The Great Plan of Salvation

This is a lesson from September 2008--a lesson which I didn't actually teach because the Relief Society Presidency member who assigned me to teach it forgot that she'd asked me to teach it and assigned it to another teacher, too. So, this one's never actually been heard by anyone other than me.

Joseph Smith Manual Chapter 17: The Great Plan of Salvation

When I first read through this lesson, I had no idea what to teach. Reading through it the second time, thought, the Spirit was so strong and I got really excited to be able to talk about the plan of salvation.

Joseph Smith called this the “great plan of salvation,” which I think shows his understanding of the plan. For me, it’s probably something I take for granted and don’t appreciate enough.

Joseph Smith said, “The doctrines, ordinances, and promises that constitute the plan of salvation were revealed to the earth in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. As one who clearly understood the importance of this plan, the Prophet declared: “The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven’s best gifts to mankind.”⁴ (page 208)

He also said, ““All men know that they must die. And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence. What is the object of our coming into existence, then dying and falling away, to be here no more? It is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter, and it is a subject we ought to study more than any other. We ought to study it day and night, for the world is ignorant in reference to their true condition and relation [to God].”¹⁰ (page 211)

I think we could probably all get up here and draw the plan of salvation, with the Council in Heaven, the premortal life, the fall, the veil, earth, the atonement, the degrees of glory, etc. Beyond knowing the elements that make up the plan of salvation, what does our Father want us to know and study?

There are lots of things God wants us to know about the Plan, and this lesson covers several of them. Going through the manual, I pulled out a few, but there are more, so read the whole chapter in the manual if you get a chance.

1.       Its entire purpose is our immortality and eternal life

The manual says, “When the Prophet first began his translation of the Bible in June 1830, the Lord revealed to him a lengthy passage from the writings of Moses. This passage became chapter 1 of the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. It records a vision in which Moses saw and conversed with God—a vision so remarkable that Joseph Smith called it “a precious morsel” and “a supply of strength.”³ In this vision, God taught Moses the fundamental purpose of the great plan of salvation:

“And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: … For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:37, 39). (page 208)

One of the first things God wants us to know about the plan of salvation is that its entire purpose is our immortality and eternal life.

One of the things we can study and think about in relation to that is why. Why does He want our immortality and eternal life? It’s not for Him; it’s for us. He doesn’t do anything that isn’t for our benefit. He’s not a greater God if we all return to Him; He doesn’t get a bigger heaven or a plaque on the wall somewhere. The plan isn’t about what He gets; it’s all about what we get. And the underlying reason for all of that is that He loves us and He wants us to live with Him forever.

2.       It’s possible

Joseph Smith said, “Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle. It is a spirit from age to age and there is no creation about it. All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement.” (page 210) and ““We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker, and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment.”⁹ (page 210-211)

Another thing He wants us to know is that it’s possible. The plan isn’t designed to save only a select few. The plan works for every single one of us who chooses to follow it. According to the effort that we put in, the plan works.

3.       There is no other way

Joseph Smith said, ““The salvation of Jesus Christ was wrought out for all men, in order to triumph over the devil. … All will suffer until they obey Christ himself.”

L

et’s also look at 2 Nephi 9:6-10, 17-23:

6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

 7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

 8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

 9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

 10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

 17 O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.

 18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

 19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

 20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.

 21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.

 22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.

 23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.

We need to know that there is no other way—but there is a way. Jesus Christ is the way, the only way. Nothing else will work, and we need to think about whether our lives are in line with His plan because He is the only option. But at the same time, He is the best option. It isn’t like you weren’t to a vending machine and to buy a Sprite and all the Sprite was gone so you tried to by an orange soda and it was gone, too, and so on and so on until you buy whatever’s left in the machine. Jesus isn’t the last option, after every other option is exhausted and you’re stuck with what’s left. He’s the best option, the first choice. And every single one of us knew that when we chose to follow Him in the premortal world.

