Accountable to Ourselves

Over the course of the last few days, I have had the opportunity to think a lot about the topic of accountability and the effects of it on individuals, groups, and the Lord. In another earlier post I brought up the scripture discussing that the Lord is bound when we do what He says (i.e. obey the commandments), but that simply only qualifies us for the Lord's blessings - that does nothing in the way of really improving our lives personally.

The problem with many things in our lives - as a whole human population - is that we fail to maintain any sort of accountability - to anyone. Obviously, as members of the Church we hold a higher accountability to others than nonmembers, but that is also our downfall at times also.

Many people in the Church are your standard "Sunday only Mormons" or believe that their only accountability in life is to God himself and to no one else. They neglect their Priesthood responsibilities, the nurturing of their families, and the maintenance of their personal testimonies - believing that when difficult times arise, that God will provide all the answers.

While in some ways, this might be considered a commendable trait in some individuals, it is simply not the right attitude to have that will take us to salvation with God. This is because we must maintain a strict level of accountability to ourselves before anyone else, and that includes God. Why? If we cannot be true to ourselves and govern ourselves righteously, we are not fit for the Kingdom of God. The Lord himself reminds us in the Doctrine and Covenants that it is "not meet that [He] should command in all things."

Why is it then that we expect God to provide all of the answers in our lives with no effort on our part? Why do we think to obtain great reward for him, when we simply sit along the sidelines of life and plan for nothing? Worse, how can we be expected to command the power of God in the hereafter if we cannot command ourselves?

Thus, we must come to an understanding of ourselves and the desires of our hearts. We may think of ourselves and figure that we can figure out all things introspectively from within in a matter of seconds, but we are only kidding ourselves and cheating ourselves of heavenly blessings by taking that approach.

Jesus Christ asked the Nephites "what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." In order for us to be like God, we must not expect that those governances will take place in a mere few seconds each day or more infrequently. Rather, we must come unto ourselves and learn of ourselves, and further learn of Christ if we are to pattern ourselves after Him. Christ did not obtain his divine inheritance and dominion on a few seconds of preparation each day. He did not float through life expecting all things to be handed to Him, or to be mandated by endless rules. Instead, he maintained accountability to Himself, and to his Father in Heaven directly through prayer - and governed His life accordingly.

How often to do we communicate with Father on our end? Is it only done at a time of dire straits, or are we good friends with our Father in Heaven? Do we obey the standards and laws where we are at in our lives - because the Church mandates them, or because we have learned to master ourselves and govern accordingly?

Just some stuff to chew on for tonight.