Latest / Scripture Central / "Stand Forever" Ep. 26 | The Truth—Endure to the End Part II | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

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"Stand Forever" Ep. 26 | The Truth—Endure to the End Part II | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge · Scripture Central

• 0:00
  Darth Vader could be your Bishop.
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  The culture could be like Alcatraz, and it will not drive
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  you away. Some claim church culture is
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  driving people away. The members feel unseen,
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  disconnected, empty. And the solution, they say, is a
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  transformation to a more open, inclusive, transparent, loving
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  and tolerant culture wherein more people can comfortably
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  gather. The ultimate question is not, do
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  I fit in? The ultimate question is, is the
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  church true? None of this is to say we should
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  stand idly by as people walk out the door with broken and lonely
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  hearts, thinking, there's no place for me here.
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  I don't belong here. But believe Trump's discomfort.
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  If you from the institutional perspective, then those
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  arguments for leaving make sense.
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  If you see the Church as the Kingdom of God on earth, then
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  then you will stay, come what may.
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  When someone leaves the church, especially when many people
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  leave, people may wonder, and especially the follow the crowd
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  crowd may wonder how can so many people be wrong?
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  What do they know I don't? A better question to ask,
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  however, is what do I know? They don't.
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  Hello, I'm Larry Corbridge and this is episode 26 of Stand
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  Forever. In the last episode, we
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  considered what enduring to the end looks like, building up the
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  Kingdom of God as an active, contributing member of the
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  church. In this episode, we will
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  continue to focus on enduring to the end and answer that question
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  I just mentioned. That is, what do I know?
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  They don't. Some claim church culture is
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  driving people away. The members feel unseen,
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  disconnected, empty, unheard, unnourished and unfulfilled by
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  their involvement in the solution they say is a
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  transformation to a more open, inclusive, transparent, loving
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  and tolerant culture wherein more people can comfortably
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  gather. The reasons generally advanced
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  for people leaving the church are these one they don't like
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  aspects of church history. 2. They don't agree with church
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  policies and doctrine that collide with emerging social
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  attitudes 3. They choose a different
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  lifestyle. Four, they think the church has
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  lost its way, lacking confidence to in current leadership or
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  five, their experience in the church is unfulfilling and
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  uncomfortable. How?
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  How would you respond to those reasons for leaving?
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  It really depends on how you view the church.
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  If you from the institutional perspective, then those
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  arguments for leaving makes sense.
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  If viewed from the Kingdom of God perspective, they fall
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  apart. From the institutional point of
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  view, reason would suggest leaving or stepping back if as
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  an institution, it does not meet your criteria, your
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  expectations, your judgment of what the church should be.
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  If it doesn't click with you, if you don't like food at a
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  restaurant, what you don't go back if you don't like the
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  church or some aspect of it, You don't go back if you view it
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  from the institutional point of view.
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  But if you see, listen to this, if you see the Church as the
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  Kingdom of God on earth, with sole authority to administer the
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  ordinances of salvation to God's children on both sides of the
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  veil and Dow them with power to engage in His work and thereby
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  bring them back to Him, then, then you will stay, come what
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  may. I, I may have said this before,
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  but Darth Vader could be your Bishop.
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  The culture could be like Alcatraz, and it will not drive
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  you away. Some might say I'm assuming the
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  conclusion of the entire argument, namely that the Church
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  is the Kingdom of God on earth. But only so if the formula, only
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  so if the formula for discovering the true church is
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  your judgment of what you think it should be.
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  But that is a foolish and flawed formula.
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  Most if not all the reported reasons people are leaving the
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  church collapse down into a single argument.
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  The church isn't this, that, or the other fill in the blanks.
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  Therefore I'm leaving. The underlying and unstated
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  major premise, however, must be unearthed, dusted off,
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  acknowledged and addressed. Which is the church should be
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  what I think it should be. The reasoning looks like this.
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  Three points. One, the church again should be
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  this, that, or the other. In other words, what I think it
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  should be. Two, it isn't Three, what?
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  I'm out the door, therefore I'm leaving.
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  That's it. And it is perfectly rational if
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  it is perfectly rational if you hold your nose and swallow as
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  many do. The fallacious major premise
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  that is that the church should be what I think it should be.
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  Someone will say no, the church should be what the Lord
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  intended. And I will say no.
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  It's your interpretation of what the Lord intends, but in the end
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  it's your judgment that prevails.