4.       It’s our choice

Joseph Smith said,” “All persons are entitled to their agency, for God has so ordained it. He has constituted mankind moral agents, and given them power to choose good or evil; to seek after that which is good, by pursuing the pathway of holiness in this life, which brings peace of mind, and joy in the Holy Ghost here, and a fulness of joy and happiness at His right hand hereafter; or to pursue an evil course, going on in sin and rebellion against God, thereby bringing condemnation to their souls in this world, and an eternal loss in the world to come.”¹⁶

“Satan cannot seduce us by his enticements unless we in our hearts consent and yield. Our organization is such that we can resist the devil; if we were not organized so, we would not be free agents.”¹⁷

“The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.”¹⁸ (pages 213-214)

It is absolutely our choice. We get to decide for ourselves, and Satan can’t stop us from obtaining the celestial kingdom. That puts all the responsibility on us, so there’s no one to blame if we mess up, but it’s also liberating because we know we will win if we make the right choices. If we sincerely do our best, we’ll win—there is no other outcome.

When I was in high school, I played basketball, and my team wasn’t very good. We didn’t have many players, we didn’t have ANY tall players, and we just didn’t win a lot of games. One time, we practiced so hard and completely changed our defense because we were going to play against a team that wasn’t actually that good but that had one of the league’s best players. We went into the game and played pretty well—we held that girl who averaged over 25 points a game to 7 points—and we lost because the rest of her team shot like 80%, which is unbelievable.

The plan of salvation is NOT like that basketball game. When we choose to follow the plan, and we play the best we possibly can, no one gets to come in and beat us. Satan can’t come in and cream us or throw up some buzzer beater. He can try—and he will try—but he doesn’t have the power to beat us unless we give him the game.

5.       Our bodies are essential to the plan

Joseph Smith also said, “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.”¹² (page 211)

And he said, “Perhaps there are principles here that few men have thought of. No person can have this salvation except through a tabernacle.” (page 212)

2 Nephi 9:8 says, “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.”

D&C 93:33-34 says, “For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

“And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.”

Our bodies are essential are essential to the plan. Without the resurrection, there is no fullness of joy, and without having a body now, we don’t ever get to be resurrected.

Our bodies are also essential to our time on earth. Obviously, we came here to get bodies, but it’s because we have bodies that we are able to resist Satan and are able to progress. So often Satan directs temptations toward our bodies, and I think we feel that our bodies are a weakness, but there is power in having a body—and Satan knows that. So he tries to get us to give up control of our bodies and to let go of the power that we have over him by nature of having bodies. But because of our agency and because we have bodies, we don’t have to give him that control.

I think this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what the Lord wants us to know about the plan of salvation. I don’t know that we learned anything new, but I really do hope the Spirit was able to testify of the plan and to renew our testimonies of that plan and to help us rejoice in that plan. As Jacob said in the scriptures we read earlier, “How great the goodness of our God” and I’d like to add, how glorious is His plan and how infinite and perfect is His love.” I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Revelation and the Living Prophet

(This is a lesson I taught in Relief Society back in 2008.)

 

Joseph Smith Manual Chapter 16: Revelation and the Living Prophet

In November 1831, there was a conference of the Church in which Joseph Smith and other leaders decided to publish the revelations Joseph had received.

Following this conference, the Prophet recalled, “my time was occupied closely in reviewing the commandments and sitting in conference, for nearly two weeks; for from the first to the twelfth of November we held four special conferences. In the last … the conference voted that they prize the revelations to be worth … the riches of the whole earth.” The conference also declared that the revelations are “the foundation of the Church in these last days, and a benefit to the world, showing that the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of our Savior are again entrusted to man; and the riches of eternity [are] within the compass of those who are willing to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Pg. 194)

These people voted that the revelations are “worth the riches of the whole earth” and said that “the riches of eternity are within the compass of those who are willing to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

·         What are the revelations of God worth to us, both in a general sense and on a personal level?

·         Why does it matter that we have revelation and a living prophet?

·         How has revelation changed your life?

·         How can it?

Thinking about some revelations throughout the history of the church, we have the Word of Wisdom, which helps us to be healthy; programs like Family Home Evening and things like the Proclamation on the Family, which help us to help our families; the revelation to build smaller temples which allows temples to be built in more areas and bring those saving ordinances to more people, etc. The Church was organized, line upon line, through revelation, starting with the First Vision. The Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, the temple ordinances both for the living and the dead, etc. were all given to us through revelation to the Lord’s prophet.

