These things are all amazing. These are all fruits of the gospel.
But.
Why are they amazing?
After seeing a great vision of eternity, of all the heavens, of the glory, love, and light we will all receive in the next life, after this vision, Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon wrote this:
“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:22)
How I wish I could scream this to the world. Jesus Christ lives! He died for you, for each of us. He died so you need not fear death, trials, or tribulations. You needn’t fear anything. He died for your reassurance. He died for your comfort. He died for your sins. He died for you.
All those things mentioned at the start are amazing, glorious, and wonderful because they point to one thing: Him. Jesus Christ. The Savior of the world. Without Him all of it would be for nothing. Temples, prophets, scripture, what good are they? They are only good for what they point us to. The light and love of this world. Jesus Christ.
I wish the world could see this. I wish the world could see that all these things are just tools pointing to someone far greater.
Ultimately the gospel of Jesus Christ brings comfort. The Plan of Salvation brings peace. The Plan of Happiness makes this life a joy. How could this life be anything less when you know the bigger picture?
I don’t fear trials because I know they help me grow.
I don’t fear tribulations because I know they benefit me for eternity.
I don’t fear death because I know where I’m going if I continue to look to Christ.
I wrote this months ago. Now I’m coming off a situation that has been a trial and tribulation. I believe I can say with a little more confidence today that I don’t fear death.
It can be naïve to say I welcome trials and tribulations when life is wonderful and peaceful. I appreciate that my life is wonderful and peaceful because of the Gospel and the peace it preemptively brings me before trials. It’s easy to say these things when everything is going well. I’m glad I can say them when things are hard as well.
Despite current challenges, I feel so blessed.
Of course, I don’t want tests and trials, but I know when they come, they are for a great purpose. I hope when opportunities come for my faith to be tested it can feel like an open book test. I hope I can face trials in life as if I have the answers, which I believe I do. It’s easy to say until a true tragedy hits my life. I don’t hope for a true tragedy, but I hope for the strength and faith to endure tragedy if it comes.
Coming off the accident I had, I still don’t feel like I’ve gone through a tremendous trial. It has been challenging, but not overly. I don’t feel like it has been that difficult at all. I don’t know how much of that is the fact that the challenge wasn’t actually difficult or due to all the support I have around me, especially the support of God.
These are all the benefits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish the world had this same peace I have been profoundly blessed to be given.
A main theme throughout the Lectures on Faith is God’s perfect attributes. Logically, for us to be able to have any faith in God He must be perfect. We must know that we can trust God and, in turn, His Son, Jesus Christ.
The major theme I took away from Lecture 2 specifically is how we have attained faith throughout history. Lecture 2 presents the profound idea that our faith in God is always dependent, or comes initially, from the faith of another. Consider this, if no one in your life ever mentioned any sort of higher being, any sort of God, any sort of creator, would you come up with the thought on your own? You think about God because He is someone we have been taught about since Adam.
Even if your parents aren’t the ones who teach you about God, you learn about God from someone. I would venture to say that in the world today every single person on the face of it has heard of the concept of a supreme being. Why is this? Where does our innate belief/consideration of God come from?
Lecture 2 points out that there was an unbroken chain of testimony that started from Adam and was handed down through Abraham. If you read Genesis carefully and do the math you will see that ancient prophets handed the knowledge of God down for generations. It continues today.
Adam knew God in the Garden of Eden. When he left the Garden Adam still knew God. We know Adam’s sons knew God. Abel provided sacrifices to God. Cain spoke to God even after murdering his brother. This shows us that God spoke to men even after the fall and continued to speak to them as they continued to fall into transgression. There is something significant here that I’d never considered. Abel first got his knowledge of God from his father, Adam, as did Cain. After they were told about God by Adam, then they had to develop their own faith in God. They had to learn, trust, and depend on Him, or not.
The important thing to remember from this: we all start our faith by leaning on the faith of another. We possess dependent faith. This leads to another profound truth: God possesses independent faith. God’s faith is not reliant on any outside source. As discussed in lecture one, God’s faith is perfect.
I’ve been studying the lectures alongside a video series that I will link at the bottom. There were many amazing thoughts and ideas presented in that video, related to this second Lecture on Faith.
