As I prepared the talk, I kept wanting to focus on some issues that I've encountered from others recently.
Here's the talk (Click on gray lettering for link to original material; art added for blog post.):
In April 1999, Elder M. RUSSELL BALLARD of the Quorum of the
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| Elder M. RUSSELL BALLARD, 1999 |
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| "Like the sands of a windblown desert" |
(And, remember, he said this
15 years ago!)
“The world’s perspective has been so
dramatically altered that those who choose to adhere to traditional standards
of morality are viewed as strange, almost as though they must justify their
desire to keep the commandments of God.
“But one thing is certain: the commandments
have not changed. Let there be no mistake about that. Right is still right. Wrong is still wrong, no matter how cleverly
cloaked in respectability or political correctness.”
The world today wants it all,
and right now but doesn’t concern itself with the idea of consequences.
Don’t burden me with all the
rules that burdened my parents. Preach to me of the easy way to heaven – if
there be a heaven!
In 2 Nephi Chapter 28, it
states: “And there shall also be many which shall
say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God — He will
justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of
one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this;
and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are
guilty, God will beat us with a few
stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God."
How many will be saved?
10,000? 100,000? If we believe what most churches teach today, then all that profess
a belief in Christ will be saved. Most all churches lead to Heaven – and all
roads lead to Rome
There was a time when we had
to make a choice between having every one of God’s children being saved and
potentially losing more than one-third of them.
Lucifer and his followers wanted salvation to come automatically
to all who passed through mortality, without regard to individual preference,
agency, or voluntary dedication.
In the Book of Moses, Chapter 4: it says: “Satan … is the same which was
from the beginning, and he came
before me, saying: Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will
redeem all mankind that one soul shall
not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
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| Great Council in Heaven where Lucifer and Christ presented opposing views. |
2 “But, behold, my Beloved
Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done [I vote for your plan,
the eternal plan, the one that teaches us to become Eternal parents, and then
the Beloved Son said] … and the glory be thine forever.”
Then warfare ensued: Brothers
and sisters fighting against brothers and sisters.
In Revelation, Chapter 12: “And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and
his angels... And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
How many suffered the consequence of their rebellion?
1/3 of the host of Heaven!
But we who are here today
fought on the right side – we chose to support God and His Plan of Salvation,
and we chose to support Christ’s role as our Savior!
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| Freedom of choice even in pre-earth life. |
And Freedom of Choice is
crucial to learning how to become like our Father in Heaven – and learning how
to be Eternal parents!
As part of the Atonement,
Christ’s resurrection gave all mankind the gift of resurrection, but many
Christians get confused about the second part of the Atonement, how Christ
makes it possible to conquer Spiritual
Death, which is our separation, physically and spiritually, from God.
In Alma Chapter 5, verse 21,
it says: “…there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea,
his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has
been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.” [from their sins, not in their
sins]
In April 2004, Elder BRUCE C. HAFEN of the First
Quorum of the
Seventy, said: “…We are God’s spirit “offspring,” sent to earth
“innocent” of Adam’s transgression. Yet our Father’s plan subjects us to
temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the
bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet. We require mortality’s discipline
and refinement as the “next step in [our] development” toward becoming like our
Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He
extends both during and “after all we can do.”
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| Elder Bruce C. Hafen, 2004 |
“… His plan is developmental — line upon line, step by
step, grace for grace.
“So if you have problems in
your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose.
As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make
us wiser, stronger. If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might
mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away.
“One early Australian convert
said: 'My past life [was] a wilderness of weeds, with hardly a flower strewed
among them. [But] now the weeds have vanished, and flowers spring up in their
place.'
“We grow in two ways—removing negative weeds and cultivating
positive flowers. The Savior’s grace blesses both parts—if we do our part.
First and repeatedly we must uproot the weeds of sin and bad choices. It isn’t enough just to mow the weeds.
Yank them out by the roots, repenting fully to satisfy the conditions of mercy.
But being forgiven is only part of our growth. We are not just paying a debt.
