I am in need of a volunteer editor for my sites. I struggle with language mechanics. Writing is not something that comes naturally to me, it is an extremely difficult undertaking and sometimes quite emotionally draining. I am dyslexic and have a very hard time with editing my own writings. I read what I want it to say instead of what I actually wrote. If anyone is interested in assisting me on this it would be greatly appreciated. I have had requests from people to improve this area of my writing on these sites to give my information more credibility so they can print out and pass out the articles without being embarrassed by my errors. I wish I could do it myself but due to Dyslexia it is impossible for me no matter how hard I try. I know this is a lot to ask of someone, but possibly if there were a few people willing it would make the process far more easy.

Thank you for your assistance on this matter.

Rosabella Knightley

What is our goal, our “perfection”?
Recent threads have made me think about my definition of “perfection.” I am curious what others think of the goal of perfection. When we read metaphors like, “straight and narrow path” and “iron rod” it makes me think of a single pathway to perfection. Of course, I understand that our circumstances and our tests are different and we will be judged accordingly, where much is given much is expected.

My question is; Are we all aiming for the same end? To become the same indistinguishable God? Or, are there different levels of maximum perfection for different individuals? (I am using the word “maximum” because I am not trying to compare different stages of development which we know exist as Joseph Smith explained it, I am just talking about the infinite direction we want to head)

In pondering this question I wrote the following.

Aside from inconsequential personal preferences like preferring the taste of blueberries over strawberries (which may turn out to be only a temporal difference and have zero eternal meaning), Heavenly Father and Mother set the perfect standard for godhood. As we grow ever closer to fulfilling Christ’s example, we will find ourselves desiring more and more to shed anything that makes us act or think differently from Them. We will long to become more like Them and in the course of eternity we shall, provided we continue to submit our will to Father’s.

The world teaches and praises diversity. Their concept of oneness is not uniformity in righteousness, but rather universal tolerance of all differences. In the Lord’s plan, tolerance is necessary to help love people into desiring to undertake the path of discipleship, but ultimately true disciples will want to remake themselves more and more into the express likeness of God, freely and without compulsion. Just as The Son is like the Father in action and desires, so He resembles the Father so perfectly, even in appearance that Joseph Smith described them as nearly indistinguishable. I do not think that is only because Christ was the begotten Son of the Father. I would imagine that any person who attains to that level of holiness will begin to resemble our heavenly parents too.

It is pride that makes us desire uniqueness and individuality. We want to do things “Our” way. True discipleship is giving up self-centeredness and becoming selfless. In this state of humility we are teachable and are able then to be molded into the likeness of Christ, who is in the likeness of the Father. We are told to take upon us the countenance of Christ not to create an individual unique presence. There is but one path to Godhood. It is full complete purging of pride and the ultimate submission to Father’s will that makes us “perfect” or “whole” or “complete”.

Pride in people causes them to desire to be different, to somehow be “special”. They wrongly feel that this individuality will bring them joy. The true joy comes from letting go of self and becoming one with Father in all things. He is perfection. Why would we not want to be exactly like Him?

The adversary is the example of wanting to attain Godhood his own way. It is said that Lucifer’s fall was because of the universal sin of pride. Pride is manifested in the focus on self. In D&C 1:16 it says in the last days “They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.” I see this in the world today as the world preaches diversity and tolerance therein. The world revels in oneness in diversity not oneness in righteousness.

In this life we each come here with unique talents and gifts and circumstances, but that is only a temporal state in which to learn and grow to choose or not to choose to become like Father. To glory in the individual uniqueness is to glory in what is temporal not eternal. Our uniqueness here is a result in part of the fact that we have progressed in different areas and have different gifts from Father. This is a temporary state. Ultimately if we choose to continue to progress, we will become “complete or whole” meaning we will all possess all of the gifts and attributes of God.

It is interesting to note that in scriptural descriptions of the degrees of glory, the Telestial kingdom is where people differ from one another in brightness or in other words, where they are diverse. In the Terrestrial and Celestial kingdoms people are described as having only one glory. It would appear that in the higher two kingdoms people are all striving for the same goal, while in the Telestial kingdom everyone is striving to glory in their separateness and uniqueness. The two higher kingdoms are the ones which those that want to follow Father achieve. The higher the glory the more they have purged pride and have humbled themselves to be molded into the image of Christ. So in my opinion the highest level, where people become exactly like Father is to literally become like Him in all ways. The key is understanding that at no point is anyone forced to conform to the divine standard, we are free to be as similar to or as different from Father and each other as we want. If it is critically important to us to maintain a really unique and separate way of being, then we will find the Telestial kingdom to be the most comfortable place for us. If on the other hand we are not so prideful and attached egotistically to our individuality and uniqueness, then we will have no difficulty seeking to conform more perfectly to Father’s example and will find joy in a higher glory.

There is only one path to the highest level of Glory and it is complete and true humility and full total submission to Father that leads us onto it. On this path we choose to be as much like Him as we are willing to submit.

LINK Iron Rod

LINK LDS.org

Dallin H. Oaks, “Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Liahona, May 1995, 10

From an address given at a Brigham Young University 18-stake fireside on 7 June 1992 in Provo, Utah.

Preventing Strengths from Becoming Our Downfall

As I conclude, I need to caution myself and each of my readers that the very nature of this message could tend to the same downfall that it warns against. The idea that our strengths can become our weaknesses could be understood to imply that we should have “moderation in all things.” But the Savior said that if we are “lukewarm,” he “will spew [us] out of [his] mouth” (Rev. 3:16). Moderation in all things is not a virtue, because it would seem to justify moderation in commitment. That is not moderation, but indifference. That kind of moderation runs counter to the divine commands to serve with all of our “heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2), to “seek … earnestly the riches of eternity” (D&C 68:31), and to be “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79). Moderation is not the answer.

How, then, do we prevent our strengths from becoming our downfall? The quality we must cultivate is humility. Humility is the great protector. Humility is the antidote against pride. Humility is the catalyst for all learning, especially spiritual things. Through the prophet Moroni, the Lord gave us this great insight into the role of humility: “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).

We might also say that if men and women humble themselves before God, he will help them prevent their strengths from becoming weaknesses that the adversary can exploit to destroy them.

If we are meek and humble enough to receive counsel, the Lord can and will guide us through the counsel of our parents, our teachers, and our leaders. The proud can hear only the clamor of the crowd, but a person who, as King Benjamin said, “becometh as a child, submissive, meek, [and] humble” (Mosiah 3:19), can hear and follow the still, small voice by which our Father in Heaven guides his children who are receptive.

Those who engage in self-congratulation over a supposed strength have lost the protection of humility and are vulnerable to Satan’s using that strength to produce their downfall. In contrast, if we are humble and teachable, hearkening to the commandments of God, the counsel of his leaders, and the promptings of his Spirit, we can be guided in how to use our spiritual gifts, our accomplishments, and all of our other strengths for righteousness. And we can be guided in how to avoid Satan’s efforts to use our strengths to cause our downfall.

In all of this, we should remember and rely on the Lord’s direction and promise: “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (D&C 112:10).

I testify that this is true, even as I testify of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice has brought to pass the Resurrection and will bring to pass all righteousness.

[illustrations] Illustrated by Cary Henrie

Misapplication of Love and Tolerance

Other strengths that can be used for our downfall are the gifts of love and tolerance. Clearly, these are great virtues. Love is an ultimate quality, and tolerance is its handmaiden. Love and tolerance are pluralistic qualities—encompassing all—and that is their strength, but it is also the source of their potential distortion. Love and tolerance are incomplete unless they are accompanied by a concern for truth and a commitment to the unity that God has commanded of his servants.

Carried to an undisciplined excess, love and tolerance can produce indifference to truth and justice and opposition to unity. What makes mankind free from death and sin is not merely love but love accompanied by truth. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). And the test of whether we are the Lord’s is not just love and tolerance but unity. The risen Lord said, “If ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27). To follow the Lord’s example of love, we must remember his explanation that “whom I love I also chasten” (D&C 95:1). And we must remember that he chastens us “that [we] might be one” (D&C 61:8).

Not Really Following the Prophet

A desire to follow a prophet is surely a great and appropriate strength, but even this has its potentially dangerous manifestations. I have heard of more than one group so intent on following the words of a dead prophet that they have rejected the teachings and counsel of the living ones. Satan has used that corruption from the beginning of the Restoration. You will recall Joseph Smith’s direction for the Saints to gather in Kirtland, Ohio, then in Missouri, and then in Illinois. At each place along the way, a certain number of Saints fell away, crying “fallen prophet” as their excuse for adhering to the earlier words and rejecting the current direction. The same thing happened after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, when some Saints seized upon one statement or another by the deceased Prophet as a basis for sponsoring or joining a new group that rejected the counsel of the living prophets.

Following the prophet is a great strength, but it needs to be consistent and current, lest it lead to the spiritual downfall that comes from rejecting continuous revelation. Under that principle, the most important difference between dead prophets and living ones is that those who are dead are not here to receive and declare the Lord’s latest words to his people. If they were, there would be no differences among the messages of the prophets.

A related distortion is seen in the practice of those who select a few sentences from the teachings of a prophet and use them to support their political agenda or other personal purposes. In doing so, they typically ignore the contrary implications of other prophetic words, or even the clear example of the prophet’s own actions. For example, I have corresponded with several Church members who sought to use something President Ezra Taft Benson was quoted as saying as a basis for refusing to file an income tax return or to pay income taxes.

I have tried to persuade these persons that their interpretation cannot be what President Benson intended, because all who have held that sacred office, as well as all of the other General Authorities, have faithfully filed their income tax returns and paid the taxes required by law. The servants of God are under the Master’s commands to follow him and to be examples to the flock (see 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3). We should interpret their words in the light of their works. To wrest the words of a prophet to support a private agenda, political or financial or otherwise, is to try to manipulate the prophet, not to follow him.

