BY THE GRACE OF GOD PART 2

".....I will go before your face. 
I will be on your right hand and on your left, 
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, 
and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." 
(D&C 84:88)

As disciples of Jesus Christ we have been given the mandate to become perfect. This perfection will be reached long after we pass on from this mortal life, nevertheless, whilst we are here we are to strive for excellence which will one day qualify us for godhood. Along this path however, we frequently, if not constantly, lack patience to cope with our sense of personal inadequacy. This impatience makes us prone to discouragement and a belief that because of our inadequacies perfection seems an unattainable goal. The gap between the ideal (perfection), and reality for some of us seems like a painful place to exist. In this gap we tend to encounter extreme guilt which makes many of us believe that we will never 'make it'. Women especially are susceptible to feelings of guilt to the point where some dread family-oriented lessons in Relief Society because emphasizing the ideals of motherhood makes them more aware of their own shortcomings and failure to live up to them. The truth is, all of us are falling short of the ideal for who among us could not relate to this family's scenario of the gap between reality and the ideal: "Then there are the family home evenings and scripture study sessions in our home. Somehow it has not been altogether natural for our children to glide reverently into their places all at once and all on time, prepared to ponder thoughtfully the wonders of eternity. More than likely, especially when they were young, they seemed to come swinging into the family room on the chandeliers like Tarzan on the vines, then would stand on their heads or flip themselves over the back of the couch during most of the lesson. During that stage of our family's history, our bishop lovingly referred to our children as curtain climbers, rug rats, and house apes. There were times in those days  when the gap yawned as wide as the Grand Canyon" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p. 178). 

We live in a 'feel good' day and age. Modern day psychologists and spiritual gurus advise strongly against any negative feelings that have the potential to harm our self-esteem. One such therapist claims that being seriously religious "is significantly correlated with emotional disturbance" and goes on to say: "People largely disturb themselves by believing strongly in absolutistic shoulds, oughts, and musts, and most people who dogmatically believe in some religion believe in these health-sabotaging absolutes....The less religious people are, the more emotionally healthy they will tend to be" (Albert, Ellis, "Psychotherapy and Atheistic Values", Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1980), p 635-7). The world's solution to coping with the gap between the reality and the ideal is to eliminate the ideal and make peace with your reality. By doing this, we are meant to be free from frustration, guilt and unhappiness. This solution is an appealing one to many who are encouraged to accept themselves as they are. Because not having to change is a more comfortable place to be, we convince ourselves that we are not 'celestial material' and fall out of the race. 

Our modern day pre-occupation with self-acceptance limits severely our possibilities for growth and change restricting the power of repentance. Many of us go so far as to believe that we cannot change human nature at all and that we are what we are. Those of us who are of that belief deny the power of the Atonement and are in effect saying to the Saviour, I don't need you, you have no power to do anything for me. When we come to that point we believe the world more than we believe Him. We then lose all faith that we can ever attain godhood because we know our own capabilities cannot get us there. The other choice we have in this matter is to focus on Him who overcame the world, resisted every temptation and avoided every sin. We must understand that the only way perfection is possible at all is through the grace of Him who has paved the way. Through His grace we too can overcome the world, resist every temptation and avoid every sin because His grace enlarges our capacities and turns our weaknesses into strengths but the most important gift of grace "along that path is the gift of hope, which is a source of comfort and strength for those who move courageously forward toward the perfecting ideal of the Saviour" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 183)

It astounds me to hear an active member of the Church exclaim "oh, I know I will never make it". This proclamation indicates a lack of understanding of the Atonement and a lack of acceptance of its' power. To me this belief is akin to sin. Contrast that mentality with active members of the Church in Jacob's time: "Wherefore, we search the prophets (scriptures), and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy (testimony); and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:6-7). It is clear from this scripture that those who believe that they will never 'make it' are the ones who put their faith in their capacities alone rather than in the grace of God which is the only way we can ever make it. If we can by the grace of God command the trees, the mountains or the waves of the sea to obey us, surely we can by this same grace also change the human nature. 

The spiritual endowments of hope are perspective, patience, serenity, peace, insight and endurance. When we press forward with steadfastness in Christ (2 Nephi 31:20), we do so with a hope that we can make it for the one who has made it is before us, behind us and by us (D&C 88:84, 49:27). We desperately need these endowments of hope because they help us to see that development toward spiritual maturity and godhood "is a process and not an event....it is a distance race, not a sprint....it is thus no race for the short-winded. To develop toward a Christlike character is a process, not an event. There may one day be some crowning event, in which the final endowment of grace completes a process that may take longer than mortal life. But to qualify for such a conclusion requires patience and persistence more than it requires flawlessness. It is indeed, our own groping and reaching in the struggle for growth that qualifies us for divine help." (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 184, 186)