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  In the end. It is the arrogance of man who
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  makes himself the master and God the servant, effectively saying,
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  let me prevail rather than let God prevail.
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  It is the reversal of the Parable of the Box and the Pearl
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  authored by Elder Boyd K Packer. That parable tells of the
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  beautiful box containing a precious Pearl which goes
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  ignored and unappreciated because of people's fascination
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  with the box. But here we turned that parable
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  upside down. Here we have the box discarded
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  all together along with the Pearl because of a few Nicks and
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  scratches. Because people don't like the
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  box. Your judgement.
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  Now listen to this. Your judgement of what the box
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  should be may and should be the standard by which you measure
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  the box, as well as everything else for that matter.
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  If you are. Again, listen to this.
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  If you are omniscient, if you know everything, if your
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  judgment is infallible, but if you are a mere mortal like the
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  like most of us, prone to air, then there is another way to
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  know the primary truths and guide your decisions.
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  One of the risks of excessive focus on all the Church isn't
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  and should be, in one's opinion, locked on perceived shortcomings
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  and deficiencies is arriving at the false and damning
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  conclusion. The church is not true, and
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  although it is a logical fallacy, it is nonetheless a pit
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  into which many people fall. There will inevitably be some
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  divergent of opinion between what you think the box should be
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  and what it is, some disagreement, dissonance,
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  disappointment, shortfall, disillusionment, and failure.
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  And your journey is an active, contributing member striving to
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  build up the Kingdom of God on earth and to establish His
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  righteousness. In addition to the reasons
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  already advanced as to why people leave the Church, I am
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  offering another They are not converted unto the Lord.
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  That is the primary reason. There is a difference between
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  being a cultural convert, which we might call a church convert,
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  and being converted unto the Lord.
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  A church convert will stay as long as the church is to his
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  liking, but when it isn't, and make no mistake, it will not
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  always be, He is out the door, and understandably so, the box
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  and the Pearl inside and up in the trash together.
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  One of the great challenges in life is to see clearly.
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  We are easily and often deceived, Paul said.
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  As I've mentioned before, we see through a glass darkly.
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  Lehigh's dream was dominated by great mists of darkness, which
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  caused many to lose their way. Jacob taught Listen to this.
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  Jacob taught that in his word blindness.
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  Blindness comes by looking beyond the mark meaning Christ.
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  And then he adds this sobering conclusion saying they must
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  needs fall. It is a stunning statement.
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  He didn't say may fall, rather must needs fall or will fall.
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  Those who look beyond the mark beyond now listen.
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  Those who look beyond the mark, beyond Christ and his work,
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  those whose focus is whatever lifestyle, church history,
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  policies, culture, leadership, or the likes, sooner or later
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  must needs fall. Looking beyond the mark, looking
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  beyond Christ and his work and his church.
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  The contrast that sobering statement with these two equally
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  astonishing but encouraging statements.
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  The 1st is from Hileman, very well known, and the second from
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  Mormons editorializing on the record.
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  He transcribed first Hileman, and now you know the Scripture.
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  And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the
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  rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that you
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  must build your foundation. That when the devil shall send
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  forth his mighty winds, yeah, his shafts in the whirlwind,
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  yeah, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon
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  you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf
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  of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which
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  you are built, which is a sure foundation.
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  A foundation where, on if men build, they cannot fall.
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  The second statement is in chapters 18 through 22 of Alma.
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  In those chapters we read about the teachings of Ammon and his
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  brothers Aaron, Omner and Hymni, and their sufferings and and
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  ultimate success, bringing thousands to the knowledge of
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  the Lord. And as many as in the words of
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  the Scripture, as many as were converted unto the Lord, never
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  did fall away. Ammon began by teaching King
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  Limonia by about God, who is our Father.
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  He taught God's Spirit is the source of knowledge and power.
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  The fall of man and the coming of Christ the Redeemer.
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  The king believed cried out to the Lord in for mercy.
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  He was overcome and fell to the earth.
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  He didn't teach about Ammon, didn't teach about the path of
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  comfort and ease. He didn't teach about the love
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  of the Saints or culture, as important as those things are.
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  Rather, he taught of knowledge and power made possible because
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  of Christ. Aaron, his brother, later
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  teaches King Lemoni's father following essentially the same
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  Lesson plan. He spoke of the Spirit of the
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  Lord. He then said, behold assuredly
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  as thou livest, O King, there is a God.