Materialistic Self-Reliance

Another strength that can become our downfall stems from self-reliance. We are told to be self-reliant, to provide for ourselves and those dependent upon us. But success at that effort can easily escalate into materialism. This happens through carrying the virtue of “providing for our own” to the point of excessive concern with accumulating the treasures of the earth. I believe this concern identifies materialism as a peculiar Mormon weakness, a classic example of how Satan can persuade some to drive a legitimate strength to such excess that it becomes a disabling weakness.

All-Consuming Patriotism

Love of country is surely a strength, but carried to excess it can become the cause of spiritual downfall. There are some citizens whose patriotism is so intense and so all-consuming that it seems to override every other responsibility, including family and Church. I caution those patriots who are participating in or provisioning private armies and making private preparations for armed conflict. Their excessive zeal for one aspect of patriotism is causing them to risk spiritual downfall as they withdraw from the society of the Church and from the governance of those civil authorities to whom our 12th article of faith [A of F 1:12] makes all of us subject.

Inordinate Church Service

A related strength that can be corrupted to our downfall is a desire to excel in a Church calling. I remember a graduate student who used his Church service as a means of escape from the rigors of his studies. He went beyond what we call Church-service time and became almost a full-time Church-service worker. He consistently volunteered for every extra assignment, giving help that was greatly appreciated in the various organizations and activities of the Church. As a result of this inordinate allocation of time, he failed in his studies and then mistakenly blamed his failure on the excessive burden of Church service. His strength became his downfall.

Similarly, I remember the concerns President Harold B. Lee expressed to me when I was president of BYU. Shortly before the Provo Temple was dedicated, he told me of his concern that the accessibility of the temple would cause some BYU students to attend the temple so often that they would neglect their studies. He urged me to work with the BYU stake presidents to make sure the students understood that even something as sacred and important as temple service needed to be done in wisdom and order so that students would not neglect the studies that should be the major focus of their time during their student years.

Distorted Faith

An unusual degree of faith in God, which is a genuine spiritual gift and strength, can be distorted so as to seriously detract from scholarly pursuits. I have known persons who began their academic studies with great momentum but, as time went by, did not continue to invest the necessary time in their studies. They supposed they had developed such great faith that if they simply did their Church work the Lord would bless them to achieve their academic objectives. In this way, the supposed strength of their faith became the cause of their academic downfall. We might say to them as the Lord said to Oliver Cowdery when he failed in his efforts to translate:

“It is because that you did not continue as you commenced. …

“You have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. …

“You must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right” (D&C 9:5, 7–8; see also D&C 88:118).

Here the Lord counsels us on balance. Faith is vital, but it must be accompanied by the personal work appropriate to the task. Only then do we qualify for the blessing. The appropriate approach is to study as if everything depended upon us and then to pray and exercise faith as if everything depended upon the Lord.

Accomplishment and Pride

Other illustrations of how our strengths can become our downfall concern the activity of learning. A desire to know is surely a great strength. A hunger to learn is laudable, but the fruits of learning make a person particularly susceptible to the sin of pride. So do the fruits of other talents and accomplishments, such as in the fields of athletics or the arts. It is easy for the learned and the accomplished to forget their own limitations and their total dependence upon God.

Accomplishments in higher education bring persons much recognition and real feelings of self-sufficiency. But we should remember the Book of Mormon’s frequent cautions not to boast of our own strength or wisdom lest we be left to our own strength or wisdom (see Alma 38:11; Alma 39:2; Hel. 4:13; Hel. 16:15).

Similarly, in referring to “that cunning plan of the evil one,” the prophet Jacob remarked that when persons are “learned,” which means they have knowledge, “they think they are wise,” which means they think they have the capacity for the wise application of knowledge. Persons who think they are wise in this way “hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves.” In that circumstance, the prophet said, “their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God” (2 Ne. 9:28–29).

Excesses in Giving

Another area in which strengths can become our downfall concerns finances. We are commanded to give to the poor. Could the fulfillment of that fundamental Christian obligation be carried to excess? I believe it can. I have seen cases in which persons fulfilled that duty to such an extent that they impoverished their own families by expending resources of property or time that were needed for family members.

Perhaps this excess explains why King Benjamin, who commanded his people to impart of their substance to the poor—“feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally”—also cautioned them to “see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength” (Mosiah 4:26–27). Similarly, a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was translating the Book of Mormon cautioned him, “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate” (D&C 10:4).

Neglect or Distortion of Family Duties

The family, the most sacred institution in mortality, is a setting in which Satan is especially eager to use strengths to bring about our downfall. My first illustration under this heading is addressed to breadwinners. The Bible says it is a gift of God to rejoice in our labors (see Eccl. 5:19), but that gift can be corrupted. Our labors, and the prosperity and recognition we achieve by them, can easily become a god we place before him who said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Carried to excess, a love of and commitment to work can become an excuse to neglect family and Church responsibilities. Most of us could cite more than one illustration of that reality.

At an even more sensitive level, a man’s righteous desire to act in his position as a leader in his family, if not righteously exercised, can lead him into self-righteousness, selfishness, dictatorship, and even brutality. A timely warning against this danger is the Lord’s blunt instruction that it is the “nature and disposition” of those who have a little authority to “exercise unrighteous dominion” (D&C 121:39). We must all heed the direction that priesthood authority must be exercised “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned” (D&C 121:41).

By the same token, a woman’s righteous and appropriate desires to grow, to develop, and to magnify her talents—desires strongly reinforced by current feminist teachings—also have their extreme manifestations, which can lead to attempts to preempt priesthood leadership, to the advocacy of ideas out of harmony with Church doctrine, or even to the abandonment of family responsibilities.

Popular Teachers and the Potential of Priestcraft

Another illustration of a strength that can become our downfall concerns charismatic teachers. With a trained mind and a skillful manner of presentation, teachers can become unusually popular and effective in teaching. But Satan will try to use that strength to corrupt teachers by encouraging them to gather a following of disciples. A Church teacher, Church Educational System instructor, or Latter-day Saint university professor who gathers such a following and does this “for the sake of riches and honor” (Alma 1:16) is guilty of priestcraft. “Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Ne. 26:29).

Teachers who are most popular, and therefore most effective, have a special susceptibility to priestcraft. If they are not careful, their strength can become their spiritual downfall. They can become like Almon Babbitt, with whom the Lord was not pleased, because “he aspireth to establish his counsel instead of the counsel which I have ordained, even that of the Presidency of my Church; and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my people” (D&C 124:84).

An Intense Focus on Goals

There is great strength in being highly focused on our goals. We have all seen the favorable fruits of that focus. Yet an intense focus on goals can cause a person to forget the importance of righteous means. When I was serving in a stake presidency, a man bragged to me about the way he had managed to preserve his goal of perfect attendance at our stake leadership meetings. On one occasion, he was required to report for work during one of our stake meetings. When the employer denied his request for permission to attend this Church meeting, he told me with pride that he “called in sick” so he could come anyway.

I kept an eye on that man after that. I wondered if he would steal money in order to pay his tithing. That may be an extreme example, but it illustrates the point I wish to make. We cannot be so concerned about our goals that we overlook the necessity of using righteous methods to attain them.

Social Consciousness Not Tempered by Other Values

Some persons have a finely developed social conscience. They respond to social injustice and suffering with great concern, commitment, and generosity. This is surely a spiritual strength, something many of us need in greater measure. Yet persons who have this great quality need to be cautious that it not impel them to overstep other ultimate values. My social conscience should not cause me to coerce others to use their time or means to fulfill my objectives. We are not blessed for magnifying our calling with someone else’s time or resources. We are commanded to love our neighbors, not to manipulate them, even for righteous purposes.

In the same way, we should not feel alienated from our Church or its leaders when they refrain from using the rhetoric of the social gospel or from allocating Church resources to purposes favored by others. We should remember that the Lord has given his restored church a unique mission not given to others. The Church must concentrate its primary efforts on those activities that can only be accomplished with priesthood authority, such as preaching the gospel and redeeming the dead.

A Desire to Sacrifice More Than Is Needful

A willingness to sacrifice all we possess in the work of the Lord is surely a strength. In fact, it is a covenant we make in sacred places. But even this strength can bring us down if we fail to confine our sacrifices to those things the Lord and his leaders have asked of us at this time. We should say with Alma, “Why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?” (Alma 29:6). Persons who consider it insufficient to pay their tithes and offerings and to work in the positions to which they have been called can easily be led astray by cults and other bizarre outlets for their willingness to sacrifice more than is needful.

Honors That Sometimes Turn to Our Detriment

The honors we sometimes receive from our peers are potentially a strength, but we need to remember that Satan can turn these to our detriment also. We must be careful that we do not become like the prophet Balaam. The Apostle Peter said that Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Pet. 2:15), which Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve interpreted as “the honors of men and the wealth of the world” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 volumes, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1973, 3:361). Honors may come, but we should beware that they not deflect our priorities and commitments away from the things of God.

A Desire to Be Led in All Things

Closely related to this example is the person who has a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but who unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.

We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment. Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation. Revelation from God is a sacred reality, but like other sacred things, it must be cherished and used properly so that a great strength does not become a disabling weakness.

A Desire to Know All

Another strength Satan can exploit is a strong desire to understand everything about every principle of the gospel. How could that possibly work to our detriment? Experience teaches that if this desire is not disciplined, it can cause some to pursue their searchings beyond the fringes of orthodoxy, seeking answers to obscure mysteries rather than seeking a firmer understanding and a better practice of the basic principles of the gospel.

Some seek answers to questions God has not chosen to answer. Others receive answers—or think they receive answers—in ways that are contrary to the order of the Church. For such searchers, Satan stands ready to mislead through sophistry or spurious revelation. Persons who hunger after a full understanding of all things must discipline their questions and their methods, or they can approach apostasy without even knowing it. It may be just as dangerous to exceed orthodoxy as it is to fall short of it. The safety and happiness we are promised lie in keeping the commandments, not in discounting or multiplying them.

Misapplication of Spiritual Gifts

Satan will also attempt to cause our spiritual downfall through tempting us to misapply our spiritual gifts. The revelations tell us that “there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God” and that “all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:11, 26). Most of us have seen persons whom the adversary has led astray through a corruption of their spiritual gifts. My mother shared one such example, something she observed while attending Brigham Young University many years ago.

