Lessons on the Book of Mormon 2020
Lesson No. Forty-Seven
Pray and Keep Commandments with Real Intent – Moroni 7: 6 – 9
Promised blessings come to those who pray and keep the commandments with real intent – The commandments of God are clear, easy to understand and direct. People are expected to keep commandments with real intent because they want to and not because they are compelled. Real intent is the principle that brings the promised blessings associated with that commandment.
Real intent includes a great desire to do the will of the Lord. The Lord never compels us, but rather, we are invited to obey so we can receive the promise blessings. If people are compelled to do something it is done “grudgingly” (Moroni 7:8). Furthermore, if a man “shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing for God receiveth none such” (Moroni 7:9).
The promised blessing to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon comes when we pray with real intent: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4).
Missionaries learn the importance of praying with real intent about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Some people who are investigating the restored gospel of Jesus Christ have a sincere desire to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, but they do not really intend to join the Church. They do not have real intent and therefore they do not receive a manifestation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon from the Holy Ghost.
Keeping the Sabbath day holy with real intent is a great need in our modern world – For many Sunday is a day for shopping, sports, and entertainment of all kinds. They have forgotten the commandment to: “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy. Six day shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work….For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
For those who keep His commandments with real intent the Lord promises great blessings, “for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth, and it shall bring forth in its strength. And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time – they that are faithful and diligent before me” (D&C 59:3-4).
Then speak specifically about the Sabbath day the Lord continued: “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day. For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High….
“But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full…. And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances….the fulness of the earth is yours” (D&C 59:9-16).
To hallow the Sabbath it must be kept with real intent – President Russell M. Nelson explained how he learned to hallow the Sabbath day: “In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, ‘What sign do I want to give to God?’ That question made my choices about the sabbath day crystal clear” (The Sabbath is a Delight, Ensign, May 2015).
My companion has greatly blessed our family because she keeps the Sabbath day with real intent - She has very effectively taught our family, mainly by example, what she expects of us regarding the Sabbath. This has been one of the great blessings of my life.
When we were raising our children she prepared for the Sabbath on Saturday, and then she was able to make the Sabbath a delight for our family. She made sure that our family activities on the Sabbath were consistent with keeping the day holy.
It is our great desire that the legacy of keeping the Sabbath day holy, with real intent, will be passed on in our family so that the blessings of the Sabbath will be a delight from generation to generation.