Jesus asked His twelve Nephite Apostles: “What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am ascended to the Father?” They got an opportunity most people can only fantasize about. These men could have asked Jesus for anything. Nine of the twelve requested that after their work was done, “that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom” (3Ne. 28:1-2). The Nephites who were at Bountiful when Jesus descended could not take their eyes off from Jesus. We can assume that the same will be true at the second coming. We will be grateful for the absence of ills and the abundance of blessings, the very reversal of the fall, but we will be most joyful about having the presence of the Lord with us.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you...I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, ye may be also...no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:1-2, 6). We all want to go to heaven, but how do we get there? Only by Jesus Christ. How do we get Him to get us into heaven? Faith in Christ, repentance, baptism in water to remit our sins, and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. What do these things accomplish? They allow us to belong to Him, they formalize His adoption of us. This is the purpose of baptism, the sacrament, and other covenants and ordinances we receive. Jesus is the only one who earned reentry into heaven; we must borrow His ticket. We must be so attached to Him that wherever He goes, we go also. Covenants bind us, superglue us (so to speak) to Jesus when we keep them. When He enters heaven, He takes us in.
We covenant and demonstrate our willingness to “take upon [us] the name of [Jesus Christ], always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given us” each Sunday when we partake of the sacrament. Do what He says, always keep Him in our memories, even take His name onto ourselves—these things all bind us to Him. Obedience means we are His servants; remembering Him means we become His fans, enthusiastic; and taking His name on us makes us members of His family. All this indicates own ownership.
That idea rankles modern sensibilities—being owned. “Adoption” might be more comfortable and flattering, but the scriptures do indicate ownership: “...ye are not your own...For ye are bought with a price...” (1Cor. 6:19-20). This is a good thing. If Jesus has no claim on us, then we are the property of offended justice: “...according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish...” (Alma 34:9). We owe a debt we cannot sufficiently pay off; our damnation is all we could offer. Jesus has paid our debt, but we must accept Him. That entails more than lip service.
If Jesus paid the whole debt, why do we need to do anything at all? Jesus’ whole ministry is a long list of dos and don’ts. First Jesus pays our debt, but then He tells we need to work. Justification, or forgiveness for sin, is only one part of being saved; those who end up in heaven are those whose natures are of a celestial quality. To have our natures changed requires sanctification. God cannot change our hearts if we put our agency, our free will, in the way. We must surrender our will to His; good works and obedience demonstrate that surrender.
Lehi teaches, “Behold, he (Christ) offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered” (2Ne. 2:7). Alma asks, “...have ye been sufficiently humble?” His is not asking if we are flawless yet. The sin has been committed already; the Atonement has already paid for it; but are we humble enough to stop sinning, and be cleansed from the desire to sin? Jesus pays for our entry into heaven, but we must submit to polishing before we can enter. This polishing requires our cooperation. Obedience shows this humility, regardless of how often we miss the mark. We do not prove that we are good through our obedience; rather, we prove that we are His. In heaven, obedience is the chief sign of ownership. If something obeys you there, you own it. Our attempts at obedience are often weak and flawed, but when they are symptoms of true humility, they show that we belong to Jesus.
Perhaps that is one reason for the emphasis on willingness in the sacramental prayers. “...God hath said that a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing...For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God” (Moroni 7:6, 8). Just because it left your hand and went into the coffers does not mean that it counts in your favor. God could take any thing He wants from us; a cheerful giver is what He really values. Doing what God wants is good; doing it out of love for Him is best.
Would God rather have us miss the mark while making a willing effort, or hit the mark while grumbling in our hearts about the assignment of archery? “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days” (D&C 64:34). Laman and Lemuel physically did everything they were commanded to do; their bodies ended up in the Americas. But their hearts were still reclining in their home at Jerusalem.
Another way in which obedience binds us to God is via direct interaction. As we obey and do the Lord’s work, we get revelation, establish a relationship with Him. “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served...and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” King Benjamin immediately launches into an ownership metaphor: “And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. I say unto you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called. Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, (why? To earn salvation? No, but) that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen” (Mosiah 5:13-15).
Our obedience to Christ allows Him to seal us as His own.
“And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” He will spare “...they that feared the Lord...them that thought upon his name” (Mal. 3:16-17). If we sin (we all sin), it is fitting and just for us to be damned. But if we covenant with Jesus, make ourselves His, repent and humble ourselves, and do the best we can to follow His voice and obey His words, then Jesus can claim us as His property, spare us from punishment, and clean us up so we become more fit to enter heaven with Him, to live in His presence forever. No matter how hard we try, alone we have no leg to stand on. We must rely “wholly on the merits of him who is mighty to save” for actual entry into heaven. However, if we exhibit no signs of changed behavior, repentance, obedience, etc., are we His? If we do not remember Him with love, are we His? If we want something other than Him, are we His? If we are not humble enough to submit our wills to His will, do we really belong to Him? He has done everything for us, given us everything; if we do not try to give Him our all in return, do we really belong to Him?
Our sacrifices and repentance combine with Jesus’ sacrifice and suffering, and connect us to Him. Awareness of our fallen state, and much was sacrificed to save us, and how much we are indebted to Him—awareness of all these things kills our sense of entitlement and petty pride. It awakens a sense of obligation to Him in us.
Read the four gospels. Jesus did not lower the bar for behavior; He raised it to include our internal conditions. “No murder” becomes “love your enemies.” How can Jesus tell us that He has come to pay for our entry into heaven, yet also demand even greater performance of us? If He is buying our debts, it makes sense that He can ask what he wants—but what does our increased performance do?
We grow through effort and experience. This life is a battle, a marathon, an education. We can be sanctified and cleaned inside when we take trials humbly. Active participation not only exposes our hearts, it changes them. We are not just allowed into heaven; we become of the same quality, the same material, as heaven, so that we belong there.
It is a human tendency to look for finish lines where none exist, or even. Even those who assert that a confession of faith in Jesus fulfills our requirements for salvation still experience wrenching and genuine trials in their lives. Death, disease, and financial problems all come. The Lord sends sun and rain on everyone. We insist, like the rich young ruler, that we are ready for heaven; the Lord says, “One thing thou lackest.” Trials show how much growing we have left to do. Faith itself is work: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29). “...faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone...shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works...the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:17-19). It is self-evident that what we believe most determines how we behave. Behavior is a touchstone for quantifying our beliefs.
In the midst of our floundering attempts to do good, God will inject grace, and make us powerful in accomplishing His work. It is not all pathetic. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12). God can magnify our efforts and prosper the outcome.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Consider the great love shown by Abraham. He was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, his most prized possession, the gift he had waited his whole life to receive. The Lord tells him, “...now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me...because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:12-18). We show our love through obedience, and establish whose we are; Jesus then takes his prized possessions the rest of the way into heaven.