A man who lived in a community in Utah had a mighty gift of healing. People sought him out for blessings, many coming from outside his ward and stake. In time, he almost made a profession of giving blessings. As part of his travels to various communities, he visited the apartments of BYU students, asking if they wanted blessings. This man had lost sight of the revealed direction on spiritual gifts: “always remembering for what they are given” (D&C 46:8). A spiritual gift is given to benefit the children of God, not to magnify the prominence or to gratify the ego of the person who receives it. The professional healer who forgot that lesson gradually lost the companionship of the Spirit and was eventually excommunicated from the Church.

Gospel Hobbies

My first example concerns Satan’s efforts to corrupt a person who has an unusual commitment to one particular doctrine or commandment of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This could be an unusual talent for family history work, an extraordinary commitment to constitutional government, a special talent in the acquisition of knowledge, or any other special talent or commitment.

Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve has likened the fulness of the gospel to a piano keyboard. He has told us that a person could be “attracted by a single key,” such as a doctrine he or she wants to hear “played over and over again. … Some members of the Church who should know better pick out a hobby key or two and tap them incessantly, to the irritation of those around them. They can dull their own spiritual sensitivities. They lose track that there is a fulness of the gospel … [which they reject] in preference to a favorite note. This becomes exaggerated and distorted, leading them away into apostasy” (Ensign, December 1971, pages 41–42).

We could say of such persons, as the Lord said of the Shakers in a revelation given in 1831, “They desire to know the truth in part, but not all” (D&C 49:2). Beware of a hobby key. If you tap one key to the exclusion or serious detriment of the full harmony of the gospel keyboard, Satan can use your strength to bring you down.

The Lord warned the first generation of Latter-day Saints to “beware concerning yourselves” (D&C 84:43). I seek to remind each of us of the mortal susceptibilities and devilish diversions that can unite to produce our spiritual downfall.

Lehi taught that “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, … righteousness could not be brought to pass” (2 Ne. 2:11). In the realm of spiritual progress, that opposition is often provided by the temptations of Satan. We learn in modern revelation that “it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves” (D&C 29:39).

Elder Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve taught: “Latter-day Saints know that there is a God. With like certainty, they know that Satan lives, that he is a powerful personage of spirit, the archenemy of God, of man, and of righteousness” (Ensign, June 1971, page 35). President Joseph F. Smith described one of Satan’s methods: “Satan is a skillful imitator, and as genuine gospel truth is given the world in ever-increasing abundance, so he spreads the counterfeit coin of false doctrine” (ibid., page 36).

Satan uses every possible device to degrade and enslave every soul. He attempts to distort and corrupt everything created for the good of man, sometimes by diluting that which is good, sometimes by camouflaging that which is evil. We generally think of Satan attacking us at our weakest spot. Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Quorum of the Twelve described this technique when he said: “Lucifer and his followers know the habits, weaknesses, and vulnerable spots of everyone and take advantage of them to lead us to spiritual destruction” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, pages 218–19).

Like the fabled Achilles, who was immune to every lethal blow except to his heel, many of us have a special weakness that can be exploited to our spiritual downfall. For some, that weakness may be a taste for liquor, an unusual vulnerability to sexual temptation, or a susceptibility to compulsive gambling or reckless speculation. For others, it may be a craving for money or power. If we are wise, we will know our weaknesses, our spiritual Achilles’ heels, and fortify ourselves against temptations in those areas.

But weakness is not our only vulnerability. Satan can also attack us where we think we are strong—in the very areas where we are proud of our strengths. He will approach us through the greatest talents and spiritual gifts we possess. If we are not wary, Satan can cause our spiritual downfall by corrupting us through our strengths as well as by exploiting our weaknesses. I will illustrate this truth with several examples.

Whenever Church members speak of consecration, it should be done reverently while acknowledging that each of us “come[s] short of the glory of God,” some of us far short (Rom. 3:23). Even the conscientious have not arrived, but they sense the shortfall and are genuinely striving. Consolingly, God’s grace flows not only to those “who love [Him] and keep all [His] commandments,” but likewise to those “that [seek] so to do” (D&C 46:9).

A second group of members are “honorable” but not “valiant.” They are not really aware of the gap nor of the importance of closing it (see D&C 76:75, 79). These “honorable” individuals are certainly not miserable nor wicked, nor are they unrighteous and unhappy. It is not what they have done but what they have left undone that is amiss. For example, if valiant, they could touch others deeply instead of merely being remembered pleasantly.

In a third group are those who are grossly entangled with the “ungodliness” of the world, reminding us all, as Peter wrote, that if “[we are] overcome” by something worldly, “[we are] brought in bondage” (2 Pet. 2:19).

If one “mind[s] the things of the flesh” (Rom. 8:5), he cannot “have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) because his thought patterns are “far from” Jesus, as are the desires or the “intents of his heart” (Mosiah 5:13). Ironically, if the Master is a stranger to us, then we will merely end up serving other masters. The sovereignty of these other masters is real, even if it sometimes is subtle, for they do call their cadence. Actually, “we are all enlisted” (Hymns, 1985, no. 250), if only in the ranks of the indifferent.

To the extent that we are not willing to be led by the Lord, we will be driven by our appetites, or we will be greatly preoccupied with the lesser things of the day. The remedy is implicit in the marvelous lamentation of King Benjamin: “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5:13). For many moderns, sad to say, the query “What think ye of Christ?” (Matt. 22:42) would be answered, “I really don’t think of Him at all!”

Consider three examples of how honorable people in the Church keep back a portion and thus prevent greater consecration (see Acts 5:1–4).

A sister gives commendable, visible civic service. Yet even with her good image in the community, she remains a comparative stranger to Jesus’ holy temples and His holy scriptures, two vital dimensions of discipleship. But she could have Christ’s image in her countenance (see Alma 5:14).

An honorable father, dutifully involved in the cares of his family, is less than kind and gentle with individual family members. Though a comparative stranger to Jesus’ gentleness and kindness, which we are instructed to emulate, a little more effort by this father would make such a large difference.

Consider the returned missionary, skills polished while serving an honorable mission, striving earnestly for success in his career. Busy, he ends up in a posture of some accommodation with the world. Thus he forgoes building up the kingdom first and instead builds up himself. A small course correction now would make a large, even destinational, difference for him later on.

These deficiencies just illustrated are those of omission. Once the telestial sins are left behind and henceforth avoided, the focus falls ever more on the sins of omission. These omissions signify a lack of qualifying fully for the celestial kingdom. Only greater consecration can correct these omissions, which have consequences just as real as do the sins of commission. Many of us thus have sufficient faith to avoid the major sins of commission, but not enough faith to sacrifice our distracting obsessions or to focus on our omissions.

Most omissions occur because we fail to get outside ourselves. We are so busy checking on our own temperatures, we do not notice the burning fevers of others even when we can offer them some of the needed remedies, such as encouragement, kindness, and commendation. The hands which hang down and most need to be lifted up belong to those too discouraged even to reach out anymore.

Actually, everything depends—initially and finally—on our desires. These shape our thought patterns. Our desires thus precede our deeds and lie at the very cores of our souls, tilting us toward or away from God (see D&C 4:3). God can “educate our desires” (see Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, p. 297). Others seek to manipulate our desires. But it is we who form the desires, the “thoughts and intents of [our] hearts” (Mosiah 5:13).

The end rule is “according to [our] desires … shall it be done unto [us]” (D&C 11:17), “for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (D&C 137:9; see also Alma 41:5; D&C 6:20, 27). One’s individual will thus remains uniquely his. God will not override it nor overwhelm it. Hence we’d better want the consequences of what we want!

Another cosmic fact: only by aligning our wills with God’s is full happiness to be found. Anything less results in a lesser portion (see Alma 12:10–11). The Lord will work with us even if, at first, we “can no more than desire” but are willing to “give place for a portion of [His] words” (Alma 32:27). A small foothold is all He needs! But we must desire and provide it.

So many of us are kept from eventual consecration because we mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our will be swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our individuality (see Mosiah 15:7). What we are really worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but selfish things—like our roles, our time, our preeminence, and our possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose ourselves (see Luke 9:24). He is only asking us to lose the old self in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one’s losing identity but of finding his true identity! Ironically, so many people already lose themselves anyway in their consuming hobbies and preoccupations but with far, far lesser things.

Ever observant, in both the first and second estates, consecrated Jesus always knew in which direction He faced: He consistently emulated His Father: “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19), for “I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (3 Ne. 11:11).

As one’s will is increasingly submissive to the will of God, he can receive inspiration and revelation so much needed to help meet the trials of life. In the trying and very defining Isaac episode, faithful Abraham “staggered not … through unbelief” (Rom. 4:20). Of that episode John Taylor observed that “nothing but the spirit of revelation could have given him this confidence, and … sustained him under these peculiar circumstances” (in Journal of Discourses, 14:361). Will we too trust the Lord amid a perplexing trial for which we have no easy explanation? Do we understand—really comprehend—that Jesus knows and understands when we are stressed and perplexed? The complete consecration which effected the Atonement ensured Jesus’ perfect empathy; He felt our very pains and afflictions before we did and knows how to succor us (see Alma 7:11–12; 2 Ne. 9:21). Since the Most Innocent suffered the most, our own cries of “Why?” cannot match His. But we can utter the same submissive word “nevertheless …” (Matt. 26:39).

Progression toward submission confers another blessing: an enhanced capacity for joy. Counseled President Brigham Young, “If you want to enjoy exquisitely, become a Latter-day Saint, and then live the doctrine of Jesus Christ” (in Journal of Discourses, 18:247).

Thus, brothers and sisters, consecration is not resignation or a mindless caving in. Rather, it is a deliberate expanding outward, making us more honest when we sing, “More used would I be” (“More Holiness Give Me,” 1985, Hymns, no. 131). Consecration, likewise, is not shoulder-shrugging acceptance, but, instead, shoulder-squaring to better bear the yoke.