On a personal level, the revelation the prophets receive can also bless our lives as we pay attention to their words. One things that I was thinking about as I prepared this lesson is that often, when we really listen to the words of the prophets, when we study them or show the Lord that we really want to know His will, then we open ourselves to the Spirit and we receive guidance on how to apply the things we are being taught in our own lives. One thing that comes to mind for me is my decision to go to grad school. I had never wanted to go, but I reached a point a couple years after I graduated from BYU where I started thinking about it, and I took a prerequisite class for a program I had considered doing and decided I didn’t want to go into that field. I kinda started studying for the GRE in case I decided to go to grad school and figured out a different program I’d be interested in. And there came a point where I realized I needed to actually decide, so I thought about it and decided to fast and pray about it. So I spent one Fast Sunday really trying to decide, trying to figure out what to do, but I didn’t really feel pulled in either direction. That night, though, there was a CES fireside with Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Seventy, and he talked about following the counsel of the living prophet, and then he mentioned a couple examples. He said, “President Hinckley has strongly counseled you, the young adults of the Church, to pursue as much education as possible. In October general conference he said: “I call your attention to another matter that gives me great concern. In revelation the Lord has mandated that this people get all the education they can. He has been very clear about this.”
When he said that, I seriously looked up and thought, “Is that my answer? Are You talking to me?” Well, Elder Anderson kept talking:
“What is the great concern? Education. Who has been very clear about this? The Lord. Who is revealing this to you? His prophet. And, yes, he is speaking to you.”
So my next thought was, Well, how do I do that? I don’t have the money to go to grad school. But Elder Andersen kept going:
“If you come from a family that has few resources for education, you may be unsure about what this means for you. When you are unsure, hold fast to the iron rod. Trust the words of the prophet! The answers will come.
“In some parts of the world, such as in the United States and Europe, it may mean that you need to sell your automobile or live in more humble circumstances in order to stay enrolled or return to school. In other areas of the world the sacrifice may be greater. In some countries the Perpetual Education Fund may be able to help. In almost all cases it will require faith, trusting in the Lord and in the Lord’s prophet—holding fast to the iron rod—as you find your way. If you are not sure how to follow the specific counsel of the prophet, pray with all your heart and discuss your concerns with your parents and with your bishop. While it will require patience and faith, I promise you that answers will come and a way will be opened to you.”

So I started studying in earnest for the GRE, started looking at grad schools, and figured out where to apply, and got the process going. So far I’ve only taken one class, and I don’t really know how this path will specifically bless my life or how it will allow me to help others, but I know that when I wanted the Lord’s answer, He gave it to me—and it came through the prophet (or, a Seventy reminding me of what the prophet had taught.)
Joseph Smith said, “Salvation cannot come without revelation; it is in vain for anyone to minister without it. … No man can be a minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus; and this is the spirit of prophecy [see Revelation 19:10]. Whenever salvation has been administered, it has been by testimony. Men of the present time testify of heaven and hell, and have never seen either; and I will say that no man knows these things without this.”
Why not?
There’s a power that comes from revelation.
Let’s turn to 3 Nephi 28:34, which says: “And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom he hath chosen and sent among them; for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day;”
When we don’t receive His words, we miss out on eternal life.

On the other hand, let’s look at D&C 21:4-6, which says: “Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;

“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

“For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.”

What are some of the blessings that we get from following the prophets?

Why won’t the gates of hell prevail against us? I think there’s a literal element of protection, the Lord adds strength to our own, but we also develop the strength and the characteristics that allow us to stand against Satan. When we follow the prophets, we change and we grow, and we become able to face Satan’s temptations and say no. And as we continually follow the prophets and we do change and grow, we are following Christ, and salvation comes when we follow Him.

Joseph Smith said, “Jesus in His teachings says, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ [Matthew 16:18.] What rock? Revelation.”

I had an institute teacher who pointed out that the Conference Center, where we receive the words of the Lord through the prophets, is made out of granite—a rock—and that there’s a waterfall coming out of it. The Lord has called himself the Living Water, and He has said that upon the rock of revelation, He will build His church. And He builds His church by building His people. The church is about people, not the programs, not the buildings, etc. So the Conference Center is a beautiful symbol of what the Lord gives us—through the rock of revelation, like General Conference, He gives us the Living Water, allowing us to drink as deeply as we desire.

Wilford Woodruff recounted this story from the life of Joseph Smith:

“I will refer to a certain meeting I attended in the town of Kirtland in my early days. At that meeting some remarks were made … with regard to the living oracles and with regard to the written word of God. … A leading man in the Church got up and talked upon the subject, and said: ‘You have got the word of God before you here in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants; you have the written word of God, and you who give revelations should give revelations according to those books, as what is written in those books is the word of God. We should confine ourselves to them.’

