"The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways"  Prov. 14:14 is a proverb credited to the ancient King Solomon, who the Bible records was ". . . wiser than all men"  1 Kgs. 4:31 It is assumed that Solomon in this proverb referred to those who had retrogressed in their allegiance to God by failing to give heed to his counsel. Frequently God has sent his prophets to counsel his children in an attempt to arrest them from their wrongdoing, their backsliding, and to point the way to happiness and salvation. The task of persuading man from his carnal ways has always been an arduous struggle, as evidenced by history. The inhabitants of the earth seem eager to be filled with their own ways. Because of this the prophets have, from time to time, suffered much tribulation.

Counsel of the Prophets

Jeremiah was such a prophet. In his day he faced almost continuous opposition and insult as he tried to stem the tide of idolatry and immorality among the people. During his lifetime he tried to teach the multitude that true worship of Jehovah required more than devotion to external forms of worship. His message was: One must live and dedicate oneself to keeping all of God's commandments. At last, many, too blind to see that they were heading for destruction and captivity and no longer of a mind to listen to Jeremiah, were the cause of his being stoned to death. His tragic death, however, did not nullify or stay his decreed counsel, for soon the people passed through all of the adversity that he foretold would transpire if they did not repent of their evil ways.

In contrast, in this same period we learn of a refreshing episode wherein the Lord told the Prophet Jeremiah to go into the house of certain men called Rechabites and to invite them into the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink. When wine was placed before them, however, they refused to drink because their father had counseled them never to drink wine  Jer. 35:1-7 "Thus have we obeyed the voice of . . . our father in all that he hath charged us"  Jer. 35:8 they said. After these young men had reaffirmed their steadfastness in following the counsel of their father, the Lord through his prophet pronounced upon them a special blessing. He decreed that members of this family and their seed would always be numbered among the righteous  Jer. 35:18-19

The determination to follow good counsel, to obey divine law, is paramount for true success and happiness in life. In the era in which we live, as anciently, the Lord has sent us his prophets and has reaffirmed the need to adhere to his precepts. The Prophet Joseph Smith, on April 2, 1843, said, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

"And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated"  D&C 130:20-21 Paralleling this revealed truth is the admonition:

". . . let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.

"He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty . . . shows himself not approved"  D&C 107:99-100

To Ignore Counsel is to Invite Failure

It seems that one of the great weaknesses in man's character is the tendency to shun good counsel and instruction. Men do, in fact, set up barriers for themselves, for they seem to want to become laws unto themselves. Jacob understood this when he warned, ". . . O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not . . .

"But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God"  2 Ne. 9:28-29

Some years ago the MIA theme was, ". . . seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works"  Jacob 4:10

There have been some noble men who unwittingly sought to counsel the Lord. One such man was Hezekiah, king of Judah, who began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. The scriptures tell us that during his reign ". . . he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord . . .

"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent . . . for . . . the children of Israel did burn incense to it . . .

"He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

"For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses"  2 Kgs. 18:3-6

It is recorded that in about the fifteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, ". . . Hezekiah [was] sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah . . . came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

"Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,

"I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight"  2 Kgs. 20:1-3

The Lord then spoke to Isaiah the Prophet and said to him, ". . . tell Hezekiah . . . Thus saith the Lord . . . I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee . . .

"And I will add unto thy days fifteen years"  2 Kgs. 20:5-6

Thus the Lord granted Hezekiah's request to extend his life. This, no doubt, was enjoyed by Hezekiah, for during these additional years he did many things. But there was one unforeseen occurrence that destroyed much of the good he had accomplished. Hezekiah sired a son who was twelve years of age when his father passed away. This son, whose name was Manasseh, became king and ". . . did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen . . .

". . . he reared up altars for Baal . . .