Consecration involves pressing forward “with a steadfastness in Christ” with a “brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men … [while] feasting upon the word of Christ” (2 Ne. 31:20). Jesus pressed forward sublimely. He did not shrink, such as by going only 60 percent of the distance toward the full atonement. Instead, He “finished [His] preparations” for all mankind, bringing a universal resurrection—not one in which 40 percent of us would have been left out (see D&C 19:18–19).

Each of us might well ask, “In what ways am I shrinking or holding back?” Meek introspection may yield some bold insights! For example, we can tell much by what we have already willingly discarded along the pathway of discipleship. It is the only pathway where littering is permissible, even encouraged. In the early stages, the debris left behind includes the grosser sins of commission. Later debris differs; things begin to be discarded which have caused the misuse or underuse of our time and talent.

Along this pathway leading to consecration, stern and unsought challenges sometimes hasten this jettisoning, which is needed to achieve increased consecration (see Hel. 12:3). If we have grown soft, hard times may be necessary. If we are too contented, a dose of divine discontent may come. A relevant insight may be contained in reproof. A new calling beckons us away from comfortable routines wherein the needed competencies have already been developed. One may be stripped of accustomed luxury so that the malignant mole of materialism may be removed. One may be scorched by humiliation so pride can be melted away. Whatever we lack will get attention, one way or another.

John Taylor indicated that the Lord may even choose to wrench our very heartstrings (see Journal of Discourses, 14:360). If our hearts are set too much upon the things of this world, they may need to be wrenched, or broken, or undergo a mighty change (see Alma 5:12).

Consecration is thus both a principle and a process, and it is not tied to a single moment. Instead, it is freely given, drop by drop, until the cup of consecration brims and finally runs over.

Long before that, however, as Jesus declared, we must “settle this in [our] hearts” that we will do what He asks of us (JST, Luke 14:28). President Young further counseled us “to submit to the hand of the Lord, … and acknowledge his hand in all things, … then you will be exactly right; and until you come to that point, you cannot be entirely right. That is what we have to come to” (in Journal of Discourses, 5:352).

Thus, acknowledging God’s hand includes, in the words of the Prophet Joseph, trusting that God has made “ample provision” beforehand to achieve all His purposes, including His purposes in our lives (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 220). Sometimes He clearly directs; other times it seems He merely permits some things to happen. Therefore, we will not always understand the role of God’s hand, but we know enough of his heart and mind to be submissive. Thus when we are perplexed and stressed, explanatory help is not always immediately forthcoming, but compensatory help will be. Thus our process of cognition gives way to our personal submission, as we experience those moments when we learn to “be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

Then, the more one’s will is thus “swallowed up,” the more his afflictions, rather than necessarily being removed, will be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38).

Seventy years ago, Lord Moulton coined a perceptive phrase, “obedience to the unenforceable,” describing “the obedience of a man to that which he cannot be forced to obey” (“Law And Manners,” Atlantic Monthly, July 1924, p. 1). God’s blessings, including those associated with consecration, come by unforced obedience to the laws upon which they are predicated (see D&C 130:20–21). Thus our deepest desires determine our degree of “obedience to the unenforceable.” God seeks to have us become more consecrated by giving everything. Then, when we come home to Him, He will generously give us “all that [He] hath” (D&C 84:38).

In conclusion, the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!

Consecration thus constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory!

May we deeply desire that victory, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Brigham Young University-Idaho Devotional
January 12, 2010

Agency and the Atonement
President Stephen D. Nadauld
President, Dixie State College

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It is clear to all who know you both individually and collectively that you are young men and women of extraordinary capacity and ability. You have wonderful talents and gifts that you will be called upon to use on behalf of your families, your communities, and the Church. Earlier in my career, I was the director of the MBA program at BYU, and I associated with young people of great ability just like you. I admitted them to the program, taught them in class, and helped them find jobs. I believed in them because it was my responsibility and I supposed that they might amount to something, but I had no real data, no hard evidence to point to.

Some years later I fulfilled Church assignments that, for a number of years, took me to many stakes scattered throughout the Church. In every assignment, I encountered former students who were relief society presidents, young women presidents, primary presidents, elders quorum presidents, scout masters, and in bishoprics and stake presidencies. They were community leaders, business leaders, and leaders of every other kind.

My dear young brothers and sisters, I now have data. I have first-hand evidence, you are for real! You really are going to amount to something. You can count on it. You can take it to the bank!

You are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who is even more sure of your success than I am. As such, you have been given two extraordinary and inestimable gifts that, if used wisely, will insure the ultimate outcomes you seek.

I do not speak of bright minds, golden locks, winsome smiles and the ability to Google, text, tweet and program VCRs. I speak of the two most profound and fundamental of all given gifts – the understanding and exercising of which are crucial to your success.

The first great gift, from the Father, given to each of you, is the gift of agency. It was given in our pre-mortal existence and has perhaps more power to explain our current circumstances, both macro and micro, than any other gospel principle. The gift of agency need not have been given. We read in Abraham 3:19:
“And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.”

It is clear from our earthly experience that a more powerful and intelligent person can impose his will on a less intelligent person. That imposition can come as a physical, emotional or mental force or restraint. God, as the most intelligent of all, could have devised a way to subjugate all other spirits to His will. But He chose not to. Rather, He chose to give His children the incomparable gift of agency. How remarkable!

Clear evidence that agency is a gift is found in a passage in the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. We read:
“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down” (Moses 4:3).

The gift of agency was given by God to man, and God was unwilling to see that gift destroyed by Satan’s plan.

It is important to note that Satan’s plan, at least on the surface, was not unreasonable, as evidenced by the fact that one third of the hosts of heaven preferred it to the alternative. The arguments to support his plan were not trivial.

Undoubtedly, Satan pointed out that God was a just God and that those who made mistakes on earth would be punished. He surely argued that it was unreasonable to believe that God would sacrifice His Son for the ephemeral principle of agency. Perhaps he opined that it was equally unfathomable that anyone as powerful as God’s Son would be willing to leave His vaulted station, be born in a stable, suffer incalculable pain in Gethsemane, be mocked, spit upon, and ultimately die an ignominious death on the cross. No, it wouldn’t happen. It was too far fetched, too hard to believe. He suggested we would be born, we would experience uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. Christ would fail to perform. The Father’s punishments for wrongdoing would be excruciating, long lasting, and without relief. It was a plan to be feared.

Agency should be rejected. It was a Pandora’s Box filled with all the ills, plaques, troubles, trials and miseries we would find in a fallen world. It would be better to support a plan with a certain outcome. A certain plan would eliminate fear and uncertainty, and would guarantee the desired outcome to every person, “ . . . that one soul shall not be lost . . . ” (Moses 4:1). Surely everyone would see the brilliance of his plan and not worry about that one small inconvenience; namely, the total loss of agency.

By contrast, the plan of the Father and Son was built firmly on the concept of agency. Man was free to choose in pre-mortality, and the gift of agency would continue into mortality. Yes, God was a just God and mistakes that were made would have to be paid for. But the payment could be made by a surrogate who would suffer the penalty on behalf of any errant soul who met specified conditions. Thus, uncertainty and its outcomes were not to be feared but to be embraced as the mechanism by which God’s children would grow in stature, wisdom and judgment, and ultimately become exalted beings like He is.

The central role of Savior would be filled by God’s Only Begotten in the flesh. He was anointed to the task, He pledged to do it, and He could be counted on.

This gift of His Son would be God’s second but unquestionably THE greatest gift. Without the assurance of a Savior and an atoning sacrifice, the gift of agency in mortality would likely not have been accepted. It would have been too risky, with too many penalties, too much suffering, too little likelihood of success, and too much to fear.

Thus, the battle lines were drawn. As the scriptures describe: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven” (Revelation 12:7-8).

The war was not a conventional war, with rockets, land mines, and jet fighters. It was a war of ideas and concepts. It was fought over conflicting plans for redemption, over who would be in charge, and over the gift of agency. It was fought over two different visions for the future experiences and ultimate outcomes of the spirit children of God.

The Book of Revelation provides a wonderful insight into how the war in heaven was won. “ . . . neither was there place found in heaven for the great dragon who was cast out; that old serpent called the devil and also called Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night: For they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony . . .” (JST, Revelation 12:6-11).

As I have written elsewhere about this passage, the great pre-mortal conflict was won not by force or by abrogating agency, but by testifying that an atonement would be wrought by the shedding of the blood of Christ. Assurances were given that Christ would fulfill His role in the plan. The fears promoted by Satan and his followers were overcome by the faith and testimony of Michael and his hosts. Agency was not to be feared, but embraced. Mistakes made on earth could be forgiven and the punishments affixed would be paid for by the suffering and spilt blood of Jesus Christ, Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.

In the end, the polar positions of fear and faith were incompatible; they could not co-exist. God exercised His power and separated the two opposing forces. Satan and the one-third who followed him were “cast out.” They became the devil and his angels. The “casting out” did not end the war. It was in some sense only the beginning. The war in heaven was the first great battle in a long, protracted struggle. The devil has not conceded defeat. He is still fighting a war. Essentially a war over how you will use the Father’s two great gifts – the first, the gift of agency, and the greatest gift, the gift of His atoning Son.

That should not be news to you, and the extraordinary young people of your generation. Never in history has the gift of agency been more abundantly manifested. Never has the concept of agency been expressed in such an unbelievable spectrum of alternatives and choices. The possibilities for self expression through physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exploration seem endless. I submit to you that your Heavenly Father cares about all your choices, but He cares about some more than others. Let me explain.

The first great gift you were given was not the gift of free agency but the gift of moral agency. In the Book of Mormon, Alma observes: “Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good” (Alma 12:31).

God is most interested in the exercise of agency relative to both knowing good from evil and more importantly doing good or evil. This is the classic definition of morality – or moral agency – choosing between good and evil. Yes, you are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choices.