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  He created all things in heaven and in earth.
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  He then explained that we fall because of transgression and
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  cannot merit anything of ourselves.
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  He taught of Christ and the atonement had that redemption is
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  available through faith and repentance.
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  Then the King asked, What shall I do?
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  Following the conversion of King Lamoni and his father, thousands
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  of Lamanites were converted unto the Lord, and they never did
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  fall away. Mormon explained why, and he
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  said this. And as sure as the Lord liveth,
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  so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the
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  knowledge of the truth through the preaching of Ammon and his
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  brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of
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  prophecy and the power of God working, working miracles in
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  them. Yeah, I say unto you, as the
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  Lord liveth. As many of the Lamanites as
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  believed in their preaching, and listen, and were converted unto
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  the Lord, never did fall away. The Scripture goes on, for they
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  became a righteous people. Now these are they who were
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  converted unto the Lord. He says that twice.
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  This is the same message King Benjamin delivered to his
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  people, which had the unequaled effect of convincing everyone
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  who heard it. There was not one soul but who
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  entered into the covenant and had taken upon them the name of
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  Christ. Without going through it
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  extensively, His message was the same.
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  So in the first instance, those who look beyond the mark,
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  meaning Christ must, needs fall. Those who are converted unto the
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  Lord never fall away. The Scripture says they cannot
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  fall. So what is the difference?
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  What is the difference between a church convert and one who is
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  converted unto the Lord? To understand the difference
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  between a church convert and converted unto the Lord, we must
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  first understand two things. Number one is the supernal gift
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  of the Holy Ghost. It is the greatest gift of God
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  in this life, made possible by the gift of God's Son.
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  The second is that conversion begins with the recognition of
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  need. Those who are church converts
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  recognize their need for the church.
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  The beginning of the process of conversion is the recognition of
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  need. They recognize their need for
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  the church, for the youth programs or the community and
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  fellowship and love of the Saints, the strengthening of
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  families, even eternal families, additional scripture or the need
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  for guidance from living prophets, so many good things.
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  The beginning of the process of conversion is the recognition of
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  need, and if the church fulfills some important need for them,
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  they join the church as a church convert.
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  That is good as far as it goes, but it is not the same as being
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  converted unto the Lord. If one builds on the foundation
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  of the church, it is not the same and not as secure as the
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  rock of Christ standing in contrast to church converts are
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  those who are converted unto the Lord.
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  They look the same sitting in the pews, but they are
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  different. They recognize their need for
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  God's power, which they cannot have without Christ and His
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  church. Therefore, they recognize their
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  need. For the Lord Jesus Christ as no
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  other, they recognize again their need for the power of God,
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  which they cannot have because of their inevitable mistakes,
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  mistakes essential to their education, but mistakes
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  nonetheless. This leads them to recognize
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  their need for redemption, their need for salvation, their need
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  for a Savior, even Christ the Lord.
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  Which then leads them to recognize their need for His
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  Church, which alone affords the laws and authority and
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  ordinances by which all mankind may be saved and dad with power
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  from on high, and which alone engages, listens to this, which
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  alone engages God's children in His work to the end of retaining
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  a remission of sins and divine power and ultimately eternal
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  life. I keep saying this, but
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  beginning of the process of conversion is the recognition of
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  need and our greatest need. Our greatest need is for
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  redemption and power made available to all mankind on both
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  sides of the veil by the Lord Jesus Christ, His Church and His
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  work. If one understands that, if one
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  understands what I just said, nothing will drive him away.
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  Not men with big sticks. Not wild horses.
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  Not discomfort, dissonance, disagreement, or
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  disillusionment. Not even Darth Vader as your
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  Bishop. Nothing will drag him away.
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  Should we be surprised or unsettled by some degree of
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  shortfall, imperfection, disappointment, disagreement,
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  dissonance, and discomfort in God's work among his children?
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  No, of course not. That has always been the case.
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  The Lord said it is impossible that that offenses will come,
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  but woe unto him through through whom they come.
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  Unending examples. Many were disappointed and
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  disaffected by Christ's bread of life sermons.
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  So much so that is John Ricard recorded that from that time
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  many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
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  They were cultural converts, and when the culture, when the
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  doctrine was taught, they didn't like or understand.
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  They were done. They were out the door.
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  They were not converted unto the Lord when Christ asked of the 12
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  In light of that, will ye also go away?