“When he concluded, Brother Joseph turned to Brother Brigham Young and said, ‘Brother Brigham, I want you to take the stand and tell us your views with regard to the living oracles and the written word of God.’ Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: ‘There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,’ said he, ‘when compared with the [living] oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.’ That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation: ‘Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.’”

Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

Obviously, the scriptures are important to us; the Lord wants us to have them. But we need to pay attention to the living prophets.

Article of Faith #9 says, “We believe…that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” He isn’t done talking to us, He isn’t done teaching us, and He isn’t done showing us how to build His kingdom.

The manual asks this question: What would be missing from your life if you confined yourself to the standard works, without hearing the words of the living prophet? What can we do to follow the spirit of Brigham Young’s counsel?

In order to follow, we need to know what they’re saying. We need to make the effort to watch, listen to, and read Conference. The Church does a great job making the words of the living prophets available to us; so we need to make sure we are studying their words.

In 1973, in his closing remarks at the October General Conference, President Harold B. Lee said, “Now, you Latter-day Saints, I think you have never attended a conference where in these three days you have heard more inspired declarations on most every subject and problem about which you have been worrying. If you want to know what the Lord would have the Saints know and to have his guidance and direction for the next six months, get a copy of the proceedings of this conference, and you will have the latest word of the Lord as far as the Saints are concerned. And [also] all others who are not of us, but who believe what has been said has been “the mind of the Lord, the will of the Lord, and the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.” (See D&C 68:4.)”

Back in February, I think, they had the Worldwide Leadership Training, and it was on a Saturday morning, and I debated whether or not to go. It was open to everyone, but I didn’t have a leadership calling, so I didn’t feel like I needed to go. But I was trying to figure out if I SHOULD go, and while I was reading my scriptures and pondering and praying, the thought came to me, “Never pass up a chance to hear the Brethren speak.” These aren’t ordinary men speaking ordinary words; these are men who are called of God to speak for Him, and they do speak for Him.

The book also asks the question, “What counsel did the President of the Church given in the past general conference?”

Do you know the answer to that? I thought about it, and I remembered that he told a story about his wife being in the hospital, and he told a story about meeting his wife’s parents the first time he went to take her out for a date, and he told a story about his ancestors and how when they were crossing the plains to go to Utah, some of them got cholera and died. And I remembered that he wiggled his ears.

All of that is true, but none of it really tells me what he said, so I had to go back and look at what President Monson really said. To the priesthood holders, he talked about being examples of righteousness and doing their duty. And I do know, if you look at President Monson’s talks, he talks so frequently about doing your duty. That’s something that really matters to him, and it should matter to us.

When he told the story of his ancestors and the cholera that killed several members of that family, he taught us about being dedicated, being steadfast and firm.

In his final address, “Abundantly Blessed,” he talked to us about incorporating what we’d learned about at Conference, he talked about family relationships and being loving and kind. And he asked us to pray for him.

We need to be careful not to reject the words of the prophets, either by being ignorant of what they’re saying or by knowing what they’re saying and trying to justify not doing it.

In the manual, it says, Eliza R. Snow recorded: “[Joseph Smith] said, if God has appointed him, and chosen him as an instrument to lead the Church, why not let him lead it through? Why stand in the way when he is appointed to do a thing? Who knows the mind of God? Does He not reveal things differently from what we expect? [The Prophet] remarked that he was continually rising, although he had everything bearing him down, standing in his way, and opposing; notwithstanding all this opposition, he always comes out right in the end. …

“He reproved those that were disposed to find fault with the management of the concerns of the Church, saying God had called him to lead the Church, and he would lead it right; those that undertake to interfere will be ashamed when their own folly is made manifest.” (page 200)

The Lord has chosen to lead His church through His prophets, and we need to let them lead. And we need to be careful about our attitudes, too.

The manual also says: “Now for persons to do things, merely because they are advised to do them, and yet murmur all the time they are doing them, is of no use at all; they might as well not do them. There are those who profess to be Saints who are too apt to murmur, and find fault, when any advice is given, which comes in opposition to their feelings, even when they, themselves, ask for counsel; much more so when counsel is given unasked for, which does not agree with their notion of things; but brethren, we hope for better things from the most of you; we trust that you desire counsel, from time to time, and that you will cheerfully conform to it, whenever you receive it from a proper source.”