Our purpose is to become celestial beings. So once we’ve cleared our heartland,
we must continually plant, weed, and nourish
the seeds of divine qualities....
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| Yank weeds out by their roots, repenting fully. |
“We need grace both to
overcome sinful weeds and to grow divine flowers. We can do neither one fully
by ourselves. But grace is not cheap. It is very expensive, even very dear. How
much does this grace cost? Is it enough simply to believe in Christ? The man
who found the pearl of great price gave “all
that he had” for it. If we desire “all that [the] Father hath,” God asks all that we have. To qualify for such
exquisite treasure, in whatever way is ours, we must give the way Christ gave —
every drop He had!
“How exquisite you know not,
yea, how hard to bear you know not.”
“…This earth is not our home. We are away at school, trying to master
the
lessons of “the great plan of happiness” so we can return home and know
what it means to be there. Over and over the Lord tells us why the plan is
worth our sacrifice — and His.
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| We're away at school, trying to master lessons of the great plan of happiness. |
“Christ’s Atonement is at the very core of this plan. Without His
dear, dear sacrifice, there would be no way home, no way to be together, no way
to be like Him. He gave us all He had. Therefore, “how great is his joy,” when
even one of us “gets it” — when we look up from the weed patch and turn our
face to the Son.
“Only the restored gospel has
the fullness of these truths! Yet the adversary is engaged in one of history’s
greatest cover-ups, trying to persuade people that this Church knows least — when
in fact it knows most — about how our relationship with Christ makes true
Christians of us.
But … “some people want to
keep one hand on the wall of the temple
while touching the world’s “unclean things” with the other hand. We must put
both hands on the temple and hold on for dear life.
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| One hand on the wall of the temple ... |
“The rich young man had given
almost everything. When the Savior told him he must sell all his possessions –
that wasn’t just a story about riches. We can have eternal life if we want it,
but only if there is nothing else we want more….”
In Alma
king of all the
Lamanites) about the Creation, the Fall of Adam, and the plan of redemption
through Christ. And the king and all his household were converted.
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| King Lamoni's father greets Ammon and Lamoni. |
In that conversion story, the
King prayed to God: “O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if
there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee,
and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.”
We must give away all that
draws our attention away from our Eternal goals.
In Luke Chapter 9, Verse 23,
it says: “…If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself [of his worldly desires], and take up his cross daily [not just once, or occasionally, but daily],
and follow me.”
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| A man came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? |
We must hold on to the rod –
the word of God. We must focus our
attention on our eternal goals and keep climbing – despite our setbacks!
We must pitch our tent facing the temple!
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| Is our tent pitched facing temple -- facing God? |
Understanding the Atonement
and making the atonement part of our lives is walking the straight and narrow
path that leads back to God’s presence.
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| Lehi's Dream of Tree of Life and path leading to the tree. |
“And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have
gotten into this strait and narrow path, I
would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay….
“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in
Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all
men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ,
and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."
[which is Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom
The path is not broad! And
there is only one path!
So how does Christ, our
savior and mediator, save us from the law of justice?
Elder BOYD K. PACKER of the Quorum of the Twelve, said in April
1977, “… The Prophet Alma declared:
“Justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth
the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.” (Alma
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| Elder Boyd K. Packer, 1977 |
“Let me tell you a story—a
parable.
There once was a man who
wanted something very much. It seemed more important than anything else in his
life. In order for him to have his desire, he incurred a great debt.
“He had been warned about
going into that much debt, and particularly about his creditor. But it seemed
so important for him to do what he wanted to do and to have what he wanted
right now. He was sure he could pay for it later.
“So he signed a contract. He
would pay it off some time along the way. He didn’t worry too much about it,
for the due date seemed such a long time away. He had what he wanted now, and
that was what seemed important.
“The creditor was always
somewhere in the back of his mind, and he made token payments now and again,
thinking somehow that the day of reckoning really would never come.
