How Firm a Foundation

In Mark chapter 10, we read of a noble, rich man that inquires of Christ, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Finding that the man had kept the commandments from his youth, the Savior instructed the rich young man to, "go thy way way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor... and come, take up the cross, and follow me." Though we do not know if or when this young man may have obeyed, at the time of his encounter with Christ he, "went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

Turning to his disciples, the Master Teacher commented, "how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" Then again, "With men that trust in riches, it is impossible [to enter into the kingdom of God]; but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake, for with such all these things are possible."

Honest self-evaluation may reveal to each of us what we may have in common with the young rich man. It is easy to feel like everything will be okay because the bills are paid with money left over for groceries and maybe even some savings. Do we pray more sincerely when our cash reserves are low?

The principle behind what Christ taught the young, rich man is taught more explicitly by King Benjamin in Mosiah chapter 3: "There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." Faith in Christ is the first principle of the gospel and absolutely essential to salvation in the kingdom of God. When we place our trust elsewhere, we introduce false idols and false security into our lives. We become like the foolish man, who built his house upon a sandy foundation.

Even the mention of idol worship conjures up ideas of gold calves made thousands of years ago or the neighbor that is always out in his front yard washing his new car. Yet when tragedy strikes or stress mounts, where do you and I turn? If we look for comfort in a batch of freshly baked cookies or retreat to the chocolate stash in our dresser drawers, we may well find that sweet treats have hindered or even replaced the deepest, most sincere trust in God that is required to return to Him.

Riches of cash or of calories are not alone in their ability to replace our faith with false security. Some create idols of intimacy, of drugs or alcohol, and still others trust most in their own education, their favorite sports team, the power of their preferred political party or their ability to control or influence those around them. When we put our trust in these things more than God-- when we turn to them in our difficult moments rather than to our Heavenly Father who waits to teach us and to bless us-- it is as though each of us were departing from the Savior just as the young rich man.

Victory over this form of idolatry requires a healthy dose of humility. We must change our thinking from, "What do I want to do?" to "What would the Lord have me do?" We recognize that the comfort we find in idolatrous trust of money or food or whatever allows the natural man to gain strength; so we strive to "yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit" that put off the natural man as they help us become, "submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, [and] willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]" (Mosiah 3:19). In other words, as we find success and refinement in humility, we will also develop a deep and abiding faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has promised that he will care for our needs, "for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (3 Nephi 13:32). Our job is to believe him-- believe he will do what he says he will do-- then take up our cross and build upon his firm foundation.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

What more can he say than to you he hath said,

who unto the Savior for refuge hath fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health, 

in poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,

at home or abroad, on the land or the sea

as thy days may demand so thy succor shall be.

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

for I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

the rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,

for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless

and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove

my sov'reign, eternal, unchangable love;

and then when gray hair shall their temples adorn,

like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake.

(How Firm a Foundation, attr. to Robert Keen, 1787)

A Relationship Collage

Sometimes in the scriptures, particularly in the New Testament, it seems as though the text randomly and very suddenly jumps from one subject to another. One moment we're reading about forgiveness, the next about salt or sheep or coins, and the next about faith or knocking on doors or picking motes or beams from our eyes. The seeming disjointedness has often contributed to my own perception of the Bible as a more difficult text than its Book of Mormon counterpart.

That changed a little bit this week as my wife helped me see the connections in the seemingly unrelated passages of Matthew chapter 18. Focusing on the connections, rather than the apparent lack of connections, turned an obstacle into a blessing as I saw the Bible in a whole new light.

In Matthew 18, Christ teaches his disciples about caring for children, plucking out eyes or cutting of hands that offend us, seeking for lost sheep, dealing with those who have offended us and a king who forgave an unforgiving servant before delivering him to the tormentors because of his unforgivingness. Each passage seemed to be independently useful, but tangent from any core theme or moral.