Let’s cheerfully conform, recognizing that the Lord, and therefore His prophet as well, wants what is best for us, that the Lord’s work and His glory is our immortality and eternal life, and when He asks us to do something, He is working toward that goal.

The Lord wants to speak to us, and one way that He has chosen to do that is through the living prophets. We are so blessed that He does want to speak to us and that there are men on this earth who live their lives so that they can be called to be prophets, seers, and revelators. We could be missing out on so much if we didn’t have the living prophet, if we didn’t have revelation. I’m so grateful that we do, that we have protection against being led astray, and that we have more than the wisdom of the world. I know that as we listen to the prophets, the Lord will guide us as a church but also as individuals. If we will listen, He will lead us. I’m grateful for President Monson, and I’m grateful that as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have the opportunity to sustain him, because I know he is the Lord’s prophet on the earth today. And I say this is the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Righteous Traditions

I recently found some Relief Society lessons I taught back in 2008-2009 when I was in a BYU Young Single Adult Ward, and I figured rather than just leave them in a notebook, I'd go ahead and post them. So, here's the first, from around July 2008.

Righteous Traditions—Cheryl C. Lant

I.            What is a tradition? What do you think of when you think of traditions?
Tradition:

1.       The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc. from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice

2.       Something that is handed down

3.       A long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting

4.       A continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices

5.       A customary of characteristic method or manner

The first thing that I think of is my family’s Christmas traditions. I asked around a little bit this week, and it seemed like most of the answers I got were those types of answers—big holiday things. But traditions don’t have to be something big. They just have to be something that we do repeatedly, whether they’re done yearly, monthly, weekly, or even daily. They even include the way that we do things.

Another thing that I thought of for traditions was my brother-in-law, Scott, who is perhaps one of the most frugal people ever. He doesn’t spend money that he doesn’t need to spend. He is a coupon master, and he and my sisters have even started a new tradition called “Find of the Week” where they post on their blog some cool find, like when they got $110 worth of stuff from Sears for $14. This is something that he learned from his dad, and its’ something that I’m sure he’ll pass onto his kids.

Another tradition: in my family, when someone leaves, pretty much everyone who is at home goes to the window nearest him or her and signs “I love you” as the person drives away.

II.            Do traditions matter?

Alma 36:6-7

Sister Lant says, “Are the traditions that we are creating in our families going to make it easier for our children to follow the living prophets, or will they make it difficult for them?”

I think it’s important to think about how we will affect not only our children but also our friends, our siblings, even people we might not realize we’re affecting.

What are some ways that we might make it difficult for our children to follow the prophets?

This makes me think of Kareena’s talk, when she quoted from Michael Wilcox, about cows and fence. It’s the full-grown cows who kick holes in the fence, but it’s the babies who go through and get stuck outside.

“I noticed while taking care of the cattle as a boy that more often than not the cows did not go through the holes they had created in the fence, but they calves did. Often it would be half-starved and bawling to get back inside the fence next to the mother. The calves seemed to know how to escape through the holes the older cattle had made, but rarely did they know how to step back through those holes. If they were not found, sometimes they died.

“This is the true tragedy of grass licking obedience to the standards and counsels of the Church. Parents must be careful in their own pushing of the limits not to create holes that their children will slip through. Compromising, for example, on the types of movies we watch maybe create a hole that our children will crawl through to their own destruction. One generation’s exception becomes the next generation’s rule, as standards of behavior deteriorate. If the cows had stayed in the center of the meadow, no calf would have ever been lost.” (S. Michael Wilcox, Don’t Leap with the Sheep, and Other Scriptural Strategies for Avoiding Satan’s Snares)

Here’s a negative example: Before my parents got divorced, my family didn’t watch General Conference and attending stake conference was hit and miss. I don’t think I was aware of the message that was sending me, but looking back, it certainly wasn’t telling me that General Conference or listening to the prophets was important.

What are some ways that we might make it easier for our children to follow the prophets?

My mom taught me, though what she did, that you accept callings and you do your best. If anyone had an excuse to turn down a calling, I think it was her. The bishop was even reluctant to call her to be the YW president because she was a single mom, working to be able to provide for her family, she taught seminary, and she was just plain busy. And maybe you could guess this from having met me, but we were not an easy bunch of kids to rear. But she did it—she was in YW longer than I was.