In our quest for the ideal, we are like a toddler just learning to walk. The closer we get to the ideal, the more that ideal expands and creates new aspirations and a new gap, until we finally reach godhood: "When our capacities are small, God's expectations are not very demanding.......but just as we master these elementary demands, we discover greater expectations that we didn't quite see before. Gradually our capacity grows, but so does our understanding of what more we must become, 'For of him unto whom much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3). The Lord would have us stretch - but not out of shape.....in the midst of this process, the blessing of hope keeps the gap at a manageable distance. Our perceptions and attitudes really can be shaped and lifted by a gift of divinely given insight that lets us feel, even with some anticipation and optimism, that we can do it.....Hope, a divinely given blessing of atoning grace for those who seek it, after all they can do on their own, establishes in the way our mind sees things just the right distance between where we are and where we strive to be. It also reassures us, somehow, that the ever-receding ideal is not a trick, but part of a growth process that can be not only acceptable but exhilarating" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 187,188)

We need only search the scriptures in order to know the God we speak of; to know that to Him man is the underlying and over-riding purpose of all His works, that to Him we are everything (Moses 1:39); that it is for our sakes' He willingly laid Himself on the cross; that beside Him there is no Saviour; that the extent of His doings none can find out; that there are none who can stay His hand; that great is His wisdom and marvelous are His ways; that He is gracious and merciful unto those who fear Him and that He delights to honour those who serve Him in righteousness and in truth unto the end (D&C 76:1-5). This is the God we worship, this is the God we serve and this is the God we should believe.

"Behold, I have graven thee 

upon the palms of my hands;

thy walls are continually before me.......

come unto me thy Saviour"

(Isaiah 49:16, D&C 19:41))

BY THE GRACE OF GOD PART I

"A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

So this the man did, day after day.

For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. 

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved". Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. The Adversary said: "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough".

So that's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord", he said, "I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately: "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed but is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock but your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. That you have done. Now, I, my friend, will move the rock".

- Author unknown

Sometimes on our life's journey we come to think that everything depends on us: enduring, serving, overcoming, accomplishing, obeying. Considering the many responsibilities placed on our shoulders day in and day out, this seems like a logical conclusion for many of us. We tend to forget that in this mortal sphere, we are intended to walk by faith and not by capacity. In other words, we are not meant to 'do' this life alone. We of ourselves can do nothing. Even the Saviour of the world admitted this to be true of Himself: "I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me" (John 5:30). The scriptures tell us that our faith can be so powerful that it can move mountains but in our exerted efforts of pushing and straining we tend to overlook who is at the other end of our faith. By all means, we should exercise the faith that moves mountains but  we must remember that it is still God who moves them.

All God asks of us is willingness and obedience. We, by our own weak efforts and finite wisdom could never make of ourselves what He has intended for us to be. It was His purpose from the beginning that we become co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom. To become those heirs, we have been given saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ and commandments to live by. The interesting thing here is that none of us can live up to these commandments of ourselves. If we could, we would not need the saving ordinances to save us, or the Saviour to die for us. President Lorenzo Snow said that the gospel was so designed that it would be too hard for us to live it without God's help. Perhaps if it was designed so that we could live it without divine help we would lose focus of our eternal home. Perhaps if we had the power to save ourselves we would become as the Son of the Morning who fell because of self-righteous pride. President Snow's theory should give hope to many of us who are struggling to live the Gospel and feeling sharply our shortcomings:

"The character of the religion that we have espoused demands a certain course of conduct that no other religion that we know of requires of its adherents; and the nature of those demands upon us [is] such that no person can comply with them, unless by assistance from the Almighty. It is necessary that we comprehend, at least, in part, the great and important blessings that we are to derive, eventually by complying with the requirements of the religion or gospel that we have received. The sacrifices that are required of us are of that nature that no man or woman could make them, unless aided by a supernatural power; and the Lord, in proposing these conditions, never intended that his people should ever be required to comply with them unless by supernatural aid, and of that kind that is not professed by any other class of religious people. He has promised this aid...." (Lorenzo Snow, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, With God All Things Are Possible, p 178-9)

This aid that God has promised to all His children so they could live the Celestial law in the telestial world is called grace. Grace is both God's good will and a divine power that we can access here and now for our personal perfection. Grace is twofold. Our part is the willingness to obey and the Lord's is to empower us beyond our natural capacity. In other words, all we need is to be willing to push whatever rock the Lord requires of us, but He in the end removes the rock: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27). The Saviour would not ask of us anything that He himself has not done. The amazing thing is that He subjected himself to the temptations and weaknesses of mortality not because He needed them but so that He could, through overcoming, gain compassion and power to succor us and perfect us. To 'succor' means to come to one's aid, help or relief. Because He himself has overcome the world, He has gained the power He can give us to overcome also: "Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me" (D&C 50:41).

