Doctrine of Christ Part 3

Today we will hopefully conclude the mini-series on the Doctrine of Christ, also known as 3 Nephi 27:13-22. I am very thankful to Elder Rasmussen who suggested this for a topic for me to blog on, since I have learned a lot in the process. So far I have covered verses 13-16. I will now commence with verse 17.

"And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father." Now, this sounds like a pretty harsh verse. It's basically commenting that some people will not make it. That some will die out, will not be faithful, and will miss out of the glories of Heaven. It reminds me a bit of the parable of the sower of the seeds, found in Matthew 13. Let me highlight verses 20-23, "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." This is a sad reality of life. Not everyone who hears the word of the Lord, who accepts it into their life, will remain faithful, and will make it to the end. This is because we are all given agency, or the ability to choose for ourselves what to do. Agency is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it means that we are not forced to do anything that we don't want to do. It is a curse because we may not always choose the right thing to do, and then we have to deal with the consequences.

Let me just clarify that the verses I have just mentioned do not mean that we have to remain perfect in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. No, because that would be impossible to do, at least not in this life. What it is requiring of us, as Christians, is to do our very best to remain faithful to the different covenants that we have entered into, to follow the commandments that the Lord has asked us to do, and to repent whenever we mess up. Repentance is always available for us, so that we can clean our slate and move closer to God. It is part of that wonderful gift of the Atonement when Christ suffered and died for all our sins. Through his Atonement, we can be forgiven for the wrongs we commit, and can bring us back into the fold of God.

Verses 18-19, "And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth his words. And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end." Here Christ is talking about how by having people endure to the end, or by keeping true to what they have committed to do, to the best of their ability, it is fulfilling his Words that He has spoken. Many times in the Bible God or Christ has mentioned how no unclean thing can enter into their presence. It is only by the washing and cleansing of the person, through the acceptance of the Atonement, repentance, faith, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end that we can proceed on. The washing of garments in blood is also mentioned numerous times in the Scriptures. A verse which does a good job of showing both the washing of garments and enduring to the end is found in Revelation 7:14, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This is the opportunity that all of us have, if we would but remain faithful until the end.

Verse 20, "Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day." This verse is part of the reason why missionary work is so important. Think back to the verse known as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." After Christ ascended to Heaven, He came back to visit some of his disciples and give them some more instruction before He went on to fulfill more of his duties. He urged them about the importance of teaching and preaching the Word of God to all the ends of the earth. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we find that extremely important. This is part of the reason why so many willing and worthy teenage boys and girls sacrifice 18-24 months of their lives committed to gathering in those people who are ready to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that if it wasn't for two amazing missionaries, Elder Colvin and Elder O'Laughlin, I wouldn't be here today. And we don't have to do missionary work just by wearing a black nametag, we can do it through small and simple measures to. For examples of how to do that, please look up the talk, "The Missionary Next Door" by Diana Hoelscher.

Verses 21-22, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day." Christ is giving us a huge challenge at the end. He wants us to do and act the way that He acts, to do the things that He does. He knows that it will be difficult, and that we will struggle at times, but he does provide a way for which we can do it. It's through the help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we can do this. Remember, that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

Christ is our Savior. He has given us the comforter, also known as the Holy Spirit, to be a witness of truth, and to give us peace when we need it. He has asked each and everyone of us to help bring in his fold. To bring others to the wonderful truth of the Gospel. We must do our very best to be an example to others. Think of all the joy and love that has entered your life since you received the gospel. Now, wouldn't it be a shame if that joy couldn't enter your friend's or loved one's life just because you were too nervous to share? Be bold, be courageous, and know that the Lord is on your side. He will help you, and stand beside you, no matter what. I testify to all of my readers, that the things I have been writing are true. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Doctrine of Christ: Part 2

So, continuing on from last week. We're in 3 Nephi 27:16, "And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world." Now, how does a person come to arrive at this point? First off, they need to have faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in who He is, what He did, and what He is still doing. That his mission was to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  (Moses 1:39). To bring a Savior into the world, to atone for all the sins of mankind. Faith comes to people at different points in their lives, and in many different ways. For me, my faith grew in leaps and bounds. I had the knowledge, after the first lesson with the missionaries, that what they were teaching to me was truth, which is why I signed up for all of my lessons and baptism after the first lesson. That was an act of faith, showing my belief on their knowledge, and the Holy Spirit guiding me through the entire process.

After faith comes repentance. Repentance is a lot more than just saying sorry for something wrong that you have done to another person. It's more than just the guilt or shame you may feel. It's apologizing, making amends, and then resolving to not do the action again. When Elder O'Laughlin and Elder Colvin were teaching me, they used this phrase, "admit, be sorry, confess, correct, and don't do it again". We need to confess of our sins to God in prayer. We need to bring our problems to Him, because He can turn our sins from scarlet, to become as white as snow. That is a true miracle in and of itself. Through Christ's pure blood, our sins are washed away. How incredible is that?

Next is baptism. Now, I previously wrote on baptism sometime last year, dealing with some of the specifics on baptism. Baptism is an essential part of us becoming what we need to become, in order to re-enter God's presence, after our life ends here on earth. Also, baptism is not complete unless we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost from the laying on of hands. The Holy Ghost acts as a guide, a comforter, and a witness of truth.

