A familiar hymn is titled “Choose the Right” for a reason. We have not been blessed with moral agency to do whatever we want whenever we will. Rather, according to the Father’s plan, we have received moral agency to seek after and act in accordance with eternal truth. As “agents unto [ourselves],” we should engage anxiously in good causes, “do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.”
As you pray earnestly with the expectation to both receive and act upon an answer from God, as did young Joseph Smith, your capacity to recognize and respond to that divine witness will be increased
At the individual level, each of us must “beware of pride, lest [we] become as the Nephites of old.”
May I suggest that if you or I believe we are sufficiently strong and stalwart to avoid the arrogance of pride, then perhaps we already are suffering from this deadly spiritual disease. Simply stated, if you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger. In the space of not many days, weeks, months, or years, we might forfeit our spiritual birthright for far less than a mess of pottage.
If, however, you or I believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we consistently will do the small and simple things that will protect and help us become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us].” “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.”
the Book of Mormon is not primarily a historical record that looks to the past. Rather, this volume of scripture looks to the future and contains important principles, warnings, and lessons intended for the circumstances and challenges of our day. Hence, the Book of Mormon is a book about our future and the times in which we do now and will yet live.
In the Space of Not Many Years
As we pridefully focus upon ourselves, we also are afflicted with spiritual blindness and miss much, most, or perhaps all that is occurring within and around us. We cannot look to and focus upon Jesus Christ as the “mark” if we only see ourselves.
In the Space of Not Many Years
Apostasy can occur at two basic levels—institutional and individual. At the institutional level, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not be lost through apostasy or taken from the earth.
The Prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed: “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing … ; the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith summarized succinctly the essential role of priesthood ordinances in the gospel of Jesus Christ: “Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances.” This penetrating statement emphasizes the roles of both the Holy Ghost and sacred ordinances in the process of spiritual rebirth.
Holy ordinances are central in the Savior’s gospel and in the process of coming unto Him and seeking spiritual rebirth. Ordinances are sacred acts that have spiritual purpose, eternal significance, and are related to God’s laws and statutes. All saving ordinances and the ordinance of the sacrament must be authorized by one who holds the requisite priesthood keys.
The ordinances of salvation and exaltation administered in the Lord’s restored Church are far more than rituals or symbolic performances. Rather, they constitute authorized channels through which the blessings and powers of heaven can flow into our individual lives.
Ordinances received and honored with integrity are essential to obtaining the power of godliness and all of the blessings made available through the Savior’s Atonement.
Elder Craig C. Christensen and I were companions recently in a priesthood leadership conference, and he used two simple questions to emphasize the principle of becoming home centered and Church supported. He suggested that instead of returning to our homes after Church meetings on Sunday and asking, “What did you learn about the Savior and His gospel today at church?” we should ask in our Church meetings, “What did you learn about the Savior and His gospel this week in your home?” Proper Sabbath-day observance, the new curriculum, and the adjusted meeting schedule all help us to learn the gospel both in our homes and at church.
Two basic guidelines can help us achieve the proper understanding emphasized by President Benson.
Guideline #1. Because we love the Lord, we always should speak about His holy house with reverence. We should not disclose or describe the special symbols associated with the covenants we receive in sacred temple ceremonies. Neither should we discuss the holy information that we specifically promise in the temple not to reveal.
Guideline #2. The temple is the house of the Lord. Everything in the temple points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We may discuss the basic purposes of and the doctrine and principles associated with temple ordinances and covenants.
President Howard W. Hunter counseled: “Let us share with our children the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. And let us teach them more earnestly and more comfortably the things we can appropriately say about the purposes of the house of the Lord.”
The ultimate missionary training center is in our homes; secondary missionary training centers are located in Provo, Manila, Mexico City, and in other locations. Our most instructive Sunday School classes should be our individual and family study in our places of residence; helpful but secondary Sunday School classes are held in our meetinghouses.
Family history centers now are in our homes. Supplemental support for our family history research work also is available in our meetinghouses.
Vital temple preparation classes occur in our homes; important but secondary temple preparation classes also may be conducted periodically in our meetinghouses.