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| Can Mercy rob Justice? |
“Only then did he realize
that his creditor not only had the power to repossess all that he owned, but
the power to cast him into prison as well.
“I cannot pay you, for I have
not the power to do so,” he confessed.
“Then,” said the creditor,
“we will exercise the contract, take your possessions, and you shall go to prison.
You agreed to that. It was your choice. You signed the contract, and now it
must be enforced.”
“Can you not extend the time
or forgive the debt?” the debtor begged. “Arrange some way for me to keep what
I have and not go to prison. Surely you believe in mercy? Will you not show
mercy?”
“The creditor replied, “Mercy
is always so one-sided. It would serve only you. If I show mercy to you, it
will leave me unpaid. It is justice I demand. Do you believe in justice?”
“I believed in justice when I
signed the contract,” the debtor said. “It was on my side then, for I thought
it would protect me. I did not need mercy then, nor think I should need it
ever. Justice, I thought, would serve both of us equally as well.”
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| As Jesus saved Peter from drowning, He, as the Great Mediator, can be our Savior and save us from our sins ..., if we repent and follow him. |
“There they were: One meting
out justice, the other pleading for mercy. Neither could prevail except at the
expense of the other.
“If you do not forgive the
debt there will be no mercy,” the debtor pleaded.
“If I do, there will be no
justice,” was the reply.
“Both laws, it seemed, could
not be served. They are two eternal ideals that appear to contradict one
another. Is there no way for justice to be fully served, and mercy also?
“There is a way! The law of
justice can be fully satisfied and mercy can be fully extended — but it takes
someone else. And so it happened this time.
“The debtor had a friend. He
came to help. He knew the debtor well. He knew him to be shortsighted. He
thought him foolish to have gotten himself into such a predicament.
Nevertheless, he wanted to help because he loved him. He stepped between them,
faced the creditor, and made this offer.
“I will pay the debt if you
will free the debtor from his contract so that he may keep his possessions and
not go to prison.”
“As the creditor was
pondering the offer, the mediator added, “You demanded justice. Though he
cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly dealt with and can ask
no more. It would not be just.”
“And so the creditor agreed.
“Oh yes, yes,” cried the
debtor. “You save me from prison and show mercy to me.”
“Then,” said the benefactor,
“you will pay the debt to me, and I will set the terms. It will not be easy,
but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.”
“And so it was that the
creditor was paid in full. He had been justly dealt with. No contract had been
broken. The debtor, in turn, had been extended mercy. Both laws stood
fulfilled. Because there was a mediator, justice had claimed its full share,
and mercy was fully satisfied.
“Each of us lives on a kind
of spiritual credit. One day the account will be closed, a settlement demanded.
However casually we may view it now, when that day comes and the foreclosure is
imminent, we will look around in restless agony for someone, anyone, to help
us.
“And, by eternal law, mercy
cannot be extended save there be one who is both willing and able to assume our
debt and pay the price and arrange the terms for our redemption.
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| Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world in the Garden of Gethsemane from the beginning to the end. And for those who repent of their sins, the Atonement also opens the way to continued growth and progression through the eternities. |
“But know this: Truth,
glorious truth, proclaims there is such a Mediator.
“For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
(1 Tim. 2:5.)
“Through Him, mercy can be
fully extended to each of us without offending the eternal law of justice.
“… There is a Redeemer, a
Mediator, who stands both willing and able to appease the demands of justice
and extend mercy to those who are penitent, for “He offereth himself a
sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law,
unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and
unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” (2 Nephi 2:7.)
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| A broken heart and a contrite spirit. |
“Already He has accomplished
the redemption of all mankind from mortal death; resurrection is extended to
all without condition.
“He also makes possible
redemption from the second death, which is the spiritual death, which is
separation from the presence of our Heavenly Father. This redemption can come only to those who are clean, for no unclean
thing can dwell in the presence of God.
“Eliza R. Snow, with deep
spiritual inspiration, wrote these words:
That filled the courts on
high
And sent the Savior from
above
To suffer, bleed, and die!
