This is a talk I prepared and delivered in church last Sunday. I thought I would share it. It gave me a lot to think about, also requiring a lot of introspection for me. I really needed this as well.
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First, I will talk about how well we know ourselves.
This goes way beyond standing in front of the mirror and wondering about uneven eyebrows. I mean a self study of what motivates us in life and our spiritual health.
Why do we do what we do in the Gospel?
As we get to the point that we are doing what we do because of our love for our Heavenly Father and Jesus, we come closer to becoming perfected.
I refer mainly to the address by Elder Holland in October 2024 conference - "I am He"
a few points he makes (quoted from the address):
•"... His ultimate defining virtue, His love"
•"And what He actually said was, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” On that same evening, He said we were to “love one another; as I have loved you."
•"So we try to love— with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—because that is the way He loves us."
• (another ) " characteristic of Jesus’s divine charity was His obedience to every word that proceeded from God’s mouth, always aligning His will and behavior with that of His Heavenly Father."
We see this Christlike attribute of love and charity in the example given at the beginning of Elder Holland's words.
"As the soldiers approached, Jesus, in an effort to protect His disciples, stepped forth and said, “Whom seek ye?” They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said, “I am he. . . . As soon . . .
as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.”"
Jesus, as he confronted the arresting force - He met them in love — love for his disciples and even patience (that comes from love) in his approach to the arresdting force. He had love and confidence. That with his divine power astonished the men. How could it have been in a modern scenerio?
review the scenario - not a confrontation, but a peaceful showing of acknowledgement and love...
This differs greatly from stories we usually see or hear:
[crime shows where arresting forces confront villians]
[line in the sand, Captain Cook on Motuarohia Island]
How do we approach our Gospel-related activities?
We act for various reasons and motivations: hope for reward, tradition, status, fear of consequences, guilt, respect for a parent or leader, for praise or recognition. While these do instill such acts of obedience, service and devotion, until they come from a heartfelt love of God, they will not carry us to the end — we will not be able to endure.
It is an ongoing process, an adventure of learning, of awareness of our ability to love and finding that to be our true motivation, why do we do what we do?
As we accompish things in the Gospel, such as church attendance, tithing, Word of Wisdom, proper choices in the commandments and efforts to serve in the church and temple, be grateful for whatever motivation brought you to this point. They are wonderful. As we become more loving of God and the Saviour, and trust in their love, we build on these motivations to embrace more genuine motivations. We do them out of love and with love that we learn from our Father in Heaven. As we have then moved ahead beyond what motivated us originally, it becomes more likely that we will grow spiritually and in heavenly joy and less likely to complain, judge others, lose traction in the Gospel and become offended.
An example of motivation based on the feelings of the spirit comes from our mission in Salt Lake. One of our sister missionaries serving with us came from West Virginia and had only recently become a member of the church. She was raised in the "Bible belt." She attended bible camps as a youth. While she was at college, she met members of the church and missionaries and received lessons, but did not get to the point of baptism. She still felt something special. After returning home in the summer, she was attending another bible camp and thought to ask the Baptist minister a question that was on her mind. Having felt the spirit as she was taught and attended meetings back in college, she asked the minister how often he felt the Spirit. His reply was that he felt the spirit "once or twice a year." This astounded her. Why not much more as a minister. She learned what the restored Gospel brought to her and joined the church soon afterwards and then came to Utah serving a mission.
The Spirit is a good motivation. It depends on what we do to bring and keep the Spirit with us.
By basing our obedience and choices in the church on a true divine love, we can weather the storms of life that might pull us away from our involvement in the Gospel.
Elder Holland states: "Jesus was “a man of sorrows,” the scriptures say. He experienced sadness, fatigue, disappointment, and excruciating loneliness. In these and in all times, Jesus’s love faileth not, and neither does His Father’s. With such mature love—the kind that exemplifies, empowers, and imparts—ours will not fail either."
What is it that we can do to go beyond our initial motivations and develop a true love of God as our motivation?
thoughts:
(Learned from temple visit) As we enter into and are faithful to our covenants, we become more like our Heavenly Father and Jesus.
That is so important: we bind ourselves to Him. He then lifts us as we trust Him.
One way to strengthen that covenental power is to review our spiritual strength. A lot of this comes from the standard efforts: Prayer, regular Scripture study and church and temple attendance. Also key is to review the words of the apostles and prophets, especially from recent conference addresses.
Here are some examples (mostly from April 2024 conference):
Spiritual momentum - Elder Renlund (Apr 2024) and Pres Nelson "We become vulnerable when we slow down and especially when we stop. If we maintain spiritual momentum by continually “rowing” toward the Savior, we are safer and more secure because our eternal life depends on our faith in Him. Spiritual momentum is created “over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ.”"
Spiritual slackness - Elder Christofferson (Neal Maxwell) Apr 2024 - "Being valiant in the testimony of Jesus means encouraging others, by word and example, to likewise be valiant, especially those of our own families. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once addressed “the essentially ‘honorable’ members [of the Church] who are skimming over the surface instead of deepening their discipleship and who are casually engaged rather than ‘anxiously engaged’ [Doctrine and Covenants 76:75; 58:27].” Noting that all are free to choose, Elder Maxwell lamented: “Unfortunately, however, when some choose slackness, they are choosing not only for themselves, but for the next generation and the next."
Elder Cook - Apr. 2024 talk - on entitlement - "He said we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. Regardless of who our earthly ancestors are, each of us will report to the Savior on how well we kept His commandments." ... "The Lord’s saving mercy is not dependent on lineage, education, economic status, or race. It is based on being one with Christ and His commandments." ... "No economic or social attainment is necessary. The poor and the rich have the same spiritual requirements. There are no race, gender, or ethnicity requirements. The Book of Mormon makes it clear that all are invited to partake of the Lord’s goodness,"
Elder Soares - Apr. 2024 - Covenant Confidence - "As we make covenants in holiness before God and commit to follow the Savior, we receive the power to change our hearts, renew our spirits, and deepen our relationship with Him. Such an endeavor brings sanctification to our souls and forms a sacred bond with God and Jesus Christ, who promise that we can inherit the gift of eternal life. The result of this sacred journey is that we obtain a holier and higher confidence for our day-to-day lives within our covenants made through Jesus Christ."
Elder Holland: "When we stand before Him and see the wounds in His hands and feet, we will begin to comprehend what it meant for Him to bear our sins and be acquainted with grief, to be completely obedient to the will of His Father— all out of pure love for us. To introduce others to faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and receiving our blessings in the house of the Lord—these are the fundamental “principles and ordinances” that ultimately reveal our love of God and neighbor and joyfully characterize the true Church of Christ."
As we bind ourselves to God with our covenants and living honoring them, He will lift us above the troubles of the world around us.
It is my testimony that our Heavenly Father loves us and is always ready to lift us as we turn to Him and are raised by our covenants with Him.
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