Missing the Mark

"Enos Praying" by Robert T. Barrett

Words matter. Often, when it comes to gospel study, there are lessons hidden in the use of particular words or the way they are strung together. Perhaps that is why so many talks in church begin with definitions-- it's a little cliche at this point, but still instructive.

The definitions for the word "sin" are boring on their face: An offense against God. Being truly guilty. Wrongdoing. Exactly what we would expect.

Yet, when we look at the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated as "sin," we find something else: Hamartia and Chatta'ah, respectively, both refer to missing the mark, like missing a target in archery, or failing to reach a divine standard or goal.

Missing the mark is not a trivial thing, particularly for those who have been baptized. Elder Bednar has reminded us on many occasions that the gift of agency was not given so we could do whatever we want, but so that we could choose to follow Christ. He is the mark-- our deliverer and jealous God who commands our loyalty (Exodus 20:1-6). Those who have been baptized have covenanted to "always remember him" (D&C 20:77)-- and sin is evidence of a breach of that contract. The Lord is clear that he "cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (D&C 1:31) and Jacob wrote that the Jews were destroyed, "because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark" (Jacob 4:14). 

But imagine yourself learning to shoot arrows at a target. You want to hit the target so it's easy to promise your instructor that you will aim there. You're pretty novice, but if you keep practicing you have hope that you could compete locally, nationally, or beyond-- maybe even at the Olympics.

You start out simple. As you get better, you start to get farther from the target and use more sophisticated equipment. And then, for some reason, you miss one. You get distracted or nervous or slip or whatever else happens... and you miss.

Do you quit trying? Do you walk away from your instructor and the support of your team? Or do you reset your aim, remind yourself of what you have learned from your instructor, maybe ask for a little coaching, and try again?

Professional archers are incredibly accurate because they have practiced so much they can be very consistent with their form, aim, and release. Hitting the bullseye does not get easier, but the effort to do so becomes second nature because they have practiced it so often. Yet, even the most elite make errors, misjudge the wind, have a slight break in form, or just miss. They have missed thousands of times over decades of improving in their sport. None of them got good by deciding a particular miss was too bad or that they had missed too many times. When they miss, they are quick to grab another arrow and try again. In other words, they are quick to repent.

The primary Greek word in the New Testament for repentance is Metanoia, which signifies a profound shift in heart and mind away from sin and towards God. If sin is missing the mark, repentance is refocusing our lives on Christ and trying again. Guilt and punishment enter the definition through translations to Latin, French, and English, and Paul taught that "godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10), but the act of repentance is more about striving to improve, no matter how often or how terribly we've missed the target, than it is about feeling bad that we missed.

King Benjamin taught, "I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them. But this much I can tell you, that [ye must] watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives" (Mosiah 4:29-30). There are an infinite number of ways to miss; but as we use our agency to practice consistently hitting the target, even as the level of difficulty increases, and keep trying when we miss, following Christ will become a second nature for us in our actions, our thoughts, and our words.

Returning to the Covenant Path

When I was a teenager, my dad took my brother and I on a week-long wilderness backpacking trip. Our goal was to hike about fifty miles across a particular mountain range. Along the way, we had an experience that has taught me about sin and repentance on our path back to our Heavenly Father.

It took us a couple of weeks to prepare for the trip. My brother and I needed larger packs and we had to find food and other supplies that wouldn't add too much weight. I needed some new hiking pants and my mom found a cool pair that zipped off into shorts. Finally, we got a ride to the trailhead, confirmed where we would meet my mom at the end of the week, and set off.

For the first few days, everything went well. We were right on schedule, we found plenty of water and the food we had packed was so much better than when we had sampled it at home. The trail was challenging at times, and we had to find shelter during the daily afternoon downpour, but we were enjoying the experience and what time we had for a little fishing at the end of each day.

Around the fourth day of our expedition, we climbed a difficult pass and stopped at the top to rest for several moments. Although it was early in the day, we were tired and sore from three previous days of hiking with our heavy packs. As we prepared to resume, my dad, who had been studying the map, suggested an alternate route. The next part of the trail formed a large horseshoe shape, he observed, and if we could cut across the top of the horseshoe we would certainly save a lot of time and unnecessary distance.

With some uneasiness about the new plan, at least on my part, we began walking across the mountain tundra. It was harder to walk through the grass and rocks and after a few hours I began to wonder if we'd missed the trail somehow. When we ran out of water, we decided to keep going and hoped to find a spring ahead of us. Physically and emotionally exhausted, I prayed for help to keep going and survive the week.

At last we came to the top of a tall cliff. It was as long as we could see in either direction and the obvious reason for the trail's long detour. Unsure of how to proceed, we found a spot to take off our packs and rest while we decided what to do.

After a few minutes of catching our breath, my dad stood up and walked over to where my brother and I were seated. He picked up our packs, walked to the cliff, and threw the packs as far as he could down the mountainside. My brother and I were stunned. My dad paused for a moment and then said something like, "Well, I guess we'd better go and get them."

Eventually, we found our way down the cliff and slid down the rockslide at the base. More time passed as I worked to close a big hole I'd torn in the seat of my new pants and bandage a few good scratches. My brother located a spring (back at the top of the rockslide, of course) and refilled our water containers. When we were able to regroup, we continued our cross-country "shortcut" and found the trail another hundred feet from the bottom of the rockslide.

Although our chosen route was shorter, it was much more difficult and took more time to complete than if we had continued on the trail. I ruined my pants and some of our things were broken in their flight off the cliffs. Now less prepared than before and unable to make our planned rendezvous, we spent the rest of the week hiking carefully down a new trail that led off of the mountain to a small town. We made it just in time to call our ride home before she left to pick us up in the wrong place.

As we journey through life, we sometimes decide to take routes that detour off the "strait and narrow" covenant path. It can be especially easy to do when we are feeling tired, overconfident, or discouraged. 

When we leave the path, the Lord always invites us to repent-- to turn around and return to the trail that leads to our rendezvous with Him. He knows the covenant path is not easy. Like crossing a mountain range, our lives have peaks and valleys with obstacles and steep inclines between each summit. The Lord also knows that the covenant path is the surest way to our divine destination.

Repentance is "a change of mind and heart that brings a fresh attitude toward God, oneself, and life in general." It "implies that a person turns away from evil and turns his heart and will to God, submitting to God's commandments and desires and forsaking sin" (Guide to the Scriptures, "Repent, Repentance"). In other words, repentance includes returning to the trail and a humble willingness to continue to follow it. It includes gratitude for the trail, with all its obstacles and detours, and a recognition that it is the only way to achieve our goal.

Sometimes we wander needlessly through the more difficult wilderness even when there are indications we should return to the covenant path. We rationalize our way across the tundra, figuratively run out of water, and eventually find ourselves at the precipice of decisions that may have more significant impacts on our spiritual welfare and life journey.

If I had returned to the trail more quickly, I would have been able to recover much of the time that was lost. I would not have run out of water, injured myself, or ruined my pants. My dad and brother and I would have almost certainly reached our goal on the other side of the mountain range.

Likewise, when we do incur the damages of an unexpected cliff and rockslide, we sometimes forget that complete repentance includes changing the behaviors that originally led us off the path and toward the cliffs. We walk away from these experiences with resolve not to go over the cliffs, as it were, but without changing the attitudes and behaviors that led us off the trail in the first place.

The Gospel Topics essay on the Church website teaches us:

It is not enough to simply try to resist evil or empty our lives of sin. We must fill our lives with righteousness and engage in activities that bring spiritual power. We must immerse ourselves in the scriptures and pray daily for the Lord to give us strength beyond our own. At times, we should fast for special blessings.

Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into our lives, including increased strength to overcome our weaknesses. This obedience includes actions we might not initially consider part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others.

Gratefully, all is not lost when we have gone over a cliff. Regardless of our route, we needed my mom to pick us up at the end of the week and drive us back to the safety and comfort of home. Our detour changed our experience in significant ways, but getting back on the trail and sticking to it allowed us to reach a different, but equally accessible, place where my mom could find us.

Sometimes our detours off the covenant path may have lasting effects on our life experience, but the trail is never far from where we are. As we repent and return to the path, the Lord can show us the route to His grace. With faith in Christ and our own significant effort, we can be reconciled to God (2 Nephi 25:23) and experience the joy and rest of returning home (2 Nephi 11:5).

Gathering the Wheat from the Tares

As official opposition to Jesus Christ's ministry grew, he taught for a time using only parables (Mark 4:34). Through simple stories of everyday objects and situations, the Master Teacher openly shared divine truths that went undetected by his oppressors (Bible Dictionary, "Parables").

Many of Christ's parables teach about the kingdom of heaven. This is, in itself, a masked reference to his church. The kingdom of heaven, Christ said, is like a mustard seed, leaven, a treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great price and a fishing net. Each analogy subtly prophesies of the growth of the church from a seed to a great tree, from kneaded dough to a risen loaf, from an empty net to one that "gathered of every kind" (Matthew 13:47).

Christ also understood that growth would not come without opposition. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, he prophesies about the spreading of falsehood and wickedness, apostasy, and the eventual gathering of the elect prior to Christ's return in the latter days. He taught:

The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.

The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn (Matthew 13:24-30).

Most people in ancient Israel would have been very familiar with the process of growing and harvesting wheat. It is, in a way, a purifying process as cut wheat is bound in bundles and left to dry in the field, pounded and threshed to separate the seed heads from the stems, and then winnowed or dropped on a breezy day to separate the heavier grain from the useless chaff. When the wheat is harvested, the field is burned to eliminate weeds, discard leftover straw, control pest populations, and prepare for a new crop.

Despite their familiarity with harvesting wheat, Christ's disciples struggled to understand the gospel principles in the parable. When the crowds and Pharisees were gone, they asked the Lord for an interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the tares.

The Lord explained that the field represented the world. Christ and his servants, the apostles, would sow good seeds as they taught the gospel throughout the nations of the world. After the seed was planted, "as men slept," there would be a great apostasy that would introduce tares in the field.

Tares are a weed that looks like wheat until it matures. They have a bitter taste and cause dizziness and vomiting if eaten separately or when mixed with bread (McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:296). The tares represent evil doctrines and those who spread them.

In the latter days, at the time of the harvest, the wheat, or the righteous, will be separated from the tares. The Lord explained to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

Behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender-- Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields; But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also. Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned (D&C 86:4-7).

As the Lord prophesied, we live in a time when wheat and tares are growing together in every corner of the world. In "a wheat and tares world," Elder Neal A. Maxwell once noted, "lust openly parades as love, license cleverly poses as liberty, and raucous sounds mockingly masquerade as music" (April 1993). Rather than talking with our neighbors, we watch talk shows and use social media in solitude. Legislation and violence are used against women and children to protect personal profit and convenience rather than to defend women and children. Many people turn to drugs and alcohol to "tune out" the world rather than striving with faith to overcome it. It can be especially difficult to tell the difference between a wide variety of religious teachings and beliefs that often cite the same scriptures.

With eyes to see and ears to hear, there are many gospel principles we can learn from the parable of the wheat and the tares. We can learn about waiting on the Lord's timing and the urgency of growing our faith. There are lessons about judgement, obedience, patience, and living with others in our church congregations. Perhaps most important is the work of gathering, assigned to the Lord's latter-day apostles, in which we are allowed to participate.

As wheat is gathered out of the field, so Christ prayed in gratitude that our Heavenly Father had given the Holy Ghost to those chosen "out of the world... because of their belief in [Christ]" (3 Nephi 19:20). He continued, "Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou has given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them" (3 Nephi 19:29).

Christ offered a similar prayer for his disciples in Jerusalem. He repeated and clarified in that prayer that he prayed "not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil" (John 17:15). He prayed for unity, joy and sanctification through the word of God "that they may be made perfect in one" and "be with me where I am" (John 17:6-24).

Gathering the righteous out of the world is clearly more than baptizing them into any particular church. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that "even in the Church the tares are to be found. It is the tares which are to be gathered up and burned from all over the world, but those in the Church will also be gathered out and find their place in the fire. The Savior also bore witness of [this. When] speaking to the Nephites he said: 'For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from my people, O house of Israel' (3 Nephi 21:20)" (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:354.).

Wheat is not gathered into the barn for the barn's sake, but for its own preservation and the glory of the owner of the farm-- the householder. Paul taught that God "might gather together in one all things in Christ" (Ephesians 1:10). We are gathered as we believe in Christ, repent of our sin, covenant through baptism for the remission of sins, and are sanctified by the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the way we may be "made perfect in one" and with the Lord where he is. 

The ancient American prophet Moroni admonished: "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ... And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot" (Moroni 10:32-33).

In the multi-step process of harvesting the faithful, temple ordinances further separate the righteous from the world. Through additional covenants to live the laws of obedience, sacrifice, the gospel, chastity and consecration, our hearts and minds are instructed to greater unity, joy and sanctification. We are encouraged to discard the chaff in our lives that we may be among the Lord's chosen-- clearly distinguishable from the tares of the field and gathered up before the field is burned.

Christ taught these doctrines in a simple parable about harvesting wheat. He invited his disciples to help plant good seeds and he invites us to join in the harvest.

"Therefore," he declared, "if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul" (D&C 4:3-4).

Inheriting the Gift of Eternal Life

As Jesus Christ taught in the coasts of Judea, "there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17).

This was a question the Savior had answered before. To a Pharisee inquiring by night, the Lord taught that the Son of man would be lifted up "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). 

On another occasion, Christ was confronted by a lawyer who asked, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou has answered right: this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:25-28).

To the one who had come running and kneeled before him, Christ expounded: "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me" (Mark 10:18-21).

The scriptures teach that the work and glory of God is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Eternal life, in particular, is "the greatest of all of the gifts of God" (D&C 14:7).

Certainly, the clandestine Pharisee, the confrontational lawyer, and the rich young ruler understood that eternal life is something of extraordinary value and profound religious significance. It was worth the risk to find Jesus by night or setting great status aside to run and kneel at the Savior's feet. Yet, like their countrymen who were disappointed when Christ shared the gospel rather than loaves and fishes, each of these inquirers were ultimately disappointed by the Savior's instruction to change something about themselves. They sought eternal life as a sort of fountain of youth and "received not, because they asked amiss, that they may consume it upon their lusts" (James 4:3). 

Like these inquirers, we also misunderstand when we think of eternal life merely as the life that comes after death and lasts forever. As sons and daughters of God, it is true that we will be resurrected and live again after we die. "For as in Adam all die," Paul wrote, "even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). We believe, as Amulek taught, that our mortal bodies will be raised to immortal bodies that can never die again (Alma 11:45). This is an incredible gift from a loving Heavenly Father, but he wants to give us more than an existence without illness or death. He desires to give us all he has (D&C 84:37-38).

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 19, we read:

For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore-- Eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment... Therefore I command you to repent-- repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore-- how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I" (D&C 19:10-17).

