Taking Offense

Some years ago, Elder Rex G. Pinegar, in speaking to the youth of our stake, pointed out one of the lessons of the Garden of Eden. When God told Satan he would put enmity (hatred) between him and mankind. The further we are from Satan's influence, the more we hate his ways. The closer we come to his influence and the more we countenance sin, the more we are offended by God's ways. He called this the gulf of enmity.

Cain was more influenced by Satan and obedience to God was an irritant to him. It became more so as he witnessed Abel's blessings and coveted them. When he finally killed Abel, he declared, "I am free!" When he received the consequences for such a crime, he realized he was anything but free.

Laman and Lemuel, hearing Nephi remind them of the miracles and special visitations they had witnessed, instead of being humbled and penitent, increased their rebellion and bound Nephi with cords. Even after Nephi's breaking the cords by the power of God they wanted to do more harm to him until others came to his defense. When they finally realized what they had done, they begged his forgiveness. He freely forgives and directs them to seek God's forgiveness. How could they get to such a point that their conscience was so completely overcome by the outrage at being reminded of the spiritual blessings they had witnessed? It is because of their choices that led them to the edge of the gulf of enmity.

In the October 2010 General Conference, Elder Patrick Kearnon of the Seventy spoke about the need to be "strictly obedient" as it states in Preach My Gospel. Quoting from President James E. Faust, he said:

“When obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation; instead of a stumbling block, it becomes a building block. …

“… Obedience leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated.”

It is an entire change of direction, heart and mind when we set the goal to be entirely obedient. Instead of seeing how close we can come to the edge, we choose to stay away from the edge altogether. Helping others to see the beauty of the consequences of obedience and having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost become truly meaningful makes for a fulfilling life. It allows our natural talents to expand and our opportunities for success to expand in every aspect of our lives. On the other hand, a life nearer to the gulf of enmity narrows our view and limits our natural talents. We never realize our true potential because we are focused elsewhere.

We all have feelings of our greatness from time to time. If ever we want to achieve that greatness, we need to embrace it and choose the path that leads us to it. It will not be found in wealth, or fame alone, but those may be included in the natural consequences of our achievement. As we come closer to conforming our lives to God's will, we discover that his will is more glorious and fulfilling than our pathetic little vision of our own and we become more and more anxious to dig deeper and climb higher to find its depths and heights.