Commandments

Worldwide Broadcast after being Ordained Prophet January 14, 2018
President Russell M. Nelson
"The way to happiness... the way to joy is to keep the commandments of God. Stay on the covenant path, keep on the covenant path. And if you’ve stepped off, find your way back.”

[President Nelson continues to Young Adults ...] Commence tonight to consecrate a portion of your time each week to studying everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament, for He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament, for He is its Christ. Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon, for there is no book of scripture in which His mission and His ministry are more clearly revealed. And study His words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, for He continues to teach His people in this dispensation.

This may seem like a large assignment, but I encourage you to accept it. If you proceed to learn all you can about Jesus Christ, I promise you that your love for Him, and for God’s laws, will grow beyond what you currently imagine. I promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will increase. Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will find yourself better able to walk away from the entertainment and entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ..."

Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you. For example, He really is your Advocate with the Father. He will take your side. He will stand up for you. He will speak on your behalf, every time, as you choose to be more like Him.

Get to know Him by studying all He continues to teach through His living prophets and apostles. Study “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Study “The Living Christ” document. These were both received by revelation. Post them online and where you can see them daily.

Those revealed words are what every true Latter-day Saint believes. Pray for a witness that those truths represent divine law. Learn to articulate those truths in your own words. Practice! Then pray and look for opportunities to speak about what you believe. Your ability to lead and to have righteous influence will increase as you do so.

Marion D Hanks: April Conference 1980

Enoch had “built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion,” which “in process of time, was taken up into heaven. …

“And … the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people [that is, upon those who had not been taken up], and he wept” (Moses 7:19, 21, 28).

Then Enoch said to the Lord: “How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

“… How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:28–29).

Enoch then reminded God of the limitlessness and ongoing nature of his creations, and of his holy perfections and glory and accomplishments, and said: “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?

“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;

“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.

“… and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:31–33, 37; italics added).

God, from whom all blessings come, asked of his children only that they should love each other and choose him, their Father.

But as in our day, many neither sought the Lord nor had love for each other, and when God foresaw the suffering that would inevitably follow this self-willed, rebellious course of sin, he wept. That, he told Enoch, was what he had to cry about.

Long ago I heard an important story which has been helpful to me. I have not seen it in writing and therefore cannot give credit as I would like. The story has obviously been deliberately fashioned to teach in a provocative way principles in which I believe.

Over a period of time three men, as each of us ultimately will, passed from mortal life to ongoing immortality. Each, as he made the transition, at once found himself in the presence of a gracious person who made him feel comfortable and calmed his apprehensions.

Each man in turn found himself responding to questions which somehow formed in the mind and heart, vital above all other considerations. “What do you think of Christ? What is your relationship with him? Do you know him?”

The first man answered reluctantly, with some chagrin. He had not been, he said, one who had participated in organized religious activity. There seemed to be too much formalism, too much hypocrisy, too little real religion. Neither had he on his own sought a personal relationship with the Lord. He had been a good husband and father, an active citizen, a man of integrity, but it now came to him very clearly that he had missed the central purpose of his life, that he had been distracted from what he should have been seeking. With gratitude, he was received into a circumstance where he could begin to learn what he needed to know.

The second man had a briefer interview. Quickly perceiving the import of the questions, he quickly answered. He had, he said, been a soldier for Christ, a crusader for him in business, a spokesman for him in industry. He seemed crestfallen to be ushered after a time into a circumstance where he too could begin to learn what he needed to know.

The third traveler came into the presence of his host with an overwhelming sense of warmth and wonder. Understanding the questions, looking tearfully into the loving eyes of him who stood at the gate, he fell to his knees at his feet and worshiped him.

“O … my beloved brethren, … the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name” (2 Ne. 9:41).

Salvation and exaltation, I believe, are not matters of heavenly bookkeeping, but of the qualifying of the soul that comes with knowing the Lord.

We have the testimony of scripture that the Lord God weeps when we do not choose him or truly love each other. The saddest circumstance any of us can envision, indeed the only evil that ultimately can really harm us, is in not choosing him and thus to be separated from him.

