One with God

Rod gives the word, a gate opens, and one of a long line of calves runs out of the chute and into the arena.  He leans forward and Skip, his horse, takes off staying right on the tail of the calf.  Rod has a stiff rope in his right hand over his head.  Skip knows exactly where he needs to be, just on the left haunches of the calf.  Horse and rider are one.  The will of the horse is swallowed-up in the will of the rider.  Rod doesn't even need to give direction, make commands, or use the reins.  The rope is thrown over the head of the calf and immediately the horse halts, pulling hard to get the calf, which weighs three times that of Rod, off-balance and onto the sand.  The horse stays exactly put, keeping tension on the rope as Rod jumps off and wraps a rope around the legs of the calf.  It's all over in less than ten seconds.

There are few things in life as powerful as the experience of unity.  The rider of a well-trained horse experiences the oneness of thinking and having his horse respond.  The horse is trained to be sensitive to every movement of the rider such that it appears to read his thoughts.  A slight shift in weight is enough to speed-up, slow-down, or turn to the right or left.  This experience of unity can be intoxicating.

On the other hand, disunity is frustrating.  As an adolescent I didn't have much experience with horses, and one borrowed horse immediately sensed this so he didn't obey my commands.  He would brush against trees and walk under low-lying limbs to try to get me off.  He would turn to go back to the stalls and pretend I wasn't telling him to turn around.  I finally gave up and let him go back while the others in the group rode on.  I didn't enjoy riding because I couldn't get the horse to do my will.  A horse that will not obey is useless to the rider.

I had occasion to sit in conversation with Monty Roberts, the "horse whisperer," and we were discussing the death of a horse on his ranch.  This man is famous for training horses with body positions and sounds that the horse can understand, and getting even the wildest horses to be tame by speaking to them in their language.  In this case, the horse was shot on his ranch because it wouldn't get into the trailer.  "The horse is useless if he won't go anywhere," he said.

We are sent to Earth from God in order to test our obedience.  Those who will not be obedient to His commands are useless to Him, and will die.  Those who profess to know God, but aren't obedient, are those who will not be saved, and shall be cut off.

"Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God; for behold, mine anger is kindled against the rebellious, and they shall know mine arm and mine indignation, in the day of visitation and of wrath upon the nations.  And he that will not take up his cross and follow me, and keep my commandments, the same shall not be saved.  Behold, I, the Lord, command; and he that will not obey shall be cut off in mine own due time, after I have commanded and the commandment is broken."  (D&C 56:1-3)

The process of becoming one
There is an ultimate goal to life of becoming one with God.  I am the horse, God is the rider; He gives commands and I obey.  While I'm in training, the commands are strong, and I'm physically steered in a direction.  I'm given all kinds of guidance to help me to understand -- and this feels restrictive.  However, as I grow to understand God, the directions get quieter and more subtle.  Finally, my will is swallowed up in His, and we are one.  Then I'm truly free.

We may start as strong-willed so the Lord needs to "break" us.  We will go off and do what we want, ignoring the commands of God.  But He is a great trainer.  He has lots of patience, and puts up fences so we don't wander too far.  He then gently guides us to church, or some other training facility to help us to understand His commands.  Some need stronger direction than others, but He never takes away our freedom.  Some will "jump the fence" and head off into the world.  He will go out to find us, but never use force.

"He'll call, persuade, direct aright, And bless with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind."
(LDS Hymns 240:2)

When we come to Him and seek some direction, we go through a process of learning step-by-step.

"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more;"
(2 Nephi 28:30)

As we grow in the knowledge of God, we will receive more and more understanding, light and knowledge.  This understanding helps us to be more obedient to His commands, because we understand Him better, and we know what He wants.  We learn the difference between good and evil, and know how to seek the good.  As we do so, we are more in tune with Him and can be more obedient -- until we are so well-trained that we become one with Him.

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
(D&C 50:24)

"The perfect day" is to become one with God.  As the horse, I need to be so in tune with Him that He doesn't need to tell me every move to make.  I know exactly what my job is, and only slight nudging can put me in the exact place where I am wanted.  I know His will and I become extremely sensitive to His commands.  My will is swallowed-up in His will, and I am one with Him.  Nephi had the experience of being totally obedient to the commands of the Lord.  God truly was his Lord, as he indicated at the end of his record.

"...for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey." (2 Nephi 33:15)

Nephi is the horse, and God is the rider.

Just as a horse will not immediately understand our commands, we will not immediately understand the commands of God.  On the Earth, we are in training as we learn how to understand the will of our Lord.  As we are obedient, we receive more commands until we understand fully each command.  The more we obey, the faster we will come to know Him.  The less we obey, the slower will be our progress.  Those who refuse to obey will stop receiving commands altogether and will wander aimlessly like a mustang through their lives, never knowing the will of God for them.

Swallowed-up
However, those who "obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness,"
(Alma 57:21) learn faster.  The end of the process of coming to know God as our Master is that our will is "swallowed up" in His.  We no longer have a separate will.  We begin by being obedient to His commandments, and end by being a part of Him.  We no longer need commandments, but rather know His will as our own.  Rod didn't need to tell Skip what to do because Skip had been trained for that ten seconds for many years.  He already knew exactly what Rod wanted -- they were one.

Christ was trained from the foundation of the world to be our Savior and redeemer.  Before He was born the prophets all testified of Him and what He would do.  About 150 years before His birth, Abinadi explained what Christ would do.

Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.  (Mosiah 15:7)

Likewise, if we follow Christ, we will have our will swallowed up in the will of the Father.  We then become one with Him in all things.  We no longer have a separate will, but become part of His will.  This is the willing sacrifice, the only acceptable offering, the broken heart and the contrite spirit that all must give in order to come to God with full purpose of heart.  It is the sacrifice necessary for becoming one with God.