Faith is faith until it happens, then it is knowledge. Since God has perfect faith, He doesn’t need to wait for something to happen for Him to know it. He knows it is going to happen. His faith is perfect therefore His knowledge is perfect. It’s simple when you think about it in these terms, but it’s so critical. It’s why we can have perfect faith in Him, BECAUSE we know His faith is perfect.
IMPORTANT: God is not still progressing. This is important for us to understand. God is not still learning. If He was, we couldn’t have perfect faith in Him.
This leads to a question: isn’t life boring for God if He has mastered everything?
In the video they gave an awesome analogy. Imagine you’re an accountant. You master every aspect of accounting there is. You have a perfect knowledge and ability in accounting. Would you get bored with accounting? Probably. So, what would you then do? You would teach others how to also master accounting. God is the master accountant. He has attained all knowledge on life, faith, eternity, creation – so what does He do? He teaches us. What a thought! We are being tutored by the God of the universe. That’s what makes this life so important. When we consider that we are learning and being personally groomed by God Himself, what power it adds to our existence here!
This leads to another important thought. What was Christ’s ultimate message while here? I think it would be service. Love through service. Give through service. Charity. Without charity you are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2, Moroni 7:44) Why did Christ teach this ever-important principle? Because His Father, our Father, God is the ultimate server. He is doing everything He does to teach us. We truly are “His work and His glory” (Moses 1:39).
I want to conclude with two last realizations:
The scriptures help develop our faith by teaching us of God. This is important.
Faith comes by hearing the word of God through the testimony of the servants of God, that testimony is always attended by the spirit.
You aren’t told to have a testimony. You’re not made to know Jesus is the Christ. These are things you must come to a knowledge of through the spirit. Think about it. Christ, in His whole ministry, never told anyone He was the Son of God. He always let them come to that conclusion on their own. One example is Peter who He told, “blessed art thou for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Another example is Christ to the woman at the well (John 4). Christ didn’t go telling people who He was. It had to be revealed by the spirit. This is why signs come by faith, and not the other way around (D&C 63:7-12).
Our hearts must be open for us to receive the testimony of Jesus Christ. 2 Nephi 33:1 “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it UNTO the hearts of the children of men.” Not INTO but UNTO. It’s then on the heart of the individual to accept or reject the testimony. The system is in place. The system has been in place for God’s children to develop faith in Him from the beginning. Once the testimony is carried to the heart It’s then on the agency of the individual to receive or reject that testimony.
God has perfect faith. We are here to develop our faith so that we can be like Him. He is the great accountant, and we are his protégés. It is His hope, His glory that we can become like Him. As we develop our faith here it will benefit us for the rest of eternity. I know I say it a lot, but, what a thought.
I recently finished a book that was so packed with wisdom I couldn’t come close to taking it all in. Every page provided a new insight. Every thought was provoking. It is amazing to walk through the minds of men and women so in touch with the spirit or some form of knowledge I don’t yet have. It’s my favorite part of reading. From reading his words and thoughts I could feel his closeness to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and therefore come closer to them myself.
The name of the book was The glory of the sun which refers to 1 Corinthians 15:41:
“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”
“These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.”
Sterling W. Sill, author of this book, was a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was asked to share a series of gospel messages each week for a year over the radio. The series was called “Sunday Evening from Temple Square.” Those 52 addresses were put into this book. It’s amazing to see that so many unique and powerful messages can come from one individual.
Sterling W. Sill
Every message was so good, I could randomly turn to a page and share an important thought. There was one in particular I found pertinent to our current moment in history.
Elder Sill shared his messages at the height of the cold war so there is an emphasis of freedom and liberty throughout.
In one of his addresses titled “Five grains of Corn” Elder Sill reviewed the custom of Thanksgiving. Elder Sill pointed out that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. It is a day we give thanks to our ancestors who bravely came here and suffered through much hunger, affliction, and death. He reminded me that during Thanksgiving we give “deep gratitude.. for the rich productivity of American soil.”
I believe it is important for us to remember the blessed nation we are fortunate to live in. The United States of America is a chosen land. One thought Elder Sill presented was the idea that we live more lavishly and comfortably today than any king in history. He pointed out that if we had to live as King Solomon, even in all the glory of his palace and kingdom, it would be a great hardship to us.
