3 Nephi 1:16
Tomorrow I shall Do Wonders Among
You
What
16 And
there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets,
who afell to
the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the
great bplan of
destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words
of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been
given was already at hand.
Why
the moment of
truth. They knew they were in trouble for they were wicked and they
were wrong. Opps! They knew that they were not “good enough”
Pattern
Hel.
14:7
7
And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder,
insomuch that ye shall fall to
the earth.
3 Ne.
1:9 (9,
11)
9
Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by
the unbelievers,
that all those who believed in those traditions should be put
to death except
the sign should
come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.
11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.
11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.
Christ
This
predicted light was announcing His birth.
Conference
Of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
When
there was a controversy in the early Church regarding who was
entitled to heaven’s blessings and who wasn’t, the Lord declared
to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Verily I say unto you, [the gifts of
God] are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep … my
commandments, and [for them] that seeketh so
to do.”6 Boy,
aren’t we all thankful
for that added provision “and … seeketh so to do”! That has
been a lifesaver because sometimes that is all we can offer! We take
some solace in the fact that if God were to reward only the perfectly
faithful, He wouldn’t have much of a distribution list.
Please
remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses
those who want to
improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to
keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to
the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that
pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep
going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, “O
Jesus, … have mercy on me.”7 He
will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix
whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have
the success you seek.
“… Put
your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do
justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously. …
Now,
with that majestic devotion ringing from heaven as the great constant
in our lives, manifested most purely and perfectly in the life,
death, and Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can escape the
consequences of both sin and stupidity—our own or that of others—in
whatever form they may come to us in the course of daily living. If
we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do
the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other
day—is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t
always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants
it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal
life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is
a plan predicated on the truth “that all things work together for
good to them that love God.”10 So
keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep
growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.
“… They
that wait upon [Him] shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles. …
Of
the Seventy
Let
me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions “Am I good
enough?” and “Will I make it?” are “Yes! You are going to be
good enough” and “Yes, you are going to make it as long as you
keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel.” The God of heaven
is not a heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of
the game. He is our perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than
anything else to have all of His children come back home and live
with Him as families forever. He truly gave His Only Begotten Son
that we might not perish but have everlasting life!1 Please
believe, and please take hope and comfort from, this eternal truth.
Our Heavenly Father intends for us to make it! That is His work and
His glory.2
I
love the way President Gordon B. Hinckley used to teach this
principle. I heard him say on several occasions, “Brothers and
sisters, all the Lord expects of us is to try, but you have
to really try!”3
I
love the way President Gordon B. Hinckley used to teach this
principle. I heard him say on several occasions, “Brothers and
sisters, all the Lord expects of us is to try, but you have
to really try!”3
The
great news is that if we have sincerely repented, our former sins
will not keep us from being exalted. Moroni tells us of the
transgressors in his day: “But as oft as they repented and sought
forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.”7
“If
he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the
sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him
also.
And
Alma proclaimed, “Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was
happiness.”12
One
of the reasons that Alma’s statement is particularly true is that
with repeated sinning, we distance ourselves from the Spirit, become
discouraged, and then stop repenting. But I repeat, because of the
Savior’s Atonement, we can repent and be fully forgiven, as soon as
our repentance is sincere.
What
we cannot do is rationalize rather than repent. It will not work to
justify ourselves in our sins by saying, “God knows it’s just too
hard for me, so He accepts me like I am.” “Really trying” means
we keep at it as we fully come up to the Lord’s standard, which is
clearly defined in the questions we are asked in order to get a
temple recommend.
The
other thing that will surely keep us out of heaven and separate us
from the help we need now is rebellion. From the book of Moses, we
learn that Satan was cast out of heaven for rebellion.13 We
are in rebellion any time we say in our hearts, “I don’t need
God, and I don’t have to repent.”
Apply
the
challenge is to stay “good enough” We can do that by staying and
hanging on to the iron rod with all our might and not wandering off,
by “really trying by keeping worthy of a temple recommend and using
it where possible all that we can.
Hymns
223-Have
I Done Any Good?
Children
145-Kindness
Begins With Me
78-I'm
Trying To Be Like Jesus
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