Eternal punishment is the name of God's punishment. In the Garden of Gethsemane, this punishment "caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:18).

Likewise, eternal life is the name of God's life. It includes eternal families, or families modeled after His in both duration and character. It includes sharing in His work and experiencing His eternal joy. As promised in the Abrahamic Covenant, with eternal life we also obtain eternal progression and glory as our posterity, like His, grows more numerous than the stars in the sky or the sands of the sea.

We obtain the blessing of eternal life from God "by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:20-21). The Lord recognizes that the gift of a lifestyle or a quality of life can only be sustained if we have learned the live the principles upon which that lifestyle is built. So many young heirs of great material wealth waste their inheritance because they do not understand the work and discipline necessary to build such a fortune. The Lord desires his gift to last much longer than fortunes in this world, so he gives us commandments to teach us how to succeed and help us begin now to live as he lives. In this way, the gift of eternal life is less like opening a present on Christmas morning and more like developing a gift for playing the piano or building furniture. As we develop wisdom, learn discipline and master the principles he has taught, we begin to inherit eternal life now because it is the natural consequence of our obedience to the law upon which it is predicated. We then inherit not only all the Lord has, but also all that he is.

"From such teachings," Elder Oaks has taught, "we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts-- what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-- what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become" (Oaks, Dallin H. The Challenge to Become. Ensign. November 2000.).

President Marion G. Romney shared that service, as an example, "is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made" (Romney, Marion G. The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance. Ensign. November 1982.). As we learn to live as He lived, including selfless compassion and service to others, we become as He is and obtain the blessings He enjoys.

Even so, our best efforts, however diligent, cannot meet the high threshold of obedience required to obtain the blessing of eternal life. The Lord summarized his commandments when he told us to "be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48). We "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Therefore nothing [or no one] entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (2 Nephi 27:19-20). 

God "so loved the world" that he provided legal means for us to inherit a blessing beyond our capacity for obedience. He "gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).

Through the gift of "an infinite and eternal sacrifice" (Alma 34:10), we can obtain blessings beyond our capacity for obedience through an agreement, a contract, with terms that are within our grasp. We enter that agreement through baptism, wherein we covenant and promise to remain willing to keep the commandments as best we can. We will repent and stay focused on our goal of becoming like God. If we choose not to meet these terms, the Lord will still provide many great and wonderful blessings; but if we desire all that he has, we must learn to be all that he is.

Along the path that leads to eternal life, we, like the Three Inquirers in the New Testament, may wonder from time to time what we must do to inherit eternal life. As the rich young ruler in Matthew's account of that encounter, we may approach the Lord on bended knee to ask, "What lack I yet?" We can expect a response like those in scripture with direction and guidance about how we can repent and change to be more like our Savior. He will encourage us through the power of His spirit with brief experiences with the eternal peace and joy we desire. And, step by step, if we are faithful unto the end, we will inherit "a crown of immortality and eternal life in the mansions which I [the Lord] have prepared in the house of my Father" (D&C 81:6).

The Gift of Repentance

Early one morning, as Christ was teaching in the temple, a group of Jewish rulers approached. Their intentions were sinister. Introducing a woman taken “in the very act” of adultery, the rulers asked, "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (John 8:5).

The rulers' question was carefully conceived to trap Jesus between his own teachings about mercy and the law of Moses. He would have no choice, the rulers must have thought, but to contradict himself or defy the law of Moses. Either way, Christ's fraud would be exposed and the rulers could restore their own power and influence over the people.

Unbound by the limited options he was presented, Christ the Lawgiver responded: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John 8:7).

This was more than a general admonition. Under Jewish law, the first witness to an offense was required to throw or cast the first stone at an offender. Adultery is not a sin that can be committed alone. Christ, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead (Moroni 10:34, Acts 10:42), was calling out the rulers' hypocrisy: they claimed to be defenders of pure religion and yet they had allowed, or perhaps even enticed, a woman to sin at the peril of her own life. And though the rulers were focused on the sin of the woman, Christ knew she was not the only guilty party present.

With the spotlight shifted from the woman to the witness, the rulers abandoned the scene and left Christ alone with the victim of their unsuccessful scheme. After a moment, and seeing that they were alone, Christ addressed the woman with respect, saying, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:10-11).

Like the woman taken in adultery, each of us have "sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we think, speak or act contrary to the commandments of God. King Benjamin taught that “there are divers ways and means [to sin], even so many that I cannot number them” (Mosiah 4:29), therefore we must “watch ourselves” and our thoughts, words and deeds.

It is useful to remember that sins and mistakes are not the same. The Doctrine and Covenants clearly differentiates between sin or transgression and mistakes, errors or being "overtaken in a fault" (D&C 20:80). Mistakes, like crossing the street without looking or forgetting to turn off a burner on the stove, may have serious consequences. Supporting errant political philosophies, over-trimming a spouse's favorite shrub or sending a work report to the wrong person, if done with the best of intentions, are all mistakes rather than sins. Some mistakes may lead us to sin. Yet, we do not need to feel guilty for our mistakes. The remedy for our errors and weakness is learning and correction (D&C 1:25, 27).

Sins are the result of willful disobedience of laws we have learned through the scriptures, the teachings of prophets, or the Spirit, known colloquially as our conscience, which teaches all of us what is right and wrong (John 14:26). However watchful we may be, in our "lost and fallen state" (1 Nephi 10:6) we will sometimes fall into Satan's sinful traps or choose to do something contrary to God's commandments. When we do, our sins bring anguish and lingering remorse to our soul. They make us unclean and unworthy to return and dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father (Repentance. churchofjesuschrist.org).

Though we revere Nephi as a prophet, he also lamented his sins. "Notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord," he wrote, "my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins" (2 Nephi 4:17-19).

Nephi found solace through faith in Christ and faith-filled repentance. "If the Lord... hath visited men in so much mercy," he reasoned, "why should my heart weep... because of mine afflictions? And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh?... Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul... Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness" (2 Nephi 4:26-35).

Nephi understood that forgiveness of sin is always a gift given through the grace of Christ. We do not ever deserve to be forgiven. We are not entitled to it, nor can we earn it by our good deeds or following a step-by-step repentance formula.

Even so, the Lord does not want to condemn us. He is anxious to advance our learning and happiness. He taught the Nephites, "I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit... Therefore, come unto me and be saved." (3 Nephi 12:19-20).

Consider again the story of the woman taken in adultery. She must have felt completely humiliated. Disgraced and ashamed, she was thrust before the Lord to await his judgement. The Lord responded with mercy. He dismissed her accusers and removed the condemnation of the law with an admonition to, "go, and sin no more."

Our sins may be less public, and we may not be compelled to take our guilt and shame to the Lord, but genuine repentance can remove the condemnation of God's eternal law and provide lasting relief from anguish and remorse. It can also deepen our resolve to "sin no more" and abide in the presence of God.

In contrast, the ruler taken in adultery received no such blessing. He was condemned of the Lord and fled from his presence. Rather than confess his sin, he sought to exempt himself from the law and destroy the lawgiver. He self-righteously lived by his own judgement and so was compelled to deal with the consequences of his sin alone. For him there was no relief from guilt or shame.

We should not have to be compelled to repent in humility. King Benjamin taught that we should review our thoughts, words and actions regularly and be honest with ourselves and with God when we have sinned. If we are striving to follow Christ, recognizing the sins we have committed will lead to “godly sorrow,” which “worketh repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly sorrow does not come from fear of punishment or disappointment with the natural consequences of sin, but rather because our behavior has displeased our Heavenly Father and our Savior. When we experience godly sorrow, we have a sincere desire to change and we are willing to submit to every requirement the Lord may give us to be forgiven.

