Reconciled to the Will of God

2 Nephi 10:24 - "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - "Even though there are some conditional aspects of the Atonement that require our adherence to gospel principles for the full realization of eternal blessings, the Book of Mormon makes clear that neither the conditional nor unconditional blessings of the Atonement would be available to mankind except through the grace and goodness of Christ. Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones also are not fully merited. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, we can receive a fuller measure of blessings from Christ, but even these greater blessings are freely given of him and are not technically 'earned' by us. In short, good works are necessary for salvation, but they are not sufficient. And God is not obliged to make up the insufficiency."

Elder Dale G. Renlund - “Comparing ourselves to others can lead us to make pernicious errors, especially if we conclude that we are more righteous than those who are struggling. Such a comparison is like drowning hopelessly in three meters of water, seeing someone else drowning in four meters of water, judging him a greater sinner, and feeling good about yourself. After all, we are all struggling in our own way. None of us earns salvation. We never can…We all need the Savior’s infinite Atonement, not just part of it.”

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome to Speak This Peace, a daily podcast dedicated to drawing closer to the Savior through the powerful truths found in the Book of Mormon. Each episode, we focus on one verse that helps us walk more faithfully in his footsteps.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

One of the great questions of mortality is whether we are truly willing to let God direct our lives. It is easy to say that we believe in him, trust him, and want his blessings. But there is a difference between believing in God and being reconciled to his will. Reconciliation requires action. It means we stop fighting against what God wants for us and begin bringing our desires, choices, priorities, and plans into harmony with Him. Jacob had been teaching his people about the Savior, the resurrection, the judgment, and the mercy of God. After teaching those great truths he urged the people to respond. They could not simply hear the doctrine and continue living according to the flesh. They needed to act. They needed to yield their will to God and remember that salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. Second Nephi tense twenty four says Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God and not to the will of the devil in the flesh, and remember after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. As we study this verse today, along with teachings from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Del G. Rinland, we will consider what it means to reconcile ourselves to God's will and live with greater humility and focus in Jesus Christ. The word reconcile is important in this verse because it is active. Jacob did not say to wait until God forces us to change. He did not say that reconciliation will happen automatically. He taught that we must reconcile ourselves to the will of God. That means we choose to bring our lives into alignment with His plan. We choose to let go of pride, selfishness, and personal agendas. We choose to stop asking God to approve of our will and instead ask him to help us follow His. Often the greatest battle in mortality is not between us and another person, it is between our will and God's will. The flesh wants comfort, convenience, control, and immediate gratification. Satan encourages us to believe that we know better than God, that we can create our own path, and that commandments are restrictive. But God's will is always leading us toward life, peace, and eternal joy. Reconciling ourselves to God's will may require changing habits, priorities, relationships, or attitudes. It may require us to give up things we want in order to receive something better from God. It may require patience when his timing is different than ours. But reconciliation is not punishment, it is protection. God is not trying to take joy away from us, he is leading us toward the greatest joy possible. When we insist on our own way, we often create unnecessary pain. We may think we know what will make us happy, but God sees the eternal picture that we cannot see. His plan is always wiser than our own. Jacob also reminds us that after we are reconciled to God, it is still only through His grace that we are saved. That is a necessary reminder because sometimes we can begin to think that our obedience earns salvation. The Book of Mormon makes clear that neither the conditional nor unconditional blessings of the atonement would be available to mankind except through the grace and goodness of Christ. Obviously the unconditional blessings in the atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones also are not fully merited. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, we can receive a fuller measure of blessings from Christ. But even these greater blessings are freely given of him and are not technically earned by us. In short, good works are necessary for salvation, but they are not sufficient, and God is not obliged to make up the insufficiency. This teaching helps us understand the balance between obedience and grace. Good works matter, commandments matter, covenants matter, reconciliation to God's will matters, but none of those things save us on their own. We cannot earn heaven through our own goodness. We cannot overcome sin, death, weakness, or imperfection by ourselves. Every one of us depends completely on Jesus Christ. Even when we are doing our best, we are still relying on him every step of the way. This truth should make us humble. It should remove pride, comparison, and self-righteous from our heart. There's no room to look down on others when we understand how desperately we all need the Savior.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Comparing ourselves to others can lead us to make pernicious errors, especially if we conclude that we are more righteous than those who are struggling. Such a comparison is like drowning hopelessly in three meters of water, seeing someone else drowning in four meters of water, judging him a greater sinner, and feeling good about yourself. After all, we are all struggling in our own way. None of us earns salvation. We never can. We all need the Savior's infinite atonement, not just part of it.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

In modern life, it can be easy to build our own version of success and then ask God to bless it. We may create our own plans, set our own priorities, and make decisions based on only what feels good, what is easiest or what seems most appealing in the moment. But reconciliation requires us to pause and ask different questions. Are we making room for God's will in our daily decisions? Are we praying about our plans or simply presenting them to God after we have already decided what we want? Are we letting Scripture, prophets, and the Spirit shape our choices? Reconciling ourselves to God may mean changing how we spend our time. It may mean repenting of habits that pull us away from the Spirit. It may mean becoming more patient with God's timing. It may mean trusting Him when we do not understand why something is happening. At the same time, we should not become discouraged when we fall short. We are not saved because we perform perfectly. We are saved through Jesus Christ who performed perfectly. Our responsibility is to keep turning toward Him, keep repenting, keep obeying, and keep trying to bring our will into harmony with His. So here is today's challenge. Take time today to prayerfully identify one area of your life where you might be able to be fully aligned with God's will. It may be a habit, a relationship, a priority, an attitude, or a decision. Ask Heavenly Father to help you see clearly what needs to change, and then take one specific action to bring your life into greater harmony with His plan. As we do that, we will become more humble, more teachable, and more aware of our constant need for the grace of Jesus Christ. Thank you for listening to Seek This Jesus. I hope this message helps you draw a little closer to the Savior Jesus Christ. Please, don't let this podcast be your only scripture time today. As we open the scriptures for ourselves, the Spirit will teach us things no podcast ever could. If you are exploring the truths of the Book of Mormon for the first time, you can receive a free copy using the link in the description found in every episode of Seek This Jesus. I invite you to come back tomorrow for another verse and message to help you stay focused on Jesus Christ. Until next time, keep seeking this Jesus.