Committing even a little sin and thinking it justified can cause serious consequences, taught H. Ross Workman, President of the Laie Hawaii Temple during his devotional address October 28 at BYU-Hawaii. President Workman counseled the students to avoid the idea of “fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin.”
President Workman opened his address by sharing a story from Elder James E. Talmadge about a wild bee that became trapped inside his home. When Elder Talmadge tried to drive the bee out a window, the bee resisted, and eventually stung Elder Talmadge. Since bees die soon after stinging, Elder Talmadge felt pity for the creature; the bee considered Elder Talmadge to be a foe, rather than friend, and the bee paid for this mistake with his life.
President Workman then moved to the topic of the birthright blessing. The scriptures contain many stories about the passing of the birthright, and even some about the losing of this birthright, such as Cain, Esau and Balaam. President Workman taught, “The Book of Mormon described most succinctly how birthright blessings are lost: …fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea lie a little, take advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this: …if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved in the Kingdom of God.”
Cain, the first-born of Adam and Eve, lost his birthright after he offered as a sacrifice the fruits of his field rather than a lamb the Lord commanded. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel, and chose to “fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin,” instead. “Cain, consumed with selfishness and arrogance, put his foot on that slippery path descending downward to misery,” said President Workman.
Hundreds of years later, Isaac’s oldest son Esau traded his birthright to his younger brother, Jacob, for a bowl of pottage [lentil soup]. President Workman said, “Esau was young, inexperienced, and any value to the birthright seemed like lifetimes in the future. He did not regard the birthright as more valuable than his immediate desire to be fed in his hunger.”
“So why should you be interested in this birthright, Esau being long-dead?” continued President Workman. “Because God has offered the birthright to you. Through temple ordinances every man and woman can receive the birthright blessing. D&C 84:33-39 says as follows: For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the… seed of Abraham and the elect of God… And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.”
President Workman then asked the students to ponder their birthrights. “So, what will you trade for it? Will you defile your ordinances like Cain? Will you trade for a mess of pottage like Esau? You say absolutely not! But Satan never sleeps. Consider the slippery path downward represented by Satan’s whisper that “God will justify in committing a little sin.”
Baalam, a prophet during the time Moses was the leader of the Israelites, and the Prophet Joseph Smith have similar stories when it comes to asking the Lord more than once for something on which he has already given an answer, explained President Workman. King Moab of the Moabites asked Balaam to curse Israel, and when the Lord, in answer to his prayers, said no, he abated, but only for a short time. The offers of worldly riches and recognition eventually enticed him to help the Moabite curse the Israelites, and it cost Balaam his priesthood and his birthright.
The Prophet Joseph asked the Lord repeatedly if he could give the first 116 translated pages of the Book of Mormon to Martin Harris. The Lord repeatedly told him no, but “at last free agency prevailed and the pages were lost, which precipitated a crisis in Joseph’s relationship with the Lord,” said President Workman.
President Workman also shared the experience of some missionaries in the Ivory Coast. There was a rebellion in the country and a city where 10 missionaries were working was overtaken, President Workman explained. A deal was worked with French armed forces to evacuate the missionaries. The missionaries were told to show up at an evacuation point wearing their missionary clothing. At the specified time, all of the missionaries showed up, but two were dressed in their preparation day clothes, thus they were not recognized as missionaries, and subsequently told to leave.
Because of their poor choice, the two missionaries were left behind, and had to hide in their apartment for weeks, until a local Church leader guided them through the jungle to safety. President Workman followed this conclusion: “Happily, the missionaries were safe from the rebels. But are they safe from evil? They had stepped onto that slippery path downward, risking both their physical and spiritual lives.”
“What about you? Have you heard Satan’s whisper: God will justify in committing a little sin? Is your foot on that slippery path downward?”
President Workman then ran through a simple scenario which could easily befall any BYUH student. He explained how a returned missionary, who chose not to wear his temple garments because of a planned beach excursion, could easily find himself on a slippery slope that could eventually lead to a lie during a bishop’s interview.
He warned, “You may think that in the end you can repent and marry in the temple and nobody will be the wiser. This is where the slippery path downward reaches bottom. The way you obtain your birthright blessing is recorded in D&C 76: The birthright blessing is available only upon those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. You might be able to fool your friends, maybe you can fool your bishop, perhaps you can fool your trusting and faithful parents—but you can NEVER fool God.”
“Heaven has showered you with special opportunities for protection that your birthright may be realized. You have been privileged to come forth in this generation where the fullness of the Gospel is on the earth. You have entered into the sacred covenant of baptism. You attend one of the few institutions of higher education on the entire earth, where you can be taught in an atmosphere of righteousness. There are many hands to guide you to the window of freedom and safety. Each of you has a faithful Bishop and Stake President and capable professors and instructors in this University to help you avoid that slippery path downward. Will you act like the bee and rebel against every effort to aid in your rescue?”
“I know the birthright blessing will be sealed upon all those who strive diligently to be obedient to sacred covenants. I know that if you remain faithful in the little things, you will avoid the slippery path downward. I know that the key to joy in this life and the next is to never, never give up what you want most for what you want right now.”
-Photo by Ian Nitta
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