Our willingness to obey and to overcome the weaknesses and trials of mortality, through God's grace, brings us greater rewards than the reward of salvation. The Lord tells us of this significant reward in Revelation: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God..." (Rev 3:12); "A pillar in the temple of my God" means "a person of stature and eminence in the Celestial Kingdom of God. Heaven itself, the house and abode of God, is a temple, the chief and supreme temple of eternity" (Bruce R. McConkie). Christianity at large focuses only on salvation and the role of grace pertaining to that doctrine as outlined by Paul who said: "For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Well did Paul say that salvation is free and none of us are to boast that we have in any way earned it. Through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ all men will be saved and resurrected through no effort of their own. Exaltation, however, is a different matter. Exaltation must be earned: "Salvation in all its forms, kinds, and degrees comes by the grace of God....Men are saved by grace alone in the sense of being resurrected; they are saved by grace coupled with obedience, in the sense of gaining eternal life..." (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Volume II, Acts-Phillipians, p 492-3).

Eternal life does not only mean 'life with God' but 'life as gods'. As Revelation points out, he that overcomes will not only be a pillar in the temple of God but shall have God's name written on him: "God's name is God. To have his name written on a person is to identify that person as a god. How can it be said more plainly? Those who gain eternal life become gods! Their inheritance is both a fullness of the glory of the Father and a continuation of the seed forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them" (D&C 132:19-20) (McConkie, DNTC, 3:458, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 453).

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things:

and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment:

and I will not blog out his name out of the book of life,

but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 

even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

(Rev 21:7, 3:5,21)

".....and a book of remembrance was written before him

for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, 

in that day when I make up my jewels......

(Malachi 3:16,17)

IN HEAVEN'S CARE

 

".....be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God , that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." 

(Ephesians 6:10-13)

There was a king in ancient Israel by the name of Ahab who was the most wicked and most powerful of the kings of northern Israel. He married Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, through whose influence the worship of Baal and Asherah was established and an attempt was made to exterminate the prophets and the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 16, 18). Due to Ahab's political prowess, the kingdom of Israel was strong. When Ahab led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to come out of the battle alive, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him.  The only thing he failed do was wear enough armour. It took one bow drawn by one man to hit the King of Israel between the section of his armour and cause a fatal blow. Ahab stayed out the battle in his chariot bleeding slowly to death and by night time he was dead (1 Kings 22:34,35).

The concept of battle armour is a foreign concept to us in this dispensation of times. The protective battle gear and weapons have somewhat changed since ancient times. Many of us cannot relate to fighting a battle in the physical sense, especially those of us living in the peaceful western world. There is, however, a battle we are all engaged in with the enemy that cannot be seen. This enemy is cleverly disguised in many evils of mortality who carefully draws his bow and fires his darts and arrows aiming to wound so we would, like Ahab, slowly bleed to death. Since the battle is directed at the destruction of our souls, meaning both body and spirit (D&C 88:15), it stands to reason that our armour should be spiritually strong.

When Nephi's brothers asked him the meaning of the rod of iron that their father dreamt of, Nephi replied that it was the word of God, which if they would hearken to, would protect them from the fiery darts of the adversary which could prove to their destruction (1 Nephi 15:23,24). The degree of protection we receive to combat the adversary is directly proportional to the diligence and heed we give to God's word, meaning obedience to His commandments.  How obedient we are here is an indication of how much we are willing to stand for the conviction that was ours in pre-existence.  The extent of our armour is a good indication of how valiant in our testimony of Jesus we are being here and now.  Since the battle for our souls is fierce, we cannot afford to choose which commandment we will obey and which we will let slide. Every act of disobedience creates cracks in the armour that is supposed to protect us. And it is just such cracks that the adversary targets. Many cracks make a loose armour. A cracked and loose armour is sufficient to cause discomfort leading to conviction that the armour is useless and not needed after all.

Paul's answer to combat the forces of evil is one of brilliance. The full armour of God that he admonishes the Ephesians to wear addresses all the vulnerabilities of mortality:

• Loins (reproductive organs): typifying virtue and chastity
• Heart: in the scriptures the heart is always used to typify our conduct
• Feet: typify objectives and goals in life which would take us to perfection, armour would protect us from getting off 'on the wrong foot'
• Head: a place the thoughts are stored which lead to actions

"Well, now, the apostle Paul went one step further. He didn't leave the man just with the armour on and expect him to cope against an army, seen or unseen. He had his armoured man holding in his hand a shield and in his other hand a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That shield was the shield of faith, and the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God. One so armoured and one so prepared with those weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy [and] is more to be feared than the enemies of the light" (Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace", Speeches of the Year, 1954, pp 2-4, 6-7).

If you ever wanted to be a hero, this is the time and place.  Examine the cracks in your armour and sharpen your sword of righteousness.  President Ezra Taft Benson said: "You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.  David's battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David's battles in the palace against a lustful eye.  We will each find our own battlefield". (Ezra Taft Benson, "In His Steps", 1979, Devotional Speeches of the Year, 60).

"As a small boy in grammar school, I had a teacher who made King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table come alive.  She caused me to become so obsessed with stories of knights that I played and dreamed that I was one.  One evening I dreamed that I was a white knight on a white horse riding over the greens of England.  Suddenly, without warning, a knight dressed in black armour and mounted on a black horse appeared at the edge of the forest.  We measured each other carefully, lowered our lances, and charged at full gallop.  The lances struck target and both of us were knocked off our steeds.

