Justin

My dear beloved brethren, I rejoice at this God-given opportunity to speak with you this day. I am filled with the Spirit as I study and ponder Alma 5 that I couldn't help but desire so greatly to share what I've learned with thee, which I hope may edify thee and strengthen thy conviction and steadfastness in the Lord, that we may sing the song of redeeming love together.

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, the first principle of the Restored Gospel, which is that of faith, has often times been the most neglected part of Gospel living. Often times, it is the simplest of things that we neglect in our lust for things belonging to the upper echelons of truth, that caused us to look beyond the mark. I have explained at least twice how we should not focus our attention too much on the meat that we forget the taste of milk. In fact, to those of us who immerse ourselves, engaging in deep dives into the Word of God, especially into the Book of Mormon, you would discover something fascinating, and that is the fact that what may appear to be milk may actually be meat. This occurrence is the result of, what I would call, divine distractions, and these distractions are set in place so that God may reveal unto us line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little (2 Nephi 28:30). It is only when we receive the milk, then do God reveal unto us the meat within a given principle, by which the revelation and the uncovering of the meat is a slow and gradual process, according to our faith in Him and our hope for that which is to come, and ultimately according to the Lord's own will, time and pleasure, and in His own way of revealing such truths unto us.

Now, as mentioned, the principle of faith has often times been the most neglected part of Gospel living. We somehow may be led to think that there is not much to be learned about the principle of faith, that somehow knowing the definition of faith is sufficient. One of the major stumbling block that is plaguing the Church till this day is that many still do not know the relationship between faith and works as presented in the scriptures. I would endeavor to explain the relationship between faith and works because I believe that it is expedient for us to be on the same page.

Faith precedes works, for one must firs have faith before he has works, for if he have works but have not faith, his works are done in blind obedience, or he must have fallen into the illusion to think that he can earn salvation through his works. Salvation, by grace, is a gift from God and there is no possibility of earning it, "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10). Wherefore, we are created to do good works, to live lives that would glorify our Maker, and that is why we are ultimately judged according to our works, whether they be good, or they be evil. This is why it was written that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17), for thy works are meant to be expressions, products, and testimonies of thy faith, testifying unto the Father of the extent, the quantity, and the quality of thy faith, and if your works does not testify of your faith, it shall be as naught in the eyes of the Lord.

This is why King Benjamin, in his sermon, taught that although we are saved by grace, works is still an important aspect of the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ:

    "I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

    21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

    22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you" (Mosiah 2:20-22).

Now, I would like to spend some time discussing the principle of faith as that of meat and not of milk. It is common for us to focus on what faith is and how we can strengthen our faith, and we are not wrong to focus on the milk, but here's where the meat comes in, and that is the focus on the fruits brought forth by exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ while not neglecting the milk.

Now, these fruits of faith are defined as the blessings, privileges, understanding, and results brought forth because of thy faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Two such fruits can be found in Alma 5:14-15. Pay close attention to the following:

    "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

    15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?"

We can see from the above that the mighty change in our hearts and the receiving of the image of Christ in our countenances comes only by faith, trusting that Jesus has redeemed us of our sins through His infinite Atonement and thus we look forward, not with physical eyes, but with eyes of faith in our eventual resurrection and judgment, or rather, it is to have faith that God will fulfill His work and His glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

It is especially in these last days that it is of paramount importance for us to engage in the work of the building up of thy faith and thy testimony, to know that formerly, thy garments were, "stained with blood and all manner of filthiness" (Alma 5:22), but has now been washed white, purified and cleansed from all stain by the blood of Christ unto your redemption, which was freely spilt, for you as much as it is for me, so that ye may obtain freedom, to have "the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled" (Alma 5:9) about us to be loosed. It is thus expedient that ye should always remember that the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ plays a fundamental and central role in the Plan of Salvation, the heart of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ, for without which no man could be saved, for "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13), as such we are eternally indebted unto Him. Wherefore, rejoice, my beloved brethren, for every man that walketh and traverseth upon this Earth is privileged and loved, for immortality and eternal life is theirs, yet the myopic use of their personal agency often times prove to be their downfall. Yea, it proved to be their downfall because mankind is stiff-necked to learn this one lesson that Jesus has taught and exemplified through His prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed unto our Father in Heaven, "saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42), and also through His crucifixion, sacrificing Himself and suffering all manner of agony and torture, for the sins of the world, for you as much as it is for me, and that lesson is submitting ourselves even unto death for the work and the glory of God.

You see immediately after Jesus says "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done", "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). In another case, the prophet Noah was called to build an ark (Genesis 6), and could you imagine what a laborious task it is and how long it will take for the ark to be completed? Yet, the Lord provided the blueprint, and all that was required of Noah was to keep His commandments, much like what King Benjamin preached in Mosiah 2:22, and because of Noah's obedience and perseverance in keep the commandments of the Lord, He was unscathed and saved from the devastating flood. In a similar case, the prophet Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, was commanded by the Lord to build a ship, and was, from time to time, shown the manner by which he is to build that ship, and it by his steadfast faith and unwavering obedience to the Lord, despite his brothers' murmuring, their initial refusal to help, and subsequent attempts to kill him, that caused the grace of God to be upon him which ensured that Nephi and his family may safely reach and alight at the promised land. Through these scriptural accounts, we can see that as we submit ourselves to the will of God, and "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5) and as we do that which is commanded of us to do, despite oppositions and temptations which may arise that do so desire that we lean unto our own understanding and go "about to establish [our] own righteousness" (Romans 10:3), we will be strengthened in our trials and preserved for the wise purposes of the Lord.

