Last month was General Conference and we’re
asked to pick a talk given to use in Home Teaching the following month. This
month I thought these two talks got us back to the basics of our beliefs. c/ork
Young Women General President
“Do I Believe?”
If these things are true, then we have the
greatest message of hope and help that the world has ever known.
On March 30, just one year ago, little two-year-old Ethan
Carnesecca, from American Fork, Utah, was admitted to the hospital with
pneumonia and fluid around his lungs. Two days later, his condition had become
so serious that he needed to be flown by helicopter to Primary Children’s
Hospital in Salt Lake City. His worried mother, Michele, was allowed to ride in
the front seat and accompany her son. She was given a headset so she could
communicate with the others in the helicopter. She could hear the medics working
on her sick little boy, and being a pediatric nurse herself, Michele knew
enough to understand that Ethan was in serious trouble.
In this critical moment, Michele noticed they were flying
directly over the Draper Utah Temple. From the air, she looked out across the
valley and could also see the Jordan River Temple, the Oquirrh Mountain Temple,
and even the Salt Lake Temple in the distance. The thought came into her mind:
“Do you believe it or not?”
She
says of this experience:
“I
had learned about the blessings of the temple and [that] ‘families are forever’
in Primary and in Young Women. I shared the message on families to the good
people of Mexico on my mission. I was sealed to my eternal companion for time
and all eternity in the temple. I taught lessons about families as a Young
Women leader, and I shared stories about forever families with my children in family home evening. I KNEW it, but did I
BELIEVE it? My answer came as quickly as the question popped into my head: the
Spirit confirmed to my heart and mind the answer I already knew—I DID believe
it!
“At
that moment I poured out my heart in prayer to my Heavenly Father, thanking Him
for the knowledge and belief I had that families truly are forever. I thanked
Him for His Son, Jesus
Christ, who made it all possible. I thanked Him for my son, and I
let my Heavenly Father know if He needed to bring my little Ethan to His
heavenly home, it was OK. I trusted in my Heavenly Father completely, and I
knew I would see Ethan again. I was so grateful that in a crisis moment, I had
the knowledge AND the belief that the gospel was true. I had peace.”1
Ethan
spent many weeks in the hospital, receiving expert medical care. The prayers,
fasting, and faith of loved ones, combined with that care, allowed him to leave
the hospital and return home to be with his family. He is healthy and well
today.
This defining moment for Michele confirmed to her that what she
had been taught all of her life was more than just words; it is true.
Do
we sometimes become so accustomed to the blessings we have been given as
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that we fail to
fully comprehend the miracle and majesty of discipleship in the Lord’s true
Church? Are we ever guilty of being complacent about the greatest gift we can
be offered in this life? The Savior Himself taught, “If you keep my
commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is
the greatest of all the gifts of God.”2
We
believe that this Church is more than just a good place to go on Sundays and
learn how to be a good person. It is more than just a lovely Christian social club where we can associate
with people of good moral standing. It is not just a great set of ideas that
parents can teach their children at home so they will be responsible, nice people.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is infinitely more than all of
these things.
Think
for just a minute about the profound claims we make as a religion. We believe
that the same Church Jesus Christ established while on the earth has been
restored once again by a prophet called of God in our time and that our leaders
hold the same power and authority to act in God’s name that ancient Apostles
held. It is called the priesthood of God. We claim that through this restored
authority, we can receive saving ordinances, such as baptism,
and enjoy the purifying and refining gift of the Holy
Ghost to be with us at
all times. We have apostles and prophets leading and directing this Church
through priesthood keys, and we believe that God speaks to His children through
these prophets.
We
also believe that this priesthood power makes it possible to make covenants and
receive ordinances in holy temples that will someday enable us to return to the
presence of God and live with Him forever. We also claim that, through this
power, families can be bound together for eternity when couples enter the new
and everlasting covenant of marriage in sacred buildings that we believe are
literally the houses of God. We believe that we can receive these saving
ordinances not only for ourselves but also for our ancestors who lived on the
earth without having the chance to participate in these essential saving
ordinances. We believe we can perform ordinances for our ancestors by proxy in
these same holy temples.
