Saved by Chastening

All of us experience the chastisement of God in our lives. Sometimes it may be that we are given a particular trial; at other times, we hear His voice in the words of scriptures or the living prophets admonishing us to do better; still other times, the Spirit of the Lord withdraws and we feel hollow or "in a funk". This is exactly as it should be.

In August of 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith was traveling in canoes with ten elders down the Missouri River when they experienced many dangers. For at least two of the elders, these experiences were necessary before leaving on their missions. The Lord explained:

I would not suffer that ye should part until you were chastened for all your sins, that you might be one, that you might not perish in wickedness; (D&C 61:8).

Through chastisement, the Lord teaches that we may become 'one'. There are at least two ways the scripture teach we should become one. First, we become one with Christ through faith on his name, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. This oneness with Christ is the only way to be saved in the Celestial Kingdom of God.

Second, by virtue of unity with Christ, we also become unified with all others who have taken his name upon them through baptism. By virtue of our unity with those around us, it becomes our best interest to build them up, support them, and help them continue down the gospel path. In so doing, we help each other to become selfless, humble and charitable, preparing each other to return to our heavenly home.

Chastisement helps us become one with Christ and one with those around us as we repent and seek to do better. In essence, the Lord told the elders with Joseph Smith that they were chastened for their sins that they might qualify for eternal life. From this viewpoint, the chastisement itself becomes less of a punishment and more an act of grace-- a blessing or an opportunity.

The Lord taught the children of Israel the benefits of chastisement also, asking them to "consider in thine heart" that the Lord chastens them as a father chastens his son. This is not intended to conjure up images of an abusive relationship, but the love and concern of a sincere parent attempting to guide his child in righteousness. To the people experiencing forty years of chastisement in the wilderness, there is great hope in the reminder that motive is their prosperity:

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills... A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it (Deuteronomy 8:5-10).

Understanding that the Lord's desire is to bless us, and that chastisement is one way he helps us qualify for the grandest of blessings, helps us understand the declaration found in Job:

Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole (Job 5:17-27).

Chastisement is not just a luxury to bring us happiness and blessings, however. The elders with Joseph Smith were warned that if they did not become one they would perish in wickedness. Reaching that level of unity requires some correction or chastisement along the way. The Lord said:

My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom (D&C 136:31).

Again, he teaches:

They must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified (D&C 101:1-5).

We all know someone who has chosen to be offended by chastisement rather than receiving correction. At some time in our lives, each of us has chosen to be stubborn and proud at least for a period of time. By choosing not to accept God's correction, we also choose to walk the path of an unsanctified life that leads to unworthiness, to the destruction of our own souls and to sorrow.

The relevant question for each of our lives is to ask how we will respond to chastisement. Will we accept correction and strive to be one with Christ and our fellow man through obedience to the word of God? Or will we be offended and harden our hearts against the God who seeks our own prosperity?

The choice is ours, but only one option brings exaltation in the kingdom of God. If we endure chastening, even glory in it, we can hope (in the gospel sense) for the prosperity of our 'promised land'. We will be happy. We will be one with Christ and with our fellow man. And God will direct our souls back to his presence, to inherit eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom.

The Cautionary Tale of James Covill

James Covill had been a baptist minister for about forty years when he approached Joseph Smith just a few days after a conference in Fayette, New York, in 1831. Then and there he covenanted with the Lord that he would obey any command that the Lord gave to him through Joseph Smith the Prophet.

The Lord approved of the covenant of Reverend Covill, saying: "Behold, I say unto you, my servant James, I have looked upon thy works and I know thee. And verily I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at this time" (D&C 39:7-8). The Lord responded to the covenant with two commandments, each tied to specific blessings that were conditional on James Covill's fulfillment of the commandment given.

The first commandment was to enter in by the gate; to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Lord promises that if James Covill will hearken to this command, God would wash away his sins, provide "a blessing so great as you never have known", and give Mr. Covill a greater work to do.

The second commandment was the greater work promised with the fulfillment of the first: James Covill should be called serve a mission in Ohio. Again conditional blessings are offered for Mr. Covill's obedience. If James Covill would serve a mission and help the Lord keep his covenant to the house of Israel, the Lord promises that "power shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face" (v. 12).

In Matthew 13, Christ teaches the parable of the sower. In the parable, seeds that were sewn into good ground grew into plants and brought forth fruit. Yet, some of the seeds that were sewn never grew into plants but were eaten by birds, choked by weeds, or unable to take root because of hard, stony ground. Expounding the parable to his disciples, Christ explained, "he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself... [and] when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended" (v. 20-21).

So it was with James Covill. Speaking of James Covill, the Lord explained to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon that "he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word" (D&C 40:2). President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that James Covill "was convinced of the truth... However, when he withdrew from the influence of the Spirit of the Lord and had time to consider the fact that he would lose the fellowship of the world, and his place and position among his associates, he failed and rejected the promises and blessings which the Lord offered him" (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:174).