Amulek invited those who had sinned to, “begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you” (Alma 34:17). As our sin is the result of our own pride and following our own will, the first requirement to overcome sin will often be to turn to our Heavenly Father, pray in faith, and act as He directs. We can only be forgiven on His terms. When we gratefully recognize our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement, and strive to do His will, He will begin to bless us with strength and healing.

Our desire to be forgiven will be apparent when we are willing to fully disclose to our Heavenly Father what we have done. "By this ye may know if a man [or woman] repenteth of his [or her] sins," the Lord has said, "behold, he [or she] will confess them and forsake them" (D&C 58:43). Our prayer of faith must include a confession of our shame and guilt as we humbly plead for divine help.

While only the Lord can forgive sins, some serious transgressions, such as violations of the law of chastity, need to be confessed to both the Lord and a priesthood leader like a bishop or stake president. Elder C. Scott Grow taught that when our sins make us feel “guilty, unsettled, unhappy, or even miserable,” we probably need to talk with our bishop. If we feel the spirit prompting us to go to our bishop, we should not try to excuse ourselves or rationalize our way out. Just as Christ helped the woman taken in adultery to repent rather than condemning her, a bishop's role is to help God's children access the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to relay His love for us, and to serve as the Lord’s messenger of mercy while working with us to get back to the path that leads to Him.

Along with confession of sin, the Lord requires us to forsake them. We should do everything in our power to restore property or reputations we may have damaged, including rebuilding trust or faith in ourselves. We will certainly need to forgive ourselves and exercise kindness and mercy as we hold ourselves accountable. We can then resolve never to repeat our sin and avoid people, places and situations that may compromise that resolve. We cannot linger in temptation and expect to remain clean from sin.

Instead, we must fill our lives with righteousness and engage in activities, like daily scripture study, prayer and fasting, that bring spiritual power. We must strive to be obedient to all of the commandments of God, including things like paying tithing, serving others, attending our church meetings, and forgiving those who have offended us. Some of these may not seem directly related to our sin, but the Lord has taught that “he [or she] that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven” (D&C 1:32, emphasis added).

These actions are not a magic formula, but principles that govern or are generally present when we sincerely repent. The Lord may give us more personal direction as we go to him in prayer.

Christ, the Lawgiver and Eternal Judge, is bound by the covenants and promises he has given us (D&C 82:10). One of those sacred promises is that “he [or she] who has repented of his [or her] sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42). When we are striving to do all we can, the Lord will make us clean and sanctify us by the Holy Ghost. We can know that we have been forgiven of our sin when we experience the fruits of that Spirit: love, joy, peace, goodness, meekness, temperance, faith, and relief from guilt and anguish (Galatians 5:22-23).

King Benjamin invited his listeners to, “believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them” (Mosiah 4:10). The Lord extends the same invitation to those who would receive the gift of repentance: "go, and sin no more."

The Brother of Jared's Journey to the Temple

Readers of the Book of Mormon know well the story of the Brother of Jared. Like Noah, Lehi and others, the Brother of Jared was instructed to build barges to bring his family to a promised land. When challenges arose during the construction of the barges, the Brother of Jared turned to the Lord for answers. The Lord helped the Brother of Jared understand how to modify the water-tight vessels for air and explained that the wind would propel the barges in the right direction. When the Brother of Jared asked for light for the barges, the Lord responded with a question: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23).

While the Lord may have been asking for the Brother of Jared's effort and ideas to light the barges, his question was also an invitation for greater spiritual light amid the darkness of the world. Just as the Lord had volunteered the wind when the Brother of Jared asked for air, the Lord generously responds to the Brother of Jared's inquiry for light with a question that will lead him to the divine light and knowledge available through temple worship.

The story of the Brother of Jared begins in the ancient city of Babel, a predecessor to Babylon in modern-day Iraq. A play on the Hebrew balal, which means "to mix or confound," ancient tradition (Josephus, Antiquities, 1.4) states that Babel was known as "the gate of God." Here at the symbolic gates of heaven, Nimrod, the power-hungry grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah, sought to build a tower to reach the heavens.

By virtue of its goal, Nimrod's tower was likely some version of a temple. Aware of the floods that had previously destroyed the wicked, the Tower of Babel was built high and thick and from bricks and mortar so as to be water tight. Its construction was a mockery of God, to whom Nimrod preached it was cowardice to submit, and many traditions hold that it was Nimrod's desire to use the tower to break in to heaven, dethrone God, avenge mankind of the flood that destroyed it, and place himself as the new ruler of heavens and of earth.

It was in this wicked society that Jared and his brother pleaded with the Lord for unity (or at-one-ment) for their family and a small band of believers. The Lord answered each prayer with compassion and, when the Brother of Jared had cried "this long time," the Lord ultimately promised to go before the Brother of Jared's face, deliver him and his friends from the evil around them, lead them to a promised land, and make Jared and his brother the heads of a great nation (Ether 1:33-43).

Intertwined with the the Lord's promises for temporal and political blessings for the Jaredites are each of the core elements that would become known the Abrahamic Covenant in the succeeding generation: priesthood, posterity and a promised land. Because the Jaredites had faithfully rejected the false doctrines of the world and its heretical temple, the Lord covenanted to reveal the doctrines of the gospel and bring them back into his presence through authorized temple ordinances.

Preparation to receive the promised blessings lasted for many years. The Jaredites were tested and refined as they wandered in the wilderness, built barges on several occasions to cross many waters, endured trials and chastisement, collected animals and seeds, and lived four years in tents on the seashore. As the Jaredites' obedience and sacrifice increased, so did their privileges with the Lord.

"And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel... being directed continually by the hand of the Lord" (Ether 2:5-6).

"And it came to pass... that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared" (Ether 2:14).

Finally, the Jaredites were ready to construct the barges that would carry them across the ocean; and the Brother of Jared was prepared for the greater light and knowledge the Lord promised to give him. With water-tight barges now modified for greater air flow, the Brother of Jared prays, "O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?" (Ether 2:22).

After many years of preparation, the Brother of Jared's word choice, as relayed by Moroni, is intentional. Water is associated with life: it is present at our birth and when we are born again through baptism. Christ turned water into wine at the beginning of his ministry, a symbol of his transcendence of the earthly condition. Nimrod had also been keenly aware that water could be used to destroy corruption and refresh the life on earth.

The depth of the Brother of Jared's question, asked with emotion and perhaps some fatigue, includes the veiled plea, "Must we go our entire lives without the full light and blessings of the gospel and the at-one-ment we first desired?" The omniscient Lord responds with the same compassion noted frequently in these verses: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23). 

The Brother of Jared must have recognized the invitation in the Lord's reply, because he seems to know what to do next. Though the Lord had been speaking to him from a cloud, the Brother of Jared, like others in the Old Testament who sought to commune with the Lord, climbed a particularly high mountain, Mount Shelem, to seek further light and knowledge.

"Shelem," like "shalom," refers to peace with God and, more specifically, the peace offering and priestly atoning that was part of the law of sacrifice and a significant part of ancient temple worship. For such an offering the priest would enter the temple wearing a breastplate with sixteen stones. The number of stones-- sixteen-- was symbolic of the eye or bringing to light. An ancient priest entering the temple would also carry incense or coals in his hands that would be used to perform the sacrifice.