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  Peter replied. Lord, to whom shall we go?
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  That's a good question. Thou hast the words of eternal
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  life, Peter said. And we believe and are sure that
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  thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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  They didn't look beyond the mark, they didn't know
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  everything, but they knew the most important things.
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  They were converted unto the Lord and never did fall away
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  despite great hardship, except for one who the Lord knew would
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  betray him again. There are unending examples of
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  disappointment, disagreement, discomfort in God's work among
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  His children. Peter.
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  Peter was repeatedly and severely rebuked by the Lord.
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  On one occasion when Jesus told of his imminent death, Peter
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  said, Be it far from the Lord, this shall not be unto thee.
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  And the Lord replied, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou
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  art an offence unto me. Surely that was not a happy
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  moment for Peter. Was was Peter wounded or
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  offended? Probably.
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  Did he leave? No, it has long been the
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  tendency of God's children to complain things are not better
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  under His direction. The children of Israel and
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  Lehigh's family both complained about the privations of the
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  wilderness. Surely, with all the early
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  Saints endured and suffered in this dispensation, some must
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  have wondered if this is God's work, where is He?
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  Naaman disagreed and was put off by Elijah's command that he
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  washed seven times in the River Jordan to be healed of his
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  leprosy. Neither Paul nor new proselytes
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  felt comfortable in the culture of the New Testament church that
• 26:05
  for a time required submission to all the rigors of the Law of
• 26:08
  Moses, including circumcision, putting Paul at odds with other
• 26:13
  apostles there. There have always been and will
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  always be some degree. Again, I keep saying this, some
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  degree of shortfall, imperfection, disappointment, in
• 26:27
  a word, problems in God's work among his children.
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  But those who are converted unto the Lord are not disaffected.
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  They stay. If if we were to list the
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  defining characteristics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
• 26:50
  Day Saints, it would be a very long list.
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  We would We would include priesthood authority and keys to
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  administer the ordinances of salvation and direct the work of
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  salvation on this side of the veil.
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  Redemption of sin for all mankind through the Atonement of
• 27:11
  Jesus Christ by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the
• 27:16
  Gospel. The gift of the Holy Ghost, the
• 27:20
  same organization as Christ established in the Meridian of
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  times, living prophets and apostles, temples and the work
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  of salvation for all who have lived and died without the
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  blessings of the gospel in this life.
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  Additional scripture, Modern day revelation, not only for
• 27:40
  prophets, but all Latter Day Saints.
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  And on and on and on. And if we were to continue that
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  exercise long enough, eventually we would need to add 2 more
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  defining characteristics, lay ministry and intensity.
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  Not only are members of the church not really trained to
• 28:07
  assume the roles and responsibilities, they are
• 28:09
  called to shoulder everyone. Not just the most talented,
• 28:15
  trained or capable, but everyone is invited to engage in the
• 28:20
  work. That is the genius of lay
• 28:26
  ministry and that is embedded in the name of the Church.
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  When the Lord put our name next to his, The Church of Jesus
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  Christ of Latter Day Saints, He made us Co stars with him, that
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  we become Co workers with him, that we become Co heirs with
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  him. So lay ministry and then we add
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  and then we add Intensity. Unlike any other organization or
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  religion, the experience of an active, contributing member of
• 29:08
  the Church is, for lack of a better word, intense, all
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  consuming. It's not sitting comfortably in
• 29:22
  the Pew on Sunday listening to the pastor sermonize about the
• 29:27
  beauties of heaven and then return home to your life.
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  Rather, it is to personally engage each one and everyone in
• 29:38
  building up the Kingdom of God on earth.
• 29:41
  It is at times being the one giving the sermon or setting up
• 29:47
  the chairs before the meeting. The combination and sometimes
• 29:53
  collision of those two characteristics lay ministry and
• 29:58
  intensity produces what would you think, understandably or
• 30:04
  predictably problems, some degree of shortfall, some degree
• 30:12
  of imperfection, disappointment, disagreement in God's work among
• 30:17
  His children? Now that may be an unfortunate
• 30:21
  and unavoidable consequence of imperfection, or it may be by
• 30:28
  design, because in the messiness of all that we find our
• 30:35
  salvation, as Lehigh recorded. For it not must needs be that
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  there is an opposition in all things, even in the Church.