Read more carefully, and inserting the Joseph Smith translations where they appear, the lesson transforms into a collage of focused doctrine, stories and experiences on a single theme. It began with this question: "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Using a child as an example, Christ responded: Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:2-3). Remembering the teachings of Paul (Romans 8:16-17) and King Benjamin (Mosiah 5:7-8), we can understand from this reply that as we humble ourselves and take His name upon us through baptism, we may become joint heirs with Christ of all the Father has. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who make and keep the baptismal covenant, returning through the Atonement to the Celestial Kingdom with the innocence of small children. Adding the requirement of faith in verse six, Christ  provides a complete, profound yet succinct answer to the question.

Having highlighted our relationship with our Heavenly Father in his reply, the Savior then takes the rest of the chapter to teach us about our earthly relationships. This should sound familiar to those who have listened to any of the modern sessions of General Conference, which also tend to teach the gospel in a family-centered context. The essence of all of our relationships, Christ teaches, must be to prepare each other to return to live with God. He explains that:

If thy hand or they foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. And a man's hand is his friend, and his foot, also; and a man's eye, are they of his own household.


In other words, it is better to end a relationship with a friend or family member than to miss your opportunity to live forever with your Heavenly Father because that relationship drug you down.

Recognizing this as the extreme case, Christ works backward toward the more forgiving ideal. While terminating relationships is an unfortunate possibility, just as our Father cast out Lucifer, the seriousness of that prospect demands additional attention. In this middle ground between ending relationships and the ideal forgiveness, Christ clarifies that we must do all we can to recover the relationships and the souls involved with three specific steps:

First, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou has gained thy brother.


Next, if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.


And finally, if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 


What the disciplinary councils of the Church bind on earth is also bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18-19). That means that an unrepentant person who is excommunicated from the Church is also removed from his or her fellowship with Christ. They no longer bear his name nor do they qualify to enter the Celestial Kingdom of God. The very salvation of that soul is at great risk, so Christ promises that disciplinary councils will not face the decision alone: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 


We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. We can become pure as a little child and inherit eternal life from our Father in Heaven if we will be humble before Him and enter with faith into the covenant of baptism. Baptism is the covenant that allows us access to the full redeeming power of the Atonement. This is our relationship with God.

Because we are dependent upon the Lord's forgiveness of our every misdeed, we should also be quick to forgive others of their offenses against us. This is the ideal outlined at the end of Matthew 18. No collection of offenses they may have committed against us surpasses the mountain of offenses we have committed against the eternal laws of God. We should settle each offense against us with compassion for the offender.

In some situations, certain offenses may need to be escalated from a private discussion. A family, neighborhood, judicial court or other small group may be called upon to resolve an offense. Even still, compassion is required to provide every possible opportunity for the offended and the offender to recoup their stressed relationship with each other and reinforce their individual relationships with Christ.

When offenses cannot be resolved between individuals or a group of individuals, the disciplinary councils of the Church may intervene. Christ attends every such council and it is the Savior, our eternal judge alongside the Father, who directs the decisions of the disciplinary councils of the Church. Decisions made in these councils are binding on earth and in heaven.

Of those who refuse to hear the voice of the Lord in the councils of the Church, the Lord says to, let them be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican...for it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed than to have friends or family and be cast into hell fire.

So it comes full circle. Seeking the connections in the scriptures has highlighted a collage of principles and doctrines that I previously had not seen. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who make and keep covenant relationships. We form one such relationship with our baptism. Others are forged in the temple, when we welcome a new child into the world or as we become one with our fellow Saints.

May each of us gain the light and truth we need for our lives as we search the scriptures, and may we live worthy to sustain and uphold our covenant relationships.

An Observation for Missionaries

Missionaries and their Mission Presidents around the globe have often wondered why they may not be getting the thousands of conversions-- or in some cases, dozens or even any-- that we read about in the Book of Mormon and in Church history. On my own mission I certainly pondered that question. I did all I could to be faithful, and I was certainly willing, but I wondered how I could bring more souls to Christ and why it wasn't easier. It was the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His priesthood authority and organization that we were preaching, after all.

