"The Way and the Life"

by Randolph E. Maudsley

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I'd like to tell you somewhat about myself and some of the things I've come to understand. When I was a younger man, I did some missionary work around the United States and in Europe. I don't know that I was terribly effective at that time, but I honestly made a great effort to be so - for example, I taught and prepared four men for baptism in my company, while in boot camp. In fact, some of my successes led to the LDS Church setting me apart as a missionary for my entire four year enlistment in the U.S. Navy. I was never released as a missionary by the LDS Church until they cast me out of the LDS Church. But it wasn't the LDS Church who called me as a missionary in the first place, but the Lord Jesus Christ, when I was eighteen years of age. The Lord told me of the things He expected me to do with regard to His children, and He personally called me to this work and my calling at this time.

Now, you might think that someone who's seen and talked with the Lord, might be mighty to do His works. Maybe so, but not in my case. Even with the knowledge I possessed at that time, I proceeded to do many wicked and abominable things before His face. You might say of me, as did Paul of himself -

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." (1 Timothy 1:15.)

I can testify by my own experience, that the Lord is very merciful unto those He loves, if they will but repent. I suppose that my knowledge of the Lord was insufficient for me to rely upon. But more than likely, and is very probably the case with me, I was a very prideful and a rebellious servant. My pride wouldn't allow me to consider myself as more than the image of what I perceived myself to be, "The Poor Little Me Syndrome". I plain and simply felt sorry for myself - me, the underdog! After all, I was so ugly and and undesirable after a very serious car accident! I didn't realize at the time, that this is a form of pride. I didn't understand that my attitude was one of a very selfish prideful man. I found this out by working with people who have very low self-esteems and self-worth. I saw that in these people, there is a great deal of pride on their parts - they take pride in their lowliness of heart and they won't repent of it.

While I was in such a state of mind and heart, as I have described to you, I took courses in building my self-esteem, self-motivation, promoting myself, positive thinking - I thought I could sell an Eskimo a snowball, when I was through! But guess what? My pride was so great, that I only succeeded in building the walls in my heart higher, wider and thicker than ever - I was safe and even God couldn't find me. So, what did the Lord do with young Alma when he got himself into such a state? Well, something similar happened to me as well, and not just once - I was a hard case, you see. When you're brought before the Lord in the spirit and that spirit is a very rebellious one, I cannot describe to you the feeling of being totally naked before God and yourself. You see, I'd learned to overlook and to ignore, even to forget the things I needed to repent of - after all, I was righteous! But, when before the Lord and you both see clearly, I could not lie to Him or to myself and I didn't like at all what I saw. No, not at all.

Needless to say, it took me a long time to get myself straightened out enough to begin anew the mission and calling I'd received from the Lord many years before. How did I do that? By simply doing it. I forsook myself and my pride, and buried myself into the lives of others. I soon found that I'd much rather have my own problems, than the problems I dealt with when helping other people; My problems seemed quite small compared to many of theirs and I found that I wouldn't trade my problems for theirs for anything. I began to put others before myself and the things I wanted out of life. I spent many, many hours with people and did everything I could to ease their burdens. I found the words of King Benjamin to be the absolute truth, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17.) So, after years of my living the milk of the Gospel in the LDS Church, I came to a point where I came to this knowledge - that I was pleasing God.

But soon, I found that my heart wasn't satisfied and that I needed more. I began to petition the heavens that I might know what I needed to do, in the True Order of Prayer. I then asked of the Lord for a recognition of my sins, that I might repent of all I could and He granted me my request. I then entered a three year ordeal, with the Lord as my guide, wherein I came to a knowledge of my many sins, as I was able to endure them and truly repent for the same. I'll never forget the day I found myself twenty miles from the nearest town, in the middle of no-where, when I heard the Lord's voice out of heaven declare to me, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." What great joy I felt, my heart swelled in my chest and I broke down into burning tears of thanksgiving. I asked my brother to rebaptize me out in the nearby reservoir one chilly Saturday morning. I'll never forget the scene as he and I stood to our waists in the waters of baptism, the sun barely above the horizon burning through the morning fog and falling directly upon us there. Our white clothes seemed to glow brilliantly as the morning sun seemed to set them afire and the sunlight danced about us. I was reborn that day, reborn unto Christ. I became a new creature, and when I was given the Holy Ghost, it actually fell upon me and I received of God a Baptism of Fire! Which remained upon me for days. Over and over again the Spirit fell upon me, burning from my soul the dross. Thus, I set my feet upon the path, even the strait and narrow path. I set my hand upon the iron rod and I have never let go!