So the issue is not the red car or blue car, the Ford or the Chevy, fly or drive, or perhaps even Jane or Jill, or school teacher versus computer programmer. You can expect to receive help with both little and big decisions, but as you exercise your agency across the huge number of options that you are blessed with in your generation, consider focusing your greatest attention on those that require you to discern and choose between good and evil, right and wrong. These are the judgments that will make you wise and qualify you for the blessings promised by your Heavenly Father.

It’s possible at your age to feel somewhat anxious and maybe a little worn out by all the exercise of agency that you have to do. Just as running or weightlifting or any vigorous physical exercise can leave our bodies temporarily fatigued, so can all this deciding decisions and choosing choices make us emotionally worn out.

On a bad day, you may think it’s just too hard to figure all this out. School is too hard; life is too hard. I don’t know which classes to take or what to major in. I just want to go back and work in the Dairy Queen. How can I figure out which girl to marry? Man, they’re all a mystery to me! Or, when is this guy ever going to ask me out – men are just so clueless! I just wish someone would tell me what to do and I would do it.

This notion of wishing we didn’t have to decide or that someone else would decide for us is not uncommon. We’ve all felt it. But the cloistered monastic earth life is not the way to eternal exalted celestial life. Embrace the gift of choice; do not wish it away. Do not cede it to someone else. The gift of agency is not to be feared, as Satan would have you believe. Embrace it, with joy and thanksgiving. Relish the opportunity to choose a career, to choose a companion, and to choose where to live. Relish even more the opportunity to make correct moral choices – to choose good over evil. God will help you in all choices. He will exalt you as a result of correct moral choices.

As you are busy choosing, remember you have received another gift – a third gift if you will – the gift of the Holy Ghost. You may hope for the Holy Ghost to tell you what to do and wonder why, in the process, He speaks with such a still small voice. Consider this: He speaks with a barely discernable still small voice to honor your agency. Any louder voice would abrogate – would take away – your agency. Only in exceptional circumstances is the Holy Ghost authorized to do that.

So you can pray to be told what to do, but it doesn’t usually work very well. Instead, perhaps you could consider praying for better or more information. Acknowledge in your prayers that you will gladly exercise your agency, but you would be grateful for more facts – and then put forth the effort to seek them. You will be guided in that effort. Pray for someone wise to counsel with, and then be humble enough to give sincere and honest attention to the counsel you receive. Pray for discernment, that you might separate valid information and counsel given in love from that information that might be given to confuse or even deceive. Pray to perceive which decisions have moral implications, and be especially attentive to them. Remember, it is your learning to choose between good and evil that God is especially interested in.

As you go forward to grow in wisdom, stature and judgment, will you make the right choice every time? Can you anticipate the unintended consequences of even the most well-considered decisions? Are you immune from the pain and anguish of choices made by others? The answers to these three interrogatories are: not likely, not hardly, and no way! (in other words, no, no, and no!). You might even imagine an impish voice saying, “You make lousy choices, you’re going to fail, and, see, I told you so.”

That’s the time to remind yourself how the war in heaven was won: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). It was won by the atoning sacrifice of the Savior and by the testimony, witnesses and assurances of those individuals who stood on the side of Michael and his angels. And who exactly were those individuals? They were you – every one of you. Your strategy then was to focus on the Savior, to believe His atonement was key to the plan and that it would work in your life. That is exactly the strategy you should employ today, here and now. The Savior’s role is not only to forgive sins but to comfort, strengthen, and buoy up each of us as we encounter the normal vicissitudes of life that are inextricably associated with the exercise of agency.

The Father’s greatest gift, the atoning sacrifice of His Son, allows us to use His first gift, that of agency, with confidence. You can go forward with faith, not fear. You have used your agency wisely in a pre-mortal state. You can do it again here.

Let me conclude my remarks today with a wonderful vignette found in the Book of Moses that describes a conversation between Enoch and God. Beginning with Moses 7:27, we read: “And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion” (Moses 7:27).

Any parent who has anticipated the coming home of a child can imagine how our Heavenly Father must have felt as He saw many of His righteous children returning to His and their heavenly home. There was undoubtedly great rejoicing, as is present in any reunion between loved ones. Our contemplation of the sweetness of such reunions provides a dramatic backdrop for what happens next. The next verses explain: “And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:28-29)

Enoch is clearly perplexed. Hadn’t God just welcomed home many of His spirit children? Why, as He looked upon the residue of the people, would He weep? Enoch could not immediately understand why someone who was holy and whose power and understanding spread from “all eternity to all eternity” would be found weeping.

In his struggle to comprehend, Enoch continues to rehearse some of what he knows about God as additional context to his astonishment. We read in verse 30: “And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever” (Moses 7:30).

Enoch not only reviews the vastness of God’s physical creations but also pauses to remind himself of the vastness of God’s other attributes, such as justice, mercy, and kindness. He then continues: “And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?” (Moses 7:31)

From Enoch’s perspective, an all-powerful, all-knowing God, whose attributes include peace, justice, truth, and mercy, should have no conceivable reason ever to weep or ever to be sad. In modern vernacular, we might think of Enoch as saying, You are a huge success! You have cars, houses, and money. You are good and wise and kind. Why would you be unhappy?

God’s answer should give us powerful reason to pause and contemplate: “The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency” (Moses 7:32).

God is explaining to Enoch that all those who were not taken up into His bosom are also the workmanship of His own hands. They are His children whom He had created, to whom He had given knowledge, and to whom He had given the incomparable gift of agency. The implication is clearly that He cares about them and loves them. God’s love for His children and His desire to see them all come home to Him makes the final verses especially poignant. God says: “And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood” (Moses 7:33; emphasis added).

Now it is clear why God has wept. He has only one desire for His children. He has created them, endowed them with knowledge, and given them agency. He desires only that they choose Him, their Father. He wants only that those children whom He loves so much return that affection and choose to love Him back. And when they choose to be without affection for Him or for their own children, He has cause to weep.

Surely you understand the poignancy of this story and the implication for each of us. God loves us as every parent loves a child. His only wish is for our success and happiness. Of all the wonderful and extravagant gifts that the Creator of the Universe could give His children, He has chosen the two that He deems the most important – the gift of agency and the gift of the Atonement. His most profound and heartfelt desire is the same as any parent’s – that in all our choosing we choose Him. We choose to value what He values, to love who He loves, and to live where He lives; to choose Him, to dine with Him, to use our gifts wisely and well – those are His desires for us.

My dear young brothers and sisters, go forward with faith and courage. Know that you are supported by the love of your family and Church leaders. Know especially of the love of your Father in Heaven. My prayer for you is that, as you exercise your God-given gift of agency in this life, you will choose Him – in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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Brigham Young University-Idaho Devotional
January 5, 2010

Are Ye Stripped of Pride?
Elder Kim B. Clark
President, BYU-Idaho

I am grateful to be with you today. I pray that the Holy Ghost will be with us and that you and I might be taught and edified by the Spirit.

One summer many, many years ago, my mother decided it would be a great project for her children to refinish the dining room chairs. The chairs were painted a dark cherry color, and my mother had discovered that underneath that paint was good, hard maple wood.

I will never forget that experience. We began by applying a nasty solvent called toluene to all the painted surfaces, and then we scraped the paint off.

Once the paint was removed, we had to sand the wood with several grades of sandpaper in order to remove the very last bits of paint and to prepare the wood for a new finish.

When the sanding was finally done, we applied a finish to highlight the grain and enhance the wood’s natural color. In the final step we sealed the new hardwood finish with two coats of varnish. Those chairs were transformed!

I think about that experience every time I read Alma’s penetrating question to the members of the Church in Zarahemla:
Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life. [1]
The words “are ye stripped of pride?” evoke in me images and smells from that summer. I think of toluene and scraping and stripping and sanding to get down to bare wood. When I think of the finishing process with a vibrant color and the protecting sealing varnish, I think of the description of the Savior as the “author and finisher of our faith” [2] and the words of King Benjamin to his people:
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his. [3]
My message today is about being stripped of pride. I want to talk with you about overcoming pride and becoming the humble followers of Christ.

Pride—The Universal Sin, the Great Vice

Twenty years ago President Ezra Taft Benson delivered a powerful sermon on pride. It is a talk all of us should read carefully and often. Speaking in general conference, President Benson said:
The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. . . .

Pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees. . . .

Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. [4]
Pride in all of its manifestations has played a central role in the struggle between good and evil, a struggle going back to the War in Heaven. The seriousness of the sin of pride is rooted deep in the doctrines of salvation.

In premortality we lived with our Heavenly Father as spirit sons and daughters. In the premortal council, Heavenly Father presented His great plan of happiness through which we could obtain immortality and eternal life.

Our Father knew that all of us would sin and “come short of the glory of God,” [5] so He sent His Beloved Son to atone for our sins, redeem us, and give us the strengthening power to become more like Him and our Father and ultimately receive the greatest gift of God—eternal life.

Here is the Great Truth in the Father’s plan: Through the Atonement of Christ, we can receive peace, joy, happiness, and eternal life with our Heavenly Father. There is a Redeemer! Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, is the only “name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.” [6]

The Father’s plan was not received well by all of His children. Lucifer, a son of the morning, rebelled against the Father, against His Beloved Son, and against the plan. He presented his own proposal:
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. [7]
There are several things to note about Satan’s proposal. 1) Satan would replace Christ; indeed, there was no need for Christ and no need for an atoning sacrifice at all. 2) There would be no agency. Everyone would be redeemed; no one would be lost. 3) It would surely happen, and Satan would be the sole reason why. 4) Therefore, he should have God’s honor and glory.

Here, in stark contrast to the Father’s plan and the Great Truth, was Satan’s Great Lie: You can obtain joy, happiness, and eternal life without Christ, without God, and without any special effort on your part; and Satan would make all this happen without any sacrifice, pain, or suffering on his part—by the sheer force of his power.

It was and is the Great Lie by the father of lies. It would not have worked. It was contrary to the will of the Father and to eternal laws of justice and mercy. And there, right in the middle of the Great Lie, at the very center of Satan’s rebellious, diabolical scheme, was pride. There was pride and all of its sordid offspring—arrogance, selfishness, greed, vain ambition, unrighteous dominion—on a cosmic scale.

