Come unto Christ, for He is unchanging

This week we talked about Moroni 10. I never paid as much attention to this chapter until this past week. Our professor told us that Moroni 10 is the other half of a nutshell that sums up the Book of Mormon. Because of this, Moroni shares what he hopes we take away after reading it, and he calls them exhortations. The exhortations that meant the most to me are the ones contained in verses 19, and 30. In verse 19, Moroni said, “I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This is important to me because even though I know that the scriptures are true, there are times when I forget that they actually apply to me. This verse, and this exhortation help to remind me that even though the scriptures were written by a different people in a different age, they were written for me, that I might learn from them. Also, we need to remember that Heavenly Father showed forth great mercies to His children in days gone by, and, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He still loves His children, and still shows forth great mercies to them. In verse 30, Moroni exhorts us to “come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.” Moroni continues to say, in verse 32, “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness.” Moroni isn’t just writing things as they come to his mind, but he is writing them in the order that they need to be done. First, we need to “come unto Christ,” and then we can be perfect, and deny ourselves of all ungodliness. We do not need to be clean before we go to Christ, but we need to go to Christ, and then, with His divine help, we can be perfected. There are people that believe they have to do all the work before they can turn to Christ. However, Christ said that He “came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” We are all sinners, and we cannot work out our own salvation without relying on His arm.

"Neither do I condemn thee"

This week we talked about the first nine chapters of Moroni. What strengthened my testimony from the reading this past week was from Moroni 8. In verse 8 it says, “Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick.” This reminded me how much the church is for sinners, and not for people that have already been perfected. Even though the Gospel of Christ is perfect, that doesn’t mean that the members are, but that they are striving for perfection through Christ. The most important pillars for perfection are Faith, Hope, and Charity, which Moroni discusses in chapter 7. Whenever a trait of Christ is talked about in scripture, it can be replaced with His name. When we do this with verse 45, it says, “And Christ suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not (His) own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” When we discussed this in class, I was amazed by the examples from Christ’s life that show forth this strength of character. One example I think of is how Christ was “not easily provoked” when He was taken by the centurions, after having suffered so long in Gethsemane. When Simon Peter drew His sword, and smote off Malchus’ ear, Christ did not simply stand there, and, as I would have done, probably run right then and there. However, Christ said to Simon Peter, “Put up thy sword into the sheath,” then, He went to Malchus, “touched his ear, and healed him.” Even after having suffered in Gethsemane, Christ still showed forth charity, even to one of His captors. Another example of when Christ showed perfect charity was when the woman who was taken in adultery was brought before Him. He didn’t accuse her, because He loved her. However, after all of her accusers left, He asked her “where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” After she replied that nobody had condemned her, He said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more.” This is such a great lesson for our lives, because Christ will not condemn us when we are imperfect, if we come to Him, in humility, and we repent before Him.

Our Father Sends Us Trials

We read Ether 3-15 this past week. There were a few things that really helped me to feel closer to Heavenly Father that we have spoken about. The first thing is from Ether 3:14 when Christ shows himself to the Brother of Jared. Christ says, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.” From this verse, it makes it seem as if we believe in the Trinity. However, Christ is not saying that He is Heavenly Father, rather that because He is to perform the Atonement, that He becomes our Father. This is because to be father is to give new life. Through that Atonement, Christ becomes our Father because it is only through Him that we can have eternal life. Also, Heavenly Father gave us our spirit bodies, our earthly fathers have given us our physical, mortal bodies, and Christ gives us the resurrected body, and we are also spiritually begotten of Him through repentance, which is also called a rebirth. When we repent, we accept Christ as our Father, and not just as our spirit brother, and because of Him, we can inherit all that the Father (Heavenly Father) has for us, and we are joint heirs with Christ. The second thing that has helped me feel closer to Heavenly Father is from Ether 6:5. This is after the Jaredites have entered their boats, and are ready to travel to the Promised Land. It says, “it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters.” The question is why did the wind need to be “furious”? Couldn’t it have been a strong wind, or even a light breeze? The answer to this second question is no, because when the winds of life are “furious,” that is when we grow the most. If we were to never go through trials, we would never grow to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. When life is all smooth, and we don’t have any problems, how often do we forget our Lord? From the wonderful hymn Come Thou Fount, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” When we are going through trials, we more readily accept Christ as our Savior, and our Redeemer, and not just as another good man who lived on the Earth.

