Thank Heaven!

2 Nephi 9: 6-12:

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

How awesome is this? This is the central message of the Gospel-- that through Christ we can overcome sin and death and be brought back into the presence of the Father.

It's overwhelming to think of how it would be otherwise! We would live these lives of ours without any hope, without any joy, for we would know that only death and misery loom ahead.

But because of Jesus Christ, our lives can be joyful and full of hope! I am so grateful for that!

Without Love...

This morning I listened to this talk from President Uchtdorf (in the Sunday morning session of April's Conference) about Christlike love. How powerful! It's amazing how often I forget that without charity, I am nothing. I love how President Uchtdorf presents this message-- that everybody is a V.I.P. to the Lord, and so should be to us. This is something that I really struggle with-- I judge too quickly, get angry too easily, feel too entitled, and forget how small and insignificant I really am. I tend to think too highly of myself and not highly enough of others, when it should probably be the other way around.

I need to listen to this talk again, I think, and really try to focus on how to love others in a Christlike way.

I hope you'll read this talk again, too.

Give Place No More

I just wanted to post a link to Elder Holland's most recent Conference talk. This is an amazing discourse on the difference between love and lust, and the opposing fruits they produce. I especially like this portion:

Like thieves in the night, unwelcome thoughts can and do seek entrance to our minds. But we don’t have to throw open the door, serve them tea and crumpets, and then tell them where the silverware is kept! (You shouldn’t be serving tea anyway.) Throw the rascals out! Replace lewd thoughts with hopeful images and joyful memories; picture the faces of those who love you and would be shattered if you let them down. More than one man has been saved from sin or stupidity by remembering the face of his mother, his wife, or his child waiting somewhere for him at home. Whatever thoughts you have, make sure they are welcome in your heart by invitation only.

We need to be sure that we don't let the adversary take control of our lives. The truth is we are behind the wheel-- and it's only when we let him take the driver's seat that he can take us where he wants us to be (which is a little town called "Misery"). It's amazing to fathom that-- why would we ever let him drive? Why would we give place to the enemy of our souls? I guess a lot of it comes down to the way sin is presented. The world is awash with messages of how appealing it is, how fun it is, even sometimes how right it is!

But none of that is the truth. I guess the important thing is to keep the Holy Ghost with us to help us know the truth (and remember it). It's a hard thing to "always remember". But we certainly can do it, with help from the Lord.

From the Book of Omni (Really!)

I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and came across this wonderful pearl in the Book of Omni, verse 26:

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

Isn't that an amazing passage of scripture? We need to consecrate everything we are to our Lord Jesus Christ. We really do need to give Him our souls, and see what He is able to make of us.

Moral Discipline

Elder D. Todd Christofferson's most recent Conference address is AMAZING. Again, if the world (and myself) could really apply this to everyday living, how different things could be!

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-34,00.html

The Ultimate Operation

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Seventy gave an AMAZING talk this past Conference. He likened heart transplants to spiritual change, and noted that both require not just the initial procedure but consistent effort to maintain the operation. He said:

To endure to the end, we need to be eager to please God and worship Him with fervor and passion. This means that we maintain faith in Jesus Christ by praying, studying the scriptures, partaking of the sacrament each week, and having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. We need to actively help and serve others and share the gospel with them. We need to be perfectly upright and honest in all things, never compromising our covenants with God or our commitments to men, regardless of circumstances. In our homes we need to talk of, rejoice in, and preach of Christ so that our children—and we ourselves—will desire to apply the Atonement in our lives.10 We must identify temptations that easily beset us and put them out of reach—way out of reach. Finally, we need to frequently biopsy our mightily changed hearts and reverse any signs of early rejection.

Please consider the state of your changed heart. Do you detect any rejection setting in as a result of the tendency of the natural man to become casual? If so, find a place where you too can kneel. Remember, more than mortal years on this earth are at stake. Do not risk forfeiting the fruits of the ultimate operation: eternal salvation and exaltation.

This Talk Would Change the World

Amazing stuff by President Thomas S. Monson. If everyone tried harder to not get angry so easily (including myself), most of the world's problems would vanish. How huge is that?