I scrambled to my feet knowing that swords would be drawn and that hand-to-hand combat was imminent.  Fear gripped my heart as I saw my opponent rushing toward me flashing a long, gleaming sword.  Instinctively, I reached to my side and drew forth from the scabbard my weapon.  That is when the dream turned into a nightmare!  For in my hand was a small, dinky dagger - not a long, gleaming sword.  I woke up in a cold sweat screaming for help. 

Many times since that nightmarish experience, I have wondered about the serviceability of the Saints, particularly the young Latter-day Saints.  When God calls you to serve, are you positioned in the scabbard and ready to be drawn?  When the Lord draws you forth as his instrument in combating evil forces, what does he have in his hand - a long, gleaming sword or a dinky dagger?...The saving virtue of a sword is related to its strength, sharpness, cleanliness, and the hand which guides it.  Is it not the same with people?  I would pray that you would seek strength of character, sharpness of mind, and cleanliness of soul so as to become gleaming swords of righteousness.  By doing this, there will be no embarrassment, no disappointment, and no nightmare when He draws you out in battling the powers of darkness" (Elder Carlos E. Asay, "Instruments of Righteousness", New Era, June 1983)

UNTO THE CONVINCING OF MEN

  

".....as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people......and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death......" 

(Mosiah 18:8,9)

Imagine, if you will, being a convert to the Church of Christ living in Rome between A.D. 54 and 117. It is during this period that the Church suffered three horrific Roman persecutions, the third under the Roman Emperor Trajan "who reigned from A.D. 98 to 117. By this time Christianity had been declared an illegal society in the empire; and unless the saints renounced Christ, they were executed.....Before the first century was concluded, bearing faithful witness of Jesus Christ led to torture, persecution, and death so often that the very word 'witness' took on the connotation of dying for one's belief. To deny Christ and deify Caesar, or to die was the choice given many of the early saints of the Church" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p. 404). How strong would our conviction of the reality of Christ be if we were faced with such a choice? How seriously would any of us take the admonition to stand as a witness of God 'at all times and in all things, and in all places, even until death'? If we were faced with the choice, would we have chosen Caesar as our god or Christ?The apostles of the early Church were martyred because they would not deny Him. Not only would they not deny but they bore witness with boldness and conviction. Paul, suffered it all for Christ's sake: "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness...." (2 Cor. 11:24-28). Despite it all, Paul lived up to the command the Saviour had given him on the road to Damascus: "Rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness....." (Acts 26:16)

Despite his deep understanding of the doctrine as evidenced by his prolific writing to the churches, when taken by an angry mob in Jerusalem and when brought before King Agrippa and the Roman governor Festus, Paul did not preach and expound his knowledge, instead he recounted his 'road to Damascus' experience and bore pure testimony of his conviction of the truth (Acts 21:6-10, 26:12-16). Even though his testimony was rejected and Paul met martyrdom for not denying Christ, he lived true to his conviction 'even unto death'. In our dispensation, Joseph Smith, like Paul had seen Christ and had suffered persecution and death because of his testimony which he could not deny and would not refrain from proclaiming. Like Paul, Joseph bore his testimony continually and simply and received the same treatment of which he said: "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise...." (JS-History 1:24-25)

When the Church's progress was hindered by iniquity in Alma's time, he went among the people himself to stir them up in remembrance of God, not by declaring hard doctrine but by bearing pure testimony for he knew this was the only way to 'reclaim' them, 'seeing no other way' (Alma 4:19). Alma knew that pure testimony is the only power that brings about true conversion because it is accompanied by the witness of the Holy Ghost. It is the influence of the Holy Ghost that inspires love, meekness and humility. If we want to be an influence for good in the midst of our congregations, we need to stand up as witnesses and bear pure testimony of our conviction. We must not only preach the word, but testify of its' truthfulness. Like the Saviour, like Paul and like Joseph Smith, we need to be 'testifiers'. We need to be heard saying, "I know":

"My experience throughout the Church leads me to worry that too many of our members' testimonies linger on 'I am thankful' and 'I love' and too few are able to say with humble but sincere clarity, 'I know'. As a result, our meetings sometimes lack the testimony-rich, spiritual underpinnings that stir the soul and have meaningful, positive impact on the lives of all those who hear them. Our testimony meetings need to be more centered on the Saviour, the doctrines of the gospel, the blessings of the Restoration, and the teachings of the scriptures. We need to replace stories, travelogues, and lectures with pure testimonies" (M. Russell Ballard, Pure Testimony, Liahona, Nov. 2004, 40-43)"

In October 1988 General Conference, President Ezra Taft Benson delivered a talk entitled "I Testify" throughout which he did nothing but bear testimony of all facets of the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. Each paragraph of the talk begins with 'I testify'. There is no doubt in my mind that those who heard this talk were convinced that President Benson 'knew'. In his final address to the Church, Bruce R. McConkie spoke exclusively about 'The Purifying Power of the Gethsemane' but none of the doctrinally sound things he said had as much bearing on our remembrance as the concluding testimony of that talk: "And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God - I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God's Almighty Son, that he is our Saviour and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through His atoning blood and in no other way" (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, The Ensign, May 1985).