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  I I think it was Eugene England who many years ago offered the
• 30:57
  Church is true in part because of those problems, and not in
• 31:02
  spite of them. He said this church involvement
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  teaches us compassion and patience as well as courage and
• 31:11
  discipline. It makes us responsible for the
• 31:14
  personal and marital, physical and spiritual welfare of people
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  we may not already love or, he said, or may even hardly
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  dislike. And thus we learn to love them.
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  He said it stretches and challenges US, though
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  disappointed and exasperated, in ways we would not otherwise
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  choose to be, and thus gives us a chance to be made better than
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  we might choose to be but ultimately need and want to be.
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  As I've said before, if the church is not true, we should
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  all pack our bags and go somewhere else less demanding.
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  Find an easier path. Because make no mistake, in the
• 32:01
  end the Lord requires everything, beginning with you,
• 32:08
  your will, and then all of your time and talents, all you have
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  or may be blessed with, to engage in His work to build up
• 32:19
  the Kingdom of God and to establish science.
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  Every challenge you face, every hard thing you confront, every
• 32:28
  bad thing that happens to you in and out of, out of the church,
• 32:34
  every unfairness, conflict, sadness, tragedy, every
• 32:38
  disappointment, heartache, every temptation, opposition happens
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  for one reason only. To give you opportunity to
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  respond by applying in your life the teachings of Jesus Christ,
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  and as you do so, you are changed to become more like Him.
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  With the singular exception of family life, active
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  participation as a member of the Church provides the greatest
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  opportunity to internalize compassion, patience, and
• 33:11
  charity, to name a few, and realize the full measure of your
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  divine potential engaged in God's work, refined in the
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  Crucible of adversity. Many people view the church.
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  I mean, I've, I've talked about viewing the church from an
• 33:37
  institutional perspective very similar to that.
• 33:41
  Many people view the church from the perspective of the member as
• 33:47
  a consumer, meaning what are members getting out of their
• 33:52
  association with the church? That perspective is
• 33:58
  understandable and is fine for craft foods or general meals or
• 34:05
  whatever, but it's backwards. It's backwards for evaluating
• 34:11
  the qualitative experience of members of the church.
• 34:16
  The better question regarding God's work on the earth is what
• 34:20
  members are giving to it. And then and then you will learn
• 34:27
  what they are getting out of it. If church culture is
• 34:32
  unfulfilling, that is on us. We must assume personal
• 34:39
  responsibility for our individual experience in it.
• 34:45
  President Spencer W Kimball taught this one good but
• 34:50
  mistaken man I know, he said, claimed he could get more out of
• 34:55
  a good book on Sunday then he could get in attending church
• 35:00
  services, saying that the sermons were hardly up to his
• 35:03
  standards. But we do not go to Sabbath
• 35:08
  meetings to be entertained, or even solely to be instructed.
• 35:15
  Listen to this. We go to worship the Lord.
• 35:21
  It is an individual responsibility, he said.
• 35:27
  And regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes
• 35:31
  to worship the Lord in spirit and truth, he may do so by
• 35:36
  attending his meetings for taking of the sacrament and
• 35:40
  contemplating the beauties of the gospel.
• 35:44
  If the service is a failure to you, you have failed.
• 35:51
  No one can worship for you. You must do your own waiting
• 35:58
  upon the Lord. That's the end of President
• 36:02
  Campbell's important statement. Insightful statement.
• 36:06
  It's, it's really the law of the harvest.
• 36:10
  You reap what you sow, You reap what you're sowing.
• 36:14
  Really more. It's also what Alma uniquely
• 36:17
  calls the Law of Restoration, which I refer to, I think, in
• 36:21
  greater depth. In episode 22, Alma summarized
• 36:26
  the law of restoration, saying for that which you do send out
• 36:31
  shall return unto you again and be restored.
• 36:36
  Ask any dedicated missionary if she feels unfulfilled or empty
• 36:40
  by her faithful service. Then listen to her reply and
• 36:46
  look into her eyes when she does.
• 36:50
  Missionaries get discouraged for many reasons, but feeling empty
• 36:54
  and unfulfilled is not one of them.
• 36:58
  You get what you give and more. Sometimes 100 times more, the
• 37:05
  Lord said. And everyone that hath forsaken
• 37:08
  houses, or brethren, or sisters, father, mother or wife, children
• 37:12
  or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold,
• 37:18
  and shall inherit everlasting life.