Story of Psalms 23
The story is told of a great orator who was performing at a banquet in his honor.  After a wonderful meal, he mesmerized the crowd with his voice as he recited poetry and famous selections of speeches.

Near the end of the program, he asked if anyone had a favorite selection that they would like for him to recite. From the back of the room, an old man stood up and kindly asked if he would mind reciting the 23rd Psalm. The speaker performed the Psalm and was rewarded with a thunderous aplause and standing ovation.  The orator thanked the audience but asked them if they would indulge him in something.  He asked if the old man who requested him to recite the Psalm would mind coming up to the front.  The man was a withered, humble cowboy who obviously had spent many days outdoors.  His speech was also humble and obviously he had no training in public speaking.  The orator asked if the man would also recite the same 23rd Psalm.  The old cowboy was at first reluctant, but bravely began.  At first the audience was confused as to what was happening.  In a trembling voice that was cracked by time, the old man began to recite, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” It is said that when he was finished, there was no applause, but neither was there a dry eye in the building. 

After a few minutes of silence, the orator gathered his own emotions and explained in a soft voice to those present.  "Ladies and Gentlemen: I know the 23rd Psalm, but this man knows the shepherd.”
____________________________

Worldwide Broadcast after being Ordained Prophet January 14, 2018
President Russell M. Nelson
"The way to happiness... the way to joy is to keep the commandments of God. Stay on the covenant path, keep on the covenant path. And if you’ve stepped off, find your way back.”

[President Nelson continues to Young Adults ...] Commence tonight to consecrate a portion of your time each week to studying everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament, for He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament, for He is its Christ. Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon, for there is no book of scripture in which His mission and His ministry are more clearly revealed. And study His words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, for He continues to teach His people in this dispensation.

This may seem like a large assignment, but I encourage you to accept it. If you proceed to learn all you can about Jesus Christ, I promise you that your love for Him, and for God’s laws, will grow beyond what you currently imagine. I promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will increase. Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will find yourself better able to walk away from the entertainment and entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ..."

Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you. For example, He really is your Advocate with the Father. He will take your side. He will stand up for you. He will speak on your behalf, every time, as you choose to be more like Him.

Get to know Him by studying all He continues to teach through His living prophets and apostles. Study “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Study “The Living Christ” document. These were both received by revelation. Post them online and where you can see them daily.

Those revealed words are what every true Latter-day Saint believes. Pray for a witness that those truths represent divine law. Learn to articulate those truths in your own words. Practice! Then pray and look for opportunities to speak about what you believe. Your ability to lead and to have righteous influence will increase as you do so.

[If there is time... Story about my witness of Joseph and that Jesus is the Christ]

In conclusion... We will meet the Savior some day:
President Nelson said it this way: "In a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will struggle to find words to thank Him for paying for your sins, for forgiving you of any unkindness toward others, for healing you from the injuries and injustices of this life. You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you. But you don’t have to wait until then. Choose to be one of His true disciples now. Be one who truly loves Him, who truly wants to serve and lead as He did.” End Quote.

The Articles of Faith are a proclamation to the world that the true gospel of Jesus Christ has be restored.  In his letter to John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat newspaper, Joseph Smith concluded with two paragraphs and then 13 articles of faith.  He wrote...

The Wentworth Letter - To John Wentworth,
Editor of the Chicago Democrat - March 1, 1842
Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only added fuel to the flame. It has spread with increasing rapidity... the elders of this Church [have] gone forth and planted the gospel in almost every state in the Union. It has penetrated our cities; it has spread over our villages and has caused thousands of our intelligent, noble, and patriotic citizens to obey its divine mandates and be governed by its sacred truths....

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations... the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done

May this be our goal and our future reality is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


We will meet the Savior some day:
In a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will struggle to find words to thank Him for paying for your sins, for forgiving you of any unkindness toward others, for healing you from the injuries and injustices of this life.

You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you.

But you don’t have to wait until then. Choose to be one of His true disciples now. Be one who truly loves Him, who truly wants to serve and lead as He did.

We are His people! We are under covenant to carry the message of the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. As we work intentionally to become righteous leaders, we may sing with one heart, “Let us all press on in the work of the Lord.”