We
believe that, through a prophet and the power of God, we have received
additional scriptures, adding to the testimony of that in the Bible declaring that Jesus Christ is the
Savior of the world.
We
claim that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of
God and the only true Church on the earth. It is called the Church of Jesus
Christ because He stands at the head; it is His Church, and all these things
are possible because of His atoning sacrifice.
We
believe that these distinguishing features can be found in no other place or
organization on this earth. As good and sincere as other religions and churches
are, none of them have the authority to provide the ordinances of salvation
that are available in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We
have a knowledge of these things, but do we believe them?
If these things are true, then we have the greatest message of hope and help
that the world has ever known. Believing them is a matter of eternal
significance for us and for those we love.
To
believe, we need to get the gospel from our heads into our hearts! It is
possible for us to merely go through the motions of living the gospel because
it is expected or because it is the culture in which we have grown up or
because it is a habit. Perhaps some have not experienced what King Benjamin’s
people felt following his compelling sermon: “They all cried with one voice,
saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also,
we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord
Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we
have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”3
We
all need to seek to have our hearts and very natures changed so that we no
longer have a desire to follow the ways of the world but to please God. True
conversion is a process that takes place over a period of time and involves a
willingness to exercise faith. It comes when we search the scriptures instead
of the Internet. It comes when we are obedient to the commandments of God.
Conversion comes when we serve those around us. It comes from earnest prayer,
regular temple attendance, and faithful fulfillment of our God-given
responsibilities. It takes consistency and daily effort.
I
am often asked, “What is the greatest challenge our youth face today?” I answer
that I believe it is the ever-present influence of the “great and spacious
building” in their lives.4 If the Book
of Mormon was written
specifically for our day, then surely we cannot miss the relevance for all of
us of the messages in Lehi’s vision of the tree of life and the effect of those
pointing their fingers and taunting from the great and spacious building.
What
is most heartrending to me is the description of those who have already fought
their way through the mists of darkness on the strait and narrow path, have
clung to the rod of iron, have reached their goal, and have begun tasting of
the pure and delicious fruit of the tree of life. Then the scripture says that
those finely dressed people in the great and spacious building “were in the
attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at
and were partaking of the fruit.
“And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those
that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were
lost.”5
These
verses describe those of us who already have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our
lives. Whether we were born into it or had to fight our way through mists of
darkness to find it, we have tasted of this fruit, which “is most precious and
most desirable”6and
has the potential to bring us eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of
God.” We need only to keep feasting and not heed those who would make fun of
our beliefs or those who delight to create doubts or those who find fault with
Church leaders and doctrine. It is a choice we make daily—to choose faith over
doubt. Elder M. Russell
Ballard has urged us
to “stay in the boat, use your life jackets, and hold on with both hands.”7
As
members of the Lord’s true Church, we are already in the boat. We don’t have to
go searching through the philosophies of the world for truth that will give us
comfort, help, and direction to get us safely through the trials of life—we
already have it! Just as Ethan’s mother could examine her long-held beliefs and
declare confidently in a moment of crisis, “I do believe it,” so can we!
I
bear witness that our membership in the Lord’s kingdom is a gift of
immeasurable value. I testify that the blessings and peace the Lord has in
store for those who are obedient and faithful exceed anything the human mind
can comprehend. I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
“A Most
Important Question”
cji
5/1/16
‘Do I
Believe?’ yes or no
we could
also ask quietly
‘What do
I believe and why?’
for this
is who we are
what we
will become
the one
others will know
based on
our firm beliefs
each
must declare in actions
in their
thoughts and in all
this
most important question
and how
we respond to truth!
Copyright © 2016 – cji
2 comments:
Thank you for your comments. It made me stop to think about what I believe and why. It is easy to take for granted the things we hear so often, so I appreciated the opportunity to ponder the gifts we have been given and to be grateful for them.
You're welcome - please feel free to email me via the site - if you've questions I could help with - chuck
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