“Fear God, and Keep His Commandments: For This Is the Whole Duty of Man”
Ecclesiastes 12:13
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
President Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“The Lord expects us to believe in Him, to accept His everlasting gospel, and to live in harmony with His terms and conditions. It is not our province to select and obey those gospel principles which appeal to us and forget the rest. It is not our prerogative to decide that some principles no longer apply to our social and cultural circumstances.
“The Lord’s laws are eternal, and we have the fullness of His everlasting gospel and are obligated to believe all of His laws and truths and then to walk in conformity with them. There is nothing more important to any individual than keeping the Lord’s commandments. He expects us to cleave unto every true principle, to put first in our lives the things of His kingdom, to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, and to serve Him with all our might, mind, and strength. In the language of the scriptures, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ‘Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ (Eccles. 12:13.)”
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith [2013], 234.)