In conclusion...
"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."  All mankind.  Not just an elect few.  You can be saved.  I can be saved.  Your neighbors and friends can be saved.  We have the wonderful privilege of bringing the message of the atonement of Jesus Christ to our circle of friends.  Pray for people to be placed in your path.  Pray for missionary experiences.  I look forward to the day that I will meet my Savior.  I hope to be worthy to be in his presence.  I am preparing each day to know Christ.  To BELIEVE Christ and live as he has asked me to live.  I pray that when we meet him some day he will say "Welcome, my good and faithful servant.  Come into my presence.  I have a place prepared for you."  I imagine that moment where being in his presence will be so overwhelming that all we can do is bow before him and drench his feet with our tears of gratitude.  May this be our goal and our future reality is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Joy vs Fun

Joy - Elder Bednar
Dec 4, 2018
BYU Devotional

Joy is found in Jesus Christ and is available to every person in every circumstance.
Joy primarily pertains to mortality and eternity; fun pertains only to mortality.
Identify, study, and prayerfully ponder additional principles that enable the spiritual gift of joy.
“Joy comes from exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, worthily receiving and faithfully honoring sacred ordinances and covenants, and striving to become deeply converted to the Savior and His purposes.” —Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

During a “spiritually powerful testimony meeting” recently, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles listened intently as a woman declared great joy because of the Father’s plan of salvation.

“Immediately obvious to me was the fact that this woman was not simply speaking familiar words,” he said. “The light that shined in her eyes, the spiritually dignified tone of her voice, her bright and peaceful countenance—everything about her affirmed the truthfulness of what she was saying.”

The woman was filled with and radiated joy. “Indeed, she was becoming more like the Savior and receiving His image in her countenance, a part of which was becoming joyful.”

The enduring joy felt by the woman is not a blessing reserved for a select few, Rather, every person striving to remember and honor sacred covenants and follow the commandments can receive this gift, according to God’s will and timing.

“Because of Heavenly Father’s plan and the Savior’s Atonement, challenges and afflictions invite us to lift up our eyes to Jesus Christ, the true source of joy. “The precious perspective provided by the restored gospel allows us to learn lessons that prepare us for eternity through the adversities of mortality.”

Joy can endure through times and experiences both good and bad “because of our knowledge of the Father’s plan and of the Savior’s Atonement.

“Since becoming President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson frequently has extended an invitation to the people of the world that includes the promise of joy:

‘Our message to the world is simple and sincere: We invite all of God’s children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior, receive the blessings of the holy temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life.

Joy is a condition of great happiness that results from righteous living.

“Interestingly, our gospel perspective helps us to understand that joy is more than a fleeting feeling or emotion; rather, it is a spiritual gift and a state of being and becoming.”

There is a distinct contrast between righteous joy and worldly fun...

“Joy comes from exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, worthily receiving and faithfully honoring sacred ordinances and covenants, and striving to become deeply converted to the Savior and His purposes. Fun is the result of amusement, playful and often boisterous action or speech, or pleasurable diversion.”

While a day spent on rides at Disneyland is considered fun, joy comes through worthily preparing for and participating in the ordinance of the sacrament.

“Joy primarily is spiritual; fun primarily is temporal,” he said. “Joy primarily is enduring; fun primarily is temporary. Joy primarily is deep and rich; fun primarily is shallow. Joy primarily is whole and complete; fun primarily is partial. Joy primarily pertains to mortality and eternity; fun pertains only to mortality.

“How important it is for us to never confuse or trade the enduring, deep joy of devoted discipleship for temporary and shallow fun.”

Enduring, eternal joy comes through the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and His gospel—through having faith in the Lord, repenting, being obedient, serving, and keeping a gospel perspective about the trials encountered in mortality.

“Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, obedience, service, and a gospel perspective about the trials we encounter in mortality all invite us to come unto the source of enduring joy—Jesus Christ,” he said.

Recognizing many additional truths could be discussed, Elder Bednar invited students to identify, study, and prayerfully ponder additional principles that enable the spiritual gift of joy.

Prophets & Revelation