". . . used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

". . . Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much . . . [and] filled Jerusalem . . . in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord"  2 Kgs. 21:2-3,6,16

As one reviews this account, one wonders, would it not have been better for Hezekiah to have submissively accepted the Lord's first decree, ". . . Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die"  2 Kgs. 20:1

Father Adam Accepted Counsel

Father Adam set us a splendid example of following counsel. After Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden, the Lord ". . . gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

"And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

"And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth"  Moses 5:5-7

Be Submissive to God

Our attitude should be one of submissiveness to all of God's commandments. We need not indulge in self-sophisticated reasoning to justify our compliance with God's counsel. Our motivation should be based upon a desire to serve.

The late President Joseph F. Smith said if the President of the Church ". . . or somebody else gives counsel to some of our brethren, if it does not suit them exactly, they will begin to whine about it, and shed great crocodile tears, perhaps. I have heard of men shedding tears because they had received counsel from their brethren! And what is more, the men that shed tears and mourn over having received a little counsel, are the kind that do not carry it out; or, if they do, they tell why they did it—making somebody else responsible for their acts" (Conference Report, April 1899, p. 70).

I believe that God wants his children to be happy and has charted the course through prophets for its attainment. I believe that true happiness will only come in this life by following his counsel. As someone has said, "Doing the will of God leaves no time for disputing about his plan."

An Example from the Old Testament

We can learn another lesson from an incident in the Old Testament concerning a captain in the Syrian army whose name was Naaman. Syria's armies had attacked ancient Israel, and Naaman had brought as a captive an Israelite maid who waited on his wife.

Naaman was a great soldier, but he was afflicted with leprosy. The little Israelite girl told her mistress about the Prophet Elisha who could heal her husband. So Naaman went to the Prophet Elisha, expecting a ceremonious reception. He was bitterly disappointed. Elisha didn't even go to the door to greet him; instead, he sent a servant with a message saying: ". . . Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean"  2 Kgs. 5:10

This made Naaman very angry. He was disappointed; he expected Elisha to satisfy his vanity with some ritual in calling upon the Lord. He then questioned indignantly: Why the river Jordan? Are not there other rivers that are better? He turned to go away sullenly. Whereupon his servant spoke to him and said, ". . . if the prophet had bid thee to do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?"  2 Kgs. 5:13 This question cleared Naaman's thinking, and he resolved to follow the prophet's advice, and he went down and dipped himself seven times in the river Jordan. His flesh came again like unto a little child, and he was clean. Naaman went back to the Prophet Elisha, filled with gratitude, and offered to pay him for making him whole. But Elisha knew it was by the power of God that Naaman was made well and declined the gift (see  2 Kgs. 5:1-16

You can imagine the joy that Naaman and his family experienced as a result of following the counsel and direction of the prophet.

A Modern Example

A few years ago, a bishop from a small agricultural town visited my office to arrange for the dedication of the meetinghouse in his ward. During our conversation he told me that when he was advised by the brethren to build a meetinghouse, he had many doubts, since it was a small community with modest resources. He said, "I didn't have the slightest idea where the money was coming from, but following counsel, we started, and the funds came and now we are ready to dedicate, having all bills paid." Then he added, "And do you know, the tithing paid by those good Saints has increased over 600% during the three-year period!" I have never seen a person filled with more joy and satisfaction than this good bishop, who simply followed counsel.

Recently a member of the church building committee told me about a visit he had made to a new building project. This particular project had been completed with such efficiency and order that everyone viewed the achievement as an unbelievable feat. I was told that they did nothing dramatic to bring about the accomplishment; they simply followed the counsel given through the program. He said further that "on this project, as on many others, the Lord's hand has been plainly manifested in procuring materials and performing the work. These fine people can testify that the building program is inspired of God. The workmanship is excellent, the people have grown spiritually, and there is a unity and oneness in the group, resulting from the united desire to follow direction."

Likewise, all of us should be eager to adopt and follow the suggested programs of the Church, for in this respect we demonstrate our willingness to heed counsel.

I pray that we will continue to cultivate a firm resolve, as demonstrated by Nephi when he declared, ". . . I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them"  1 Ne. 3:7

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.