Eternal Life (notes)

I have recently been asked to prepare a sermon on Eternal Life and wanted to capture my notes (especially because I do not think I will be able to put it all into my talk):

What did Jesus have to say about Eternal Life?

• Baptism is necessary (John 3:5) and so is the Sacrament (John 6:54)
• We can inherit Eternal Life only through Christ, there is no other way (John 14:6)
• Heavenly Father sent His Son so that we can have Eternal Life (John 3:16-17)
• We need to come unto Christ and believe in Him in order to obtain Eternal Life (3 Nephi 9:14; see also John 6:40; 10:27-28; 5:23-24)
• We need to follow Christ’s example in order to obtain this gift (see John 8:12)
• We need to do good and endure to the end (D&C 6:13; see also 3 Nephi 15:9)
• Most will not accept Christ (see Matthew 7:13-14; John 3:19)
• The parable of the True Vine (John 15:1-11)
• We need to seek first the Kingdom of God (3 Nephi 13:33)
• We need to come to know the Father and the Son (John 17:3) and we know by doing (John 7:17)
• The rich, young ruler was told he needed to keep the commandments and also to give up his riches and take up the cross (Mark 10:17-22)
• The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) began with the question “What shall I do to inherit Eternal Life?”

Scripture chain on obtaining Eternal Life only through Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Mosiah 4:8; Mosiah 5:8; 2 Nephi 31:21; 2 Nephi 2:8)

Some other thoughts:

