Today is the first day of Week eight, and my oh my, has week seven been eventful. With the awesome Mission Conference, amazing devotionals on Sunday and Tuesday, and a super awesome surprise that I'll tell you all later.
So, for the gospel topic of the week, it's a continuation on the Atonement.
In Moses 6:59-60 it states:
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the aspirit, which I have made, and so became of bdust a living soul, even so ye must be cborn again into the kingdom of heaven, of dwater, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and eenjoy the fwords of geternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal hglory;
60 For by the awater ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are bjustified, and by the cblood ye are dsanctified;
In this we can learn of the elements of second birth (being born again through the spirit)
1- Covenants - Baptism is a covenant that we will follow Jesus Christ and will continuously repent of our transgressions.
2- Grace of Christ - Through His Grace, we become clean from our mortal sins and transgressions, but it requires us to act, in faith, to pray to our Heavenly Father, and forsake our sins.
3- Holy Spirit - Through the gift of the Holy Ghost that is received after baptism, we are sanctified. The Holy Ghost is such an amazing and powerful member of the Godhead, it is the recorder of heaven, it is the force by which we receive insipration, it is the way by which we can learn of eternal knowledge and doctrine.
The next subject I think is important is Moral Agency. Because of our God given right to choose, God cannot, inspire us, purify us, or help us unless we invite him to. When we pray, in faith, we invite heavenly father to inspire our lives. To Quote Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "To recieve the gift, we must act in the manner He has ordained."
Faith and repentance are continuous acts. In 3 Nephi 27:16-17, 19 we read:
16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso arepenteth and is baptized in my bname shall be filled; and if he cendureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of theajustice of the Father.
19 And ano unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his brest save it be those who have cwashed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
Now, whether we know it or not, whether we accept it or not, we are all governed by eternal laws. These laws are what makes God, the Eternal Father who he is. It is because of these laws, and our ability to exercise agency that we needed to have the Savior Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ we can be saved from the eternal torment and damnation of falling short of the "glory" (laws) of God. Because Jesus Christ is our advocate to the Father, He is able to justify our sins and transgressions through the merits of his own perfect sacrifice.
In Alma 42:22-24 we read:
22 But there is a law given, and a apunishment affixed, and a brepentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the claw, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and amercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the batonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass thecresurrection of the dead; and the dresurrection of the dead bringeth eback men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to befjudged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also amercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
In Romans 5:16-18 we read:
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of agrace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the arighteousness of one the free gift came upon all men untobjustification of life.
In Romans 2:13-15:
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the adoers of the law shall be bjustified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 aWhich shew the work of the blaw written in their hearts, their cconscience also bearing dwitness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
In Romans 4:25 we read:
24 But for aus also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
In Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5:
3 Listen to him who is the aadvocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the asufferings and bdeath of him who did no csin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be dglorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my abrethren that bbelieve on my name, that they may come unto me and have ceverlasting life.
These scriptures illustrate the nature of eternal laws, as well as how through Christ we can be justified from our sin.
Now that we understand a little more on how it applies to us, let's look at what it takes for us to receive the full effect of the Grace of Christ.
In Acts 2:37-38 we read:
37 ¶Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
In Mark 16:16:
In Matthew 10:22:
This is such a happy story, with a happy ending. How can we not rejoice in knowing that we can be saved through Jesus Christ! There is so much good news in the Gospel! It is the message of repentance unto salvation! There is so much we can learn and study and so much we can do to grow closer to Christ. Believe in Him! Have FAITH in Him! Exercise your faith unto repentance, be baptized! Follow His prophets and live according to the will of God. It is commanded of us, it is expected of us, but if we do it, we will receive so much joy, spiritual fortitude, and knowledge of this wonderful plan of God. I promise you, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that if you follow him, you can have joy, you can be happy, you can have strong relationships with your family. His Gospel is great! It is simple! When we turn our will to the will of the Lord, it is easy; but we must lose ourselves, give up our selfish desires, and come unto him in prayer and thanksgiving, for Christ is merciful. God loves you. You individually. He knows your needs. He wants to help you. He wants to save you -- to rescue you -- but you have to invite him into your life. You have agency. From your faith you can create great and mighty miracles, and they may be made manifest in the smallest of ways, but they are real. His power is real. Have faith.
These things I say in the Holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
With all my love,
An Uncommon Elder
Elder Timothy Scott Ryan
P.S. I got my new Vietnamese name!!! I am now called, Anh Cả (Elder) Dũng (Courage)
[It's pronounced Yoom]