Faith, Repentance, Enduring to the End

There are three main things that I pulled from the readings this week. These are things that I know I needed to be reminded of in this stage of my life. These three things are:

1. We must endure with patience,
2. Christ suffered for ALL, and
3. Faith gives us power.

Each of these things might seem simple enough to remember and yet, I found myself needing to be reminded of them.

We must endure with patience

"For ye have need of patience, that, 

after yet have done the will of God, 

ye might receive the promise" 

(Hebrews 10:36).

One of the main principles of the gospel is to endure to the end. But enduring doesn't just mean to survive the trials and tribulations that will inevitably come throughout this mortal life. It means surviving our trials with faith and patience and courage. 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

"We will have many opportunities to abandon our journey. At times it will seem that the path requires more than we had wished for. But... we must have the courage to follow our Redeemer, even when our cross seems too heavy to bear."

In the Women's Session of that same conference, President Uchtdorf counseled us:

"There will always be things to complain about - things that don't seem to go quite right. You can spend your days feeling sad, alone, misunderstood, or unwanted. But that isn't the journey you had hoped for, and it's not the journey Heavenly Father sent you to take... Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey."

And so it's important for us to remember that, yes, this life is meant to be one of trials and testing. But we are also supposed to experience joy and happiness in this life as well. After all, we learn in the scriptures that "men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

Enduring to the end can seem overwhelming at times. After all, when trials come (and they will come), it is often hard to see how things will all work out. But they WILL work out one way or another. That doesn't mean that things will work out the way that we want them to. It doesn't mean that everything is going to be perfect right now, but we can rest assured that some day everything will be made as it should because "the Lord is full of... equity" (Alma 9:26). 

Our Heavenly Father loves us ALL and wants us ALL to not only be tested, but to endure with faith and experience the joy that is possible in this life. He has provided a way for all of us to experience this, which brings me to the next insight I gained...

Christ suffered for ALL

"We are sanctified through the offering 

of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" 

(Hebrews 10:10).

Notice the emphasis on "for all" as it is written in the scriptures. It doesn't say that Christ suffered for only the saints or only the sinners, for members of the Church only, for only men, or only for those who actually repent. No. He suffered for all. 

There are so many quotes that I could share that fit with this (I'm not sure if you've noticed this about me, but I LOVE quotes from our Church leaders). I will share two of my favorites that I think fit with this principle and add some clarity to it.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:

"Surely it would guide our actions in a dramatic way if we remembered that every time we transgress, we hurt not only those we love, but we also hurt [Christ], who so dearly loves us. But if we do sin, however serious that sin may be, we can be rescued by that same majestic figure, He who bears the only name given under heaven whereby any man or woman can be saved."

Did you get that? Any man or woman can be saved through Christ because He suffered for each and every one of us. He suffered for our sins whether or not we decide to repent of them. Why wouldn't we take advantage of His beautiful sacrifice?

The first part of Elder Holland's quote is something that has always hit me. When I was younger I remember my dad telling me that any time we sin, we are adding more pain onto the anguish Christ had to feel as He suffered for our sins. This is something that I have always tried to remember as I make choices throughout my life.

I would like to add a quote from President Uchtdorf (he seems to be a favorite of mine today) into the mix:

"It is not repentance per se that saves man. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. It is not by our sincere and honest change of behavior alone that we are saved, but 'by grace that we are saved, after all we can do' (2 Nephi 25:23). True repentance, however, is the condition required so that God's forgiveness can come into our lives."

Christ already suffered for our sins. He suffered for our sins because He loves us. If we truly love Him, we will repent of all of our sins and take full advantage of His sacrifice and His saving Atonement for us. 

Faith gives us power

Chapter 11 of Hebrews talks about many great people from the scriptures and what their faith drove them to do and allowed them to overcome. I want to summarize just a few of these.

Abel - Abel's faith drove him to offer a great sacrifice to the Lord; one that was greater than his brother's sacrifice because Cain lacked faith (Hebrews 11:4).

Enoch - because of Enoch's faith he was translated so he would never taste of death (Hebrews 11:5).

Noah - Noah's faith gave him the courage to warn the people of the flood. He built the ark and was able to save his family from the destruction (Hebrews 11:7).

Abraham - when Abraham was commanded to go to a place he had never been, he went, although he didn't know where he was going. He had faith in the Lord and he obeyed (Hebrews 11:8). In addition, Abraham obeyed the Lord in offering up His son, Isaac, not knowing what the purpose was for doing so (Hebrews 11:17).

Sara - through Sara's faith she was able to conceive a child although she was "past age" (Hebrews 11:11).

Because of the great faith that these individuals (and many others) had, they were driven to do many things that they otherwise wouldn't have done and they were able to accomplish the things which the Lord wanted them to. The scriptures go on to tell us...

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, 

but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, 

and embraced them, and confessed that they were 

strangers and pilgrims on the earth" 

(Hebrews 11:13).