Like James Covill, the Lord has extended wonderful promises and blessings to each of us. These blessings are extended through patriarchal and other priesthood blessings; covenants made through baptism, ordination, endowment, and/or marriage; the scriptures, conference talks and modern revelation through living prophets; and personal prayers and covenants with the Lord. These and other blessings are within our grasp, if we will hearken to the voice of the Lord. For "when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:21, see also D&C 82:10).

We can be like Naaman of old, who obtained his greatest desire and was cured of leprosy by humbly following the word of God given through his prophet, Elisha. Or we can fear the world-- fear losing friends, fear appearing out of step with modern science or 'intellectual' thought, fear the ridicule or persecution of those in the great and spacious building-- and, by letting go of the iron rod that is God's word, forfeit the marvelous blessings the Lord is wanting and ready to give us.

If there is a blessing you desire in your life, I urge you to study and pray to know how you might obtain the righteous desires of your heart. If there is a commandment the Lord has given to you, generally or specifically, I invite you to obey with full vigor of heart and soul that you may see the blessings of God sprout and grow and bear fruit.

I know that God lives, that we are His children, and that he has prepared blessings "so great as [we] have never known" for each of us. For if we know how to give good gifts to our children, "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him" (Matthew 7:11)? The choice is ours.

My hope for you and for me is that we will keep our hearts right before the Lord, filled with faith and courage, that the Lord may prosper you and I with our greatest desires and the riches of eternity through our humble obedience. If we will obey, it will be so.

A Commandment for Your Salvation

In the 38th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gives a commandment to the Church that he describes as "for your salvation." This great commandment is prefaced by reminders that the Lord created all things, has all of time in view and successfully accomplished the magnificent Atonement for all men. He reminds us that he is in our midst and that we will see him when the veil is rent, that he is no respecter of persons, and that we must become one if we are to be his people. The Lord teaches us that this commandment will be necessary to send forth missionaries with power from on high, to be adequately prepared for the wars and trials to come, and to be "a righteous people, without spot and blameless." If this commandment of the Lord is successfully obeyed, the Lord covenants that he will give a land flowing with milk and honey to the Saints for an inheritance.

What is this great commandment that is so necessary to the salvation of the Saints at this time?

A few days before the relatively grand promises of Section 38 were given, a smaller, less grand revelation was given that is now recorded as Section 37. In it, the Lord commands that the church should "assemble together at the Ohio". The Lord reveals in Section 38 that all of the great things mentioned are tied to obedience to the earlier, smaller commandment:

Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high (v. 32).

Of course, with hindsight we know that Kirtland, Ohio, would be the site of the first temple in this dispensation. The Lord would appear in the Kirtland Temple, as would Noah, Elijah, Moses and others, and many essential doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood keys would be restored there. Moving to Ohio, it turns out, was huge for the salvation of the Saints and all who have followed them.

At the time, however, this commandment may have seemed irrelevant, insignificant, and not possibly related to salvation in the kingdom of God. After all, what does moving to Ohio have to do with baptism, or priesthood, or the Atonement? Surely Abraham never had to move to Ohio-- perhaps this commandment is, then, optional, right? Even with the associated commands in this revelation to be prepared, unified, gathered, and esteem all men equally-- the Saints could do that in New York, where they were. It seems that it may have been easy to wonder why the Lord wouldn't ask them to do those things without leaving homes, farms, prosperity and even family behind.

However irrelevant it may have seemed, the commandment was to move to Ohio. The early church obeyed the Lord, and the Kirtland Temple and its many associated revelations and restorations was the result of their obedience. The blessings of their obedience are present in our lives today as well-- we have temple marriages, we are sealed to our families past and present, we are sending missionaries throughout the world that are endowed with power from on high, and we are learning to become a prepared and unified people, even as the Church spreads across the world.

Like the commandment to move to Ohio, sometimes we may be given inspiration or direction for our salvation that may seem unimportant or irrelevant at the time. Perhaps that direction relates to where we will live, which job we will take, whether we will attend a university or what we will study. Perhaps we will be guided to go on a mission, to have another child, to accept foster children into our home or to befriend or fellowship a neighbor, coworker or someone in our ward. Still yet, maybe it will seem even smaller and less significant than any of these options-- but we feel we should do it.

How we respond to the promptings of the Holy Ghost is, in every case, relevant for our salvation. Remember that the Lord, "gave unto [man] that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual" (D&C 29:35). We must be prepared to obey whatever the Lord commands, whenever he commands it, trusting that "all things are present before [his] eyes". As we do so, the Lord will plead before the Father for us to our salvation and grant us all the promised blessings for our obedience.

General Conference

There are prophets on the earth today as authentic as Moses, Elijah, Abraham and Noah. As in the time of Christ, there are twelve apostles with authority to direct the work of the Lord and spread his gospel. The prophets and apostles of our time share with us the teachings of Christ and the will of God for our lives, our families and His church. To watch, listen or read what they have to say, click this link.

If you will listen with humility and approach God in prayer about what you learn, I know that God will confirm the reality of these prophets and the truth of their teachings to your heart and mind through the Holy Ghost. I know because He has confirmed their reality and truth to my heart. I invite you to listen with an open heart and ask God; the resulting truth, direction, love and inspiration that will pour into your life, as it has into mine, will be among the greatest gifts from God that you will ever receive.

Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God