Last Sunday I gave a talk in church. Unlike in most other churches, In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, members of the congregation speak instead of a pastor or priest. I was assigned the topic of Enduring for God. Since there were a few people I invited to come listen to me but were unable to attend, I thought I'd post my talk blog style.
Enduring the Mortal Experience for God
I was asked to speak on "persevering/enduring ______ for God". I chose to insert "the mortal experience". Persevering/enduring the mortal experience for God. The most logical place for me to start was going to the topical guide in the back of the Book of Mormon. Under "endure" are the words bear, continue, diligence, faith, firmness, obedience, perseverance, probation, and steadfast.
In the margin of page I highlighted 12 scriptures and wrote the following statement:
"Endurance is not suffering, but loyalty to Christ."
I like that. There are four scriptures that really stood out.
2 Nephi 31:20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a a in Christ, having a perfect brightness of b, and a c of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and d to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have e life.
Moroni 8:26 And the remission of sins bringeth a, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the b, which c d with hope and perfect e, which love endureth by f unto g, until the end shall come, when all the h shall dwell with God.
Omni 1:26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should a 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 b your whole souls as an c unto him, and continue in d and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.
D&C 24:8 Be a in b, for thou shalt have many; but c them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the d of thy days.
Some of the common themes I see are obedience to the commandments, hope and faith in Christ, and especially enduring to the end. The end? The end of what? We are eternal beings, and this mortal probation is but a small moment in eternity. If we are to endure to the end, it must be the end of this mortal experience.
So how is enduring the mortal experience FOR God?
Moses 1:39 says- For behold, this is my a and my b—to bring to pass the c and d e of man.
God wants to give us eternal life, but it can only be given if we continue in faith, endure, all the days of our life.
To say life is to endured is not to say that we cannot have joy.
Last fall I was working on something that I really wanted. I was very happy. One crisp fall morning my dad was weeding the flowerbed and I was keeping him company. I said to him that I was so happy but knew at any moment it would fall apart and I was going to miss being so happy. My dad pointed out that Adam and Eve were commanded to have joy. Joy is part of life and we should not expect it to just go away.
2 Nephi 2:25-26 says...25a b that men might be; and men c, that they might have d.
26And the a cometh in the fulness of time, that he may b the children of men from the fall. And because that they are c from the fall they have become d forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the e at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
The fall was harsh, living in the world outside the garden was hard...but we are to have joy and an important factor in that is choosing happiness.
Things didn't go according to MY plan after all last fall, and I had moments were joy was not part of the mix of emotions I was feeling, but my dad reminded me that I said all along I was going to enjoy the moment while it lasted. I had to do what 2 Nephi 2:26 says, I had to act for myself, take action, and endure- happily!
So how do we endure? I have 3 things that I'll discuss.
1.) Surround yourself with good friends, other covenant keeping people. There are a few friends in particular that I feel a special connection with. We rally together, have the take action attitude, support, strengthen, encourage, cheer lead, and cry together when boys break our hearts. Always persevering and reminding each other of hope and faith in Christ.
2.) Hope. Hope is essential to enduring to the end. Hope is knowing that with faith and patience, all promises will be fulfilled. Hebrews 6:10-20..
10For God is not a to forget your work and b of c, which ye have shewed toward his d, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
11And we desire that every one of you do shew the same a to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12That ye be not a, but followers of them who through b and c inherit the d.
13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could a by no greater, he b by himself,
14Saying, Surely blessing I will a thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15And so, after he had patiently a, he obtained the promise.
16For men verily swear by the greater: and an a for confirmation is to them an end of all b.
17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his a, b it by an c:
18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to a, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for b to lay hold upon the c set before us:
19Which hope we have as an a of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the b;
20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Abraham certainly had to endure. I love these verses. They teach so much about hope. I especially like how it teaches that with hope all strife can cease.
3.) We endure by utilizing the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Alma chapter 7 teaches us this about the Atonement:
11And he shall go forth, suffering pains and a and b of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will c upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12And he will take upon him a, that he may b the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to c his people according to their infirmities.
13Now the Spirit a all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the b that he might c upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
The Atonement helps us or rather is essential to enduring because we are not perfect for one, and have need of repentance as we fall short of keeping the commandments, and two life hurts sometimes and the Atonement can heal our hearts.
I have a testimony in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have a testimony that this is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if we can endure to the end and do all that He has asked of us, we will obtain Eternal Life.
Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to a us from the b of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timonthy 4: 7 I have fought a good a, I have b my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a a of b, which the Lord, the righteous c, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
This is how they were packaged. So girlie, I love it!
"Absolutely Brilliant"- thanks to the hilarious DJ Jay on the cruise last year, four of my friends and I know what it means to be brilliant, and we inspire each other frequently with this saying! On this wall is a collection of first sunrises of 2010 and 2011, and a sunset from the cruise in 2010 to remind me that each day is new, and the end of the day is also filled with beauty if we seek it.
"Take Action" - what can I say more? Don't wait for life to happen. Take Action! Faith requires action, and then the power to accomplish all things will follow! I add, Take Action Fearlessly.