In our bearing of testimony we need to be like Jeremiah of old who could not be stayed from testifying despite the persecution he suffered: "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:9). I imagine this is how Paul felt, the burning fire in his bones could not make him refrain from testifying of the truth. Do we feel this unquenchable fire in our bones when we are confronted and presented with opportunities such as these:

"I was in a college Sociology class following my mission. The teacher was engaging. His lectures reached into my heart and mind and I enjoyed almost everything he did. Almost. In spite of repeated claims that he was a member of the Church and an active one (he told us he taught Gospel Doctrine in a local ward), he seldom skipped an opportunity to criticize the Church. He may have done this from an inflated sense of the need to make his students (who were mostly Latter-day Saints) to think for themselves, or from a sincere belief that the Church was too autocratic. At any rate, I learned early in the course that he would challenge my willingness to 'stand as a witness' from time to time.

The first time it happened, the discussion had turned to the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I am not sure now, at a distance of 34 years, how we got from sociology to Iron County but were were there and Dr. Whoeveritwas directed a searching discussion into the causes of that tragic event. At one point, because of a comment from an interested but uniformed non-member student, the professor observed that to his certain knowledge, the death of the wagon train members at Mountain Meadows had been ordered by Brigham Young himself. 

I was jerked from my cautious interest in the discussion - a non-participant anxious to get on to other less controversial things - to a position of responsibility. I knew that what I had just heard was not true. I had studied enough church history and read enough of the documents about this event to know that Brigham Young tried desperately to prevent the least inconvenience from coming to the members of the wagon train. I thought about making that very point. I had just returned from two years of standing as a witness. But I was in a class of perhaps one hundred and seventy students (this was a required undergraduate class) and I was surrounded by strangers. I was reluctant to make a display of myself, and besides, my declaration would not matter that much anyway, would it? I sat, wrestling with myself in the silence following this statement, hoping the discussion would turn in another direction. And then, exactly in front of me, a young woman stood. Her hands gripped the back of the chair before her. Her voice was tight and she quivered with emotion. 'Dr. Whoeveryouare, I'm a new member of the Church. I was baptized less than a year ago. I've never even heard of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, so I don't know what you're talking about. But I know you are wrong!' And she sat down. 

This was I believe, the most powerful lesson I learned in college. No teacher ever reached into my heart the way her simple, powerful testimony did. She was willing to stand as a witness when I was not. But I made a promise to myself that day, studying the back of her head, consumed by my own shame. I told myself that I would never sit again when it was time for me to stand. This is a promise I have tried to keep.

As we study Acts 21-28, we see Paul standing as a witness. He would have been on his feet in an instant in that class, his eyes blazing, his voice like 'the roaring of a lion'. Joseph Smith described Paul in this way:

"He is about five feet high; very dark hair, dark complexion, dark skin;

large Roman nose; sharp face; small black eyes, penetrating as eternity;

round shoulders; a whining voice, except when elevated, and then it almost

resembled the roaring of a lion. He was a good orator, active and diligent, 

always employing himself in doing good to his fellow man."

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1839-42, p 180)

(Ted L. Gibbons, "Thou Hast Testified of Me", ldsgospeldoctrine.net)

May we 'stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places' and speak with the voice like 'the roaring of a lion' as we testify of the conviction of our hearts and may we be heard upon the mountaintops saying "I know". 

THE SORROWING HEART

We live in a fallen world. A world of pain, suffering, grief, sorrow and many other negative emotions and maladies of the mind and heart. It is for this purpose we were sent here, to experience and master the world of opposites; that in our experience with sorrow we might know joy. This world was made for the perfection of our experience; to shape, mould and perfect us that we might have joy in this life and the fullness of joy throughout our eternal existence. Without knowing mortality, we would never have known this fullness but would have languished in innocence and imperfection for eternity. It was therefore imperative that we became agents of our own fate whereby we could choose the outcome of our eternal station. In the process of choosing between right and wrong that would lead us to this outcome, is a necessary teaching tool known as sorrow. This sorrow is born from our inclination to indulge the natural man and is meant to lead us back from wayward paths to the path of accountability, purpose and wisdom. 

The sorrow spoken of here falls into two categories: the sorrow of the world and 'godly sorrow'. It is important for us to understand the distinction between the two because one can keep us trapped in misery while the other can grant us emotional and spiritual freedom. When we choose to be in the world and have no regard for God's laws, we are prone to experience worldly sorrow. The world is trapped in this type of sorrow which offers no peace and no redemption. When the Nephite civilization began it's demise into total destruction, many of them lamented the state they were in which gave Mormon great hopes that their sorrow would lead them to repentance. In this, Mormon was greatly disappointed because he records: "But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin" (Mormon 2:13). In other words, the Nephites sorrowed because they could not have it both ways; they could not live in sin and at the same time be happy. And herein is found one of Satan's biggest lies; that we are free to do whatever we want. Freedom of the heart, however, does not come with 'whatever we want'. Very often 'whatever we want' comes with sorrow. Today, in our attempt to prove that we are free to choose, we have surrounded ourselves by the sorrow of the world: lives devastated by drugs, cruelty, abusive behaviour, greed, selfishness, corruption, immorality, deceit and much more. Those who are of the world experience sorrow for their reckless behaviour when they are shocked into it by the consequences of their actions or when they are found out. 

