Righteous Choices

"And now it came to pass that Alma did walk in the ways of the Lord, and he did keep his commandments, and he did judge righteous judgments; and there was continual peace through the land." - Mosiah 29:43

This is part of why we are counseled to let our light shine. Our righteous influence will bless not only us, but those around us as well.

Blessed, Protected, and Directed

"We are promised that if we pray sincerely for that which is right and good and in accordance with God’s will, we can be blessed, protected, and directed." - Elder David A. Bednar, Pray Always, October 2008

Notice he did not say that we are granted what we want just by praying about it. He said that "we can be blessed, protected, and directed" (in what ways he did not say) if we seek to do the will of God in our prayers. The blessings and protection come according to the will of our Heavenly Father. The direction comes to align our will to the will of the Father. What a remarkable promise we have as we pray sincerely!

See also 3 Nephi 18:20 and D&C 19:38.

Obedience, Repentance, and the Atonement

This post is in response to a comment on my last post.

Obedience does not lessen the atonement. Obedience to God's law shows our love for him (John 14:15). In the book of Leviticus we read "And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins." (Leviticus 26:21). In Matthew 7:21 the Savior says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

You mentioned that God justifies by faith. How is that faith manifested if not by obedience and repentance? Certainly it is not a mere belief. We read in James that even the devils believe. Why are they not saved by Christ? They rebel against him. If we were to continue reading in James we would see that Abraham was justified by his obedience. He was not justified by his faith in God alone, but because he was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice to God as he had been commanded to do. Obedience it not a trivial thing. We cannot be saved while we refuse to obey the word of God. We must allow him to save us.

Amulek bore a powerful testimony of the atonement. I will share part of it with you. "And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save." (Alma 34:14-18) From this we learn that our faith in Christ and his atonement will lead us to repentance.

The question we must ask now is, What is repentance? The LDS Bible Dictionary defines the word repentance as, "The Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world. Since we are born into conditions of mortality, repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined. Without this there can be no progress in the things of the soul’s salvation, for all accountable persons are stained by sin, and must be cleansed in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Repentance is not optional for salvation; it is a commandment of God. The preaching of repentance by John the Baptist formed the preparation for the ministry of our Lord." It is through repentance, when we have failed to be obedient that we are brought to God. Our repentance is the way that Christ's infinite atonement is made to work in our life.

I know that I am nothing without the atonement of Christ. He enables me to be more than I am on my own. For me this has been accomplished though prayer. I have poured out my whole soul to him and acknowledged my own nothingness and unworthiness before him. I have plead for the mercy and the power of Chist's atonement to change my heart. I have felt an actual change it my heart. I cannot say that I never sin, but I can say that with the help of Jesus Christ I do better everyday. I feel sorrow at the thought that my disobedience has caused my Lord and Savior to suffer intolerable pain. I know that I will be saved in the kingdom of God. I have accepted the great sacrifice of Jesus, been obedient to his commandments, and repented when I have fallen short. I know that God lives. Jesus Christ is the Savior of us all. He atoned for us, and with his stripes we are healed.

Good bye religious freedom

In 2000 the state of California voted that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. This year (2008) the California Supreme Court decided that the voice of the people was unconstitutional. (LA Times Article) Now that same sex marriage is legal things are changing.

It has now been ruled by the California Supreme Court that a doctor in California cannot decline to give reproductive medical assistance based on religious belief. (LA Times Article)

I don't like where things are going. I thought there was supposed to be a system of checks and balances in our government. There is no balance here. The court is imposing itself on the people. It is taking away the freedoms this country was built on.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing is happening in other places as well. In Massachusetts, Catholic Charities have stopped their adoption services. (Boston Globe Article) This is another case where religious freedom is being taken away from the people.

Here are some other articles:
Attempt to force Methodist group to use private church camp for lesbian civil union rites
Bible publishers sued
Our children really will be taught about same sex marriage in school
Massachusetts Supreme Court calls for same sex marriage
Connecticut legalizes same sex marriage

Prop 8 Video Marriage Discussion

Elder David A. Bednar and a group of young adults from California discuss Proposition 8.



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Resurrection and Works

"But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord." - Helaman 14:17

The resurrection is vital to our salvation from physical death. Without it we would have an end when we die. Because of it, death is merely a step in the process and we are brought before God to be judged of our works and we will live forever in that glory which our works merit. It isn't because our works were wonderful, but Christ paid the debt. As we accept his atonement it is a powerful force to change us into the person he would have us be. It also cleanses us by removing the stain of sin. This allows us to be in the presence of God.

So then how do our works really come into play? It is through our obedience to the commandments of God that accept the atoning sacrifice of his Son. We are commanded to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We must acknowledge our faults and our dependence on the Savior to overcome them. It is in this attitude that we must approach our Father for forgiveness of sins. Our willing and natural obedience is then a manifestation of the change which has taken place in our heart.

Decline

"For [Nephi] had been forth among the people who were in the land northward, and did preach the word of God unto them, and did prophesy many things unto them; And they did reject all his words, insomuch that he could not stay among them, but returned again unto the land of his nativity. And seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats—having usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men; Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills— Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years ..." - Helaman 7:2-6

We read that the Nephites turned to wickedness "in the space of not many years." I wonder how similar their degeneration was to our society. It seems that people have been drifting for a long time without realizing it. Now, there are many who do not realize the significance of the issues we face. Things are presented in a distorted fashion. Many who stand for good and truth are deemed as ignorant, intolerant, and disrespectful.