Prior to climbing Mount Shelem, the Brother of Jared, "did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord" (Ether 3:1, emphasis added). It is worth noting that some ancient rabbis believed that Noah used precious stones that shone in the ark rather than windows (Genesis 6:16, footnote a) and the Brother of Jared may have ventured this solution based on what he knew of his priestly ancestor's dealings with the Lord. Whether inspired by Noah, or an ancient temple, or in some other way, the search for physical and spiritual light brought the Brother of Jared to the precipice of a mountain-temple with sixteen white, clear stones that he had molten from a rock.

As he enters the temple environment, the Brother of Jared repeats the Lord's instructions that the Jaredites, "must be encompassed about by the floods". The first stop in an ancient temple was the "Molten Sea" that represented the great flood that covered the whole earth.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie once explained:

In Solomon's Temple a large molten sea of brass was placed on the backs of 12 brazen oxen, these oxen being symbolical of the 12 tribes of Israel. This brazen sea was used for performing baptisms for the living... In describing the molten sea the Old Testament record says, 'The sea was for the priests to wash in' (2 Chron 4:2-6). This is tantamount to saying that the priests performed baptisms in it (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 103-104).

In addition to stating the obvious about a boat crossing the ocean, the Brother of Jared appealed for the Lord's approval and redemption in the same way that a high priest entering the temple symbolically was redeemed from the Fall in order to enter the presence of God.

"Now behold, O Lord," he continues, "and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou has given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires" (Ether 3:2).

Admitted into the temple, the Brother of Jared asks the Lord to touch the stones with his finger that they may have light. What follows reminds us of Moses' temple experience when the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of the Lord to give light to Israelites (Deuteronomy 9:10). Like Moses, Ezekiel, and others, when the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord, he "fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear" (Ether 3:6, see also Exodus 3:6, Ezekiel 1:28).

Continuing in compassion and perhaps pleased to see the Brother of Jared accepting the invitation to come to the temple, the Lord tells the Brother of Jared to rise and commends him for his faith. Aware of the sacred nature of the temple ordinances that were about to take place, the Lord then inquires, "Believest thou the words which I shall speak?" (Ether 3:11). This is the Brother of Jared's last opportunity to withdraw rather than accepting the obligations and blessings the Lord is prepared to place on him.

When the Brother of Jared answers affirmatively, the Lord accepts the Brother of Jared's earlier appeal to enter his presence. "Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you" (Ether 3:13). The Lord then teaches the Brother of Jared face to face about the creation, the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all the inhabitants of the earth, and many more things that cannot be written (Ether 3:14-17, 4:5).

Moroni, the editor of this account, references the Brother of Jared's temple endowment as he writes, "there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared" (Ether 4:4). He records, "And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil... and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting" (Ether 3:19).

Like the Brother of Jared, Moroni writes that we can also obtain the greatest knowledge manifested to mankind so that we can behold within the veil and enter the presence of the Lord. To do so, we must "repent of [our] inquity, and become clean before the Lord" through baptism. We must exercise faith, as the Brother of Jared did, and become sanctified through the gift of the Holy Ghost (Ether 4:6-7).

If we will apply these first principles and ordinances of the gospel in our lives, the Lord will, "manifest unto [us] the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations" (Ether 4:7). Further, the Lord advises us, "he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good" (Ether 4:11). If not, we will be accursed, or spiritually separated from God and limited in our progression and potential (Ether 4:11).

As the Lord inquired of the Brother of Jared, so he inquires of us: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?"

"And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I have unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am-- not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual" (D&C 67:10).

Lost and Found

"Black Sheep" by Julie Rogers

In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, as elsewhere in the New Testament, orthodox Pharisees murmured about Jesus Christ's interactions with sinners. They disapproved of his willingness to receive and share a dinner table with those they considered unclean and lost souls.

Christ responded to the Pharisees' criticism in this instance with three parables. In the first, a shepherd leaves his flock of 99 sheep to find one that had wandered off. The second parable is about a woman who lit a candle and cleaned her house to find a coin that she had lost. Finally, the Parable of the Prodigal Son tells of a son who wastes his inheritance with riotous living but is received with joy when he returns to his father's house.

Each of these parables is really about lost souls. It is instructive to note that the sheep, the coin and the prodigal son were each lost in a different way. The sheep wandered from its flock, perhaps not even noticing it was drifting from the others until it couldn't easily find the way back. The coin was lost because of the neglect or insufficient caution of someone else, not unlike the effect a wayward parent may have on their children. The Prodigal Son rejected his father's counsel and became lost through his own rebellion.

The parables illustrate how the sheep, the coin and the prodigal son were also found in different ways. The sheep that wandered into the wilderness was in the stewardship of a shepherd. "Wilderness" in the scriptures is often symbolic for "the world". The Joseph Smith translation of these verses clarifies that the shepherd left his flock of sheep in a safe place (not in the wilderness) and then went into the wilderness to search for the lost sheep. In a similar way, we may have opportunities to minister to those in our stewardship who have drifted away from gospel activity. Our efforts will be to bring those who are lost in worldly living back into the relative safety of the church. With this story, Christ is directly admonishing the Pharisees, who had a direct ecclesiastical responsibility for the lost souls they so disdained.

In the second story, the woman who lost a coin put nine other coins in a safe place before searching for her missing piece of silver. In this case, the woman was directly responsible for losing one of the coins and finding it required more light and a cleansing process. If we lead others away from Christ, we must repent and do all we can to restore their faith and standing before him. As we seek the Savior's influence in our lives he can provide direction and inspiration that will help us find those we have lost. This story was also an invitation to the Pharisees to search within themselves and fill their lives with light so they could find truth.

Finally, the Prodigal Son had to search within himself until he "came to himself" and desired to return to his father. He had known what was right and chose to waste his inheritance living contrary to that knowledge. It also had to be his choice to humbly return to the home of his father.

In every case, there is rejoicing when what was lost is found. "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," the Lord taught as a lesson of the lost sheep's return to the flock. When the woman finds the lost coin, she rejoices with her neighbors and the Savior says that the angels of heaven rejoice as well. Those angels exult because of their devotion to the Savior, but also because they are our friends and family, our parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. Of course they rejoice, just as the Father rejoices at the return of the prodigal son and hosts a celebration in his honor.

In the end, the sheep, the coin and the prodigal son are all restored to the place where they had been before they were lost. Unlike the sheep and the coin however, the father of the prodigal son explains to a more faithful posterity that the prodigal's inheritance cannot be restored. This cautionary note seems to say that though we may repent in the spirit world after death, our inheritance cannot be restored at that point. We may live with God again, a fact worth great rejoicing, but we cannot inherit eternal life nor inhabit the highest degree of His Celestial Kingdom. In the parable, the son who had been faithful and kept his inheritance is told that he will inherit "all that [the Father]" has.

The Lord taught Abraham, "And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever" (Abraham 3:26). In the context of this verse, our mortal lives are our second estate. We can waste them with a Vegas lifestyle or addicted to various things, like the prodigal; but life can also slip away into distraction and passivity, indecision and apathy. It isn't enough to not be bad-- we must be good, like the faithful son who worked for his father all of his life.

The three parables about the lost speak to each of us as both sinners and rescuers. At times, all of us begin to wander from what we know is right. Perhaps we do not pray or study our scriptures for a time. We rely too heavily on ourselves and what we want to do. We are offended by someone at church or choose to do things we know are wrong because they seem fun or pleasurable or impressive to others. We are all charged of God with seeking for those who are lost.