• 37:23
  In a way, all of this is a variation of the famous
• 37:26
  statement of John F Kennedy. You know what he said.
• 37:30
  Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for
• 37:35
  it, as not what the church can do for you, but what you can do
• 37:41
  for it, and you will learn what the church can do for you.
• 37:47
  It's not so much about being a member of, but a member for and
• 37:53
  better than President Kennedy. The Lord said, Whosoever will
• 37:56
  come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross
• 38:01
  and follow me. For whosoever will save his life
• 38:05
  shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
• 38:09
  life for my sake and for the gospel, the same shall save it.
• 38:17
  The law of restoration is monumentally important.
• 38:21
  Selflessness is in our greatest self-interest.
• 38:27
  There is nothing we can do that will draw down into our lives
• 38:31
  greater blessings individually and be more fulfilling than
• 38:35
  forgetting ourselves and striving to help others,
• 38:39
  especially helping others receive God's greatest gifts,
• 38:44
  His Son, His Spirit, and His life as active, contributing
• 38:49
  members of His Church. That is the essence of the law
• 38:55
  of consecration, which is the crowning covenant of the
• 39:00
  endowment in in one area of the Church.
• 39:10
  The area presidency recently commissioned a research project
• 39:14
  to determine why members leave and why they stay in the church.
• 39:22
  The conclusion of the study was love, acceptance and comfort.
• 39:27
  Those who remained felt loved, accepted, and comfortable, and
• 39:31
  those who walked or drifted away did not.
• 39:35
  The conclusion, therefore, was double down on love, acceptance,
• 39:39
  and comfort. A worthy objective, to be sure,
• 39:46
  but it seems to me at least as Sandy foundation for conviction
• 39:51
  nonetheless, when I served as the Executive Executive Director
• 39:57
  of the Correlation Research Department of the Church.
• 40:02
  A similar project was undertaken to evaluate the experience of
• 40:07
  members of in the church, throughout the world and across
• 40:10
  all dimensions of belief and commitment.
• 40:14
  That extensive study also revealed a significant degree of
• 40:21
  discomfort among members, but it also disclosed a higher level of
• 40:29
  belief believe Trump's discomfort.
• 40:37
  The ultimate question is not do I fit in?
• 40:42
  Do I feel loved? Again, I'm not minimizing those
• 40:46
  things. But the ultimate question is not
• 40:49
  do I fit in, feel loved, accepted and comfortable, as
• 40:53
  important as those questions are.
• 40:55
  Rather, the ultimate question is, is the church true?
• 41:03
  And the definition of the true church should not be and is not
• 41:09
  where I fit in. Will feel accepted, fulfilled
• 41:15
  and loved. Love, acceptance and comfort are
• 41:20
  worthy of objectives, to be sure, But if you double down on
• 41:24
  anything? If you double down on anything,
• 41:29
  double down on belief. Belief.
• 41:34
  Trump's discomfort. And where is it written On the
• 41:45
  mountain, anyway? The purpose of the church is to
• 41:49
  make all men comfortable. Is is that really the standard
• 41:55
  by which truth should be measured?
• 41:59
  The Lord said we should be anxiously engaged in a good
• 42:04
  'cause He didn't say diligently engaged, comfortably engaged,
• 42:11
  faithfully engaged, but anxiously engaged.
• 42:15
  There is a degree of anxiety especially associated with
• 42:22
  engagement in the cause of the greatest work on the face of the
• 42:26
  earth. The Lord's work, the Lord, will
• 42:31
  stretch and pull you in ways you don't want to be stretched and
• 42:37
  pulled and would not on your own.
• 42:40
  And much of that happens as an active disciple striving to
• 42:44
  build up the Kingdom of God on earth, enduring whatever bumps
• 42:49
  and bruises may be sustained along the way.
• 42:54
  One of the central and unique blessings of the church, and
• 42:58
  possibly the ultimate purpose, is to qualify and empower God's
• 43:03
  children to engage in his work and ultimately his life, even
• 43:09
  eternal life. It is not.