The Father rejected Satan’s proposal. Then driven by deep, deep pride and enmity toward the Father and the Son, Satan made war in heaven. He “accused [our brethren] before our God day and night” [8] and pushed the Great Lie with such deception and persuasion that a third part of the hosts of heaven followed him. But the forces of righteousness “overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” [9] And so Satan “was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” [10]

Satan continues his war against God and us in the mortal world where we are subject to the frailties, weaknesses, and temptations of the natural man. As it was in the pre-mortal realm, so it is on earth: pride is at the heart of Satan’s war on God and on His children. It has been that way since the days of Adam.

But pride has become especially critical in our day. We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times when the Lord is blessing His children with great knowledge, remarkable technologies, expanded opportunities for learning, and unprecedented wealth. With these blessings, however, comes this warning from the Lord:
It must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old. [11]
Beware of pride! This is the warning voice of the Lord to us now, in our day. We have obtained so much control over the resources of the earth, so much understanding of the biology of life, so much capacity to travel and to communicate instantly that we have become “puffed up” in our learning and our apparent control and power. Pride and its children—materialism, envy, arrogance, greed, thirst for recognition, and lust for control and dominion—have become rampant in our culture and society. Modern Babylon is awash in pride.

The Book of Mormon prophets saw our day and spoke powerfully about modern-day pride. In his prophecy of the last days, Nephi saw that many would “be puffed up in their hearts” [12] and “wear stiff necks and high heads.” [13]

Hundreds of years later Moroni wrote these words about our day:
Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts. [14]
The Book of Mormon was written for us. It bears witness of Jesus Christ and warns us of the perils of pride, both in prosperity and adversity. In the story of Laman and Lemuel, we see two proud brothers who murmured and rebelled and were filled with resentment and anger in the face of the loss of their home and possessions, their afflictions in the wilderness, and their failed expectations of leadership. Despite visits from angels and even the voice of the Lord and many other blessings and miracles, pride took root in their souls, their hearts were hardened, and they rejected the Lord and His prophets.

We also see this same pattern of pride, hardness of heart, and rejection of the truth in the face of prosperity. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is a record of an entire people greatly favored of the Lord who succumbed to the temptations of pride, rejected the Lord, and were destroyed.

The message is clear: Whether in prosperity or adversity, if we are not diligent and faithful, even the elect of God, even those greatly blessed by the Lord, can fall prey to the Great Lie and become hard-hearted, self-absorbed, stiff-necked, and puffed up in their pride.

This is something we see all too often. You may have seen the interaction of pride and adversity among people you know. Perhaps because of some setback or a failed expectation or some other problem, a faithful member of the Church feels some resentment, some sense of being a victim unfairly treated. That resentment grows and festers and feeds on pride until it turns to anger and even bitterness. Over the years the member stops coming to Church, fails to keep the commandments, and finds ways to rationalize sinful behavior.

Or perhaps you have seen the interaction of pride and prosperity. It happens to wonderful people who in their college years are full of promise. These are people of great ability and spirituality. They marry in the temple, obtain good employment, and prosper in their communities. They are blessed with beautiful children and wonderful family lives. They are active in the Church and serve in positions of responsibility.

But something happens to them on the way to a life of service, joy, and happiness. What happens is pride. Somewhere along the way the honors of men, wealth, power, and recognition become more important than their love of the Lord, the love of their spouses and children, and their service in the kingdom. They divorce, leave the Church and their families, and become wholly worldly in their attitudes and their behavior.

The effects of pride, whether in adversity or in prosperity, are deadly. As Alma prophesied:
They that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell. [15]
This calamity comes little by little over time. Pride and its effects are like a thin film of darkness that begins to settle on the soul layer by layer, year by year, until the light of the gospel grows dim. Such people become hardened in their hearts, selfish in their behavior, and puffed up in the pride of their eyes.

There is, of course, always hope. The proud and selfish souls can come back. But after years of darkness and so many layers of pride, it will take a lot of spiritual solvent and a lot of spiritual scraping and sanding to get down to a bare soul and a soft heart. And think of the time they have wasted, the opportunities for growth and becoming they have lost, the lives they could have saved, and the joy they could have received had they seen what was happening early on and acted on it to change. Had they just recognized those first thin films of pride, they might have repented and sought the Lord’s redeeming power right then. Had they seen it and acted, they could have humbled themselves and been stripped of pride.

Well did the Lord warn us: Beware of pride. Beware; be alert; be on guard against the perils of pride. May I suggest some things to watch for, some things of which we should all beware? I think of this list as red flags of pride. These red flags are like the little flags that landscapers put on the lawn when they have applied dangerous chemicals. Thin films of pride come with warning flags like the following:
1. Do you find yourself critiquing the talks in sacrament meeting?

2. Are you critical of others? Do you look down on others? Do you scorn or ridicule them?

3. When adversity strikes, do you hear a voice inside that says, “Why me?”

4. Do you react to prophetic counsel by ignoring it, being upset by it, or interpreting it to suit your own desires?

5. When you do something good, do you hear a voice inside congratulating yourself?

6. Do you feel self-gratification and a sense of importance in your knowledge and skill?

7. If someone you know receives something good, do you hear a voice inside saying, “What about me?”

8. Do you find ways to let others know of your success without appearing to boast?

9. If someone corrects a mistake you made, do you feel defensive and resentful?

10. When someone does something that creates inconvenience for you, do you feel annoyed?

I could go on. There are many, many red flags of pride.
Brothers and sisters, I did not get this list from a book. I have firsthand experience with the questions I have asked you, and I know that if you and I ever feel any of them or hear any of them in our minds, we need to recognize them for what they are—the echoes of the Great Lie, the beginning of a call to enmity with our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In that moment of recognition, we stand at a crossroads between two paths. We can follow the path of the Great Lie and act on those prideful feelings, or we can follow the path of the Great Truth and choose Christ. It is a choice. Are we going to keep our covenants, or are we going to break them? To reject the Great Lie and choose Christ takes an act of will. We have to consciously say to ourselves: “I am not going down the path of the Great Lie. With faith in Christ and with His help, I am going to walk the path of the Great Truth.”

Heavenly Father’s plan to help us make that choice was beautifully summarized by Alma in his words to the people of Ammonihah:
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; [16]
We must first catch ourselves in the moment when prideful thoughts or feelings come and then act in faith to choose Christ, seeking God’s help in prayer. This is what Alma meant when he admonished us to “humble [ourselves] before the Lord . . . and watch and pray continually.”

But that is not the end. We must not only catch ourselves in prideful thoughts and feelings, not only choose Christ in that moment, but through the Atonement of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost repent of our sins, receive forgiveness, and be led by the Holy Spirit to become “humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering.”

When we choose Christ, acting in faith to humble ourselves before Him, we put ourselves in the hands of the Master Finisher. As we do His will, He will help us be stripped of pride and become meek and lowly in heart, filled with His pure and perfect love.

The Lord’s finishing process may not be always pleasant. He will chasten and correct and give us experiences that polish us. If we are steadfast and immovable in doing what He wants us to do, we will not be deflected from the true path by adversity or prosperity. We will become the humble followers of Christ, and the day will come when He will seal us His.

Being stripped of pride and becoming meek and lowly in heart is not easy. We cannot do it by ourselves. But there are patterns of life we can establish that will help us beware of pride, remember Christ, humble ourselves before Him, put ourselves in His hands, and have His love in our hearts. I will leave you today with four patterns:

Pattern Number 1: Never do anything to drive the Spirit away.
The Holy Ghost is essential to the Lord’s finishing process. But the Spirit is very sensitive to any degree of unrighteousness. Don’t do anything or wear anything or say anything or read anything or listen to anything or watch anything or go anywhere that would drive the Spirit away.

Pattern Number 2: Don’t let the world get into your heart.
Never set your heart on things—on money or houses or cars or clothes or any other thing. Don’t let a career or power or the honors of men get into your heart. They can get there very easily if you are not careful. Set your heart on the Lord and His kingdom, on your family and the temple and the things of eternity. Always live modestly within your means, and always pay your tithing and give a generous fast offering.

Pattern Number 3: Serve the Lord.
Accept and always magnify callings in the Church and volunteer to be of service in the kingdom. When the promptings of the Spirit come sending you on the Lord’s errand to rescue a lost soul or to comfort one in need, act on those promptings quickly as soon as you can.

Pattern Number 4: Stand in Holy Places.
Make your home a sacred, holy place where the Spirit may dwell. Be in the chapel to partake of the sacrament every Sunday and prayerfully renew your covenant to “always remember him and keep his commandments.” [17] If you live near a temple, go often to the house of the Lord. Relive those sacred ordinances and covenants. Reflect on your gratitude for the plan of salvation and for the Great Truth of the Atonement, on its power in your life, and on your need for the blessings and strength that are in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I know that if we establish these patterns in our lives we will beware of pride, we will be true to our covenants, and we will be in the Master’s hands. You and I have much work to do. The Lord is moving with power in the earth preparing us and the kingdom for His return. Given all the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, you and I need to be like Ammon, the son of Mosiah, a great and mighty missionary who said:
Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things. [18]
This combination of humility and courage is what we need, and it is precisely what comes to those who reject the Great Lie and humble themselves before the Lord. Listen to the way President Henry B. Eyring described the process that occurs when we remember the Great Truth of the Savior, put ourselves in His hands, and have His love in our hearts:
Those memories, if we choose to invite them, can produce a powerful blend of courage and meekness. No problem is too hard for us with his help. No price is too great to pay for what he offers us. And still in our greatest successes we feel as little children. And in our greatest sacrifices we still feel in his debt, wanting to give more. That is a humility which is energizing, not enervating. We can choose that shield as a protection against pride. [19]
Brothers and sisters, our protection, our hope, our salvation is in Jesus Christ. I bear witness of Him, the Holy One of Israel, the Light and the Life of the World. He is the Living Son of the Living God. This is His church and kingdom. I know that if we humble ourselves before Him and put ourselves in His Hands, we will be stripped of pride and He will polish us and finish us and seal us His. I know that is true.