Today I repeat a principle I previously have emphasized. Our homes should be the ultimate combination of both sacred time and holy place wherein individuals and families can “be still” and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior. Leaving our homes to worship on the Sabbath and in the house of the Lord certainly is essential. But only as we return to our homes with the spiritual perspective and strength obtained in those holy places and activities can we then sustain our focus upon the primary purposes of mortal life and overcome the temptations so prevalent in our fallen world.
The phrase “in the path of their duty” describes spouses and children who support a companion, parent, or child who serves in a leadership position in the Lord’s restored Church. Their steady, quiet, and typically unrecognized sustaining influence makes possible the blessing of many individuals and families in ways that will be fully known only in eternity.
The Savior’s promise to His followers is twofold: if we abide in Him, He will abide in us. But is it indeed possible for Christ to abide in you and me—individually and personally? The answer to this question is a resounding yes!
In the Book of Mormon, we learn about Alma’s teaching and testifying to the poor whose afflictions had compelled them to be humble. In his instruction, he compared the word to a seed that must be planted and nourished, and he described “the word” as the life, mission, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Alma said, “Begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.”
Given this description of “the word” by Alma, please consider the inspiring connection he then identifies.
“And now … I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will.”
The seed we should strive to plant in our hearts is the word—even the life, mission, and doctrine of Jesus Christ. And as the word is nourished by faith, it can become a tree springing up in us unto everlasting life.
What was the symbolism of the tree in Lehi’s vision? The tree can be considered as a representation of Jesus Christ.
My beloved brothers and sisters, is the Word in us? Are the truths of the Savior’s gospel written in the fleshy tables of our hearts? Are we coming unto and gradually becoming more like Him? Is the tree of Christ growing in us? Are we striving to become “new [creatures]” in Him?
I testify that the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you as you remember Him, take His name upon you, and keep His commandments (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79). He said, “And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7).
I hope that the next time you partake of the bread and water during the sacrament, you will say in your heart: “I’ll never forget Him or His sacrifice for me. I will love and follow Him.” I pray that you will carry this resolve with you throughout your life.
May you move forward with the strength, peace, and joy that come from remembering and following Jesus Christ always.
Entering into sacred covenants and worthily receiving priesthood ordinances yoke us with and bind us to the Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. This simply means that we trust in the Savior as our Advocate and Mediator and rely on His merits, mercy, and grace during the journey of life. As we are steadfast in coming unto Christ and are yoked with Him, we receive the cleansing, healing, and strengthening blessings of His infinite and eternal Atonement.
The doctrine of Christ written “with the Spirit of the living God … in fleshy tables of [our hearts]” increases our capacity to “heed not” the many distractions, taunts, and diversions in our fallen world. For example, faith focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ fortifies us with spiritual strength. Faith in the Redeemer is a principle of action and of power. As we act in accordance with the truths of His gospel, we are blessed with the spiritual capacity to press forward through the challenges of mortality while focusing on the joys the Savior offers to us. Truly, “if we do what’s right we have no need to fear, for the Lord, our helper, will ever be near.”
Agency and Gods Will for us
What He would Have us Do.
https://youtu.be/g7tii0OBSnU?t=1440
David A. Bednar, Face to Face with Elder and Sister Bednar: Ask, Seek, Knock
When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.
In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.
David A. Bednar, And Nothing Shall Offend Them, October 2006 General Conference
Satan does not have a body, and his eternal progress has been halted. Just as water flowing in a riverbed is stopped by a dam, so the adversary’s eternal progress is thwarted because he does not have a physical body. Because of his rebellion, Lucifer has denied himself all of the mortal blessings and experiences made possible through a tabernacle of flesh and bones. One of the potent scriptural meanings of the word damned is illustrated in his inability to continue progressing and becoming like our Heavenly Father.
Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. President Russell M. Nelson has taught that spiritual safety ultimately lies in “‘never taking the first enticing step toward going where you should not go and doing what you should not do.’ … As human beings we all have [physical] appetites necessary for our survival. ‘These appetites are absolutely essential for the perpetuation of life. So, what does the adversary do? … He attacks us through our appetites. He tempts us to eat things we should not eat, to drink things we should not drink, and to love as we should not love!’”
One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction.
