [gift of faith].’ (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 264; Italics in original.) In other words,
obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel is essential to
obtain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Doctrine and Covenants
stresses this very important point of obedience in a very simple
way. The Lord says: ‘Keep my commandments continually.…And
except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.’ (D&C 25:15.)”
(Robert D. Hales, “The Aaronic Priesthood: Return with Honor,”
Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1990, p. 39. Brackets, italics,
and ellipses in original).
“Twice in the space of a year we have lost prophets who are very
dear to us, President Ezra Taft Benson and President Howard W.
Hunter. These two great prophets of God brought truth and light
and joy into our lives. They conveyed to us the word of God. They
taught us about the importance of family, studying the Book of
Mormon, and living our lives in such a way that we would draw
closer to God. They taught us the importance of being kind to
one another, obeying the commandments, and how to receive a
fulness of joy and merit eternal life. They have pleaded with us to
live more Christlike lives, to emulate the Savior in all we do, and to
qualify ourselves to be worthy of the saving and exalting blessings
available only in the holy temples of the Lord. They gave us words
of encouragement and wise counsel to bring more happiness and
peace into our lives and into the world. We love them for their
obedience and for their concern for us” (Robert D. Hales, “Hear
the Prophet’s Voice and Obey,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May
1995, p. 15).
“We can qualify for eternal life only through obedience to the
commandments. This requires having faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and enduring to the end in following the Savior’s example.
In practical terms, we must receive all essential priesthood
ordinances and endure to the end in keeping the associated covenants”
(Robert D. Hales, “The Plan of Salvation: A sacred treasure
of knowledge to guide us,” Ensign, October 2015, p. 28).
“Our family activities and traditions can be a beacon to the rest of
the world as an example of how we should live to merit His choice
blessings and live in peace and harmony until the day that He
returns to rule and reign over us” (L. Tom Perry, “Family Traditions,”
Ensign (Conference Edition), May 1990, p. 20).
“God’s eternal blessings are contingent upon our obedience and
adherence to the word of the Lord that is revealed to us through
His holy prophets” (L. Tom Perry, “We believe all that God has
revealed,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2003, p. 88).
“We must not pick and choose which commandments we think are
important to keep but acknowledge all of God’s commandments”
(L. Tom Perry, “Obedience to Law is Liberty,” Ensign (Conference
Edition), May, 2013, p. 88).
“The demands of justice for broken law can be satisfied through
mercy, earned by your continual repentance and obedience to the
laws of God. Such repentance and obedience are absolutely essential
for the Atonement to work its complete miracle in your
life” (Richard G. Scott, “The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace
and Happiness,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2006,
p. 42).
“Obedience to the sacred covenants made in temples qualifies
us for eternal life—the greatest gift of God to man” (Russell M.
Nelson, “Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign Special
Issue Temples, October 2010, p. 42).
“God’s love is so great that He requires His children to obey His
laws because only through that obedience can they progress toward
the eternal destiny He desires for them. Thus, in the final
judgment we will all be assigned to the kingdom of glory that is
commensurate with our obedience to His law” (Dallin H. Oaks,
“Fundamental to our Faith,” Ensign, January 2011, p. 27).
“At times members may participate in ‘selective obedience,’ claiming
to love God and honor God while picking and choosing which
of His commandments and teachings—and the teachings and
counsel of His prophets—they will fully follow. Some obey selectively
because they cannot perceive all the reasons for a commandment,
just as children do not always understand the reasons for
their parents’ counsel and rules. But we always know the reason
we follow the prophets, for this is the Church of Jesus Christ, and
it is the Savior who directs His prophets in all dispensations” (Robert
D. Hales, “If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments,” Ensign
(Conference Edition), May 2014, p. 36).
“In truth, we cannot be good enough or measure up relying
solely upon our own capacity and performance. Our works and
desires alone do not and cannot save us. “After all we can do” (2
Nephi 25:23), we are made whole only through the mercy and
grace available through the Savior’s infinite and eternal atoning
sacrifice (see Alma 34:10, 14). Certainly, “we believe that through
the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience
to the laws and ordinances of the gospel” (Articles of Faith 1:3)”
(David A. Bednar, “Therefore They Hushed Their Fears,” Ensign
(Conference Edition), May 2015, p. 49).