Some understanding came from Alma 26:22, where the Lord teaches through Ammon that bringing souls to repentance is a gift. Rather than a formula, demanding repentance, faith, good works and continual prayers in exchange for the conversion miracle, I realized that while all of those things are required, the blessing that I sought was a gift from God that would come in His own time and in His own way.

An excellent example of this principle can be found in 3 Nephi 7. In this chapter, a people that had repented in the aftermath of their preservation from terrorists had returned from righteousness to wickedness. The prophet Nephi went among the people "with power and with great authority" and "began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ" (3 Nephi 7:16-17).

Because of his great faith, the scriptures record that "it were not possible that [the people] could disbelieve" the words of Nephi. Yet, a full year passed and "there were but few who were converted unto the Lord". Those were converted also began to testify, but a second year passed without significant change. Nephi and those who were converted had extreme faith, repented in the face of much opposition and were continually going about doing good and even performing miracles-- if anyone has ever qualified to bring souls to Christ it was this group of missionaries.

Qualification is not enough, however. Unable to earn such a blessing, each of us relies on the grace of God to grant us the blessings of heaven according to the timing, mercy and love of our Father in Heaven.

For Nephi, the beginning of the third year was the time appointed of the Lord for him to baptize. His teaching did not change-- he stilll "did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins" as he had before (3 Nephi 7:23). Yet, "there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass away" (3 Nephi 7:26).

When we qualify ourselves and seek to do the will of the Lord with all patience and with all diligence, the Lord will bless us in His own time and in His own way. Such blessings are a gift from God, neither earned nor deserved, but come because He loves us and He wants His children to return to Him. Let us all press forward, then, in diligence and patience, to qualify ourselves for the gifts of God that when the time is right we may be ready for the blessings of heaven.

Therefore, What?

Much of the early part of 3rd Nephi mirrors what we see in society today. These people were fighting terrorists, wickedness and abominations were rampant and the coming of Christ, like the second coming in our times, was just around the corner.

Under the wise leadership of Lachoneus, the people of 3rd Nephi were able to defeat terror and, through repentance, return to being a faithful people. Their experience was key:

And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken. (3 Nephi 5:2)


As was the case two thousand years ago, we have also been given signs that testify the words of the prophets are true. Some of these, like the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith or the settling of the early saints in the Salt Lake Valley, have already come to pass. As we apply the teachings of the prophets to our own lives, we are given further, personal evidence that prophets speak the word of God. Other prophecies are yet to come or yet to be fulfilled.

The Nephites of Book of Mormon times became a righteous people because they allowed what they knew to be true-- the word of the prophets-- to propel them to action. They knew, therefore...

Therefore, they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night. (3 Nephi 5:3)

Christ taught that, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Like the Nephites of an earlier but similar era, we must also allow what we know to motivate our actions. This can be called the "Therefore, what?" principle. I know something, therefore what?

As you ponder over your testimony this week ahead of Fast Sunday, I invite you to follow each truth in your heart with that question-- "Therefore, what?" I know that as you do so, you will be inspired with what you should do to come closer to the Savior and better qualify for the kingdom of God.

(Therefore, I'm going to be doing it, too.)

Eternal Families

My wife and I were asked to talk in sacrament meeting today. With the special help of Sister Beck, here's what I came up with:

I love to read the Book of Mormon. I testify that it is the word of God to our dispensation; I know that I have grown closer to God as I have pondered and applied its teachings.

One of the things I have noticed in the Book of Mormon is that it is a story of families. Most of us are familiar with the struggles, blessings, conflicts and miracles of Nephi’s family, for example. Though the specific details may be different, I have often been able to relate to members of that family. Sometimes I have been one of the siblings that were not getting along or the son causing concern for my parents. At other times I have been directed by the Spirit to help a family member or provided support to a brother or sister in need. Though a young parent, I am beginning to better understand Lehi’s concerned pleas and Sariah’s desperation-turned-to-joy when her sons return home safely from a long journey. The families of the Book of Mormon provide invaluable, real-life lessons. Because they faced challenges similar to our own, Book of Mormon families can also show us ahead of time how our decisions today may affect our family’s future.