III.            Where do traditions come from?

Who here has a tradition that you don’t even remember how it started? (the “I love you” sign as someone leaves home—no idea how that started)

Has anyone ever accidentally started a tradition? (I had to speak at my high school graduation and I didn’t like the traditional opening for the speeches—it thanked a bunch of men and no women—so I changed the greeting; 8 years later at my little brother’s graduation, my greeting was the one being used.)

Does anyone have a tradition that you’ve deliberately started?

Sister Lant says, “What kinds of traditions do we have? Some of them may have come from our fathers, and now we are passing them along to our own children. Are they what we want them to be? Are they based on actions of righteousness and faith? Are they mostly material in nature, or are they eternal? Are we consciously creating righteous traditions, or is life just happening to us? Are our traditions being created in response to the loud voices of the world, or are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit?

There are two things in that paragraph that really stand out to me. First, “Are we consciously creating traditions?” I think it’s fine that some traditions happen accidentally or we just sort of drift into them. But some things, the most important things, probably need to be deliberate. It’s by small and simple means that great things are brought to pass, and with our traditions, most of which are probably pretty small, we have an opportunity to bring about great things. At the same time, I think Satan knows the potential for good in our traditions, and since he knows our greatest happiness is found in family life, he is very deliberately seeking to destroy our families. And he tailors it to each of us, to each of our families. If we are going to fight against him and not let him win, shouldn’t we be even more deliberate and conscientious about what we will and will not do?

The other thing that stood out to me was, “Are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit?” As we are trying to help our families to establish righteous traditions, as we are fighting against Satan, we need to be following the Spirit. The Spirit will help us take the principles we’re taught and turn them into reality in our families. The way that my family does something may not be the same way that someone else’s does, and maybe we’ll even get frustrated sometimes because we want to do something that another family or another person is doing and it just doesn’t seem to work for us. But if we will listen to the Spirit, we will receive help and guidance and know what to try for our families.

IV.            What’s the practical application? Where do we even start?

The Family Proclamation says, “Happiness in family is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

This gives us a guideline for the types of traditions we need to try to have in our families. We need to deliberately, and through the guidance of the Spirit, figure out traditions that will teach these principles.

Sister Lant says, “I would invite all of us to take a moment to reflect on the traditions in our lives and how they might be affecting our families. Our traditions of Sabbath day observance, family prayer, family scripture study, service and activity in the Church, as well as patterns of respect and loyalty in the home, will have a great effect on our children and on their future.”

We don’t need to wait until we have children to do these things. We can think about the things that we want for our families; we should think about them now. None of us will magically get married and be a perfect spouse or mother. But we can learn now, we can practice now. If I want my kids to attend church, I should make sure I attend church. I need to be living what I want them to live. And we can start now to think about what we want for our children and how to incorporate that into our families.

I was thinking last week about how I’d like to put together a collection of my favorite talks for each of the members of the First Presidency and the Apostles. And then I was thinking that I’d like my children to love the General Authorities and how I could help them do that, and I thought maybe for FHE, we could spend a month studying teach of them and then try to work on our collections of talks that are meaningful to us. And then this week, I decided to try it out. I asked a friend of mine to do this with me, so we’re starting with President Monson for the month of August, and each week of the month, we’re going to find a talk of his that we enjoy and share them. And I don’t know how well it will work, and maybe after one week we’ll want to change how we do it, and I’ll probably have to adjust it again when I actually have kids, but in the meantime, I’m trying to do what I can to prepare.

V.            Testimony

I know that Satan is real and that he is fighting against us. But I also know that God is real and that He has given us ways to fight against Satan, and establishing righteous traditions is one thing that God has given us to help us and our families and our friends. The Lord wants us to succeed and He will help us. There were certainly be discouraging times along the way, when we feel like things aren’t working or our family isn’t getting what we’re trying to each anyway, and we’ll wonder if it matters anyway. It does matter. We are daughters of God, and we have a special role to play on this earth, and we, who are blessed to have the Gospel in our lives, have the responsibility and the ability to share those blessings with our families and with the world. Let us conscientiously and deliberately follow the Spirit and make sure we’re passing along the habits and messages and traditions that we want to be passing along.

Keep Going

In October 2001, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a great General Conference talk, One Step after Another. I recently found a little Family Home Evening message I'd put together for a singles ward back in 2008, and thought I'd post it here.