“The third article of faith reads, ‘We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.’ ‘Saved’ in this context refers to reaching the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom. Resurrection is granted to all who come to earth, but to receive eternal life, the full blessings of eternal progression, each person must obey the laws, receive the ordinances, and make the covenants of the gospel.” (Robert D. Hales, “The Savior’s Atonement: Foundation of True Christianity,” Ensign, April 2017, p. 21).
“Everyone who comes to the earth and receives a mortal body will be resurrected, but we have to work to receive the blessing of exaltation through our faithfulness, our agency, our obedience, and our repentance. Mercy will be meted out with justice, allowing repentance. Because we have chosen to follow and accept Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, we take His name upon us at baptism. We take on the law of obedience. We promise we will always remember Him and keep His commandments. We renew our covenants when we partake of the sacrament” (Robert D. Hales, “The Savior’s Atonement: Foundation of True Christianity, Ensign, April 2017, p. 25).
“We measure our faith by what it leads us to do—by our obedience” (Robert D. Hales, “Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2017, p. 46).
Seventies
“Obedience is essential for us to obtain exaltation and eternal life
and thus become like our Father—beings of flesh and bone, immortal,
exalted, and glorified. Only then will we be heirs of all He
possesses” (Adhemar Damiani, “The Merciful Plan of the Great
Creator,” Ensign, March 2004, p. 10).
“This redemption is conditioned on our having faith in His Atonement,
our repenting from our sins, our keeping the covenants we
make with the Lord, our obeying all His commandments, and our
enduring to the end. Obeying the sacred covenants and all the
commandments qualifies us to receive the remission of our sins,
allowing us to live clean and pure lives in the presence of God as
resurrected and exalted beings” (Adhemar Damiani, “The Merciful
Plan of the Great Creator,” Ensign, March 2004, pp. 11-12).
“If we must give all that we have, then our giving only almost everything
is not enough. If we almost keep the commandments, we
almost receive the blessings” (Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement:
All for All,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May 2004, p. 98. Italics
in original).
“Unquestioning obedience to the Lord indicates that a person has
developed faith and trust in Him to the point where he or she considers
all inspired instruction — whether it be recorded scripture
or the words of modern prophets, or direct inspiration through
the Holy Ghost — to be worthy of obedience” (Robert C. Oaks,
“Believe all Things,” Ensign, July 2005, p. 32).
“In 1980, when President Ezra Taft Benson was serving as President
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he gave a powerful
message about obedience to the prophets at a BYU devotional in
the Marriott Center. His great talk, titled “Fourteen Fundamentals
in Following the Prophet,” touched my heart. It made me feel
good that I had made the decision to follow the prophets for the
rest of my life when I accepted baptism in the Lord’s true Church”
(Claudio R. M. Costa, “Obedience to the Prophets,” Ensign (Conference
Edition), November 2010, p. 11).
“We should not deceive ourselves about what it takes to return and remain in the presence of our Father in Heaven. We have to be clean” (Allen D. Haynie, “Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2015, p. 122).
“It is important that we realize that just like the remission of sins, repentance is a process and not something that happens at one particular moment. It requires consistency in each of its steps. For example, when we partake of the sacrament, we show the Lord that we are going to remember Him always and keep His commandments. That is an expression of our sincere intent. The moment we begin to remember Him and keep His commandments every day—and not just on the Sabbath day—is when the remission of our sins begins to gradually take effect and His promise of having His Spirit with us begins to be fulfilled. Without the proper obedience that must accompany our intent, the effect of remission may disappear before long and the companionship of the Spirit begins to withdraw. We will run the risk of honoring Him with our lips while removing our hearts from Him (see 2 Nephi 27:25)” (Francisco J. Vinas, “The Pleasing Word of God,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 2015, pp. 36-37).