• God taught Adam and Eve the Plan of Salvation first and then gave them commandments to follow–when we understand the Plan of Salvation we are better able to keep the commandments (and thus progress toward Eternal Life) (Alma 12:32)
• God’s work and glory is to bring the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39)
  • Eternal life is to live life as God knows it: a family life in God’s presence (see D&C 132:19-20,24)
  • Immortality is victory over physical death
• Eternal Life is the greatest of all the gifts that God could give to man (D&C 6:13; see also D&C 14:7)
• We are free to choose our own path, Eternal Life is only one of many possible choices (see 2 Nephi 2:27; Helaman 14:31)
• Nephi taught us how to obtain Eternal Life (2 Nephi 31:20; see also 31:17-21)
  • Press forward
    • Moving ahead perhaps without all of the details (not knowing the end from the beginning) and in the face of adversity, great challenge, or suffering; also not giving up or getting discouraged
    • Examples:
      • Nicole visiting her parents this year when she wasn’t sure if she could make it by herself and in spite of the challenging drive ahead of her
      • Mormon Pioneers moving West to follow the Prophet without even knowing where they were headed and in the face of almost insurmountable challenges
      • Everyone in the military who gets deployed not knowing a lot about the mission or the environment they are going into
      • Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Luke 22:39-44)
  • Steadfast faith in Christ
    • Steadfast means resolute, dutifully firm, unwavering, committed, devoted, dedicated, reliable, steady, constant, not tossed about, not distracted
    • Steadfast faith in Christ means that we come unto Him and trust in His ability to make us better and to help us to overcome sin, disappointment, doubt, weaknesses, and pain
      • “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden…and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29)
      • “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind…he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…that he may know…how to succor his people” (Alma 7:11-12)
    • Examples:
      • Aaron from the Book of Mormon
        • One of the sons of Mosiah who went about trying to destroy the Church (Mosiah 27:10)
        • Was converted and repented of his sins; worked diligently among the Nephites to make reparations and to help in the conversion of others, in spite of persecution among the Nephites (Mosiah 27:32-35)
        • Preferred by the people and would have been their king but he chose to go to the Lamanites to teach the gospel instead (Mosiah 29:3)
        • Was unfortunate enough to fall among some pretty hard-hearted Lamanites and apostate Nephites (Alma 20:28-30)
        • Didn’t give up, didn’t go back home to the comforts he enjoyed there, didn’t stop teaching among the Lamanites (Alma 21:14-17)
        • Found success and eventually was instrumental in converting the king of all of the Lamanites (a work that Ammon, his brother, had started but Aaron finished) (Alma 22:15; see verses 1-27)
      • Nephi
        • Heard his father, Lehi, teach the gospel and sought a testimony for himself (1 Nephi 2:16)
        • His brothers were constantly abusing him, they murmured (1 Nephi 3:31; 1 Nephi 16:1; 1 Nephi 16:20; 1 Nephi 16:37-38; 1 Nephi 17:17-22 ), beat him with a rod (1 Nephi 3:28), tied him up with the intent of leaving him in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts (1 Nephi 7:16), tried to throw him into the depths of the sea (1 Nephi 17:48), bound him with chords and really abused him while they were traversing the seas (1 Nephi 18:11-15), and threatened to kill him (2 Nephi 5:1-4)
        • He suffered greatly in the desert along with everyone else in their party but chose to focus on the blessings (see 1 Nephi 17:2,6)
        • He was always showing his faith (see 1 Nephi 3:7; 1 Nephi 7:21; 1 Nephi 17:50-51; 1 Nephi 18:16)
        • He was instrumental in obtaining the brass plates (1 Nephi 4:5-24,38), obtaining food in the wilderness (1 Nephi 16:19-32), building a ship (1 Nephi 17:7-11,16; 18:1-4), guiding the ship safely to the promised land (1 Nephi 18:21-23), and in leading his people to believe in Christ (see for example 2 Nephi 25:26)
    • See also Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Broken Things to Mend” April 2006 General Conference; “None Were With Him” April 2009 General Conference
  • A perfect brightness of hope
    • What is hope?
      • A realistic expectation with confidence
      • “An optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to the events and circumstances in one’s life of the world at large” (see Wikipedia “Hope“)
      • A mental creation of a potential and desired future outcome
    • Some examples:
      • Simple hope = “I hope there is pizza for dinner tonight”
      • More complex = “I hope to get married in the temple” or “I hope that my children will choose the right”
    • In a gospel sense, hope is an actual assurance that based upon your faith in Jesus Christ and your desire for righteousness that you will be able to inherit the Celestial Kingdom (which is Eternal Life)
    • Hope comes from faith (we actually believe that Christ can do what He says He can do in saving us from our sins and weaknesses) and is a shield against despair, temptation, discouragement, and doubt
    • “And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.” (Moroni 7:41)
  • A love of God and of all men
    • Sounds a little like Charity (see Moroni 7:45-48)
    • The Two Great Commandments (see Mark 12:30-31)
      • Using all of our faculties (heart, soul, mind, and strength) to show our love for God which includes:
        • Keeping the commandments (John 14:15)
        • Being anxiously engaged in good causes (D&C 58:27-28)
        • Serving others (Matthew 25:40; see also Matthew 25:34-40; Mosiah 2:17)
      • Loving our fellow-man as we love ourselves, which includes:
        • Forgiving (D&C 64:10)
        • Not judging others (3 Nephi 14:1-5)
        • Using persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, kindness, etc (see D&C 121:41-45)
        • Serving (see previously mentioned scriptures)
  • Feasting upon the words of Christ (scripture study)
    • “Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3)
    • Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life” (John 5:39)
    • During this portion of my talk I want to try to express my love of the scriptures as a source of knowledge, inspiration, comfort, guidance, reproof, and spiritual strength
    • Turn to the scriptures:
      • if you are lonely
      • if your goals have been frustrated
      • if you feel burdened
      • when you don’t know what to do
      • if you are struggling with temptations
      • if you have doubts and are struggling with what you think you believe
      • if you are feeling depressed
      • when you need help making important decisions
      • to feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
      • DO IT EVERY DAY!!!!
  • Endure to the end (see Matthew 10:22; 1 Nephi 13:37; 1 Nephi 22:31; Alma 5:13; 3 Nephi 27:6; 2 Nephi 33:4; D&C 6:13; 3 Nephi 15:9; D&C 66:11-12; D&C 14:7)
    • Charity is a key to enduring all things (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Moroni 7:45-47)
    • Repentance is also a key (3 Nephi 9:22; see also Isaiah 1:18; Moroni 6:8; D&C 58:42-43; Guide to the Scriptures: Repent, Repentance)
      • Example: Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
      • The great thing is that we can always repent and that Christ wants us to do so: every time and all the time
    • It is important to maintain an eternal perspective
      • Compare 1 Nephi 17:2 with 1 Nephi 17:20
      • We need to make “strategic” decisions vice “tactical” ones (in other words we need to make decisions based upon the whole layout of the field and the direction we want to head, not just on the individual battles we face)
    • Enduring sometimes has a negative connotation; however, in the gospel sense, enduring to the end means we find joy in the journey
    • Enduring to the end comes from making and keeping covenants:
      • “Many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us in the unknown journey that lay before us. For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start out on such a journey in the winter as it were and in our state of poverty, it would seem like walking into the jaws of death. But we had faith in our Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him feeling that we were His chosen people and had embraced His gospel, and instead of sorrow, we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.” (Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich, “Autobiography, 1885–93,” Church History Library, 66; spelling, punctuation, and capitalization standardized)
      • Quoted by Elder Richard G. Scott, “Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need” April 2009 General Conference
• Within the Plan of Salvation, Eternal Life is the ultimate goal, the Celestial Kingdom

Here is perhaps an outline of what I want to actually talk about:

1. Introduce myself and talk about my family and how grateful I am to be sealed to them and the promise of Eternal Life which that brings (I can live forever with my family! 🙂
2. Eternal Life within the context of the Plan of Salvation
   • Celestial Kingdom
   • The greatest gift from God (D&C 6:13)
3. Difference between Eternal Life and Immortality (Moses 1:39)
4. In depth discussion of Nephi’s recipe for Eternal Life (2 Nephi 31:20)

The Gift of Mercy

With Christmas and New Year’s behind us, we often begin to forget our Savior.  The feelings of good will and the joy of the season quickly fade as we head back to work and to school.  This is a sad occurrence and hopefully we can do a little better to remember our Savior always.  This week I had the opportunity to try to explain a little more about the Atonement to my dear brother and I wanted to share these thoughts with you–because it helped me to remember the reason we have such celebrations.  Please forgive my weakness when talking about these matters–this topic isn’t an easy one and I am trying to do my best.  Also keep in mind that this blog is just my personal views and not the official standing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though I sincerely believe these things.

