Sins of omission, which have consequences as real as sins of commission, can only be corrected by greater consecration, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve said Saturday afternoon.
"Many of us thus have sufficient faith to avoid the major sins of commission, but not enough faith to sacrifice our distracting obsessions and to focus on our omissions," he said.Elder Maxwell pointed out, "Most omissions occur because we fail to get outside ourselves. We are so busy checking on our own temperatures, we do not notice the burning fevers of others even when we can offer them some of the remedies such as encouragement, kindness, and commendation."
Continuing, Elder Maxwell said: "So many of us are kept from eventual consecration because we mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our wills be swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our individuality. What we are really worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but selfish things - like our roles, time, pre-eminence, and possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose ourselves."
Then he added, "It is not a question of one's losing identity but of finding his true identity!"
Consecration and submitting to the will of God brings blessings, Elder Maxwell promised, including help in meeting the trials of life. He said: "Do we understand, really understand, that Jesus knows when we are stressed and perplexed? The complete consecration which effected the Atonement ensured Jesus' perfect empathy."
Increased consecration requires discarding things such as gross sins of commission as well as things which cause the mis-use or under-use of time and talents, Elder Maxwell said. He added: "Along the pathway leading to consecration, stern and unsought challenges sometimes hasten the jettisoning needed to achieve increased consecration. If we have grown soft, hard times may be necessary. If we are too contented, a dose of divine discontent may come. A relevant insight may be contained in reproof. A new calling beckons us away from comfortable routines wherein the needed competencies have already been developed. One may be stripped of accustomed luxury so the malignant mole of materialism may be removed. One may be scorched by humiliation, so pride can be melted away. Whatever we lack will get attention, one way or another."
Elder Maxwell concluded that "the submission of one's will is really the only uniquely, personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we `give' are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then, we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!"