motivation

First of all, a story. 

There was once a man who had a dream. And in that dream, he "beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy." He also "beheld a rod of iron, and it led to the tree by which I stood." He observes two different groups of people moving forward along that rod of iron, towards that tree and its fruit. The first is described thus:

"I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost."

He then saw a second group, described as, "other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."

What makes the difference between the first group, who were afterwards ashamed, and the second who were not? The answer, I think, is found in the difference between "clinging" and "continually holding fast." Clearly in this context the word clinging has a negative meaning. The word "cling" can denote fear, and I think in this case it certainly does. By contrast, "continually holding fast" denotes the same amount of dedication to this rod of iron, but with a significantly different motivation.

Interestingly, the first group - the clingers - mentions a "mist of darkness," (certainly frightening) while those who continually hold fast do not. Did they just grab onto the rod of iron to help them escape the darkness, and not necessarily to get to the fruit?

So let's break the metaphor apart. Let's say that the tree is Jesus Christ, and the fruit is His love. Let's also say that the rod of iron is Christ, because He can do that - be both the Way, the Reason, and the Result. :)

What we have are two reasons for following Christ ~ fear, and the opposite of fear - love. Our first group, motivated by fear, eventually becomes ashamed and falls away from the Savior. The second group, motivated by love, does not.

I think this has an important message for us about why we should do the things we do and how we should motivate others. Do we follow Christ because we're afraid that if we don't we'll be somehow unbearably punished? Because we're afraid of what others might think of us? If so, that will eventually fall away, and we'll be left with nothing to stand on - no reason to stay.
Fear is infinitely weaker than love.

By great contrast, Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that,
"His pure love directs and encourages us to become more pure and holy. It inspires us to walk in righteousness—not out of fear or obligation but out of an earnest desire to become even more like Him because we love Him.
 Divine love is the factor that transforms reluctant compliance with God’s commandments into blessed dedication and consecration. Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple." {emphasis added}


As a second witness of this truth, Henry B. Eyring testifies that,

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others... It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."

May we be ever more motivated by love for our Savior, and not keep His commandments motivated by fear or obligation. As we come to know Him more and feel more strongly of His infinite and abiding love for us, we will be inspired by this love and be able to continually hold fast to Him and eventually taste of His Love and never be ashamed :)