I feel some prompting to share some insights I have gained lately. Granted I have been reading a lot of books lately on the subject but that isn't abnormal. I have always had a fascination with end-of-the-world stories. But then as I was reading through a conference talk issue from last October (Our bathroom is a lot like the doctor's offices...)I read the talk given by Larry Gibbons in the Sunday afternoon session. It was a confirmation of what I had been reading in the books. I recommend that you read his talk but this nugget he had in his talk was something that I felt had a strong message for us.
President Heber J. Grant said: "There is but one path of safety to the Latter-day Saints, and that is the path of duty. It is not a testimony, it is not marvelous manifestations, it is not knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, . . . it is not actually knowing that the Savior is the Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet, that will save you and me, but it is the keeping of the commandments of God, the living the life of a Latter-day Saint."
Think about that. Keeping the commandments. Doing your duty as a Latter Day Saint. Staying strong so the priesthood you men hold is ready for use at any time. That is what is going to save us. The other things will of course not hurt us at all. In fact, I think they serve to remind us of why we do our duties. The saving is in the righteous, obedient action.
5 comments:
No, you're not off base. This idea goes along with President Kimball having the lyrics to "I Am a Child of God" changed from "teach me all that I must know" to "teach me all that I must do."
Also, one of my favorite scriptures: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19).
I agree with you totally. It is in the living of the gospel that we are safe. It's the only thing that we CAN do to protect ourselves.
Of course, it's living the gospel with a firm knowledge that our righteous life won't be enough to save us-- only Christ can. That's where the early Christians got confused with the law of Moses.
I don't think you can ever be accused of being "way off base" when you're encouraging people to do their duties.
We do need to act, AND we need to act because of our faith in Christ. Going through the motions won't save us either.
The finest maps and compasses and navigational know-how won't be any good if your ship lacks a sail or oars or a propeller. On the flip side, you won't get to the promised land if you plow on full-speed-ahead without knowing your current position and destination.
I'm not sure which ship I'd rather be on. Probably the one that's moving. 'Course the best option is to have both navigation and locomotion.
Thanks for the good insights. Just so you know, i tagged you. Go to me blog to figure out what this entails.
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