Faith
Dear Fellow Christians,
The following is a talk I gave in church several months ago which I have somewhat revised for greater clarity.
My referral to Elder Bednar is a referral to a talk, given by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, titled 'Ye Must Be Born Again'.
Over a months span, a few members of the congregation, myself included, had been asked to speak and share their thoughts regarding Elder Bednar’s Parable. This task seemed to me at first, to be next to impossible because I wanted to expound on Elder Bednar’s comments without being repetitive and redundant.
As I prayerfully besought the Lord show me what he wanted me to say, He reminded me of an article I wrote several years ago titled: 'Success' which I wrote and entered into an online contest. It did not win the contest but since that time I have posted it and various other poems and articles at Writers on the Loose and various other places.
The portion of this writing that refers to true success and what it is -- is the article that I wrote. It originally contained a poem I wrote titled: 'Follow Your Dream' which can be found at SheLovesGod.com, poetrypoem.com etc.
*References 1-5 can be found in; 1. Bible, King James Version, Hebrews 11:1; Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 32:21.
2. Bible Dictionary p. 669, King James Version, L.D.S. cross references and explanatory notes.
3.) Bible Dictionary p. 670, King James Version, L.D.S. cross references and explanatory notes.
5.) Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Mosiah 2:17
**references also found in Bible Dictionary p. 670, King James Version, L.D.S. cross references and explanatory notes.
Good Morning Brother’s and Sisters,
Speaking of pickles...
Thanks to Elder Bednar...and for those of us who have been here for the last three weeks, we are hopefully well aware, well versed and well on the way to being immersed not only in the art of pickling but also in the ultimate art of being born again.
With this in mind I pray that the Holy Spirit will open my mouth and help me speak the words that the Lord would have me to share with you today.
Over the course of my lifetime I have learned and am still learning the true meaning of the phrase: proper prior preparedness prevents poor performance.
There are many ways, countless examples, and probably volumes written on how to be properly prepared. Elder Bednar’s parable of the pickle was but a drop in the bucket amongst those volumes. Yet I believe it is, above all; the most important drop. That cleansing, life giving, purified and purifying eternal solution which we need to have flowing through the rivers of our heart and soul.
Two examples I would like to offer today though, will hopefully put it all into perspective:
The first example I would like to offer is the example of what it takes to be truly successful not only in the art of pickling but in every endeavor we set forth to accomplish not only in this life but in the eternities.
True success never has been, nor ever will be, achieved alone. It is a shared experience beginning at the very moment one accepts the reality that there is a Savior whose love extends to all mankind and excludes no one.
In order to find true success in this life, one must look to God and search his holy word for answers.
True success is a daily, moment by moment walk with Him. Yet it never has been, nor ever will be, achieved in a single moment.
The first step on the road to success is faith. Holy Scripture defines faith this way...
1.) 'Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true'
2.) and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.
3.) 'Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements and/or heal the sick, or influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants.'
**All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results.
**Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the things hoped for. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity.
**Although faith is a gift, it must be cultured and sought after until it grows from a tiny seed to a great tree.'
I would like to compare success to writing a check...
One who 'succeeds' in this life without first exercising and applying faith in Jesus Christ, is like one who writes checks without first making deposits into their banking institution. They then go out and write checks as though there were sufficient funds to cover their transactions.
Just as writing checks without funds to back up our purchases is called Bogus…So too is 'success', without receiving Jesus Christ as our 'personal banker' in the 'transactions' and 'investments' we make in this life…Bogus. Our checks may have beautiful pictures on the front but our account is barren, and to top it off…we are breaking the law.
When asked; 'Which is the first commandment of all?'…the Savior replied:
4.) 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.' The Savior went on to say: 'And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.' -- Deuteronomy 6:4
King Benjamin of the Book of Mormon summed up the Saviors words when he said;
5.) 'And behold. I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.' – Mosiah 2:17
…True Success is this: Faith in Jesus Christ, exercised by those who love Him and show that love by loving, caring, sharing, helping, and altogether connecting in wholesome, positive ways with our fellow beings.
No failure remains a failure when faith in the Savior of all is received, and his principles are applied to ones life as they begin their quest for success.
The second example I would like to offer is that of being Spiritually prepared through exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice.
If we are going to successfully prepare a truly high quality, highly nutritious meal, it is imperative that we not only understand the meaning of the words high quality, and highly nutritious -- and that we have those necessary ingredients on hand. But it is also imperative that we know the importance of preparing beforehand, those necessary kitchen utensils such as pots, pans, bowls, cutting, stirring and measuring utensils and cleaning supplies.
The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are first, faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, second, repentance, third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and fourth, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Faith requires action. If we truly have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we must be willing to act on that faith by showing first and foremost, a willingness to get on our knees, acknowledge our sins and sincerely repent of them on a daily basis.
We must then be willing to receive his required baptism which of a truth, can only be administered by His authorized servants if we are truly to receive a remission or cleansing of our sins.
Then it is necessary, (after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost under the hands of those who are authorized by God) for us to continually, on a daily basis, seek to repent of our mistakes and serve him and keep his commandments.
I believe above all, that prayer, fasting, scripture study and serving our fellow beings are the most important tools designed by God to cast away evil, increase our Spiritual awareness and strengthen our testimony of our beloved Savior’s atonement in our personal lives.
Willingly seeking the guidance of the Holy Ghost through constant daily prayer in our hearts, on our knees, in our closets and elsewhere before searching the holy scriptures and loving, serving and forgiving our fellow beings will properly prepare us prior to learning his word and following his path.
These are the high quality, highly nutritious, necessary ingredients we need to have on hand. These are the necessary pots, pans, bowls, cutting, stirring and measuring utensils and cleaning supplies that we need to be able to access in our Spiritual kitchen. For they are the tools God has given us to keep us from performing poorly.
There is no other way for us to have the strength and desire we need to recognize our mistakes, appropriately repent of them and serve our fellow beings, understand his atoning sacrifice, renew our baptismal covenants and partake of the sacrament worthily. This is the way for us to, as the Sacrament prayer says: Always remember him. I say these things in the Sacred name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen
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