Most of us are also familiar with the story of the stripling warriors. These 2,060 young men, “did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness… and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” All 2,060 survived conflicts that could be called the World War II of their generation. Their unusual strength astonished the armies around them and even Helaman, their prophet and their general. The Lord was able to preserve these young men because the habits of their childhood homes had established sincere, unwavering faith in each of their hearts.

Tragically, less than 65 years later and in the aftermath of the miraculous signs of the birth of Christ, a converted Lamanite people “began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation.” Like the stripling warriors, these young men and women were raised in homes that knew of and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the rising generation of this time period were not as unwavering. The scriptures record that when these young adults “became for themselves”, they were “led away by some who were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers.”

If we’re not careful, we might look at the stories of the stripling warriors and the rising generation of Gadianton robbers and conclude that it doesn’t matter what we do as parents or as siblings or as children. What’s the point of raising a child in a gospel home of they still may grow up to be robbers and terrorists? This is the type of subtle lie told by our adversary that is increasingly embraced by the world around us.

In truth, God has revealed that every member of a family that desires to be together forever plays a role in helping the family reach their celestial destination. As the mothers of the stripling warriors taught their sons, understanding the role and doctrine of the family can help us and our spouses and children become unwavering in our faith in Christ.

In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Church leaders we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators proclaimed that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” That plan is based on the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.

The Creation of the earth provided a place where families could live. God created a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a family. It was part of Heavenly Father’s plan that Adam and Eve be sealed and form an eternal family.

The Fall provided a way for the family to grow. Adam and Eve were family leaders who chose to have a mortal experience. The Fall made it possible for them to have sons and daughters.

The Atonement allows for the family to be sealed together eternally. It allows for families to have eternal growth and perfection. The plan of happiness, also called the plan of salvation, was a plan created for families. As stated in proclamation on the family, the main pillars of our theology are centered in the family.

That means that when we speak of living the gospel or of qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualifying for the blessings of eternal families. This was Christ’s doctrine, and it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 2:1–3:

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”

This scripture is talking about temple blessings—ordinances and covenants without which “the whole earth [is] utterly wasted.”

Without the family, there is no plan; there is no reason for mortal life. Understanding the family’s central role in God’s plan for us, we can rightly ask ourselves whether we give our families that same status on our list of priorities. Perhaps the importance of family had something to do with why the stripling warriors were so willing to defend what later generations were recruited to destroy.

I have learned a lot about making family a priority from my in-laws. They do all they can—they use their vacation time at work and drive long distances at odd times of the morning-- to be present for every baby blessing, every baptism and every wedding of every sibling, every nephew, every niece and every grandchild. My wife’s aunts and uncles reciprocate this prioritization and effort. It was easy to see the fruits of their efforts this past Christmastime when all 63 members of their extended family gathered in a Salt Lake City hotel conference room. Not a soul of them were missing, some were there at great sacrifice. None of them would have had it any other way. Over three days I saw this family laugh together, cry together, dance together and pray together—and I laughed, cried, danced and prayed with them. Every member of that family knew they were included, they were loved, and they had something to live up to.

Knowing that the family is central in God’s plan for us, we must also understand that the command to “multiply, and replenish the earth” remains in force. Bearing children is a faith-based work. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so.” Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles. Each carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan.

Elder Hales has taught: “The family is not an accident of mortality. It existed as an organizational unit in the heavens before the world was formed; historically, it started on earth with Adam and Eve, as recorded in Genesis. Adam and Eve were married and sealed for time and all eternity by the Lord, and as a result their family will exist eternally.”

As we are sealed to our families in the temple and keep those sacred covenants, our families may partake in the blessings of Abraham. Included in these blessings is the promise of numerous posterity, descendants who would receive the gospel and bear the priesthood, and descendants who will bring the gospel to all the world. In effect, if we are truly keeping our temple covenants, we will be doing the things that will help our children become stripling warriors instead of Gadiantons.