My dear friends, these are the last days that we are living in right now, and it is only going to get worse, so then, prepare thine hearts that they may be humble and submissive, and thine minds that they may be tamed by the Word of God through His Spirit so that it may be receptive to that which is of God, which produces fruits of the Spirit, which "is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9), for the day speedily cometh that ye are required to go forth to battle a ferocious battle, to wrestle "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12), standing side-by-side one with another as brothers in arms, with the Lord Jesus Christ at the helm. For when that day speedily cometh, ye must be prepared to sacrifice even your life and to die a martyr when it is required of you according to the wise purposes of the Lord, for in that day, Matthew 10:39, which says "he that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it", will test our mettle as a true disciple of Jesus Christ, and whosoever endureth even unto the very end in advancing the Lord's cause, it is him who shall inherit the Celestial Kingdom.

Ye may think to yourselves that what is required of us is hard to accomplish, and indeed it is a herculean task, to submit ourselves even unto death for the work and the glory of God, and I foresee that many members may leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, renouncing their allegiance to Jesus Christ and His Church in order to preserve their own mortal lives. It is with this in mind, for the fear of thy departure from the Church due to a myopic perspective that it is expedient for you to understand that we are Heavenly Father's choicest spirits, valiant warriors reserved to come forth in these latter days to wrestle against the worst that Satan has to offer. Could you imagine and even comprehend the Lord's trust in us and the latter-day responsibilities that we have gladly accepted during our premortal life? Wherefore, my brothers and sisters, may we, just like our Savior Jesus Christ, humble ourselves and submit our being to the will of God, "the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father" (Mosiah 15:7).

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I cannot emphasize how important it is to be humble and submissive even as unto a child, but it is of critical importance that we exercise these two Christlike attributes when choosing to abide by the counsels of living prophets and apostles. Remember that in times of old, the Israelites, or rather, those who are called the people of God are called to hearken unto the voice of the prophets, for they convey the Word of God unto mankind, words that, in their generation, is expedient for them to hear and hearken, and so it is with us who are living in the last days, how much more do we need living prophets and apostles, instruments in the hands of the Lord to lead His global Church. Remember, my beloved brethren, that it was the Jews, under the instigation of the Sanhedrin, who ordered the crucifixion of Christ, staining their garments and bloodied their hands with the blood of Him who is foreordained to ransom them from their sins but they would not, choosing rather to believe in their own interpretation of the law and the prophets, according to their own understanding, "for they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3).

My brothers and sisters, history is repeating itself before our very eyes in these latter days, and I really hope ye are not oblivious to this dangerous reality, for in the pursuit of establishing their own standards of righteousness, "some have wrested the scriptures, and have gone far astray" (Alma 41:1), choosing to abide in their own understanding, having their minds and their hearts tightly shut against reprove, correction and instruction given in righteousness, thus proving to be and rendering themselves unteachable, and this they do to the advancement of the devil's cause, intentionally or unintentionally, which is to thwart or perhaps, slow or delay the progress of the building up of the Kingdom of God. Satan, like many who oppose the Church of Jesus Christ, fail to grasp this truth, that "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done". Wherefore, my beloved brethren, humble yourselves so as to give heed unto the counsels and invitations of living prophets and apostles, and heed not the words of modern-day scribes and Pharisees, who teach according to their own understanding, having erected their own standard of righteousness and of truth, and calling unto the ends of the world to "hear ye our precept", or "hearken ye unto my precept" (2 Nephi 28:5-6), preaching false and foolish doctrines, and thus "perverting the right way of the Lord" (2 Nephi 28:15).

President Wilford Woodruff once taught, "Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God. That testimony is always attended by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation". Wherefore, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, let humility enable you to submit yourselves to those whom the Lord has tasked to lead His Church, and those whom the Lord has tasked to lead your area, your stake, and your ward. As President Thomas S. Monson, in his talk titled, "Duty Calls", given in the April 1996 General Conference, taught, "Remember that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies", wherefore, abide in the teachings of living prophets and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

My beloved brethren, please do not let complacency be your downfall. It really does not matter if you have been in the Church for a long time, or how frequent you visit the temple to do temple work for your beloved deceased, or if you have been endowed or sealed or have held positions of authority in the Church, for we are all susceptible to walk away from God even after experiencing that mighty change in our hearts and after having professed to know the ways of righteousness. My dearly beloved, if ye are lifted up in the pride of your eyes or your hearts, if ye seek to put others down because of envy, if ye, being led by self-righteousness, view others with an eye of judgment, finding faults in others and being oblivious to your own, and if ye art a respecter of persons, in the which there is partiality in you, do ye suppose that ye would be found guiltless except ye were to repent? And what is repentance, if it weren't for the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ, for by His blood, our garments are washed white? Understand this, my brothers and sisters in Christ, that salvation is not a reward unto the righteous, but a gift unto the penitent guilty. Wherefore, strip yourselves of all pride, envy, and partiality, and pluck out the eye of judgment from within you and cast it from thee and exchange it for an eye of compassion, and of love, and of peace, for the path back home is not a path of self-righteousness, but of humility, and progression on the path is not determined by how much we know about the Gospel, but by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet another unpopular truth I wish to make known unto you and that is that everytime ye choose not to hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, ye "have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil" (Alma 5:20).

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, it is with love that I share these sacred things with you, and these words are meant to be reflective, not to criticize or injure you, neither was it my intention. Please prayerfully consider these mere words of a humble servant of the Lord, and I hope that ye may been edified and that this will be spiritually fruitful for you as it was for me as I write these down. I do testify to the truth of these things that I have written, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.