Making every commandment a delight

     Here is a sweet thought that came to me last night.  It starts with the numerous talks and lessons were have received recently on keeping the Sabbath Day holy, including Wendy having to prepare a 7 minute talk for the adult session of our Stake Conference several weeks ago.  Many of these presenters have dwelled on a point made by Elder Nelson in his April 2015 General Conference talk “The Sabbath Is a Delight,” that the motive behind our obedience to the commandment to honor the Sabbath should be to give a sign to our Heavenly Father:

     “How do we hallow the Sabbath day? In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear.”

     I found a larger application in my reading of a chapter in a book on temples.  This is, we may view any obedience we give to any of the commandments of God as such a sign, to show our gratitude to him for being so merciful and generous to us, and to show our desire to please and follow him.  It may be like a “Gift of Love” returned to one who loved us first. 

     I find this motive for attempting obedience to our Father motivating in itself, and much superior to obeying commandments out of fear of punishment, to get a reward, to look good in the eyes of other people, etc., etc.