I invoke the blessings of our loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son upon you this day, that you may become the humble followers of Christ and that the peace, joy, happiness, and power of Heaven may flow into your life and into the lives of your families and loved ones now and forever. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

________________________________________
[1] Alma 5:28.
[2] Hebrews 12:2; see also Moroni 6:4.
[3] Mosiah 5:15.
[4] Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, 4, 6.
[5] Romans 3:23.
[6] 2 Nephi 31:21.
[7] Moses 4:1.
[8] Revelation 12:10.
[9] Revelation 12:11.
[10] Revelation 12:9.
[11] D&C 38:39.
[12] 2 Nephi 28:9.
[13] 2 Nephi 28:14.
[14] Mormon 8:35-36.
[15] Alma 12:11.
[16] Alma 13:28.
[17] D&C 20:77.
[18] Alma 26:12.
[19] Henry B. Eyring, “A Child of God,” BYU devotional address given 21 October 1997.

Christ said at the great council in heaven regarding the two plans,

“Father, Thy Will Be Done and the Glory be Thine Forever”. (Moses 4:2)

D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Agency”

“When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices.” ”

“Using our agency to choose God’s will, and not slackening even when the going gets hard, will not make us God’s puppet; it will make us like Him. God gave us agency, and Jesus showed us how to use it so that we could eventually learn what They know, do what They do, and become what They are. Remember that with His gift of moral agency, our Heavenly Father has graciously provided us help to exercise that agency in a way that will yield precious, positive fruit in our life here and hereafter.”

“While Satan cannot actually destroy law and truth, he accomplishes the same result in the lives of those who heed him by convincing them that whatever they think is right is right and that there is no ultimate truth—every man is his own god, and there is no sin.”

“The Savior’s use of moral agency during His lifetime is an instructive example for us. At one point in His teaching He revealed the principle that guided His choices: “He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29; see also 3 Nephi 11:11).

I believe that much of the Lord’s power is attributable to the fact that He never wavered in that determination. He had a clear, consistent direction. Whatever the Father desired, Jesus chose to do.

Being Jesus’s obedient disciple—just as He is the Father’s obedient disciple—leads to truth and freedom: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

To the secular world it seems a paradox that greater submission to God yields greater freedom. The world looks at things through Korihor’s lens, considering obedience to God’s laws and ordinances to be “bondage” (Alma 30:24, 27).”

Our choice is simple, we choose to do the will of our Father or we choose to do our will. The world tries to deceive us into thinking we can do our will without consequences to that choice. If we choose to do our own will then we are no longer followers of Christ and have lost the opportunity for exaltation. If we choose to do the will of the Lord in all things we will be exalted.

This principle, choosing between our will and God’s will is the litmus test for catching deceptions in doctrine of the world’s new spirituality. Christ’s example demonstrates the key to staying on the straight and narrow path and avoiding the pitfalls that Satan has put in our way. We can catch ourselves even when we are on the fringes of destruction if we only remember that one sentence Christ said “Father, Thy will be done”. Truth encourages us to submit our wills to Father’s, while lies encourage us to act on our own wills without any reference to Father’s will. Christ said, “Father, Thy will be done” or in other words “Thy will, not mine”. We must be willing to completely submit our will to Father in all things always, becoming like a child should be to a Father. We must look to His will in all that we do. We must let go of Pride in all of its forms. We must become Humble before Father in all things.

Another test we are shown to tell the difference between truth and lies is exemplified in the following scriptures.

Moroni 7:10-19

10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.

11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.

12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

In these scriptures it says that we can judge good from evil as clearly as daylight is from dark night.

To recognize evil teachings, only one of the following circumstances has to apply. If even just one of these conditions applies then the teaching is evil:

1. Whatsover thing persuadeth men to do evil
2. Believe not in Christ
3. Deny Christ
4. Serve not God

To recognize good teachings inspired by God all of the following must be true: God inviteth and enticeth

1. To do good continually
2. To believe in Christ
3. To serve God

I believe what is being said here is this. All criteria have to be satisfied to prove something is inspired by God and a “good fountain”. If you do not have all of the principles then it is not of God. If you have teachings that appear “good” and encourage people to do works that seems good, yet deny or redefine God, then they are words of the Devil, therefore a “bitter fountain”. For if any of these things listed are missing it cannot be a “good fountain”. Therefore we must not drink of it. This is how we tell if a teaching is of God or is of the Devil. For if it is of God, it will tell you to do the Lord’s will and to worship the Lord, if it is not it will tell you to do your own will, which is the will of the devil.

Copyright 2009 by Rosabella Knightley

The Plan of Salvation may appear basic and well know yet, it holds much deeper yet simplistic information vital to our growth and progression. I feel it is important to really study the Plan of Salvation to fully grasp how salvation and exaltation truly occur.

This overview of the Plan of Salvation is from LDS.org

LINK

In the premortal existence, Heavenly Father prepared a plan to enable us to become like Him and receive a fulness of joy. The scriptures refer to this plan as “the plan of salvation” (Alma 24:14; Moses 6:62), “the great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8), “the plan of redemption” (Jacob 6:8; Alma 12:30), and “the plan of mercy” (Alma 42:15). The plan of salvation is the fulness of the gospel. It includes the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and all the laws, ordinances, and doctrines of the gospel. Moral agency, the ability to choose and act for ourselves, is also essential in Heavenly Father’s plan. Because of this plan, we can be perfected through the Atonement, receive a fulness of joy, and live forever in the presence of God. Our family relationships can last throughout the eternities.

We are participants in Heavenly Father’s plan, and our eternal experience can be divided into three main parts: premortal life, mortal life, and life after death. As we come to understand the plan, we find answers to questions asked by so many: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life?

Premortal Life

Before we were born on the earth, we lived in the presence of our Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. In this premortal existence, we attended a council with Heavenly Father’s other spirit children. At that council, Heavenly Father presented His great plan of happiness (see Abraham 3:22–26).

In harmony with the plan of happiness, the premortal Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son of the Father in the spirit, covenanted to be the Savior (see Moses 4:2; Abraham 3:27). Those who followed Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were permitted to come to the earth to experience mortality and progress toward eternal life. Lucifer, another spirit son of God, rebelled against the plan and “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). He became Satan, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven and denied the privileges of receiving a physical body and experiencing mortality (see Moses 4:4; Abraham 3:27–28).

Throughout our premortal lives, we developed our identity and increased our spiritual capabilities. Blessed with the gift of agency, we made important decisions, such as the decision to follow Heavenly Father’s plan. These decisions affected our life then and now. We grew in intelligence and learned to love the truth, and we prepared to come to the earth, where we could continue to progress.

Mortal Life

We are now experiencing mortal life. Our spirits are united with our bodies, giving us opportunities to grow and develop in ways that were not possible in premortal life. This part of our existence is a time of learning in which we can prove ourselves, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare to be worthy of eternal life. It is also a time when we can help others find the truth and gain a testimony of the plan of salvation.

Life after Death

When we die, our spirits will enter the spirit world and await the resurrection. At the time of the resurrection, our spirit and body will reunite, and we will be judged and received into a kingdom of glory. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion and our obedience to the Lord’s commandments (see Kingdoms of Glory). It will depend on the manner in which we have “received the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:51; see also D&C 76:74, 79, 101).

Blessings through Knowledge of the Plan

A testimony of the plan of salvation can give us hope and purpose as we wrestle with the challenges of life. We can find reassurance in the knowledge that we are children of God and that we lived in His presence before being born on the earth. We can find meaning in our present life, knowing that our actions during mortality influence our eternal destiny. With this knowledge, we can base important decisions on eternal truths rather than on the changing circumstances of life. We can continually improve our relationships with family members, rejoicing in the promise that our families can be eternal. We can find joy in our testimonies of the Atonement and the Lord’s commandments, ordinances, covenants, and doctrines, knowing that “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23).

See also Agency; Atonement of Jesus Christ; Creation; Death, Physical; Death, Spiritual; Fall; God the Father; Gospel; Heaven; Hell; Jesus Christ; Kingdoms of Glory; Paradise; Resurrection

2 Nephi 2:5–30; 10:23–25; Alma 12:24–37; 22:12–14; 42; Moses 6:47–62

Adhemar Damiani, “The Merciful Plan of the Great Creator,” Ensign, Mar 2004, 8
LINK

” Why does life seem so difficult? Why does there seem to be so much sadness, hate, and unhappiness in the world? Why do the innocent suffer? Through the prophetic words of Father Lehi, we know the intent of the Lord is for each person to find joy; indeed “men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25). Why, then, are there so many unhappy people?”

” Amulek taught that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32). With our conscience, which comes from the Light of Christ, every one of us can discern between good and evil, between truth and error (see Moro. 7:16–19). With our agency, the right to choose and act for ourselves, we can choose to do what is right or what is not. We can choose to follow the plan of happiness and obey the commandments of God, or reject the commandments of God and not be happy, for “behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). The progress we make and the happiness we attain depend upon our choices (see 2 Ne. 2:27).”

“Atonement means reconciliation of man with God. Atoning means suffering the punishment for sin, thus removing the effects of the transgression of the repentant sinner and allowing him or her to be reconciled with God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of making a perfect atonement for all humankind. He was able to do this because He was chosen and foreordained in the great council held before this world was created, because He was the literal Son of God in the flesh, and because He was completely obedient to the Father’s will. His Atonement includes the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins of humankind, the shedding of His blood, and His death and subsequent Resurrection. Because of the Atonement, all will arise from the grave with an immortal body. The Atonement also provides the means by which our sins may be forgiven and we may live forever with God. However, this reconciliation is possible only if we have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, receive the ordinances of salvation, and keep the commandments of God.

