If you knew you were
going to die and you knew that millions of people would someday read your final
words. What would you say?
How carefully would you
choose them especially if you had just witnessed the self-destruction of your
entire people and you knew what could have prevented such a tragic loss?
It has been said by many
in similar ways that "wise people learn from their mistakes and never
repeat them but truly wise people learn from the mistakes of others and never
make them." We can learn from other's mistakes and most
certainly can learn from other's successes too.
Mormon was a great
prophet who kept and abridged writings of people over the span of a couple
thousand years. Through study and his own personal observation, he came
to know and understand very clearly what leads man to destruction and what
brings true success. He had some final words to give. I believe he
chose them very carefully.
In essence Mormon's last
breath revealed the key to success and happiness in this life and in heaven.
He said, "Lay hold upon the Gospel of Christ." (Mormon 7:8)
What is the Gospel of
Christ?
He sums it up in the
next two verses. He says the Gospel is contained in the scriptures,
namely the Book of Mormon and the Bible, which complement one another.
The Gospel is: Faith in
Christ, Repentance, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. (Mormon
7:9-10)
- First FAITH:
Mormon grew up in a time of terrible war and bloodshed. The
people weren't always in this constant contentious and hateful state.
"They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ
for their Shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father."
(Mormon 5:17) But now, they "did struggle for their lives
without calling upon that Being who created them." (Mormon 5:2)
They "rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive
[them]." (Mormon 6:17) What pain must have plagued his soul
to see such hard-heartedness among his people?! It makes this
prophet's plea all the more poignant "Behold, I write unto all the
ends of the earth... for this cause... that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mormon 3: 18-21 emphasis added).
- Second REPENT:
Mormon cried unto his people, "Repent" for "the
Lord had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance"
but it was all in vain for they "did harden their hearts against
the Lord their God" (Mormon 3:2,3) Indeed, they "repented
not... but persisted in their wickedness continually." (Mormon 4:10) Did
they forget that repentance was a personal invitation from the Savior to be healed??!
(3 Nephi 9:13) Or maybe they didn't feel like they "needed
healing," because they viewed themselves as strong enough and found
every occasion to boast of their own strength. (Mormon 3:9, 4:8) How
frail and weak indeed is the soul who leans on "self" for repose
-that thin and hollow shell. It is only in and through Christ that
there is "victory." (Mormon 7:5)
- Third BAPTISM:
When we think of baptism, we most often think of being immersed in water
and rising up again. It's the perfect imagery! -A symbol of laying
down our life, completely "losing ourselves" and turning it over
in exchange for a new life, transformed and risen again, a life of
covenant with Christ. This is when one's heart, mind, and soul says,
"I'm all in! I will hold nothing back. Everything you ask of me
Lord, I will give you. I will lay it all down."
We are baptized only once as an ordinance but there will be countless
opportunities in our life to prove to our Father in Heaven that we are
"all in" completely and totally His. They may be some of
the hardest choices we will ever make in our journey.
Nevertheless,
this is what baptism means, to “Give up yourself... you will find
your real self. Lose your life... and you will save it. Submit to death, death
of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body
and in the end submit with ever fiber of your being... and you will find eternal
life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be
really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the
dead... look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything
else thrown in.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
- Fourth RECEIVE the HOLY GHOST: The reception of the Spirit in our lives is in direct
connection to baptism, this "losing ourself" it is the key that
unlocks the door to heaven's gate, a pouring out of Christ's spirit into
our "empty souls." (Malachi 3:10) This is the baptism
"by fire" the purification, sanctification that burns away the
dross and polishes us into gold. Like the first ordinance, it too is
performed only once but we are given countless opportunities to receive
and re-new this great gift. This is the "sword of truth,"
our defense in battle (Ephesians 6:17). We want this "always
to be with us." (Moroni 4:3, 5:2) "For the Spirit speaketh the
truth and lieth not... it speaketh of things as they really are and of
things as they really will be." (Jacob 4:13) Oh what
battles could have been won during the time of Mormon if the people could
have grasped the significance of this vital piece of "armor!"
- Fifth ENDURE to the end: Perhaps our greatest challenge will
be to persevere especially when the road gets rough and our souls are
weary. Hope is the guiding light. We do not see the end from
the beginning. We don't know what lies ahead but we are in this
committed life for the long-haul, however long and hard the road may be. Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland encouraged, "I am asking you not to give up 'for ye are laying
the foundation of a great work.' That 'great work' is you—your life, your
future, the very fulfillment of your dreams. That “great work” is what,
with effort and patience and God’s help, you can become. When days are
difficult or problems seem unending, I plead with you to stay in the
harness and keep pulling. You are entitled to 'eat the good of the land of
Zion in these last days,' but it will require your heart and a willing
mind. It will require that you stay at your post and keep trying."
I submit that enduring, especially enduring well means being
grateful in any of our circumstances.
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught: "We can choose to be grateful, no
matter what. This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us.
It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as
beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of
summer. When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience
gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our
hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of
bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.
We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems
are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss
by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?"
This is the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. This is Mormon's final message to us, his plea... to "LAY
HOLD" upon it. And he promises us that if we do, "it
shall be well with [us] in the day of judgment." (Mormon 7:10) I
add my testimony to his. This is what matters most. This is the
core of success and happiness. I know
this to be true.
-Alicia
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