If I had only known these things when I was younger. If I had only known of my damnable pride, if I could have only seen. But, I now know that I was told and that I did know, but I was a very rebellious soul, a selfish soul and a prideful soul. You see, I've found that righteousness is the exact opposite of selfishness. One cannot be righteous if one is selfish. It is true that we can claim to keep all the commandments, but how can we honestly do so, if we are selfish? If we put ourselves first? If we seek after our own life? We can't claim righteousness or claim to be Christ's, for He gave everything and He requires us to make that self-same sacrifice, even that of ourselves and our damnable pride.

Once, I had a friend who at that time was Buddhist in his faith. I told him once in my ignorance, "You can be saved, because Jesus is the Christ; he died for your sins!" "So?", he asked of me, "I didn't ask him to! What has this all to do with me?" So, I tried to teach him the LDS Gospel for many months, but to no avail. He just wasn't interested. And why should he have been? I wasn't offering him anything his faith didn't offer, in both scenarios he had to die in order to be saved (to advance) - now is that really being saved? If you or I were drowning in the ocean and from a nearby ship we heard, "I'll save you! I'll save you! But you have to drown first!" What would we think of such foolishness? Since that time I have come to understand what the fullness of the Christ's Gospel really is. I would now approach this friend of mine like this, "You don't have to die, because Jesus paid the debt for your sins, if you will repent; For Jesus is the Christ!" And, this friend of mine might say, "I don't have to die? How can this be? Who is this man Jesus and what is required of me?" Have you ever had this explained to you this way before? Let me go on.

When we received our Endowment, we made certain covenants which we covenanted to keep and so to do. Is that correct? In the Endowment, when Satan is revealed for the stinker that he really is, he turns to those being endowed and makes this promise,

"I have a word to say concerning these people. If they do not walk up to every covenant they make at these altars in this temple/endowment house this day, they will be in my power!"

Do you remember that this is Satan's threat? Was it an idle threat? Let's see -

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15.)

What is the power of Satan? According to Paul, it's death! According to Brigham Young, the power of Satan is death and the last enemy to be conquered. So, can we safely say that if we don't keep our covenants we've made in our Endowment, that we will suffer death for certain. It looks that way. It is that way, isn't it? Might it also be said, that if we keep all of the covenants we've made in our Endowment that we won't die? Yes, we can say this, because it is true, for Christ is the way and the life! Is this what you want? This is what I want! I want to be translated and then changed in a twinkling of an eye. Sounds great doesn't it? But how?

We make five covenants in the Endowment. The first is that of "Obedience." For the man it is to obey the law of Eloheim and to abide His council. For the woman it is to obey the law of her husband and abide his council. Now, can I obey God if I don't trust Him? I don't think so, not totally anyway. Can a woman obey her husband if she can't trust him? I believe the same applies here as with God, don't you? God proclaimed that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. So, if a woman loves her husband, she will obey his law and abide his council - is that true? Therefore, if a woman doesn't obey her husband, she must not love her husband, and why? Because she can't or doesn't trust him for some reason or she loves some other man possibly? Can a woman trust in a man whom she leads around by the nose? Or that she can get him to jump through hoops for a little affection? When that woman can control that man, so might another woman, especially in a plural marriage situation. "What if she's prettier, sexier or better in bed than I am?" or "What if she can get him to make me do something she wants me to do, that I don't want to do?" or "What if I become her slave through my husband?" What if? What if? How about, "What if I lose complete control over my husband to another woman?" Scary, huh?

Can a woman trust her husband to be a strict arbitrator of justice and lead her, to be her head, if she's always had to push and lead him around because he'd never take the initiative? I don't think so! What about if a woman's husband were to begin to court another wife? "Can I trust him to keep his hands to himself? He sure didn't when I was dating him!" or "He's already stepped out on me once. Can I trust my husband not to get in another woman's pants before they're married?" or "Can I trust my husband to pick a good woman, if all he thinks with is his?" In almost all these cases, a woman may continue to have the emotion of love for her husband, but she doesn't trust him to do what's right. Therefore, she questions his judgments and decisions, and the proper order of the family breaks down and she ultimately breaks her covenant to obey her husband, because she really doesn't love him according to the Savior. I recommend and so teach, that if a woman can't or fails to keep her covenant with her husband, that she go to a man that she can obey, because she can trust him and so also love him. This is a woman's privilege under the law, if she is a righteous woman. She can be rescued from that situation --"saved" if you wish, that she might live and continue on towards the goal. This is the justice of a merciful God and I do so testify to you that it is true.

