David A. Bednar [Bednar - Act in Doctrine

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bednar, David A., author.

Act in doctrine / David A. Bednar.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60907-227-8 (hardbound w/dvd : alk. paper) 1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsDoctrines. 2. Mormon ChurchDoctrines. 3. Christian lifeMormon authors. I. Title.

BX8635.3.B425 2012

230'.9332dc23

2012031920

Printed in the United States of America

Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, UT

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Richard and Lavina Whitney Bednar and Kay and Nyla Clement Robinson

Acknowledgments

I am thankful to my wife, Susan, for her consistent example of Christlike character, her love and loyalty, and her righteous devotion. I also express appreciation to Shauna Swainston for her timely help and support; to Sheri Dew for her enthusiastic encouragement to press forward with this book; and to Max Molgard for his insightful and helpful comments about the manuscript.

The publishing team at Deseret Book has worked with professionalism and excellence. Thanks go to Cory Maxwell for his consistently effective work in overseeing the project; Emily Watts for her expert counsel, editing, and assistance in preparing the manuscript for publication; Richard Erickson and Sheryl Dickert Smith for the design; Rachael Ward for the typography; and Laurel Christensen, Elizabeth Alley, and Dallas Petersen for their help with the accompanying DVD and online components of the project. Heartfelt thanks to our family, friends, and associates who have been so instrumental in helping me formulate and refine the ideas presented in this book. I am grateful for all of the individuals, both named and unnamed, who have inspired, supported, and assisted me in writing Act in Doctrine.

This book is not an official statement of Church doctrine, policy, or practice, and I alone am responsible for the content of Act in Doctrine.

Preface

As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, our individual responsibility is to learn what we should learn, to live as we know we should live, and to become what the Master would have us become. These three fundamental and interrelated gospel imperativeslearning, acting, and becomingare central to our spiritual development and happiness in mortality and our progress throughout eternity.

My previous book, Increase in Learning, focused upon the doctrines, principles, and patterns related to the learning imperative. Act in Doctrine focuses upon the doctrines, principles, and patterns related to our obligation to translate what we know into what we do. And learning and acting in accordance with revealed gospel truth ultimately can invite into our lives the power to become (Doctrine and Covenants 11:30) all that the Fathers plan of salvation makes possible for us.

One need not have read Increase in Learning in order to benefit from Act in Doctrine. But the following summary of the basic principles contained in the former bookwhether by way of introduction or as a reviewmay enlarge the readers understanding.

Increase in Learning: An Overview

Chapter One, An Individual Responsibility to Learn, stresses the importance of learning in the latter days. We cannot expect the Church as an organization to teach or tell us all of the things we need to know and do to become devoted disciples. The ultimate responsibility for developing spiritual strength and stamina rests upon each and every member of the Church.

Learning by faith and learning from experience are two of the central features of the Fathers plan of happiness. The powerful examples of latter-day learnersincluding Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Gordon B. Hinckley, and some less well-known members of the Churchhighlight for us the importance of continually seeking learning by study and also by faith (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).

You and I are here upon the earth to prepare for eternity, to learn how to learn, to learn things that are temporally important and eternally essential, and to assist others in learning wisdom and truth (see Doctrine and Covenants 97:1). Understanding who we are, where we came from, and why we are upon the earth places upon each of us a great responsibility both to learn how to learn and to learn to love learning.

Chapter Two, Knowledge, Understanding, and Intelligence, explores a hierarchy that exists among the things we can learn. Many facts are helpful or merely interesting to know. Some knowledge is useful to learn and apply. But gospel truths are essential for us to understand and live if we are to become what our Heavenly Father yearns for us to become.

Knowledge refers generally to facts, information, and abilities obtained through experience or education. Using the instrument of our physical bodies and our capacity to reflect and reason, we can gather and analyze facts, organize and interpret information, gain and learn from experience, and identify patterns and relationships. Of the many types of knowledge that can be acquired, spiritual knowledge is the most important, both in mortality and in eternity.

Understanding is the keystone that is erected upon the cornerstone of knowledge and precedes intelligence. Interestingly, the word understanding is commonly described in the scriptures in relation to the heart. Understanding as used in the scriptures does not refer solely or even primarily to intellectual or cognitive comprehension. Rather, when the Holy Ghost confirms in our hearts as true what we know in our minds, understanding occurs.

Intelligence is the righteous application of knowledge and understanding in action and judgment. It is the capstone constructed upon the cornerstone of knowledge and made stable by the keystone of understanding. You and I may know the right things to do, but intelligence involves more than just knowing. If you and I are intelligent, we will consistently do the right things. Intelligence is living in such a way that the doctrines of the gospel are an active and integral part of who we are, and what we are, and what we do, and what we think.

Appropriately seeking for knowledge, understanding, and intelligence is essential for each of us to become a living member of the Saviors living church (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:30).

Chapter Three, Prayerful Inquiry: Asking, Seeking, and Knocking, emphasizes patterns of prayerful inquiry that are necessary prerequisites to inspiration and revelation. Three components of prayerful inquiry are emphasized repeatedly in the scriptures: asking, seeking, and knocking. These three interrelated and overlapping elements are vital in the pattern the Lord has employed when giving direction, instruction, and assurance. Honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence are required in asking, seeking, and knocking.

The principle of prayerful inquiry and the pattern of asking, seeking, and knocking suggest three basic responsibilities for each of us as latter-day learners. First, inquiring of the Lord through asking, seeking, and knocking requires and is an expression of faith in the Savior. Second, we should be simultaneously persisting in and remaining patient with this active process. Third, discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of prayerful inquiry through asking, seeking, and knocking.