Our Heavenly Father is perfect.  As such we must also be perfect to dwell with Him.  In D&C 1:31 we read, “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.”  In other words, God’s standard is high.  I believe most people have an innate understanding of this concept–and it is where most of us get mixed up and discouraged.  All sin–any sin–prevents us from living with God again.  Why such a high standard?  Well, why do your teachers in school expect you to get an ‘A’ grade?  Heavenly Father, our all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful Father, wants the very best from us.  The worst part about this is that everyone–you and me included–sins every day.  We just can’t make it on our own: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)–all of us fall short.

However, Heavenly Father, our loving and compassionate Supreme Being, knew this.  He knew that there simply was no way we would make it on our own.  For this reason He provided a Savior for us in His Son, Jesus Christ.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16).  Through our Savior’s Atonement, and through the grace of Christ, we are able to become completely and utterly clean from our sins–so that we can return home to live with our Heavenly Father once more.  “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).  In other words, mo matter how terrible you’ve behaved in the past, no matter what sins you may have committed, no matter how vile or how horrible your actions, you can be clean again, without spot and complete, and reconciled with God.

In order to obtain this gift of perfection our Heavenly Father only asks a few things of us, primarily that we exercise faith in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins.  Exercising faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t just mean that we believe in the character of Christ or in His teachings–though these things are also important.  In order to exercise true faith in Jesus Christ we must believe that He can do what He says He can do–that is to make us clean and to help us overcome our sins and weaknesses.  We must believe–at an individual and personal level–that our Redeemer is able to make us clean again, that our own sins can and will be completely removed.  When this happens we are then capable of living with Heavenly Father again–because we will be without blemish.

Our Savior’s Atonement is infinite.  It is able to account for all the sins, weaknesses, pains, and sorrows that every person who has ever been on the earth has ever felt or experienced.  He is able to take our negative and make it a positive.  This principle is easily illustrated by thinking about what happens in a marriage.  For example, if Bob has a debt of $35,000 and he marries Susan, who has assets valued at $40,000, then with that union Bob is able to account for his debts and, together, the couple is worth $5,000.  No matter how bad I’ve done, my sins and weaknesses are finite.  When I join with Christ through my faith, and because of His infinite Atonement, I suddenly am no longer in debt but am made whole.  Because what I have done is finite and because of what our Savior has done is infinite, as long as we are in this together, we will always be in the positive.  That is the power–and the scope–of the Atonement.  It is real and it works–for both me and for you!  Through our faith we become perfect in Christ, because He was perfect and He extends that grace to us.

Now this isn’t to say that we declare our faith in Jesus Christ once and then get off scot-free forever.  In the Mosaic Law, the faithful were required to offer sacrifices of animals for various purposes.  With Christ’s Atonement that law was fulfilled and instead we are asked to give a broken heart and a contrite spirit: “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away…And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (3 Nephi 9:19-20).  In other words, when we accept the grace of our Redeemer into our lives, we agree to live by His standards, as best we can.  We are committed to the goals that He has established and we continually work towards them.  We continue in our faith and repent when we make mistakes.  We progress and make sacred covenants which we also strive to keep as best as we are able–He only expects what we are able to give and not anything more.  We are saved by grace but we work diligently to become as best as we can:  “…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2 Nephi 25:23).  We do what we are capable of, which will never be sufficient, and then we rely on our Savior to do the rest.  As we keep this covenant relationship we become more like our Savior and ultimately gain eternal salvation with our Heavenly Father.  This attempt to keep the commandments, to do our best, isn’t to show that we can make it on our own–it is how we show that we are participating with our Savior, that we are sincere in our desires.  So we try and we try again, always repenting when we slip–this is what is meant by enduring to the end.

The miracle of the Atonement is that it works every time.  I know this personally and have felt this power in my life.  Repentance is a wonderful blessing that our Heavenly Father has given to us through the gift of His Son.  Every time we fall short–which for me is every day–we can turn to our Savior and receive His help, mo matter what.  If we simply follow this plan, always striving a little harder to do His will and to become better, and always repenting, then the promise is that we can be made perfect.  We receive no condemnation for we will be made perfect through Christ.  I know this to be true and I am grateful for this gift!  It isn’t about how good we can become, though that is important.  It isn’t about simply stating our belief in Christ and leaving it at that, though believing Christ is the central theme here.  It is all about us accepting the power of the Atonement in our lives and then doing our very best to live as God wants us to live. 

So what are your thoughts on this matter?