Once we're done with all of that, we should be good, right? We don't need to do anything else.... Well, that's not entirely true. Well, that's not true at all. We need to "endure to the end". That means we hold true to the covenants (obligations) that we have made, so that God will hold up His end of the covenant. We need to follow the Word of God, keep the commandments, and the words of the prophets. We also need to do our part in helping to bring others to Christ. That doesn't mean that we should be necessarily knocking on people's doors daily, but by acting how God would, be keeping true to what we believe, and being a great example, we can influence others for good.

Let me take some time out, for a moment, and just let these past few paragraphs sink in. Heavenly Father made us, and this world, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ knew from the beginning that He would be the way for which people could return to live with the Father. He willingly came into this world to be born, grow, lead, be killed, and resurrected, all for us. All because of His great love for us. He gave up His life, willingly, so that we could live eternally. That is such an amazing gift. And this gift is for us to take. We are not coerced into it. It is up to us. But if we do accept, then it will change our lives forever. And it will change us for the better. By following Christ, and living the commandments, and following in the necessary priesthood ordinances and covenants, we do grow closer to God. I have a testimony of that. From starting out with my good friend introducing me to the church, to the missionaries discussion, to my absolutely wonderful baptism, to my receiving my endowment, and all the other things in-between, my testimony, my knowledge, and my love of God and Christ has grown and deepened. And this is something that no one can ever take away from me. I hope that you all will be able to develop the same for yourself.

Next week, we will continue on!

The Doctrine of Christ

I'm going to take a slight pause from posting about my Elder Bednar challenge for a week, or so, as I gather more information from the Book of Mormon dealing with conversion and seeking for truth in my regular readings. I asked one of the elders serving in my ward what I should post about this week. I told him the different topics I have covered so far, and he suggested that I post about a section of the Book of Mormon called, "The Doctrine of Christ". This is located in 3 Nephi 27: 13-22. There is a lot of information in these verses, and I will do my best to do the subject justice.

Let me start off on giving some background information on what has been happening in 3 Nephi. The Nephites learned about how the Son of God was going to be born in Bethlehem, and the approximate time, by the arrival of a new star in the sky. They witnessed the terrible weather that surrounded the Savior's crucifixion. They were told that Christ would visit them, in the Americas, after He had returned to heaven. Christ reappeared and visited the Nephites, beginning in chapter 11. 

We now jump ahead to chapter 27, verse 13, "Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you - that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me." These are the words which Jesus Christ spoke to the Nephites. He was proclaiming why He was sent into the world, to do the will of His Father. His Father is God, which makes Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God. And He was sent to Earth to proclaim the gospel. Now, what is the gospel? According to the Bible Dictionary, "the word gospel means good news. The good news is that Jesus Christ has made a perfect atonement for mankind that will redeem all mankind from the grave and reward each individual according to his/her works" (pg 682). Jesus Christ came to earth to be that perfect sacrifice. It's up to us to determine whether or not we will accept that gift.

Verse 14, "And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil-". 

Christ knew from the beginning that He would be sent to the earth to die. It was part of the plan, before He and His Father created the world. Through this choice, of being the perfect sacrifice, the only blameless, sinless, being to ever walk the face of the earth, could he cover the sins of all mankind. By becoming the sacrifice for all of mankind, Christ hoped to draw people towards him. That by His example, people may investigate what He was preaching and teaching, so that He could change their lives for the better. 

When Christ was crucified, men lifted his body onto the cross to die. Since he gave his life as this sacrifice, we now have the opportunity to live, and to use the atonement fully. Part of the way we can use the atonement, is by drawing to God whenever we are in times of need. When Christ was on the cross, suffering pure agony, He not only felt all the sins of the world, He also experienced all our pain, our sorrows, everything. Christ knows exactly how we feel in all situations, because He felt it too. He's been through it all. He's felt rejected, unloved, pushed aside, abandoned, humiliated, ashamed, you name it, He's been there. And He has made it through. Because He has made it through, we can take comfort in the fact that we can persevere as well. Doctrine and Covenants 19:18, "Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore..." He felt everything.

When we have the times of greatest need, when we are suffering, or in a great trial, that is when we need to turn to God. God will lift us up and support us. He might not always take the trial away from us, but He will provide the strength we need to get through the trial at hand.

After death and resurrection, comes the final judgment. That is when each person will be held responsible for all the choices, actions, deeds, basically how they have lived their lives. Christ will be our judge. Verse 15, "And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works." More of the same idea as before. I know it sounds a bit ominous, I mean, nobody is perfect. If I were to stand before Christ today, He could find countless things that I have done wrong that should keep me from entering heaven. 

However....verse 16, "And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world." This verse tells exactly what we must do. We must repent of our sins and be baptized. I feel like this is a good place to end for now...but don't worry! I will come back to address this topic, beginning here, in next week's post, continuing on in the Doctrine of Christ. (And for those of you who were hoping to read more about conversion and seeking truth in the Book of Mormon, I'm still working on that as well, and all will be written on, in subsequent weeks).

And if someone wants a copy of the Book of Mormon, you can get it free by calling 1-888-537-2200.