The prophets and apostles are constantly reminding us to keep the covenants we have made to God and our families. Listen to some of the counsel given just this last conference about our families:

Elder Bednar counseled, “Each of us should consider seriously and ponder prayerfully how we can reject the devil’s enticements and righteously “apply unto it,” even the spirit of revelation, in our personal lives and families.”

Elder Scott taught us beautifully: “If you are a young man of appropriate age and are not married, don’t waste time in idle pursuits. Get on with life and focus on getting married. Don’t just coast through this period of life. Young men, serve a worthy mission. Then make your highest priority finding a worthy, eternal companion… If you have found someone, you can form an extraordinarily wonderful courtship and marriage and be very, very happy eternally by staying within the bounds of worthiness the Lord has established.”

He encouraged the brethren to lead out in family activities such as scripture study and family home evening. He encouraged us to express our love and gratitude out loud and often, and to nurture our children in love.

President Monson asked us to: “Realize that you will not be able to anticipate every challenge which may arise, but be assured that almost anything can be worked out if you are resourceful and if you are committed to making your marriage work…. if you are committed to the success of your marriage, there is nothing in this life which will bring you greater happiness.”

He encouraged us to be fiercely loyal and ever so kind to our spouses and our families, and reminded us successful marriages are generally more about being the right person than marrying the right person. He concluded his remarks on family with this plea:

“If any of you are having difficulty in your marriage, I urge you to do all that you can to make whatever repairs are necessary, that you might be as happy as you were when your marriage started out. We who are married in the house of the Lord do so for time and for all eternity, and then we must put forth the necessary effort to make it so. I realize that there are situations where marriages cannot be saved, but I feel strongly that for the most part they can be and should be. Do not let your marriage get to the point where it is in jeopardy.”

Our charge is to live in our homes, in our families, and in our marriages so that our spouses and our children will develop hope for eternal life from watching us. We must live and teach our families with so much clarity that what we teach will cut through all the noise of the world. We must be brilliant in the basics and intentional about our roles and responsibilities in the family. Great hope will come in a family that studies their scriptures together, has family home evening, makes mealtimes a priority and speaks respectfully of one another.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are sons and daughters of heavenly parents, who sent us forth to have this earthly experience to prepare us for the blessing of eternal families. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become perfect and equal to our responsibilities in our earthly families and have the promise of eternal families after death.

Determined Resolutions

At the beginning of the year, it is common for those interested in self-improvement to establish or reaffirm their resolve to do better. We set goals and make plans to reach those goals based on our feelings and impressions of how we're doing and where we'd like to be in the coming weeks, months and years.

The past several weeks we have put our plans into action. Some of us may have already reached a resolution or two, others may be well on their way, and still others of us may be struggling in our resolve to continue. The road to self-improvement is indeed hard, and it can be so easy to give up on our goals and "go with the flow".

The Book of Alma teaches us how we can be successful in our resolutions by contrasting two different groups and their approach to a similar challenge. That challenge was power-hungry Amalickiah, who sought to become king of the Lamanites and conquerer of the Nephites.

Both of the groups that faced Amalickiah had similar goals. They wanted to protect their families and their freedoms without shedding blood.

The first group was a group of Lamanites lead by a man named Lehonti. This group was "fixed in their minds with a determined resolution" that they would not go to war with the Nephites. This goal was in defiance of the king, but was borne of a desire to leave in peace with their families.

Despite their powerful resolutions, over time Lehonti began to compromise with Amalickiah until he gave in to a proposal to come down from the place of safety where his men had gathered. Through rationalization and compromise, Lehonti's resolve was washed away. He was conquered by his challenge, slowly poisoned to death, and his men were forced into the battle they were once determined not to enter (see Alma 47).

Another group faced the same challenge a short time later. This group was a Nephite group led by Captain Moroni. With the same objective, Moroni's approach aimed to help his men act rather than to be acted upon. Helaman records:

While Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of the Christians (Alma 48:7-10).

Lehonti and his men approached the challenge from Amalickiah by retreating to a safe place, trusting in their resolve to preserve them. Thus, over time, difficult decisions led to their rationalization and eventual demise.

