Observing that in society today the difference between right and wrong has been obscured by loud, seductive voices calling for no restraints in human conduct, President James E. Faust declared:
"I state unequivocally that such behavior is the high road to personal destruction."Conversely, "obedience leads to true freedom," he said, particularly to the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood. "The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated."
Speaking at the Saturday evening priesthood session, President Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, repeated a story told by President David O. McKay about his horse, Dandy, that wanted complete freedom and no restraints. The horse's wanderlust led him to unlatch a gate and, with another horse, find a sack of grain in an abandoned house used for storage. The grain turned out to be bait for rodents and, when eaten by the horses, soon brought about their painful deaths.
President Faust repeated President McKay's application of the story to youth: " 'They, too, are restive under restraint, but if they are kept busy, guided carefully and rightly, they prove to be responsive and capable; but if left to wander unguided, they all too frequently violate principles of right which often lead to snares of evil, disaster and even death.' "
President Faust told of a program in which prisoners tame wild horses, thereby learning about patience, controlling tempers, respect for others and the value of working within a system. "As they watched the horses learn to be obedient to their commands, they realized how they could have avoided the terrible mistakes that had put them in prison."
The history of the earth teaches that any successful society has boundaries, President Faust noted. The creation of the earth itself illustrates that through a series of commands and obedience thereto, the earth was organized from elements and became habitable and beautiful.
"Just as order gave life and beauty to the earth when it was dark and void, so it does to us," he said. "Obedience helps us develop the full potential Heavenly Father desires for us in becoming celestial beings worthy some day to live in His presence."
Another element of freedom is trust, President Faust commented. He said that 60 years ago, when he went on his first mission, President McKay taught the missionaries that to be trusted is better than to be loved.
Because Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, earned the implicit trust of those who were over him, he enjoyed a great amount of freedom, President Faust said. "Like Joseph, you too can be trusted by others, but trust must be earned."
When obedience becomes the goal, he noted, "it is no longer an irritation; instead of a stumbling block, it becomes a building block."
Obedience brings blessings, as with the Word of Wisdom, and peace in decision making, President Faust remarked. "If we have firmly made up our minds to follow the commandments, we will not have to redecide which path to take when temptation comes our way. That is how obedience brings spiritual safety."
President Faust told of Ephraim Hanks, a young man who, in 1856, obeyed a spiritual prompting to make himself available to help rescue handcart pioneers in peril from the winter weather on the way to the Salt Lake Valley.
"Because he listened to the whisperings of the Spirit and obeyed the counsel of the Brethren, Eph became a notable liberating force in the lives of those desperate, struggling pioneers," President Faust remarked.
"Freedom and liberty are precious gifts that come to us when we are obedient to the laws of God and the whisperings of the Spirit," he affirmed. "If we are to avoid destruction, which was the fate of President McKay's horse, Dandy, and his companion, fences or guardrails must be built beyond which we cannot go. The fences which we must stay within are the principles of revealed truth. Obedience to them makes us truly free to reach the potential and the glory which our Heavenly Father has in store for each of us."