Elder Wirthlin said:

"Recently, I read about Erik Weihenmayer, a 33-year-old man who dreamed of climbing Mount Everest, a feat that defies many of the world’s most expert climbers. In fact, nearly 90 percent of those who attempt the climb never reach the summit. Temperatures sink lower than 30 degrees below zero. Besides extreme cold, 100-mile-per-hour winds, deadly crevasses, and avalanches, the climber must overcome the challenges of high altitude, lack of oxygen, and perhaps unsanitary food and water. Since 1953, at least 165 climbers have died in the attempt to scale the 29,000-foot-high summit.
"In spite of the risks, hundreds line up each year to make the ascent, Erik among them. But there is an important difference between Erik and every other climber who had attempted to ascend before: Erik is totally blind.
"When Erik was 13 years of age, he lost his sight as a result of a hereditary disease of the retina. Although he could no longer do many of the things he wanted to, he was determined not to waste his life feeling depressed and useless. He then began to stretch his limits.
"At age 16 he discovered rock climbing. By feeling the face of the rock, he found handholds and footholds that allowed him to climb. Sixteen years later, he began his ascent up Mount Everest. The story of his climb, as you might imagine, was filled with many harrowing and life-threatening challenges. But Erik eventually scaled the south summit and took his place with those who had gone before him, one of the few to stand on top of the highest mountain on the face of the earth.
"When asked how he did it, Erik said, “I just kept thinking … keep your mind focused. Don’t let all that doubt and fear and frustration sort of get in the way.” Then, most importantly, he said, “Just take each day step by step.”
"Yes, Erik conquered Everest by simply putting one foot in front of the other. And he continued to do this until he reached the top.
"Like Erik, we may have obstacles that would hold us back. We may even make excuses why we can’t do what we want to do. Perhaps when we are tempted to justify our own lack of achievement, we can remember Erik, who, in spite of having lost his sight, accomplished what many thought was impossible simply by continuing to put one foot in front of the other."

When I read that, it made me think that sometimes we put limitations on ourselves that God never did. Erik could have said, "I'm blind so I can't climb Mount Everest." But the only limitation God put on him was that he was blind. We need to be careful not to limit ourselves in ways that God never would. He gives us obstacles to overcome, of course, but sometimes we invent obstacles that we don't need to have. Take what He gives you and make the most of it.

Elder Wirthlin also said, "Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.
"The same principle applies to how you and I can climb to higher spirituality.
"Our Heavenly Father knows that we must begin our climb from where we are. “When you climb up a ladder,” the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them.”
"Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and understands that this process of climbing higher takes preparation, time, and commitment. He understands that we will make mistakes at times, that we will stumble, that we will become discouraged and perhaps even wish to give up and say to ourselves it is not worth the struggle.
"We know it is worth the effort, for the prize, which is eternal life, is “the greatest of all the gifts of God.” And to qualify, we must take one step after another and keep going to gain the spiritual heights we aspire to reach.
"An eternal principle is revealed in holy writ: “It is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize.”
"We don’t have to be fast; we simply have to be steady and move in the right direction. We have to do the best we can, one step after another."

In spiritual growth, as well as in school and work and everything we do, it's easy to put unrealistic expectations on ourselves. But the Lord didn't tell us we have to do everything perfectly. A friend shared a story about a friend's niece: she fell asleep while on her knees praying and her mother thought, "Oh isn't that precious? She tried so hard." So often we fall short of hat the actual goal was, but God is there, looking down at us and thinking, "Isn't she precious? She tried so hard." We are a lot harder on ourselves sometimes than He would be. I read a quote once that I absolutely love: "One must be a god indeed to tell a failure from a success without making a mistake." So often we get discouraged because we feel we failed, but really, there are so many good things that can come from our "failures". Give your best and let the Lord make up the rest. He provides ways for us to move forward, with prophets and scriptures, personal revelation, and often, the friends He puts into our paths. 
Elder Uchtdorf said, "There will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy and your heads hang down. Then, please remember Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the Head of this Church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose." Christ wants us to succeed and He knows that we can. Every time we get discouraged and want to say, "But I'm not..." and "I can't," He is there assuring us--"I AM" and "I can" and with, "We are" and "We can." Whatever our limitations are, He can help us overcome them. Whatever the righteous desires of our hearts are, He can help us achieve them. He is there, helping is in ways we don't even realize. He is there, applauding our efforts, encouraging us, and loving us. And with Him, as we take one step after another, we will be successful.