Now, what about a man? Can a man trust in a God who changes from day to day? I don't think so. God must be the same, consistent from day to day and so must a man be to his wife, that trust might grow. When Joseph Smith saw God the first time, He told Joseph not to join any of the churches of that time, and why? Because -

" they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." (Joseph Smith History, verse 19.)

What do you suppose God meant when he said, "having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof"? He means that they don't trust in Him! That they don't believe God can do what He said He can and will; that He can neither save them or get them! They go through the motions of piety and attend all their meetings and pay their tithing, but they don't believe God can provide for them; they don't believe God will protect them; they can't believe God will forgive and then save them! Because everybody they've ever known has died! Everyone so far! Why? Because either they never obtained an Endowment or when they did, they didn't keep their covenants. So, they were in the power of Satan, everyone so far in our lifetimes! This is why men do not obey God, because they do not love God, because they do not trust in God, but they trust in themselves. Men trust in their own wits, wisdom and the strength of their own arms. Women trust in their wits, contrivances and their ability to control men through the attractiveness of their bodies and the lure thereof. So, when they get older, they feel they've lost their value unless they've acquired enough money, status and power prior to this event. It's the same old story, over and over again in this world.

The second covenant we make is that of "Sacrifice". Does it do us any good at all, to make a sacrifice to a God that we don't trust to do what He said He'll do? Does it do any good at all for us to make a sacrifice that we don't believe will bring about the desired effects from God? If we don't trust that the God we worship will reward us openly for that which we do in the form of our sacrifices, then we are making a mockery of God when we make those sacrifices and God doesn't accept them -- we made a sacrifice for nothing! In the end, God judges us by our hearts and if our hearts are not right before the Lord, as with Cain, then He won't accept our sacrifice.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," (John 3:16.)

Love is sacrifice. If a woman loves her family, she will sacrifice of herself, her time, energy and talents, to bring forth children, to teach them and to keep a good house; being a help meet unto her husband. If a man loves his family, he will sacrifice of his time, energy and talents (himself) that he might teach and bring them. If a God loves His family, He too will sacrifice of Himself, His time, His energy and His talents, even unto the sacrifice of His own life, that his family might be saved. Show me a woman who does not sacrifice of herself for her family and I will show you a woman who does not love her family. Show me a woman who does not sacrifice for her husband and I will show you a woman who not only doesn't love her husband, but cannot obey her husband! Show me the man who doesn't make sacrifices for his family and I will show you a man who doesn't love his family. Show me the man who does not sacrifice for God and I will show you a man who does not love God, and therefore cannot obey God and does not obey God. Show me a God who does not make sacrifice of Himself to atone for His family's sins, and I will show you a God that fell from heaven onto the earth and became the devil. It's not a one way thing! I know that Jesus loves me, because he sacrificed His very life for me. My wives know that I love them because they can see that I am doing what I saw my Savior do, in a sacrifice of myself! My children know that my wives and I love them, because we sacrifice for them. Thus, they can trust us by our sacrifice and our integrity, and love us in return - so they honor and obey us. It is the same with my wives and I. It is the same with God and I. This is called charity, "and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him" (Moroni 7:47). The pure love of Christ is charity and charity is to love Christ purely, by obedience to all of His laws and all of His commandments - which is to love Him; which is to sacrifice our will to His. The covenants of "Obedience & Sacrifice" are inseparably connected and coexistent in eternity - we can't live the one, without living the other or vice-versa.

Thirdly is the covenant we make to live the law of "the Gospel". And what is that? It is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; to warn our neighbor, once we've been warned; to obey and keep all the commandments of the Lord. It's the whole plan. We must live it! Now, can we live the law of the Gospel if we do not keep the law of sacrifice or the law of obedience? I don't think so. It too, is inseparably connected to the first two laws we covenant to keep, both in time and in eternity.