Unlike worldly sorrow, godly sorrow leads to repentance and freedom. A truly repentant person will experience sorrow not only because of the cost of sin to themselves but also because they offended God. They can see clearly they have put in jeopardy the salvation of their soul, they come to regret their actions and their sorrowing results in a broken heart. This is godly sorrow. This sorrow brings about grieving that teaches us accountability and grows in us a desire to abstain from further sinning. Desisting the sin is simply not enough to effect true repentance because it does not bring about a change of heart. Merely desisting without godly sorrow means it is just a matter of time before we go back to the sin which has had us in its grip. When we experience godly sorrow, we show sincerity in our intentions to forsake the sin. This painful 'payment' acts as a perfect deterrent in the repentance process.

God's love for us is always there but when we are living a sinful life we distance ourselves from that love. Catastrophically, we also distance ourselves from our chance of salvation and ultimate exaltation. Repentance is perhaps the greatest proof of God's mercy towards His children. Not wanting to leave us in the fallen world forever He has provided the way for us to be reconciled to Him and be once more worthy of His presence. Repentance is crucial for this reconciliation. No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God (3 Nephi 27:19) because God Himself is clean, pure and perfect therefore He cannot receive us into His presence if we are unclean and tainted by sin. But uncleanliness can be eradicated for those 'who have washed their garments in [Christ's] blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end' (3 Nephi 27:19). 

The path to reconciliation with God is in Christ. He is the healing in our wings and the path back to freedom and spiritual security. Because of Him we need not suffer the sorrow of the world but the sorrow that will bring us back to God. This is the sorrow that is worth the pain because it is momentary as opposed to the sorrow of the world that is never ending. "The delightful promise of the Gospel to those who 'sorrow after a godly sort' (2 Cor. 7:11) is complete forgiveness and reconciliation to God. There is a power in the Atonement of Christ that makes the repentant soul new again: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17-18). This dream of a new life, a new start, a new chance is made reality in the Atonement of Christ." (Breck England, NT Lesson 35, Be Ye Reconciled to God)

A bird 

Once broken

Can never fly,

They say,

Quite so high

Again.

Perhaps.

But as for me,

Now desperately

In need of mending,

I have a healer

Who would restore

These foolish wings

Without a scar.

I will lie quiet

Beneath His touch.

I will listen

As He whispers,

"Rise, and fall no more"

And then -

Then I shall

Soar.

- Carol Lynn Pearson

A LOVE SO PURE

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."  

(1 Corinthians 13:7)

In Paul's attempt to bring the Corinthian saints closer to Christ and His character which He hoped they would emulate, he delivered the most poetic and inspiring discourse on the attribute of charity, a quality without which according to Paul we are nothing.  Understanding the nature of charity makes sense of this statement. It is crucial that we know and understand what charity is not to fully understand what it truly is. Charity is not acts of kindness for Paul states that even giving all our possessions to the poor is possible without possessing charity. He goes on to say that it is possible to even speak with the tongue of angels and prophesy without charity and no doubt do many things which would make us appear good to others and which could be acts born from selfish and wrongful desires. Likewise, long suffering, absence of envy, lack of pride, good behaviour, righteousness, faith, hope and rejoicing in truth that Paul also speaks of are not really charity but rather products of it and evidences that a person possesses this quality.  Charity therefore is an outward expression of the inner state of our hearts. Rather than alms or deeds, charity is the motive, the pure motive which prompts or inspires the acts of good will.

Moroni teaches us that charity is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:47) without which we cannot become like the Saviour. Why the emphasis on 'pure'? Why not just 'the love of Christ' which inspires men to do good? Christ's love is pure because it is free of any ulterior motives or hidden agendas. Christ's only desire is to bring each one of us to His own station of perfection, glory, power and dominion (Larry Keeler, I Do Always Those Things That Please Him, p 2). When He said 'here am I, send me' (Abraham 3:27) He asked for nothing but glory for the Father, unlike Lucifer who wanted the glory for himself; and when He said 'for behold this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39), He meant that He had no wish to elevate Himself through this work, but that His love was the only motivation for offering us salvation. It is this selflessness and presence of pure love that enabled the Saviour of all mankind to submit His will to the Father in His greatest agony. It is this pure love of Christ that would likewise enable us to lift another to salvation, to extend brotherly love through selfless acts of kindness, to do good and serve others in all things and in all places.