What a thought! The average person in America lives with more comfort than any historical king! How blessed we are and how often we take for granted this great nation we live in. It truly is a promised land.
What has always separated America from any other nation is our freedom – the freedom that gives us the ability to worship our God however we please. If you look at the short history of the United States it becomes quickly apparent what separates us. It is the freedom we enjoy, particularly religious freedom. It saddens me that as a nation we are turning from the God who has so blessed us. It is part of the agency God has given us, the freedom this nation is founded on, that currently allows so many to turn from God.
This paragraph from the book rings so familiar to our current landscape that I will quote it in whole. Elder Sill says:
“In the United States we have just gone through a great political election to decide who would represent us in the governing councils of our country for the next four years. We have been sharply divided on issues and people. We have settled the matter by an appeal to the ballot box. No blood was shed, no life was in danger, no one had any thought of trying to liquidate his opponent. No one even pounded with his shoe or threatened to throw it at anyone. Now all Americans will settle down and give full support to the government that they, under God, have created. Now we will all unite in building a greater America and help to carry out our divine mission to promote freedom, justice, and happiness in the world.”
Election day is tomorrow. It is my sincere prayer that we as a nation can unite and support whoever wins this election. It is my prayer that there is no bloodshed, danger, threats, or pounding of feat.
The final and important point Elder Sill gives in this message is about our faith in God that I have already mentioned. Specifically, the devotion to His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Mayflower Compact, written by those coming to settle a new America reads, “We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the glory of God to establish in Virginia the first colony for the advancement of the Christian faith.”
The New England Federation Compact Agreement reads similarly, “We all have come into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely to advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I hope we can remember our Thanksgiving for this promised land. I hope we can remember the freedoms and liberties we enjoy, and how great it is to be a part of the democratic process. Finally, I hope we can remember who it is our ancestors came to America to serve, who’s kingdom they wished to establish.
“America was established as a kind of laboratory or experiment station to show what would happen to any people who cared and dared to follow Jesus Christ.” – Elder Sill.
How blessed our ancestors were and how blessed we’ve been as we’ve looked to Jesus Christ. I hope that can continue.
I believe a careful reading of different scriptural records gives us a picture of Satan’s progression and tells us how he ultimately ended up cast down. There will be a lot of scriptural references here (duh). If you follow the story something becomes pretty clear about Satan. There’s a major revelation I learned about Satan that I never understood, and I don’t think many church members know.
Before I start I want to mention, my interest in studying Satan is the opposite of my interest in studying Christ, but helps with the same purpose. I think it’s good to study Satan to see how he fell and to avoid the behavior he exhibited that led him there. Through his story you see examples of pride, unrighteous ambition, anger, envy, jealousy, bitterness, selfishness, along with many other negative attributes. All of Satan’s attributes are the direct opposite to the traits of Jesus Christ. Ultimately Satan became a being of darkness. He rejected all light. Many around us reject light and I think as we understand Satan and understand his motivations (to tempt, enslave, and control us) we are better suited to withstand him. With that, we begin.
Satan’s story starts in the Book of Moses chapter 4:1-2:
1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
Here we see what I believe is well known to Latter-day Saints. Heavenly Father asked, “who will I send?”
Satan came forth and responded, “Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.”
Christ said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”
We know what happens here, though it isn’t said in these two verses. Christ is chosen by the Father.
Now we’re going to jump to a new book of scripture to continue Satan’s story. Abraham 3:24-28 reads:
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 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 for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
In verse 24 – “one among them that was like unto God” – clearly refers to Jesus Christ. He is speaking to “those who were with him.” He goes on to talk about the first and second estates of man, of us. Verse 27 is where it gets important.
Verse 27 – The Lord (Jesus Christ) said, “Whom shall I send?” Note that Christ is following the same pattern He learned from His Father. “And one answered like unto the Son of Man.” This is Adam, the first man, or Michael as he was known in the premortal existence. Adam said, “Here am I, send me.”
Still in verse 27 – “And another answered and said: Here am I, send me.” – This will prove to be Satan.
“And the Lord said: I will send the first.”
Now the critical verse 28:
“And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.”