Church Manuals
“Have class members find and read Moroni 10:32. According to
this verse, what must we do to ‘come unto Christ, and be perfected
in him’? (‘Deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness, and love God with
all [our] might, mind and strength.’) Explain that ‘deny yourselves
of all ungodliness’ means ‘give up your sins.’ We must strive
to give up our sins and demonstrate that we love God with all our
might, mind, and strength. If we do this throughout our lives,
then Jesus Christ, through his Atonement, will help us become
perfect” (Preparing for Exaltation Teacher’s Manual, 1998, p. 123.
Brackets in original).
“We are saved by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We
must, however, come unto Christ on His terms in order to obtain
all the blessings that He freely offers us. We come unto Christ by
‘doing all we can do’ to remember Him, keep our covenants with
Him, and obey His commandments (see D&c 20:77; see also Abraham
3:25)” (Book of Mormon Seminary Student Study Guide, 2000,
p. 53).
“By virtue of our membership in the Church of Jesus Christ, we
stand in a position through our obedience to receive eternal life,
the Father’s greatest gift” (Doctrines of the Gospel Teacher Manual:
Religion 430-431, (2000), p. 68).
“Jesus has told us we should work to become like Him and our
Father in Heaven. He would not have told us to do this unless He
knew we could do it” (Gospel Fundamentals, 2002, p. 127).
“When we do learn to keep all of our Father in Heaven’s commandments,
think how happy we will be as we return to Him and
He tells us He is happy with the life we lived and we will become
like Him and live with Him forever” (Gospel Fundamentals, 2002,
p. 205).
“Our Father in Heaven is a being who governs by law. Nothing
is haphazard or accidental about the manner in which He dispenses
His blessings. If we keep the commandments, we receive
the promised rewards. If we disobey the commandments, we lose
the proffered gifts” (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel
Religion 301, 2003, p. 225).
“One reason you are here on earth is to show your willingness to
obey Heavenly Father’s commandments” (True to the Faith: A Gospel
Reference, 2004, p. 108).
“Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your
life, including increased strength to overcome your weaknesses.
This obedience includes actions you might not initially consider
part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing,
giving service, and forgiving others. The Lord promised, ‘He that
repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven’
(D&C 1:32)” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, 2004, p. 135).
“By keeping God’s commandments, we prepare for eternal life
and exaltation. Sometimes we do not know the reason for a particular
commandment. However, we show our faith and trust in
God when we obey Him without knowing why” (Gospel Principles,
2009, p. 202).
“The Atonement of Jesus Christ assures each of us that we will
be resurrected and live forever. But if we are to live forever with
our families in Heavenly Father’s presence, we must do all that
the Savior commands us to do. This includes being baptized and
confirmed and receiving the ordinances of the temple” (Gospel
Principles, 2009, p. 233).
Other Sources
“Inasmuch as Eve was the first to eat of the forbidden fruit, if she
will covenant that from this time forth she will obey the law of the
Lord, and will hearken unto your counsel as you hearken unto
mine, and if you will covenant that from this time forth you will
obey the Law of Elohim, we will give unto you the Law of Obedience
and Sacrifice, and we will provide a Savior for you, whereby you
may come back into our presence, and with us partake of Eternal
Life and exaltation” (Elohim, Post-1990 LDS Endowment Ceremony,
Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony 1842-1990, p. 120).
“Joseph Smith said, ‘we cannot be saved in ignorance.’ If we ever
dwell again with God we have to obey all the laws and ordinances
of the Priesthood; he has not given it to us to treat lightly, nor do
as we please with it. Every man who has embraced the Gospel is
expected to live up to it, to the best of his ability. There is more
responsibility resting upon us as members than we are really aware
of; we have made covenants with God that we will obey, and live in
strict accordance with the truth we have embraced; if we do not,
then we become the transgressors and covenant breakers, it would
have been better for us, had we never heard the Gospel; for where
there is no law there is no requirement” (“A Duty of Parents,” The
Contributor, February 1885, Vol. 6, No. 5, p. 184).
“We have trials to endure but we have a reward to gain; and how
few of us care for the reward if only we can escape the trials; but
how trifling are these trials compared with the great reward, salvation.