This is true socially and within ourselves. In the depths of our hearts, we sometimes find that individual elements of our testimonies of the gospel may be lost for a time. If we do not fast or pray, we may lose our testimonies of the power of fasting and prayer. Sometimes elements of our testimonies may drift almost undetected. At other times, we may consciously battle with difficult questions about church history, gospel doctrine, life challenges or current events. It is in these times that we most need to light a candle in our lives, repenting and inviting Christ's presence to shine more brightly within us so we can see clearly to find what we have lost.

The Lord calls all of us to watch after those in our stewardship. Whether sharing the gospel with those wandering without a knowledge of the truth or finding those who have wandered, great joy is in store for those who do the Lord's work.

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;" the Savior said. "Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" (D&C 18:10, 14-16).

Christ invited the Pharisees to seek after the lost so that one day they could rejoice together at the Lord's table. He invites us to continue his work so that we can join Him and his angels when they kill the fatted calf for a great celebration of our return into His presence.

Kicking Against the Pricks

The Apostle Paul was a Greek-speaking Jew (with Roman citizenship) born to a religious home in what is now Turkey. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, which was known for being military-minded, living in the area around Jerusalem and Jericho, and producing leaders like Saul, the first Israelite king.

Paul learned to read and write Greek in his hometown of Tarsus, but learned the scriptures in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, a doctor of the law and one of the leading rabbis of the day. Rather than carrying scrolls while he traveled, it is likely that Paul had memorized the Old Testament so he could recall verses quickly to ground or advance his arguments. Many scholars believe he also became a doctor of the law, having attended what would have been considered the Harvard of his day. Paul's future was bright and likely would have included service on the Sanhedrin, something like the Supreme Court for ancient Jews, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Gamaliel.

Like Gamaliel and his father, Paul became a Pharisee. This was no small commitment. Zealous Pharisees, like Paul, prided themselves on strict obedience to the law of Moses and believed they had a sacred prophetic right and duty to interpret the law and the oral traditions for the people. Christ came sharply into conflict with this belief, rebuking the Pharisees for reducing religion to the observance of rules without faith or conviction, rejecting their spiritual pride and calling on his disciples to serve and support others rather than burdening others with the requirement to support them (see Matthew 23, Mark 7:1-23, and Luke 11:37-44).

After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, Christianity was seen as a branch of Judaism the same way that Catholicism and Lutheranism are subdivisions of Christianity today. For Pharisees who believed in strict observance of the law of Moses, or their interpretation of it, Christianity and its teachings of revelation and a crucified messiah was an offensive and dangerous heresy. It was their duty, they believed, to address it.

Gamaliel is said to have defended the Christians among his fellow Pharisees. Paul, on the other hand, put the early saints in prison and approved of their execution (Acts 26:10). On one occasion mentioned in Acts 9, he obtained permission from the high priest to go on a crusade to Damascus and return with bound Christians from the churches there. Paul, who was originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was bent on the purging of all Christians-- heretics and apostates that they were-- from Judaism.

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

And [Paul] said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 9:2-5, 26:14-18).

Amid Paul's divine call to be an eyewitness of the Resurrection of Christ and later an apostolic minister of the gospel to the world, a calling he would embrace with the same diligence and vigor as he had his Pharisaical duties, is a brief statement: It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

A prick was a sharp spear used to drive animals. Often the animals would kick back when pricked, causing the spear to sink deeper into the animal's flesh (Come, Follow Me-- For Individuals and Families, 2019). In a similar way, parents and gospel teachers often share doctrines aimed at driving us to faith and repentance. The Book of Mormon prophet Jarom wrote that the prophets, priests and teachers of his day, "did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence... persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah... [and] by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance (Jarom 1:11-12).

Alma sought to prick the hearts of his people when he saw them turning to idolatry, perversions, iniquity and worldliness. He wrote:

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead people to do that which was just-- yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them-- therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God. Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner... and Amulek and Zeezrom... and he also took two of his sons... to preach unto them the word (Alma 31:5-7).

The point of the gospel spear is the Holy Ghost. As we hear truth and the testimonies of the righteous, our hearts are pricked. If we follow the impressions we receive, we are led to do that which is just: to have faith in Christ, to repent of our sin and walk the covenant path. We can also choose to dig in our heels, to refuse to submit our will to God's, to harden our hearts, and to effectively kick against the pricks, or promptings, we receive.

Christ recognized Paul's righteous desire. He knew that Paul wanted to serve God with complete devotion. He knew that Paul, as a Pharisee, was taught, and likely believed, that his persecutions against the Christians were a service to the kingdom of God. Christ also knew that Paul, in his heart of hearts, knew what he was doing was wrong and that his extraordinary brutality toward the Christians was as much an effort to soothe his own conscience-- to salve the injury to his soul from resisting the promptings he may or may not have recognized as such-- as to purify the kingdom. So the comment, recognizing Paul's inner conflict: It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

We are no different than Paul. The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote from Liberty Jail:

When we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of righteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and... Ere [we are] aware, [we are] left unto [ourselves], to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God (D&C 121:37-38).

Each of us has known someone who has chosen the lonely path of kicking against the pricks. Our fellowship of these individuals is essential to preventing their destruction, if they will allow it, as our friendship and kindness continually provides direction back to the safe path.

Even more essential than our fellowship of the proverbial lost sheep is the internal evaluation of our own thoughts and behaviors. What has the Lord been trying to tell us that perhaps we have resisted? What favorite sin or vain ambition injures our souls and prevents our progress? What scriptures or General Conference addresses do we avoid because we know they carry messages that are hard for us to hear?

As Christ, our Redeemer, said to Saul of Tarsus, he says to us: Rise, and stand upon your feet. He has a purpose for each of us and he will qualify us to do his work. As we turn to him, and as we follow his direction, he will make us mighty, as sons and daughters of an almighty God, to the fulfilling of our life mission, the salvation of our souls and the completion of his work. He is directing us to greater happiness, peace, power and exaltation than we could ever claim for ourselves; we need only to stop kicking against the pricks.

Jesus Christ is the Way

At the last supper, the Savior shared a final sermon with his disciples. After teaching that he would soon leave them, Thomas asked, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:5-6).

The disciples' subsequent questions provide some evidence that they did not immediately understand what Christ had taught them. He was not a stone path or a list of instructions and he had just said he would no longer be with them to lead them. How could he be the way?

The answer is myriad, but any number of responses may be useful to our understanding of and relationship with our Savior. In direct reply to Thomas' inquiry, for example, the Savior indicates that he is the way back to the presence of the Father. Each of us, as sinful mortals, are unworthy to enter the Father's presence and incapable of withstanding His glory (D&C 67:11-13). Through Christ's suffering in Gethsemane, his death on the cross and his resurrection, we can overcome sin and death.

The apocryphal Gospel of Phillip records, "Until Christ opened the way, it was impossible to go from one level to another [death and resurrection]. He is the great opener of the way because he gave us the plan by which we can progress. He is the way."

President Joseph F. Smith taught that an innumerable company of the just who had died prior to the resurrection of Christ, and who viewed the separation of their spirits from their bodies as a form of bondage, anxiously awaited the opening of the way to resurrection and the presence of God. "These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter his Father's kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life" (D&C 138).

Christ was also the way from our premortal existence to life on this earth. Under the direction of the Father, he was the creator of the earth. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3).

As we counseled in heaven before this world was, we knew that this life would include pain and sorrow that could be overwhelming. The cost was too great unless a way was provided that we could be comforted in our trials and benefited by our challenges. Through obedience to his commandments, frequent repentance and the acceptance of sacred covenants, Christ has made it possible for us to inherit all that our Father has. We can experience joy as exquisite as our pains.