And fourth, we make a covenant to keep the law of "Chastity", which is basically not to have sex of any kind with anyone who is not given to you, or with anyone you are not given to, by the hand of the priesthood. Now, would a woman who loves, obeys and sacrifices for her husband, who's living the law of the Gospel, have sex with anyone other than her husband? No! Of course not. Otherwise she's not really living the law of the Gospel, she makes an unacceptable sacrifice and is not obedient to her husband - she doesn't love him. Can a man receive to himself any woman other than one of his wives and have sex with her, and still proclaim that he loves God; that he is chaste; lives the Gospel, sacrifices properly and is obedient to God? I don't think so. For a man or a woman to be called chaste, they must keep the law of Chastity, which they covenant to do, both spiritually and physically. And in so doing, they find themselves automatically keeping all the other covenants.

The last covenant we make in the Endowment, is also the very last covenant anyone ever successfully keeps (and most hope they never have to!) and that is the law of "Consecration". The Law of Consecration as it is contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, is that we do consecrate ourselves, our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us, or which He may bless us, for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion. In this covenant, the very first thing we covenant to consecrate unto the Lord, is ourselves. What does that mean? It means that we give ourselves, "us", our "Id", "our wills" unto God and submit to whatever He would do with us. It means to give our all, even our hearts, to God. The Savior gave the perfect example of this very thing in Gethsemane, when he submitted unto the will of His Father saying -

"Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39.)

Our time and our talents. What are talents? It's not your ability to sing or dance or paint! A talent is a weight measurement of gold and silver - our money! All of it! Everything with which God has blessed us, or He may bless us, is self explanatory. What for? "For the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion." In other words, in order to completely keep this covenant and obey this law, we must actually try with all our hearts to build God's kingdom upon this earth! We must do everything possible to establish God's Zion, even unto actually doing it, no matter what the cost!
Can we build the kingdom and establish Zion, if we do not consecrate? No! Absolutely not! Can we consecrate unless we are obedient, make sacrifices, live the law of the Gospel, become chaste? No! All these laws and covenants are inseparably connected, they are inalienable one from the other. If we attempt to live one, we begin to live them all or we aren't living the one, from a lesser degree to living of them in full. And, should we keep our covenants and actually live the laws which we covenanted to live, then we will have automatically established a Zion community! It just follows suit! Now, do people who live in Zion die? I don't think so.

Wow, then all we have to do is to keep our covenants and live the law of consecration, which comprehends everything else. We can't consecrate and actually do it, unless our hearts are pure and right before the Lord. What do you think? Now, ask yourself these questions: Can you consecrate all by yourself? No, you must gather together into one spot, otherwise God's economic system can't operate! Can you gather by yourself? No, look the word up in the dictionary - it requires more than one, even many. So, we must gather together into one place, that we might live the law of consecration as well as the law of Celestial Marriage. It's pretty darn hard to find wives and husbands when they're scattered from hell to breakfast! It's pretty darn hard to buy, sell or trade with your brother if he's a hundred miles away, even in this day and age!

The gathering together of the Lord's people provide them opportunities. Joseph Smith taught -

"What was the object of the gathering of the Jews, or the people of God in any age of the world? - The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose.

It was the design of the councils of heaven before the world was, that the principles and laws of the priesthood should be predicated upon the gathering of the people in every age of the world. Jesus did everything to gather the people, and they would not be gathered, and He therefore poured out curses upon them. Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, ARE NOT to be ALTERED or CHANGED. All must be saved upon the same principles. It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings, etc." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 307-308.)

So, what about you? Where are you in the scheme of things? What are you doing with your life? Are you too proud to allow your heart to hear the words I'm writing to you by way of the Spirit? These things I write are addressed to you, and to your heart. Where is your heart? Is it upon the things of this world? Is it upon yourself and the things you want, the things you covet? You can buy anything in this world for money. But, you cannot buy anything in the world to come, with money. If you seek after and purchase this world at the cost of your own salvation, then you will die with this world - over and over again. So, what is it that you really want? What is the real desire of your heart? What will you do with the things I'm writing to you at this very moment in time? Will you disregard them and set them as naught? Will your count these things I say as small things? Silly things? As unimportant to you at this time in your life? Even Christ had to live the law in it's fullness, in that He fulfilled all righteousness - are we above Christ? I give you these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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