Moroni was actively preparing to meet Amalickiah and his armies spiritually, physically and, in later verses, mentally as well. In their preparations, they constructed barriers that would keep them safe and prevent Amalickiah from getting the best of them. Rather than allowing the event of Amalickiah's challenge to simply happen to them, the victim approach, they were ready to happen to Amalickiah, a much more assertive approach. Though the resulting war was long and very difficult for Moroni's men, because they were prepared they were ultimately triumphant.

As we approach the challenges in our own lives, we can choose to act, like Moroni, or to be acted upon, like Lehonti. Choosing to act means supplication for the help of heaven, diligent study to guide our decisions and consistent analysis of how we are doing to ensure our strategy is aligned with our strengths and weaknesses.

We will struggle to find success losing weight, for example, if we have no strategy to get back on track if our resolve softens in the presence of chocolate cake. We will find little success in coming closer to Christ without the guidance of His spirit. We will fail in our goals to be better parents, spouses and siblings if we have no knowledge of how to improve.

On the other hand, as we prepare our hearts and minds to act diligently toward the pursuit of forward progress, there is nothing on Earth that can stop us from achieving our righteous goals. Now is the time to evaluate our resolutions, prepare to be successful in them, and take the steps necessary to keep those promises to ourselves. As we do so, we can say with Moroni that,

This is [our] faith, that by so doing God would prosper [us] in the land... yea, warn [us] to flee, or to prepare for war, according to [our] danger; And also that God would make it known unto [us] whither [we] should go to defend [ourselves] against [our] enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver [us] (Alma 48:15-16).

Your Personal Restoration

In 1820, the young Joseph Smith saw God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, starting a domino chain of events that would lead to the restoration of the organization, doctrine and authority of Christ's ancient church. This restoration brought back the gospel in its purity, filling in gaps and correcting popular theologies in a way only achievable by the divine. Once completed, the modern gospel looks exactly like the old one, and is a vibrant, living pattern of revelation and salvation.

Likewise, Alma teaches that each of us will be restored: "Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself" (Alma 41:2). He continues: "Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame-- mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption" (Alma 41:4).

Alma is, of course, speaking of the resurrection. Thought of, as Alma teaches, as a restoration, we can compare our resurrection to the restoration of an old car.

The rusted frame of the old car might catch a skilled mechanic's eye as he wonders through a junkyard or drives down a lonely country road. Carefully, the mechanic will transport the old car to his garage and go to work. He will search for engine parts, a new dash, tires, seats, and mirrors. Over time, he will return the pieces of the engine to their proper places to make it run; he will install floorboards, upholstery, windows and a radio; he will sand and paint the frame-- usually with flames-- and shine chrome bumpers and hubcaps. When it is finished, the master mechanic will have restored the car to its new condition-- sometimes better than new.

So it is with us. Christ, our creator and master mechanic, has made possible our restoration through his atonement and resurrection. He wants to restore us to the presence of our Heavenly Father (Alma 42:23). But just as a mechanic cannot restore a '59 Chevy into anything other than a '59 Chevy, however, Christ cannot restore us into something we are not.

Alma explains: "The meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish-- good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful" (Alma 41:13). We could continue that list: lust for lust; joy for joy; appetite for appetite; friendship for friendship; grudge for grudge; thought for thought; etc. "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there..." (D&C 130:2).

If we will be restored to the same creatures we turn ourselves into, the call to action is clear. Again, Alma teaches: "Therefore... see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again. For that which ye do send out shall return to you again, and be restored" (Alma 41:14-15, emphasis added).

Like it or not, we all live the golden rule. As we do unto others, even so will God, who owns all vengeance, all mercy and all that is, restore likewise unto us. And so we become our own judges, in a way, and decide our own fate. Let us choose the fate of kindness, of long-suffering, of generosity and goodness. Let us choose to be the kind of people we want to be when we're resurrected, for "all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame--mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption-- raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil" (Alma 41:4). Let us then choose to behave as though the kingdom of God were already here; for only then can we assure that we'll be here when it arrives.