• 43:13
  It is not to adapt the church to God's children, but to help His
• 43:19
  children adapt to Him. We have this backward view of
• 43:25
  things born out of the arrogance of man that we are doing God a
• 43:29
  favor. We are helping God out by
• 43:32
  engaging Him in His work. How ludicrous, and yet how
• 43:39
  common is that notion. The Lord said I am able to do
• 43:46
  mine own work. He does not engage us in His
• 43:52
  work to help Him, rather to help us that in His words every man
• 44:03
  speaking generically, which would be every man and woman,
• 44:06
  might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the
• 44:11
  world. When John the Revelator saw a
• 44:15
  great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and
• 44:19
  kindreds and people and tongues, who stood before the throne
• 44:25
  before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, the question arose,
• 44:30
  What are these which are arrayed in white robes, And whence came
• 44:36
  they? And the answer was given.
• 44:40
  These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have
• 44:46
  washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
• 44:50
  Lamb. Therefore are they before the
• 44:53
  throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
• 45:03
  These are they who are valiant in the testimony of Jesus
• 45:07
  Christ, which includes His Word. That is who you are and who you
• 45:20
  were prepared to become before you came to earth.
• 45:26
  The Lord said that you were among the noble and great ones
• 45:31
  who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of
• 45:36
  God even before they were born. You, they, with many others,
• 45:43
  received their first lessons in the world of spirits, and were
• 45:46
  prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord, to labor
• 45:51
  in His vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.
• 45:56
  That is who you are and what you prepared to do before you ever
• 46:05
  drew breath. In this line, the question is
• 46:09
  not what you will do when everything is warm, cuddly and
• 46:13
  comfortable. Rather, what will you do when it
• 46:16
  isn't? Not what will you do when
• 46:19
  everything aligns with your expectations?
• 46:23
  Rather, of course, what will you do when they don't.
• 46:34
  Should we be surprised or or worse yet alarmed when people,
• 46:41
  even when maybe many people, step away from the church and
• 46:46
  God's plan for his children? Saddened, yes, but not
• 46:54
  surprised. It has been the pattern from
• 46:58
  before the world was. It continues from the beginning
• 47:02
  of time and has been foretold. Think of this 1/3 of the hosts
• 47:11
  of heaven, God's children, turned away from their Father
• 47:18
  and His plan for His children before the beginning of time.
• 47:24
  And amazingly, this happened in the clear light of day, without
• 47:29
  the limitation of the veil of forgetfulness that now clouds
• 47:33
  our judgment. God's plan did not meet their
• 47:39
  expectations either, and so they rejected His plan and and in
• 47:46
  doing so, they rejected Him. In three books of Scripture the
• 47:53
  Lord warns, Enter ye in the Strait gate, For white is the
• 47:58
  gate, and brought is the way that leadeth to destruction.
• 48:02
  And many there be which go in thereat straight is the gate, he
• 48:09
  said, and narrow the way which leadeth unto life, and few there
• 48:13
  be that find it. He also said The harvest truly
• 48:19
  is plenteous but the laborers are few and on another occasion
• 48:25
  he said there are many called but fewer chosen.
• 48:30
  Follow the data and the go with the crowd.
• 48:34
  Crowd does not work here. In the parable of the 10
• 48:40
  virgins, the Lord draws an analogy that the Lord applied
• 48:44
  specifically to the Kingdom of Heaven, meaning the Church in
• 48:48
  which only 50% entered in with the Bridegroom despite their
• 48:53
  worthiness. Speaking of our day, the Lord
• 48:57
  warned. And many false prophets shall
• 49:00
  arise, and shall deceive many on another occasion.
• 49:04
  For in those days, this day, there shall also arise false
• 49:09
  Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and
• 49:13
  wonders, insomuch that if possible, they shall deceive the
• 49:18
  very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant.
• 49:23
  As I've said before, false Christ can be more than a
• 49:26
  person. It may be an idea, a principle,
• 49:29
  even a true principle, even a good idea, a lifestyle or
• 49:34
  obsession on anything more than God.
• 49:41
  It includes anything or anyone that becomes the basis for
• 49:45
  making choices instead of or above God our Father and the
• 49:51
  Lord Jesus Christ, or anything which distracts from worship of
• 49:56
  them. Paul also gave a similar
• 50:00
  warning, saying in the latter times, these Times some shall
• 50:06
  depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the
• 50:10
  doctrines of devils. Those prophecies are not general
• 50:17
  in nature, Speaking of tendencies of people over time.
• 50:21
  They are prophecies specific to our day, this day.