Because of His love for us, our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to show us the way and help us return to His presence: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, we will all be resurrected. Jesus Christ is our Savior, for He saves us from physical death”

” Why does life seem so difficult? Why does there seem to be so much sadness, hate, and unhappiness in the world? Why do the innocent suffer? Why are there so many unhappy people? Many are unhappy because they do not know the plan of salvation; others do not believe the plan of salvation; and others, although they believe, are not willing to pay the price for happiness now and for all eternity. Do you believe in the plan of salvation? Are you willing to pay the price for happiness?

Jacob described those who are willing to pay this price: “Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever” (2 Ne. 9:18).
Our Heavenly Father wants each one of us to receive a fulness of His blessings. Will we become discouraged because of the adversities of the world? No! Let us be optimistic. Let us have faith in the future, knowing that the plan of salvation is true. Let us trust the Father and endure to the end. Let us never forget that we are children of Heavenly Father and that each one of us has the potential to become like Him. Let us have faith in Jesus Christ; let us have faith in ourselves. Then we will have joy in this life and throughout eternity.”

As we are told in the preceding quotes, happiness can only come through complete obedience to God and His Laws. The adversary wants us to believe the lie that happiness is whatever we desire, but Father knows what will truly make us happy; we do not. Just like a small child that believes at the moment that their happiness will come from playing ball in the street. They do not comprehend the bigger picture therefore can only see from their limited understanding of the momentary pleasure of their will. They can not see the dangers that await them in the street. We are the same, we do not fully understand all the whys of the Lord’s will. We may think we understand many things, but all we have to remember is Moses’s response after seeing God he said “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” Moses 1:10 This does not mean that man is not important to the Lord, but it means that we do not have any idea of the true glory of God and do not come close to understanding what he does. We have a choice in this life, to either submit our wills to Father or be willful as Lucifer was and stop our progression at whatever point we are no longer willing to submit to the Lord. Let us submit to His will in all things and endure to the end to receive the fullness of Exhalation.

I will let this Video primarily express what I would like to say in this Article.  For us to truly submit to Father in all things, sometimes that means we are in the dark and do not know all the whys of life.  Having true Faith is being willing to trust in Father even when we are in the deepest tribulation and may even feel like he has abandoned us.  He never does. We are here  to be tested and purified and not merely to be blessed for our righteousness. We may feel we are doing all in our power to do the Lords will, yet find ourselves in great sorrow and suffering without knowing why. The whole purpose of life is to become willing to submit to Father, to be taught in whatever way Father deems necessary. We are to choose if we will but ask of Him and follow and endure to the end or not. The song sums this  up by the lyrics “If I let you reach me, will you teach me? You know better than I, you know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why, I’ll take the answers you supply, you know better than I.”

The difference between the Love taught by the New Spirituality and the true Love of God is where many good people get very confused. The world’s spirituality teaches that “God’s” love is unconditional therefore preaching tolerance as the highest form of love.  In the Church “Our children are to be taught the doctrines of the kingdom, doctrines include the plan of salvation, faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, to trust in the Lord, and to know that they receive the blessings of His love by first obeying His commandments.” The unconditional love and tolerance of God is the lie that has been taught through the ages. The anti-Christ Nehor taught this very idea. Alma 1:4; see also Alma 1:3, 5–6; 2 Ne. 28:8–9. Such an unconditional concept (eternal life for all) would negate the need for ordinances, covenants, and temple work not to mention righteousness. What Nehor taught and what is being taught today woos many into believing these anti-Christ ideologies.

It is hard to recognize the preaching of Love as something evil that will lead one away from God, but it does. It leads a person to stop their progress toward greater obedience and emulation of Christ’s example and also creates a tolerance of sin which breaks down our commitment to righteous principles. If we are loved unconditionally and saved unconditionally then why try to become better? The truth is we are told to shed the natural man and follow Christ in all ways in order to receive God’s highest degree of Love, blessing and glory.

When we take a stand on God’s laws and are called Un-Christ-like we are being judged by an anti-Christ doctrine that says we are not to judge people’s actions as wrong, evil or sinful. It is interesting that they can judge us yet say no one should judge. This is why they feel superior to all persons that believe in a God that judges. They truly believe that the highest love is unconditional and completely tolerant of all that which we would call sin. We are looked at as hate-filled, judgmental and unloving and so is our God. This is why we are hated by them for they say we do not truly love. This is the polarization that is occurring in the world today. Good is called evil and evil good.

The following are some quotes from an excellent talk on the topic of the conditional love of God.

Click Here for link to whole talk.

Russell M. Nelson, “Divine Love,” Liahona, Feb 2003, 12

Divine Love Is Also Conditional

While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional. The word does not appear in the scriptures. On the other hand, many verses affirm that the higher levels of love the Father and the Son feel for each of us—and certain divine blessings stemming from that love—are conditional.

The Conditional Nature of Divine Love

With scriptural patterns of conditional statements in mind, we note many verses that declare the conditional nature of divine love for us. Examples include:

• “If ye keep my commandments, [then] ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:10

• “If you keep not my commandments, [then] the love of the Father shall not continue with you.” D&C 95:12

• “If a man love me, [then] he will keep my words: and my Father will love him.” John 14:23

• “I love them that love me; and those that seek me … shall find me.” Prov. 8:17

• “God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34–35

• The Lord “loveth those who will have him to be their God.” 1 Ne. 17:40

• “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:21

The Conditional Nature of Divine Blessings

It is equally evident that certain blessings come from a loving Lord only if required conditions are met. Examples include:

• “If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, … then I will lengthen thy days.” 1 Kgs. 3:14; see also Deut. 19:9

• “If thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments … ; then will I perform my word with thee.” 1 Kgs. 6:12

• “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” D&C 82:10

• “When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” D&C 130:21

• “Unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.” D&C 88:38; see also D&C 132:5

The Lord declares: “All who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof. …

“And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.

“… The conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed … of him who is anointed, … are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead.” D&C 132:5–7; see also Alma 9:12; Alma 42:13, 17.

Other laws are designed to bless us here in mortality. One such law is tithing: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, … and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord … , if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [ Mal. 3:10 see also 3 Ne. 24:10 The Lord did not restrict how He would bless tithe payers. Some are blessed spiritually more than they are temporally.]  Such a blessing is conditional. Those who fail to tithe have no promise. [See D&C 119:4–5. Tithing is also required for one to be enrolled with the people of God (see D&C 85:3)]

Again, “all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised … that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.” [Mosiah 2:22; emphasis added. That conditional counsel is repeated many times throughout the scriptures. See 1 Ne. 2:20; 1 Ne. 4:14; 2 Ne. 1:9, 20; 2 Ne. 4:4; Jacob 2:17–19; Jarom 1:9; Omni 1:6; Mosiah 1:7; Mosiah 2:31; Alma 9:13; Alma 36:1, 30; Alma 37:13; Alma 38:1; Alma 48:15, 25; Alma 50:20; Hel. 3:20]

Why is divine love conditional? Because God loves us and wants us to be happy. “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” [Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 255–56]

Our Defense against False Ideologies

Understanding that divine love and blessings are not truly “unconditional” can defend us against common fallacies such as these: “Since God’s love is unconditional, He will love me regardless …”; or “Since ‘God is love,’ 1 Jn. 4:8, 16 He will love me unconditionally, regardless …”

These arguments are used by anti-Christs to woo people with deception. Nehor, for example, promoted himself by teaching falsehoods: He “testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, … for the Lord had created all men, … and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.” Sadly, some of the people believed Nehor’s fallacious and unconditional concepts. [Alma 1:4; emphasis added; see also Alma 1:3, 5–6; 2 Ne. 28:8–9. Such an unconditional concept (eternal life for all) would negate the need for ordinances, covenants, and temple work.]

In contrast to Nehor’s teachings, divine love warns us that “wickedness never was happiness.” Alma 41:10. Jesus explains, “Come unto me and be ye saved; … except ye shall keep my commandments, … ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 3 Ne. 12:20

Divine Love and the Sinner

Does this mean the Lord does not love the sinner? Of course not. Divine love is infinite and universal. The Savior loves both saints and sinners. The Apostle John affirmed, “We love him, because he first loved us.”1 Jn. 4:19. And Nephi, upon seeing in vision the Lord’s mortal ministry, declared: “The world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.” 1 Ne. 19:9 We know the expansiveness of the Redeemer’s love because He died that all who die might live again.    Rom. 5:8

2 Cor. 5:14–15

1 Cor. 15:22

Divine Love Provides Us with a Pattern

Jesus asked us to love one another as He has loved us.  John 13:34; John 15:12. Is that possible? Can our love for others really approach divine love? Yes it can! [ Ether 12:33–34;   Moro. 7:46–47] The pure love of Christ is granted to all who seek and qualify for it. Moro. 7:48 Such love includes service Gal. 5:13; Mosiah 2:18–21; Mosiah 4:15 and requires obedience.[John taught, “Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected” (1 Jn. 2:5)]

Compliance with divine law requires faith—the pivotal point of mortality’s testing and trials. At the same time, faith proves our love for God. Deut. 13:3; John 14:15; John 15:6–7 The more committed we become to patterning our lives after His, the purer and more divine our love becomes. Matt. 6:19–22; D&C 88:67–68; D&C 93:11–20.

Perhaps no love in mortality approaches the divine more than the love parents have for their children. As parents, we have the same obligation to teach obedience that our heavenly parents felt obliged to teach us. While we can teach the need for tolerance of others’ differences, [See A of F 1:11] we cannot tolerate their infractions of the laws of God. Our children are to be taught the doctrines of the kingdom, [Doctrines include the plan of salvation, faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost (see Moro. 8:10; D&C 68:25; Moses 6:57–62).] to trust in the Lord, and to know that they receive the blessings of His love by first obeying His commandments. Mosiah 4:6–7.

Divine love is perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal. The full flower of divine love and our greatest blessings from that love are conditional—predicated upon our obedience to eternal law. I pray that we may qualify for those blessings and rejoice forever.

What Does Conditional Mean?

The term conditional comes from Latin roots—con, meaning “with,” and dicere, meaning “to talk.” Thus, conditional means that “bounds or conditions have been communicated verbally.”

The term unconditional means “without condition or limitation; absolute.”