These powers transform his personal world

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Morning Session of the April 1979 Conference.

A few weeks ago I wrote about how it's better to care and invest yourself in belief, even when that investment seems risky. One of the talks this week seemed to follow up on that idea. It was Elder James M. Paramore speaking about the principle of commitment:

Once commitment is understood as a binding principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a committed person is able to call on heavenly powers and healings. Like the waters behind the mighty dam, these powers transform his personal world.

I thought the dam analogy was interesting. The water behind a dam isn't useful for power until it is allowed to flow through the dam in a controlled and directed way. The smaller and more focused the outlet, the higher the pressure of the water through that outlet. And water that builds up with no outlet eventually just causes destruction. So, does commitment to the cause of God act as a channel for the powers of heaven? And how might that, as a practical matter, work?

I can think of one example: I feel like whenever I pray for specific direction about how to help specific people, the spirit is able to answer me more clearly than when I pray for more generalized charity. Maybe my commitment to, or investment in, a particular action allows me to more easily access heavenly power?

More speculation: maybe this is part of the power of fasting with a purpose? Committing to one purpose for the duration of the fast—one focus for my prayerful thoughts, one concern toward which my heart reaches—seems like a way of focusing and "pressurizing" spiritual power. It also seems applicable to the Law of Consecration. If I commit my whole soul—time, talents, and everything else—to the cause of Christ, it makes sense that my effort channeled through that one outlet would be much more powerful than the same amount of effort spread out between various "worthy causes."

I was even thinking about commitment in relation to this General Conference Odyssey project. When I started participating, I knew I wouldn't have something amazing to say every week, but I felt like I could be committed to learning just one thing from each session, and sharing that thing. Every week I start to be afraid I won't be able to manage it. But maybe because I'm channeling my commitment so narrowly, I find that the spirit nearly always has enough power to bring something to my mind. (Maybe I need a similar goal for my scripture study!)

Ultimately, it seems like we need to not only be committed, broadly, to the gospel of Christ—but we also need to be committed within that work to specific tasks we face. Each time we accept a calling or seek to bless others, our commitment in that area unlocks power that is proportional to our singlemindedness. Elder Paramore gives an example:

Many long to become part of the assembly of the blessed. Many times they cry out in the night for help, not knowing where to turn, how to begin. Their eternal spirits seek help. As social beings we need each other. The commitment to reach out to them is a binding invitation from the Savior. When this is done in love, we may help redeem them. It is infinitely more than just confessing Jesus Christ—it is doing what needs to be done.

This makes me think that need to jump into following the spirit with both feet (regardless of whether or not I'm "sure" about the prompting, or whether or not my action is subsequently appreciated by others, as I talked about last week) is another application of this principle. If I'm half-hearted or unsure in the way I act on possible spiritual promptings, then even if they're true promptings, my power to do good will be lessened. I have to be a "committed person"—opening that one door fully, and letting the water flow through unrestrained—if I want God's powers to actually "transform my personal world."