are willing to

D&C 20:77 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this abread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and bwitness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his ccommandments which he has given them; that they may always have his dSpirit to be with them. Amen.

Why are the three words "are willing to" necessary here? Are they important? Would it make a difference if the prayer left these out and just read ". . . And witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them"? Yes, it would make a difference. It would make a difference because I cannot do this latter thing. I can't witness, affirm, or swear that I do always remember him and keep his commandments. I would be lying, and I know it - I want to do the right thing, but sometimes I don't. This is precisely the problem that makes the atonement of Christ and the gospel covenant necessary for me in the first place - I can't keep all the commandments all the time no matter how hard I try. It follows that I can't honestly witness to God that I will keep all the commandments when I know that, in some degree at least, I probably won't.

However, I can with absolute honesty witness that I am willing to. I can swear that this is the desire of my heart. I can affirm that I hunger and thirst after these things, that I will do all I can to be obedient. Thus even by the technical terms of the covenant renewal prayer, God lets me know that the honest commitment of my heart and my best efforts are sufficient for the covenant to be renewed, and that the covenant of faith is sufficient, through the grace of Christ, to justify me before God.


Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, 1992, p.53,54