Christ's entire mortal life exemplified the pure love He has for all of us, especially those of us who through acceptance of His eternal sacrifice would become His spiritually begotten children, to share His rightful inheritance in the Kingdom of the Eternal Father. The evidence of His love is with us today in the form of ordinances which have been instituted for the salvation of all mankind. A closer look at the three most prominent can teach us to recognise the gift of love in the rest:

• Baptism: Through accepting the ordinance of baptism, we 're-enact the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are ensured a place in His Kingdom. Jesus Christ, the only person who ever lived who did not have to die, chose to die as an act of charity for us because in doing so He conquered death for each of us and ensured our resurrection' (Breck England, NT Lesson 34, Keep the Ordinance As I Delivered Them). Death of a loved one can teaches us that the Saviour's gift of resurrection is a profound act of love, a gift that re-unites families and restores each of us to life and immortality. 

• Sacrament:  Each Sunday we have the privilege of taking the sacrament in remembrance of the ultimate and supreme act of love the Saviour had gifted to each of us for He 'so loved the world that He gave His own life that as many as believed might become the sons of God' (D&C 34:3). We learn from Paul that one of the evidences of charity is 'long suffering'. Surely the Lord Jesus had suffered the longest of us all by experiencing exquisite pain for our sins. Paul also says that those who have charity 'bear all things' and 'endure all things'. Is it not true that Jesus bore our griefs and endured all our sorrows? The ordinance of the sacrament helps us to reflect on these fruits of charity, to marvel at the love so pure that would enable even God to bleed at every pore. 

• Sealing:  It is through the sealing power of marriage that we gain the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life, meaning we are exalted to live with God in family units. "The sealing ordinance represents our Saviour's ultimate act of charity, for through this ordinance we are sealed up to eternal life as co-heir with Him and a co-partaker of 'all that the Father hath' (John 16:15). It is His supreme charity because He literally gives it all; He can give each of us no more than all that He has. If you receive the sealing ordinance and remain faithful, He promises that you 'shall receive your exaltation, that where I am ye shall be also' (D&C 132:23) (Breck England, NT Lesson 34, Keep The Ordinances, As I Delivered Them)

The purpose of the ordinances of the Gospel is not only to advance us in our progression to godhood but to draw us closer to the Saviour and to become like Him. It is our duty to grasp the concept of charity, or the pure love He has for us so that we can emulate that love in our own lives towards others. If we do not grasp the Saviour's love we go unchanged and unaffected and fail to become as He is. If we do not become like Him, we cannot share the inheritance with Him in celestial worlds on high. Lest we be overcome with the magnitude of this charge, we need to know that we cannot acquire or develop the pure love of Christ of our own selves. The pure love of Christ is a gift to all who show obedience and faithfulness as His disciples. After all we can do, by the grace of God, we qualify to receive this love as a gift 'bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ' (Moroni 7:48). It is to our everlasting advantage to 'pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with this love.....that when he shall appear we shall be like him...' (Moroni 7:48)

We cannot become pure, powerful or perfect relying on our efforts alone. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian saints, he acknowledged that he was the least of the apostles and not worthy to be called such because he persecuted the church of God but he also acknowledged that he had become as good as the great work he performed by exclaiming 'by the grace of God I am what I am' (1 Cor 15:9,10). He alone, whom we worship and accept as our personal Saviour, can make of us what we should be. By yielding our hearts to Him and striving to obey Him in all things, we too can possess a love so pure and so divine that we will be granted the purity of character worthy of God's presence and all that is His. May we strive to be recipients of the greatest love of all and may we bless each other's lives with its' power now and forever. May we reach across boundaries, limits and fears and shrink not from love which will lead us to salvation and to that place where we will at last, once more, once again and forever, see the face of God.

A TOKEN OF LOVE

"I spoke at my granddaughter's baptism in July. My assigned topic was the Holy Ghost. I told her that I have a picture of her with her sister on my computer wallpaper. 'Every time I turn on the computer, she is there with you', I said. 'If she could be with you all the time in your life, would she help you choose the right?' This 8 year old was pretty sure she would. I asked the same questions about her mom and dad. She thought that if one or both of them could be with her all the time, she would be able to make pretty good decisions because someone would always be there who knew more than she did to help her. I even asked about President Hinckley. This little girl thought that he would help her with her decisions too. But she agreed with me that he might be too busy to follow her around 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 'But if he could, you would always know the best thing to do, wouldn't you?', I asked. She was pretty sure that was true. Then I asked her what it would be like to have a member of the Godhead with her all the time. We then read 2 Nephi 32:5: 

'For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do' (2 Nephi 32:5)

I am amazed at this - that God would give all of his covenanting children continuous access to a being who knows everything..........."         (Ted L. Gibbons, NT Lesson 32, "Live in the Spirit")


The gift of the Holy Ghost is second to the Atonement as a token of God's great love for us. It is also one of the blessings most often taken for granted. Very few of us reflect daily or even occasionally on the gift of love that this third member of the Godhead is. When the Father sent us out into the world to find ourselves, He did so making sure we didn't go without a connection to home. There are several things that make Christ's Church stand apart from other religions but none as powerful and useful to us in our daily lives as the gift of the Holy Ghost. Having this gift can be akin to walking with and talking to God face to face on daily basis. There are three major benefits of having the gift of the Holy Ghost that are worthy of mention:

1. At the time of baptism, the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost makes us clean from any sin that we had up to then committed. This sanctifying power can be renewed every time we partake of the sacrament with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. If we live worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost on a continual basis and 'walk in the spirit' as Apostle Paul taught, we will have the power to subdue 'the natural man' (Galatians 5:16). Not subduing the natural man means living after the manner of the flesh, the fruits of which are 'adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like' (Galatians 5:19-21). However, the fruits of living after the manner of the Spirit are 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance' (Galatians 5:22-25). We need the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost if we are to ultimately qualify for God's presence for 'no unclean thing can enter into His kingdom' (3 Nephi 27:19). This sanctification is available to all who accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and make covenants to live His Gospel. Where His Atonement absolves us from sin, the Holy Ghost purifies us from it.

2. One of the main roles of the Holy Ghost is to endow members of the Church with spiritual gifts. Every member of the Church receives them following baptism. In the early Church they were immediately manifest mainly through speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:5,6). Spiritual gifts are often called 'fruits of the Spirit' and they are one of the greatest tools we have for developing traits we lack and need to have, not only for our benefit but most importantly for the benefit of the Church for it is for this purpose they are given. Joseph Smith said on one occasion that the Church would be dead without the gifts of the spirit. He compared it to being invited to a feast [Church] and sitting at the table not partaking of the foods laden before you. The gifts of the spirit are many and varied. It is our responsibility to seek them and develop them. They are, however, not only to be used for the building of the Kingdom but for our individual journey to perfection. It is through possession of these gifts that we can overcome weaknesses and imperfections and thus progress to a more Christlike character (on more information regarding this please refer to my blog post entitled "On Spiritual Gifts and Weaknesses", October 2013).

3. Paul taught the Galatian saints to 'stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage' (Galatians 5:1). The yoke of bondage that Paul referred to was the ritualism inherent in the law of Moses which had become a way of life for the Jews and which caused 'spirituality to wither almost to death in the hearts of the people. When a member of the Church is given to ritualism, or even living the gospel by habit or tradition, the purity of intent that is required to live the gospel at its highest is most often lost. Such ceremonialism had become a yoke of bondage for the Jews'.........When habit or tradition governs the behaviour of a member of the Church, he or she has lost the liberty of living the gospel with pure intent. The gospel becomes a burden to be carried rather than a means of liberating the soul. In such a person, the fire of the Holy Ghost has little place. Without that fire, the natural man begins to take over what it has lost when the recipient was first converted to the gospel' (Bruce Satterfield, NT Lesson 32 'Live In the Spirit', Meridian Magazine). Living by the Spirit ensures that our motives for Church activity and Gospel living are strong and pure and not habitual and bereft of real intent.

With so much unrest, fear, doubt and insecurity in our world today, we cannot afford to live without the guidance and influence of the Holy Ghost. It is the daily connection we have with the powers of heaven, a connection we sorely need. Several years after the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred, he appeared to President Brigham Young and shared this timeless counsel: "Tell the people to be humble and faithful and [be] sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small, still voice; it will teach [you what] to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them; their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the spirit of the Lord from all other spirits. It will whisper peace and joy to their souls, and it will take malice, hatred, envying, strife, and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord they will go right" (Joseph Smith, Teachings:Joseph Smith, p 98)

We not only need the Holy Ghost for guidance but also for personal edification of our body, spirit and intellect: "The Holy Ghost.....quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adepts them by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual mind. It strengthens, invigorates and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being" (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. [1965] p. 101). Indeed we can say that the Holy Ghost is a life force we cannot live without. It therefore behooves us to live so that we would be worthy of its' companionship constantly. Keeping ourselves unspotted from the world and hungering after righteousness ensures that we form a partnership with this member of the Godhead who has been relegated to be our lifeline in mortality. 

When Jesus told His apostles that He would shortly be crucified for the sins of the world, they sorrowed because He would no longer be with them but He in return offered immense hope: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7). With this statement, the Saviour was saying "you will have me with you always". For us, nearly 2,000 years after the fact, this should have more meaning than to the apostles of old. They had known Him personally, walked and talked with Him every day, heard His words, felt His touch, were no doubt embraced by His arms and kissed with a holy kiss. We of the 21st century, have experienced none of these personal moments with the Savior in our mortality. There is one, however, whom the Saviour has sent in His stead so that we too can feel His personal love, feel the power of His spirit and be convinced of the reality of His existence; the one who has the power to remind us of our heavenly home, to keep us on the strait and narrow, to let us know that we are not forgotten. He will comfort us in times of sorrow, teach us what we need to know and strengthen us with Atonement's power. He is the conduit through which all heavenly connection comes. All this so we can return to inherit eternal life in the realms above. Such is the power and might of the member of the Godhood we call The Holy Ghost, The Comforter, The Spirit of Truth, the token of our Father's love.