This leads me back to my first point of enduring to the end, knowing that the Lord has our best interests in mind. These individuals didn't necessarily see the blessings from their faith in this life. But they believed and trusted in the Lord, knowing that He would one day keep His promises and bless them for their faith. 

Elder Holland counsels us to "believe in God and [ourselves]." Sometimes true faith does not come easily, especially when faced with difficult trials. To this, Elder Holland counsels:

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited... When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes... Jesus said, 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall way unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.' The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue - it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know."

Elder Holland then tells us,

"You have more faith than you think you do."

Faith, the first principle of the gospel, is so important to our success in this mortal life. With faith in Jesus Christ and in our Father in Heaven, we can accomplish ALL that the Father wants us to accomplish. 

Conclusion

These three principles all work together to help us become who the Lord wants us to become. Faith and Repentance are two of the first principles of the gospel as stated in the 4th Article of Faith. Enduring to the end, though not mentioned in the 4th Article of Faith, is another one that is necessary for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ and to remain with our families throughout all eternity.

This is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Could there possibly be anything more beautiful?

Resources

Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Four Titles. April 2013 General Conference Priesthood Session of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/four-titles?lang=eng

Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Point of Safe Return. April 2007 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/point-of-safe-return?lang=eng

Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Your Wonderful Journey Home. March 2013 General Women's Meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/liahona/
2013/05/your-wonderful-journey-home?lang=eng

Jeffrey R. Holland. Behold Thy Mother. October 2015 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thy-mother?lang=eng&_r=1

Jeffrey R. Holland. Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul. April 2010 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng

Our Mortal Journey of Becoming

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, 

thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, 

and took upon him the form of a servant, 

and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, 

he humbled himself, 

and became obedient unto death, 

even the death of the cross"

(Philippians 2:5-8, emphasis added).

There are a couple of things that I absolutely love about these lines of scripture.

Humility

The first is the example of humility that Christ sets for us. We are told throughout the scriptures to humble ourselves before the Lord, and Christ provides the ultimate example to us on how to do that. As these scriptures say, He didn't try to make a reputation for Himself. Christ didn't perform miracles
to create a reputation, but rather, He performed miracles to testify that He was the Christ and because He loved each and every one of God's children. This is shown time and time again when Christ healed people, only to tell them that they were to tell nobody about what had happened. That would take a lot of humility.

For us, we can follow Christ's example by serving others out of love and kindness, and not because of any recognition that we might receive because of our service. We are taught more about this in Matthew:

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what they right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:1-4, emphasis added).

Just as Christ had to humble Himself before His father, we must also remain humble, especially when it comes to serving and loving others. May we all follow Christ's example of humility.

Becoming

Perhaps my favorite line of scripture throughout all of the readings this week was the very end of the scriptures I shared earlier where it says that Christ "became obedient" even unto death. I love the use of the word become because it helps to describe our own mortal journeys on this earth.

Too often I get discouraged by my imperfections and the weaknesses that I succumb to on a daily (even hourly) basis. It is easy for me to feel like I will never measure up to my potential and I will forever let down my Father in Heaven who had entrusted me with so much.

This is one reason why understanding the principle of becoming is so important.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught us,

"The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts - what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts - what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not just a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."

When we think about our mortal journey as a path of becoming, we are able to better let go of past can and will become the individuals that the Lord wants us to be. Since we know that the judgment will not be one where the Lord will weigh our good deeds against our bad ones to determine our eternal destinations, we can understand that, so long as we have repented, our past sins don't count against us and we can always get a clean slate and start over. 

mistakes and move forward with faith in Christ and the knowledge that through Him, we

One of President Uchtdorf's favorite pieces of counsel in General Conference seems to be that we should "start where [we] are" (he gave us this counsel in the 2009, 2013, and 2015 General Conferences, at least). To me, that shows just how important it is that we follow his counsel. Elaborating on his 2013 message, President Uchtdorf said:

"Start where you are. Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to be perfect to experience the blessings and gifts of our Heavenly Father?... the perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now. It doesn't matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel. The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul."

And, because I love Elder Holland and he always speaks directly to my soul, I will add his words to President Uchtdorf's:

How beautiful is this counsel from our dear leaders? We must start where we are and understand that we are doing better in the gospel that we think we are. Both of these things will help us in our journey to become like our Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can comprehend.

In Conclusion

This mortal life is full of trials and challenges. But these trials we face help to humble us just as Christ was humbled and they help us become who the Lord wants us to become. We are not expected to be perfect right away. In fact, we are expected to be very imperfect, otherwise we would have no need of the Savior's Atonement. But, because of a merciful Heavenly Father and His son's sacrifice for us, we can become perfect only through Christ and only as we humble ourselves and put our faith in Him.

That, my friends, is beautiful.

Resources

Dallin H. Oaks. The Challenge to Become. October 2000 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-challenge-to-become?lang=eng&_r=1

Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The Hope of God's Light. April 2013 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng

Jeffrey R. Holland. Behold Thy Mother. October 2015 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thy-mother?lang=eng&_r=1