Christ is the way we commune with God. He is our great mediator in prayer, in covenant and in judgement. We take his name upon ourselves through baptism and other ordinances as a symbol of our willingness to follow him and his commandments.

Christ is the way we can repent. His life is a model for how we should live and he gives us power to change and improve when we seek his direction. Though our sins be as scarlet, Christ can make us as pure as fresh-fallen snow.

Christ is the way we can heal from hurt and injustice. He knows our sorrows and counts our tears. He is the master physician who knows how to provide comfort and counsel for imperfect bodies, aching hearts and troubled minds. His way is the only way to replace scars and scabs with confidence and peace.

Christ is the way we can be unified with each other and bring peace to our communities, our nations and the world. When he comes again, he will rule for a thousand years of peace as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords. No other political power or priority can bind our hearts as one.

Christ is the way we can know our mission on the earth and have power to accomplish it. He has overcome all things so that we might be empowered to do those things he commands us to do.

Ultimately, Christ is the way we must go for lasting joy, an understanding of our divine nature and eternal progression in this life and beyond. He is the source of all truth and life. His life provided the perfect example of the path that leads back to the presence of God. As we follow his example, we will be blessed to come to the Father through the tender mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

That They Might Have Joy

The world is increasingly in commotion. There are political upheavals, wars and rumors of wars, personal tragedies, attacks on family values and all kinds of economic woes. One report to the United Nations confirmed that "weather-related disasters such as floods and heatwaves have occurred almost daily in the past decade, almost twice as often as two decades ago... Predictions of more extreme weather in the future almost certainly mean that we will witness a continued upward trend in weather-related disasters in the decades ahead" (Miles, Tom. Article linked).

While nightly news reports increasingly align with Biblical descriptions of "perilous times" when "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places" (2 Timothy 3:1, Matthew 24:7), there are more personal disasters too. Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce; one in five Americans suffers from mental illness; almost a million people declare bankruptcy each year; we are afflicted by debilitating and life-threatening diseases and the suffering of those we love; and more people than ever are having crises of faith that eventually lead to having no faith at all.

President Boyd K. Packer summarized in 2004:

I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now.

Words of profanity, vulgarity, and blasphemy are heard everywhere. Unspeakable wickedness and perversion were once hidden in dark places; now they are in the open, even accorded legal protection.

At Sodom and Gomorrah these things were localized. Now they are spread across the world, and they are among us ("One Pure Defense", Feb 6, 2004).

Amid a world of stress, fear, chaos and wickedness, it is easy to become discouraged, worried or hopeless. Yet, the Lord has said that we can experience greater hope and peace in our lives as the prophecies that precede the Second Coming of Christ are fulfilled (Matthew 24:6; D&C 45:35). What's more, he has promised that the righteous in our times will be gathered while "singing with songs of everlasting joy" (D&;C 45:71). How can this be, when our lives are filled with so much suffering, confusion, oppression and difficulty?

The prophet Nephi experienced some of the conditions that are common to our day. As a young man, his father left a life of prosperity to take his family into the wilderness prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. On at least one occasion, the family nearly starved to death. Nephi's rebellious older brothers led wicked lives that led to a great deal of suffering for their family. They frequently fought with Nephi and tried to kill him and their father many times. As his posterity grew, Nephi's people separated into a new nation that took up arms to defend their liberties and their families from the descendants of Nephi's brothers that sought to enslave and destroy them.

Given all he experienced, we could easily expect Nephi to be a mess of a person with myriad mental afflictions worthy of our pity. Instead, Nephi writes that he and his people "lived after the manner of happiness" (2 Nephi 5:27). So what can we learn from Nephi's experience that will help us sing songs of everlasting joy despite the commotion all around us and even, at times, within us?

A further study of Nephi's resilience reveals that at least one source of strength was his unwavering focus on his purpose. The Lord has clearly declared his own mission relative to his children on the earth: "For behold, this is my work and my glory-- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Our purpose within God's larger plan may seem less clear.

Leadership guru Ben Zander has observed that the reason for much of what we do is simply to "make our eyes shine". Shining eyes, he explains, reveal our joy in the journey and our hope for the future. Most of us tend to do things that we think will awaken opportunity in us and those around us.

Nephi said it this way: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). This is the purpose of our lives on earth: to have joy. Every commandment the Lord has given leads to this outcome. Joy is the reason for multiplying and replenishing the earth and joy is the reason for keeping the Sabbath Day holy. As we learn to better live by the laws that God has given us, we will discover a greater measure of joy in our daily lives.

That, of course, does not mean we'll always be happy. Consider Paul's counsel to the members of the ancient church in Hebrews 12:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God...

Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin... despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth...

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Hebrews 12:1, 2, 4, 6, 11).

None of us would suppose that the Savior was happy to be tortured and killed on the cross at Calvary, yet Paul explicitly states that Christ did so for the joy it brought him. Few of us take pleasure in the difficult challenges we encounter in life or in the humility of correction, but through the exercise of our trials we often grow in wisdom and find the peace that precedes the deepest joy.

Ultimately, like all else that is good in life, true joy is a gift from God predicated upon our ability to have his spirit to be with us. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23). And, like all other gifts from God, he is anxious to share it with us if we will allow it: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11).

Painting by Greg Olson

The Lord illustrated how we can share in his joy in a vision given to Nephi's father, Lehi, and later to Nephi also. In the vision, Lehi was led to a glorious tree filled with the most delicious fruit he had ever tasted. He stated that the fruit was "desirable to make one happy" and that it "filled [his] soul with incredibly great joy" as he ate. The fruit was available to all, but many chose not to approach or left in shame after they had begun to eat.

The Lord explains later that the fruit Lehi saw was symbolic for the Love of God. Elder David A. Bednar has taught, "The greatest manifestation of God's love for His children is the mortal ministry, atoning sacrifice, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fruit on the tree can be considered a symbol for the blessings of the Savior's Atonement."

Because of the Savior's Atonement, each of us can receive joy as we exercise faith in Him, repent of our sins, make and keep sacred covenants including baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost in our daily lives. Interestingly, and unsurprisingly, as we accomplish our purpose of having joy in this life, we are also attaining God's purpose to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man.

Modern scripture expounds upon the testimony of ancient prophets with prophecies of thunderings, lightnings, tempests, and "the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds" (D&C 88:88-90). It continues, "And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people" (D&C 88:91). Yet, the Lord has promised that we need not be troubled when we see these things going on around us.

Ben Zander has suggested that if we are not finding joy in the goals and activities of our lives, we need only to "move the goalposts". As we turn to the Lord and strive to better live the gospel outlined in the Holy Scriptures-- that is, as we live after the manner of happiness-- our eyes can shine and we can sing the heartfelt songs of everlasting joy even in the darkness and chaos that sometimes surrounds us. This is our purpose here on the earth: that we might have joy.

His Hand is Stretched Out Still

The Israelites of the Old Testament were almost constantly in a heap of trouble. On one occasion in the Book of Isaiah, the Lord gave a long laundry list of their grievances against Him. The Israelites were chastised for turning away from God, following leaders that had caused them to err, lying, hypocrisy, denying help to the poor, fighting unnecessary wars, selfishness and pride. It's a shameful list that may seem more familiar to you or I than we'd like to admit.

After each verse of accusations in this particular part of Isaiah, the Lord repeats the same warning coupled with a merciful invitation. "For all this [my] anger is not turned away, but [my] hand is stretched out still" (Isaiah 9).