• 50:28
  And so when you see others who depart from the faith, do not be
• 50:34
  shaken. Saddened, surely, but not
• 50:39
  surprised. It was specifically predicted
• 50:43
  long ago in order that you not be shaken or surprised, but
• 50:48
  reassured in your own conviction as you see the Word of God
• 50:52
  fulfilled before your very eyes. None of this is to say we should
• 50:58
  stand idly by as people walk out the door with broken and lonely
• 51:06
  hearts, thinking, there's no place for me here, I don't
• 51:09
  belong here, not hardly. We should not ride anyone off
• 51:17
  thinking, well, this is all been predicted.
• 51:21
  We must not hide complacency under the pretext of prophecy.
• 51:27
  Our hearts ache and break for them too.
• 51:31
  The Lord said, For unto such shall ye continue to minister,
• 51:36
  for ye know not but what they shall return.
• 51:42
  As Nephi said, Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they
• 51:46
  should not partake of His goodness.
• 51:49
  Behold, I say unto you, Nay, but all men are privileged, the one
• 51:55
  like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
• 51:58
  And he invited them all to come unto him and partake of his
• 52:03
  goodness. And he denieth none that come
• 52:05
  into him. Black and white bond and free,
• 52:11
  male and female. And he remembereth the heathen.
• 52:16
  And all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
• 52:28
  With all of that I'm not saying. I'm not saying all is well in
• 52:34
  Zion. Is there room for improvement?
• 52:39
  Absolutely. Surely there is room for
• 52:41
  improvement. There always has been and there
• 52:45
  always will be. But what I can tell you is this
• 52:51
  Church leaders are not oblivious to any of the concerns raised
• 52:55
  regarding perceived deficiencies and the room for improvement.
• 53:00
  As a general authority, I've been involved in, I don't know
• 53:04
  how many, countless discussions with other church leaders about
• 53:09
  how to better bless and improve the experience of its members
• 53:13
  and all of God's children. There is an organized standing
• 53:19
  committee of general authorities dedicated solely to that end.
• 53:25
  Does it? Does it all happen perfectly?
• 53:28
  No, not any more than anyone's personal efforts to do better
• 53:34
  and be better. But it's not for want of trying.
• 53:40
  We all want the church to be as good as it can be.
• 53:46
  It would be helpful, I think, if we were to adopt some of the
• 53:51
  wisdom of Benjamin Franklin from his remarks given at the
• 53:55
  conclusion of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
• 54:02
  He was then the oldest delegate at the age of 81, and he urged
• 54:08
  approval of the Constitution despite what he perceived as
• 54:12
  flaws. Saying this, I confess that I do
• 54:18
  not entirely approve of this Constitution at present.
• 54:22
  But, Sir, I'm not sure I shall never approve it.
• 54:28
  For, having lived long, I have experienced many instances of
• 54:32
  being obliged by better information and fuller
• 54:35
  consideration, to change opinions, even on important
• 54:40
  subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be
• 54:43
  otherwise. But though many private persons
• 54:48
  think almost as highly of their own infallibility as that of
• 54:54
  their sect, if you express it so naturally as a certain French
• 54:59
  lady who in a little dispute with her sister, said, I don't
• 55:04
  know how it happened, sister, but I I meet with nobody but
• 55:10
  myself. That's always and the right.
• 55:15
  Continuing on with Brother Franklin, on the whole, he said,
• 55:20
  I cannot help expressing A wish that every member of the
• 55:24
  Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me
• 55:30
  on this occasion, doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to
• 55:34
  make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.
• 55:43
  And so, adopting the words of Benjamin Franklin, I say, on the
• 55:51
  whole, I cannot help expressing A wish that every member of the
• 55:57
  Church who may still have objections to it would with me
• 56:01
  on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility.
• 56:07
  And to make manifest our unanimity, put his name and
• 56:12
  shoulder to it. If culture, or feeling
• 56:22
  comfortable, or loved, or accepted, or fitting in, or
• 56:28
  agreeing with all that transpires within the Church, or
• 56:34
  or worshipping in my own way, if those were the pillars of my
• 56:39
  conviction, I would have been gone a long time ago.
• 56:46
  But I'm still here for one stubborn reason.
• 56:53
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Kingdom
• 56:59
  of God on earth today, and I can't rationally get around that
• 57:06
  fact. And I dare not deny it.
• 57:11
  And so here I stand. Come what may.
• 57:17
  May we all stand forever converted unto the Lord.
• 57:24
  May we all stand forever together and plot an undeviating
• 57:30
  course to eternal life.