His precious blood He freely
spilt;
His life He freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for
guilt,
A dying world to save.
How great, how glorious, how
complete,
Redemption’s grand design,
Where justice, love, and
mercy meet
In harmony divine!”
This is His plan! There is
only one plan and only one path. In the Plan of Salvation, all roads don’t lead
to Rome
In Mormon.org, Josh posted this: “…I am a Mormon because it makes me
a better person. Not only that
but I know it is a true church. I know that because I know God provided a path
to navigate this life. It's the same path we all must take. Unlike the saying
"all roads lead to Rome
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| Josh in Mormon.org says there is only one road that leads to living with God. |
“…I live my faith by trying
my best to be like Jesus. I wake up pray and go about my day trying to be my
best self. I fall short in my imperfections but that’s what life all about,
daily progression. I try to just live what I learn. That’s the bottom line. I
go to church weekly and strive to read the Scriptures daily. That combined with
Prayer and wholesome family activities have helped me be who I am today.”
If all are given the free
gift of resurrection, why isn’t everyone also given Exaltation or Eternal Life,
or the Life that God has? Why was Lucifer’s plan of compulsion rejected in
Heaven?
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| A universe of order |
Only those who are striving
to follow Jesus’ example – those who are climbing the mountain – will eventually
in the hereafter become like Him and receive all that He has, which is Eternal life, Eternal Family and Eternal posterity.
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| Eternal families, eternal parents |
Phrased in the negative: Those
who don’t keep this estate are not worthy to gain the next estate because they
would not be able to properly teach the Eternal truths to their spiritual
children by word and example.
We don’t give kids the keys to our new car when they haven’t learned how to drive or who have
shown they don’t follow the laws of the highway.
In April 2004, Elder M. RUSSELL BALLARD of the Quorum of the
Twelve, said: “There is no greater expression of love than the heroic Atonement
performed by the Son of God. Were it not for the plan of our Heavenly Father,
established before the world began, in a very real sense, all mankind — past,
present, and future — would have been left without the hope of eternal
progression….
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| Elder M. Russell Ballard, 2004 |
“Thankfully, Jesus Christ courageously
fulfilled this sacrifice in ancient Jerusalem Garden
of Gethsemane
And yet Jesus suffered
willingly so that we might all have the opportunity to be washed clean — through
having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, being baptized by proper priesthood
authority, receiving the purifying gift of the Holy Ghost by confirmation, and
accepting all other essential ordinances. Without the Atonement of the Lord,
none of these blessings would be available to us, and we could not become
worthy and prepared to return to dwell in the presence of God.
“…The gift of resurrection and immortality
is given freely through the loving grace of Jesus Christ to all people of all
ages, regardless of their good or evil acts. And to those who choose to love
the Lord and who show their love and faith in Him by keeping His commandments
and qualifying for the full blessings of the Atonement, He offers the additional promise of exaltation and
eternal life, which is the blessing of living in the presence of God and
His Beloved Son forever.”
In Oct. of 1988, DALLIN H. OAKS, Of the Quorum of the
Twelve, said:
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| Elder Dallin H. Oaks, 1988 |
"And as we repent of our sins
and seek to keep his commandments and our covenants, we cry out, as Benjamin’s
people cried out, “O have mercy, and
apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our
sins” (Mosiah 4:2).
In all of this, we remember
and rely on the Lord’s sure word: “Keep my commandments in all things. And, if
you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts
of God.” (D&C 14:6–7.)
Can we expect to become like God in this life? Absolutely not!
But we are expected to be on the path – striving, repenting – every day! That’s
one of the reasons we take the Sacrament ever week!
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| Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, 1999 |
But we need to remember the encouragement given by Elder Jeffrey Holland: "Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep
trying, there is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some
come late. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel
of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and
believe in Good Things to Come."
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| President Gordon B. Hinckley, 1995 |
And make President Gordon B. Hinckley’s counsel your motto:
“Every day try a little harder to be a little better.”