What a word is that, oh, how great, how comforting! What
boots it if the path of life is rugged and its steeps are hard to
climb? The earth also is rugged and its steeps are hard to climb,
but as God has given us power to mount these great heights of
nature so will He give us power to mount the rugged steps of life;
and grateful ought we to be to Him that He has given us trials, by
which to gain a reward, for rewards given, not earned, are little appreciated”
(“Seek a Reward,” The Contributor, October 1887, Vol. 8,
No. 12, p. 457).
“I believe in the principle of obedience; and if I am told that
Adam is our Father and our God, I just believe it” (James A. Little,
Millennial Star 16:530).
“To be exalted in the kingdom of God, one must keep all of the
laws of the gospel and keep all the commandments of God. It is
great to keep the Word of Wisdom and to pay your tithes and offerings
and attend Sacrament meetings and fulfill all the other
activities in the Church. But if you omit your family research and
temple work, you fall short and at the peril of your own salvation”
(Patriarch Eldred G. Smith, Conference Reports, April 1962, p. 66).
“Then, when we have proven worthy Of thy sacrifice divine, Lord
let us regain they presence; Let thy glory round us shine” (“In
Humility, Our Savior,” LDS Hymns, 1985, p. 172).
“On the same basis men cannot be saved in their sins (Alma 11:37);
the Lord has ordained the laws by which salvation and all good
things come, and until obedience prepares the way, the promised
blessings are withheld. (D&C 88:21-24; 130:20-21; 132:5.) Men
can no more be saved without obedience than they can be healed
without faith. All things operate by law; blessings result from obedience
to law and are withheld when there is no obedience” (BYU
Professor Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the New
Testament p. 222).
“You will become exactly and immediately obedient to every single
instruction in the missionary training manual. Missionaries, the
violation of any rule or principle can cost you either your place in
the Kingdom, or in some cases, your life” (Instructions to young
missionaries from the PBS documentary Get the Fire. http://www.
pbs.org/independentlens/getthefire/program.html. Retrieved
May 2, 2011).
“But are we not required then to keep the commandments? The
answer is yes-and no. When I ask my students if it is necessary to
keep the commandments to enter into the celestial kingdom, they
all answer with absolute certainty that it is. They know that this is
true because they have heard Church leaders and teachers tell
them so all of their lives. But when I ask them if they’ve ever broken
a commandment, or if they are not now living any commandments
one hundred percent, most of them answer in the affirmative.
They don’t usually see the major problem implied by these
two answers” (Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ: The Parable of
the Bicycle and Other Good News, p. 45).
“We are indeed saved by grace, the unearned and eternally unmerited
grace of Christ. Yet Christ has decreed that only those who live
faithfully, in accordance with gospel standards and covenants, will
be the recipients of his saving work. While we can never ‘earn’
salvation from the bonds of spiritual death, it is only on condition
of faithfulness to the laws and ordinances of the gospel that Christ
will grant that saving blessing to us” (Kent P. Jackson and Robert
L. Millet, eds., Studies in Scripture Volume Five: The Gospels, pp. 5-6).
“A testimony that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer made
Jess firm and quick to respond. You can gain that same confidence
as you pray daily, search for answers in your scriptures, and obey
the commandments. As you sincerely seek to gain a testimony,
the knowledge that will come through the Holy Ghost will assist
you with your challenges, with questions, and with living the standards.
And it will be easy for you also to commit to be steadfast
and immovable at all times and in all things and in all places”
(Elaine S. Dalton, “All Times, in All Things, and in All Places,”
Ensign (Conference Edition), April 2008, p. 117).
“Salvation is found only in willing obedience to the Father, never
in neglect, disobedience, or the pursuit of one’s own will. As it was,
it was necessary for Christ to be obedient in all things to work out
his salvation. It is necessary for all men to do the same” (Joseph
Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on
the Book of Mormon 1:362).
“Grandpa has graduated–he has taken the next step. I know that
Grandpa is still alive and that if we live worthy, we will see him
again” (Allan F. Packer, grandson of Apostle Boyd K. Packer, at the
apostle’s funeral service, Salt Lake Tribune, 7/11/15, A-2).