So, it is clearly put forth here. I always thought Satan rebelled at Christ being chosen by the Father, and maybe he did in his heart. If you read Moses chapter 4 straight through that is how it seems. But when you read this story sequentially, we see what actually happened. Christ was chosen by the Father. Christ is essentially now leading the “project” under the direction of Heavenly Father. He is standing with others helping in the work. He follows the Father’s pattern and asks who will be the first man. Here Christ chooses Adam over Satan.
This adds a dimension to my understanding of Satan. A couple things of note. First, we know from the beginning Satan wanted the glory and wanted all of God’s children to return to heaven (see Moses 4:1). When he is passed over, he doesn’t openly rebel yet. When Christ is choosing who will be the first man, it’s possible Satan still saw a way to foil God’s plan and have all the honor given to him. He would go down as the first man and he would refuse to fall. If Satan went as the first man and refused to fall, man could never choose and therefore could never sin. If man couldn’t sin, there would be no need for a redeemer, there would be no choice, repentance, or progression. Satan would bring everyone back to heaven and in so doing destroy their agency. I think this was his plan.
Christ wisely chooses Adam to be the father of all and lead the human race into mortality.
It’s at this point we see Satan has had enough. He’s been passed over once by the Father. Now the one who took what he believed to be his rightful spot is choosing to pass him over as well.
Verse 28: “And the second (Satan) was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him. – Emphasis added.
Here we see Satan’s rebellion. Here we see he leads “many” away. Before we continue with Satan’s story, I feel it’s important to remind you: Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you kept your first estate and are in the process of keeping your second estate. Keep it up and you’re promised to “have glory added upon (your) head for ever and ever” (Abraham 3:26).
Back to Satan.
Our story picks back up in Revelations chapter 12. I’ll be using the Joseph Smith Translation as it makes everything so much clearer.
The first part of Revelations 12:4 reads:
“And there appeared another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”
The great red dragon is obviously Satan, and here we see he drew away one third of the children of God after him. He and his followers were cast down to earth.
Revelations 12:6
“And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought against Michael;“
Michael (Adam) and his angels fought against Satan and his angels.
Verse 7 tells us that Michael and his angels (who might be us!?) prevailed.
Revelations 12:8
“Neither was there place found in heaven for the great dragon, who was cast out; that old serpent called the devil, and also called Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth; and his angels were cast out with him.”
Here we see the official result. There was no more place found in heaven for Satan, his followers, and their rebellion against Christ, which meant rebellion against God. Satan’s plan was foiled. He was not chosen to be the redeemer of man and he was not chosen to be the first man where he could foil God’s Plan of Salvation. He was cast down, in bitterness.
In conclusion, it doesn’t appear Satan rebelled at the outset. He was conniving and always looking for another way to enslave us, God’s children. I mentioned it earlier but every person on this earth already chose Christ. We were not fooled by Satan. We are here.
How did Satan get one third to follow him? I think if we carefully consider this question we can come up with some likely possibilities. There were many in the premortal existence that maybe didn’t properly prepare for this life, our second estate. When the time came to be tested, those who didn’t prepare would be fearful. We knew that some would fail to reach the Celestial Kingdom, and those among the host of heaven who had not used their agency to prepare well for mortal life were likely cognizant of that fact. From there it would be easy for Satan to convince some that they would fail, and they should therefore follow him.
Secondly, I believe Satan’s focus in the premortal life would have been to doubt Jesus Christ and his ability to redeem us. I believe Satan would have told many that Christ would fail, and then what? They would all fail and never be able to return home. I believe Satan likely attacked Christ. This would also be an attack on the ability to repent. Satan would have told those who didn’t use their agency well premortally that they wouldn’t use their agency well in life, that they wouldn’t repent, and change, and improve, and would ultimately fail. It’s the same tactic Satan uses today.
I invite everyone to hold firmly in your heart, remember, you chose Christ already. You were valiant already. You were brave already. You may have already fought Satan in heaven with Michael. You won. You are still fighting Satan today and you can still win. Remember that he is the father of lies, and Christ is our salvation. Look to Christ, keep your faith in him, keep repenting, keep changing, keep looking to Christ and we will all return to Him again.
I know that Satan is never giving up, just like he never gave up in the premortal life. Just like in the premortal life we will prevail. We have Christ on our side. With Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father on our team, we cannot lose.
No Coincidences 