To Do or not to Do

“I also invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families” -President Howard W. Hunter SM pg 314

I really loved this quote; especially the part where he says “the things that we must do.” This makes the temple recommend that much more important. Not only should it be based on what we don’t do but on what we must do. There are so many things overlooked by us members of the church, we see the commandments as restrictions and restraints and not so much as commandments. For example, the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) most take to mean don’t drink smoke or do drugs. But it also gives us a strict diet that we should keep to. My brother is a cross country runner and the diet that he lives off of is no different than the diet that God has commanded us to have. It is a long distance diet. It is there to help us make it to the end and if we not only keep the commandments but do what we must then we will really be worthy of a temple recommend. My question is how many less people would be going to the temple if they were asked about things like this?