Pleasing God

For Christmas we like to think of things that will make others happy. For everything that we have that makes us happy we should be thankful to God. What can we give God that makes Him happy? I've wondered about this. What could we possibly give to God? I love the idea that you can give your own will to him. It is the only thing that He won't take away from you. So give that to Him, and you have really given Him something.

I didn't know that "please/pleased/pleasing" was a topic in the Book of Mormon index until I stumbled across it. Here are some interesting verses that teach us how we can please God:

"... The things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world." (1 Nephi 6:5, 2 Nephi 5:32) What are the kinds of things that Nephi writes? He writes about the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement, repentance, and his own life experiences. I imagine that it would please God if we entertained these topics in our households as well.

"...Feelings... tender and chaste and delicate... pleasing unto God." (Jacob 2:7) It is really easy to "be tough." It is easy to be hard hearted and not appreciate the delicate things, like soft music, soft words, whispers, motherhood, kindness, and the still small voice of the Spirit. I thought it was interesting that tender and delicate feelings please the Lord. What a nice goal to have - to be more tender. It seems that when I try to keep my voice softer (conveying more tenderness) then it is easier to feel the Spirit.

"It pleased the Lord to bruise him." (Isaiah 53:10) This is a strange one. I've heard a lot of people talk about this chapter. Why would it please the God to bruise his Son? I think it has to do with the Atonement. While Christ was suffering for our sins, he was fulfilling God's purpose - Christ was completing the most important step to making eternal life possible for man. It was pleasing to God that all his children would be able to obtain eternal life. Obviously it was painful (not pleasing) to see his Son suffer, but there was joy in that great purpose being fulfilled. It was a little like watching my little baby girl get her vaccination shots. She was looking at me with her beautiful trusting eyes until she felt a pain in her thigh that made her scream and cry like she's hardly ever done in her little lifetime. I felt so sorry for her, and I wanted her pain to stop. I knew that there would be another shot in her other thigh, but I did not ask the nurse to stop. This was for the best. And although it brought tears to my eyes too, I let her burst with another cry for the second shot. It was so hard, but I knew it would be better for this suffering to happen to avoid a much greater suffering (if she got sick). I held her so close for the next 2 days remembering how much she had hurt in that moment. My poor little baby. So what does this teach us about pleasing the God? Repentance. The Atonement is pleasing unto God, and it is a joy for Him to see us USE the Atonement to better our lives.

"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (3 Nephi 11:7) Be like Christ. And someday God will say that about you.

"Without faith no man pleaseth God." (D7C 63:11) I suppose you wouldn't be trying to please God unless you had faith in Him... But is your faith strong enough? (How can you tell? Here's a way: Do you keep all the commandments? If not, you need greater faith. How? Go read Preach My Gospel, the chapter on Christlike Attributes)

"... With some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man..." (D&C 60:2) Spread the gospel. That's an amazingly great way to please the Lord. You can feel the Spirit right away when you share the gospel. And feeling the Spirit is a way you know that the Lord is pleased with you (Preach My Gospel). Don't fear man. Obey God.