Each of us, like the Israelites of Old, have committed offenses against God for which there must be consequences. In the words of the apostle Paul, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Trailing our offenses is a warning: "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance." Mercifully, the Lord continues, "Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven" (D&C 1:31-32).

Whatever sins we may have committed, whatever pain we may be carrying in our hearts, or however lost we may sometimes feel, the Lord's hand is stretched out still. He promises there is still hope for us and that he will be there to lift us up if we will just keep trying.

This is possible because of the infinite and eternal Atonement of Jesus Christ, which includes his suffering in Gethsemane, his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. Amulek, a great missionary in ancient America, taught:

For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice...

And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.

And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety" (Alma 34:9, 10, 14-16).

An infinite number is one without limits that cannot be detracted from or added upon. Likewise, eternity is an unbound measure of time expanding indefinitely into future and past. Therefore, an infinite and eternal atonement is an unlimited offering on our behalf. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven, no wound that cannot be healed, no weakness that cannot be made into a strength, no past that cannot have meaning and no future without hope.

President Boyd K. Packer shared an illustration of this principle at a leadership training held a few months before he died. He said that he had searched backward throughout his lifetime, looking for evidence of the sins that he had committed and sincerely repented. He could could find no trace of them. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and through sincere repentance, his sins were completely gone as if they had never happened (Reeves, Linda. The Great Plan of Redemption. Ensign. November 2016.).

Sometimes we all find ourselves in a shameful heap. For those things we do that offend God, his anger is not turned away. He has a zero tolerance policy for sin. Justice must be satisfied.

Yet, because he longs to help you and I return to his presence, his arm is stretched out still. The Son of God died so that we can try again. He atoned for our sins, our afflictions, our sorrows and our weaknesses to meet justice's demands and heal the scars on our souls, regardless of their size or how long they have been there. If we will repent and follow his commandments, it will one day be as if we had never been scarred at all.

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Since the time of Adam, the Lord has prepared his people for the blessings of the temple. In these holy houses, we can be taught, make certain covenants, and receive ordinances that enable us to live in the presence of God. Temples are literally houses of the Lord where we can feel His spirit and learn His will for us. Because "no unclean thing shall be permitted to come into [His] house" (D&C 109:20), the Lord has taught that we must prepare ourselves to be worthy for temple worship.

The concept of preparation prevails in many of our endeavors. A person is not admitted to a university, for example, until they have worked to achieve sufficient academic standing and met all other criteria for eligibility. Similarly, anyone may enter the temple who is willing to prepare well for that privilege. Priesthood leaders have the authority and responsibility to represent the Lord in determining our eligibility to attend the temple as we meet with them.

Preparation for temple attendance includes physical, intellectual and spiritual elements. Physical preparation includes an outward appearance that is modest and clean. Wearing our "Sunday best" as we enter the temple reflects our respect for the Lord and the importance of the learning, revelation and covenants that occur in the Lord's house.

Intellectual preparation might include a study of the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament and topics relevant to temple worship or principles we are seeking to learn. The Old Testament underscores the antiquity of temple worship and the enduring nature of its ordinances. Symbols were used anciently to teach profound truths and this method of instruction continues to be used in temples today.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must prepare spiritually to attend the temple. In Psalm 24, King David asked, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" He answered simply, "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart... He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation" (Psalm 24:3-5).

When Christ came to the temple in ancient America, he taught:

And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day (3 Nephi 27:19-20).

Because of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, we can be washed and sanctified as we act in faith; repent of our sin; covenant through baptism to take His name upon ourselves, keep his commandments, and always remember him; and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We prepare for temple worship as we take appropriate steps to have clean hands and a pure heart.

The Lord was teaching the early members of the Church how to prepare for temple worship before a temple was even constructed. In December 1832 or January 1833, the Lord commanded the Saints to, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" (D&C 88:119).

One verse prior, the Lord instructs, "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and by faith" (v. 118). As was the case for most farmers of that time, few of the early leaders of the Church had more than a third grade education. Before they, or the rest of the church members, would be ready for the blessings of the temple, they would need to further their education.

Obediently, these faithful men began gathering each morning after breakfast in an upstairs room of the Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio. There they were instructed in topics of religion, languages, history, geology, politics, and anything else that could be taught.

As was common in those days, many of the men in the newly established school would pull out their pipes once breakfast had settled in their stomachs. Often, the room would get too smoke-filled to see the instructor. Then, when finished with their pipes, many would use chewing tobacco in one side or both and spit with varying degrees of accuracy into spittoons located on the floor.

The disgusting mess of spit and tobacco left behind after one of these sessions was very difficult to clean and even stained the floor. After just a few weeks, Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, to whom the chore of cleaning the floor often fell, became very concerned by the lack of cleanliness associated with using tobacco products. Joseph inquired of the Lord and received a revelation now commonly known as the Word of Wisdom.

The Word of Wisdom lays out the Lord's law of health for our time. It starts with this preamble: "Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of the evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation" (D&C 89:4).

The Lord then lays out the law. Alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea are "not for the body," but "all grain is good for the food of man" and fruits and vegetables are to be eaten in their proper seasons. Meat is also ordained for our use, the Lord instructs, but it is to be eaten sparingly and with thanksgiving (D&C 89:5-17).

If we follow this law, the Lord promises that we "shall receive health in [our] navel and marrow to [our] bones; And shall find great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them [that obey] a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them" (D&C 89:18-21).

In the context of history, the Word of Wisdom was clearly ahead of its time. There was no scientific research on tobacco products in the 1830s and alcohol was considered safer than water to drink. Temperance societies were just beginning to convince the public to replace their morning whiskey with a cup of coffee, which had been a rare luxury item until those same societies successfully lobbied for the removal of the import tariff on coffee beans. Manufacturers, meanwhile, were still discovering the profit potential of addictive substances, drugs and hormones to increase animal production, and genetic modification techniques.

At the same time, the Word of Wisdom was not unprecedented. Daniel, in the Old Testament, "purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank" (Daniel 1:8). Instead, he made a deal with the eunuchs: they would let him and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, eat only grains and drink only water for ten days, then they could compare their health with the other children.

Daniel clearly believed that his food choices were a matter of faith ordained by the Lord. To deviate from those choices wasn't just a physical setback, but a defiling of his soul. After ten days, the eunuchs saw his healthy countenance and took the meats and wine away from the other children. But another consequence of their behavior is sometimes overlooked. The scriptures explain, "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" (Daniel 1:17).

The particulars of the Lord's law of health have varied slightly in different periods of world history, but whenever there have been prophets on the earth the Lord has given commandments for the care of our bodies. These commandments help us to be ready to serve others and keep other commandments, to be sure, but also prepare us for the blessings of "hidden" knowledge and wisdom received by Daniel and promised to us through the Word of Wisdom.

It is this "hidden", or sacred, knowledge that comes through revelation from God to each of us in His temple. Through his spirit, He can teach us the answers to some of our most complex questions, give us the insight to seek a better approach or nudge us toward actions that will bless our lives. To hear his voice and receive the strength we need to obey His word, we must be prepared to receive Him.

So we see again that in every gospel dispensation, including our own, the Lord has prepared his people for the blessings of the temple. It is there that we can be sealed together as families for time and all eternity. It is there, in His house, that our Heavenly Father teaches us, His children, many of the most sacred doctrines of His gospel. Every other gospel principle leads us to the temple because the temple leads us to Him; but our eligibility to participate depends on willingness to come to him through our physical, intellectual and spiritual preparation.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart... He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation (Psalm 24:3-5).