Christ-like Attributes during Holy Week

This past week we have been reading the end of Mormon, and the beginning of Ether. What I have loved so much about this week has been that it has been the Holy Week, and being able to study the scriptures, and remember Christ has helped me to feel closer to Him. I hope that I can share some of what I’ve learned about the Savior this week. Some attributes that I have learned about Christ, and His true followers is that they have so much love that it is amazing. This is seen in many ways, and leads to a great many other attributes. The first attribute that we talked about is how it is very hard to offend Christ, and people that are Christ-like. This is seen in Mormon 7, when Mormon is writing to the Lamanites, and he talks about his hope for them, and how he wants them to know about their parents, and their heritage. This shows that even though the Lamanites killed almost all of the Nephites, and were blood thirsty for Mormon’s blood as well, he forgave them, and had enough love for them that he hoped they would accept Christ as their Savior. Another attribute I realized from this past week is that Christ loves us so much that He will stretch us so that we can be the best that we possibly can. However, He isn’t going to just stretch us to a small goal, but He’ll stretch us further than we think we can go, then He will tell us that we’re doing well, but we have further to go. I saw this in the travels of the Jaredites. When they come to the seashore, they pitched their tents, and stayed there for a few years. However, the Lord came to them, and said, “Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built.” Along with this, the Lord won’t just suddenly make us stretch further than we can, but He will give us experiences so that we can make the long stretch that He has prepared for us. Another thing I have remembered is how Christ and Heavenly Father want us to become something, and also to get somewhere. However, becoming something is slightly more important, because if we don’t become who we need to be, we can’t get to where we need to go.

The Savior Gives Us Savor

We have been reading the chapters in which Christ visits the Nephites in Bountiful, after many cities have been destroyed. In this section of scripture, there is a verse that I have never really thought about before. This verse is also in the Bible, and it says, “I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden unto foot of men.” As I was reading this verse, the thought came to me of what the savor of salt is. I have written next to this verse that savor is the flavor/quality, and that it can only be lost by contamination, and not by time. So if we are to be the salt of the earth, what would be our savor? I realized that our savor, with which we can salt the earth, is our individual testimony. We cannot just lose our testimony over time; we have to be contaminated. We are contaminated when we sin, and when we repent, we are made clean and whole again, and can regain our savor. When we repent, we turn back towards our Savior, so when we turn to our Savior, we can regain our savor. However, if we lose our testimony, then we are good for nothing, but to be cast out. Another thing I really like about this analogy is how you don’t need to add a lot of salt to something when you are cooking, because a little bit of salt goes a long way. The same is true for us; a little bit of goodness goes a long way, and our righteousness is an example, as Christ talks about in the next verses, with being a city set on a hill.

The Importance of Unity

We are often taught that we need to focus on things that matter most. President Monson said, "I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not.... and what is most important often involves the people around us." Oftentimes, that people that are around us are our family, and close friends: in specific, the people that we are sealed to in the temple. One of the most wonderful sealings we can partake of is being sealed to a spouse for time and all eternity. When this occurs, the husband and wife kneel across an altar. Now, we’re going to go on a little road trip…. Altars have often been used for sacrifice, and when we think of the things we need to come and lay on a metaphorical altar, we think of the things that we have done wrong. However, the Lord asks for all that we have: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). Now, let’s go back. We are commanded to give up everything, and so it will all be on the altar. We need to put everything on the altar: our family, fear, doubt, sin, time, etc. Therefore, in this sense, the altar of the temple signifies Christ and the Atonement. The Atonement, a word that literally means “the process of becoming one,” is essential in marriage. This is not because we need to repent of the wrongs we do, although we do need to do that, but because a husband and wife need to work together, or as one. This is, however, not just metaphorical, but literal. Kneeling across the altar, a couple lay their love and everything they bring into the marriage onto the altar, so that they can become one. The church handbook says, “The nature of male and female spirits is such that they complete each other. Men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation. We cannot take this lightly. We need to show those around us that we love them, and that we want to live with them in eternal harmony.

We are often taught that we need to focus on things that matter most. President Monson said, "I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not.... and what is most important often involves the people around us."