Hastening the Lord's work--Bonneville YSA Stake Conference

At first I thought about just posting my notes from stake conference yesterday and today, but while I may end up doing that later, there are too many other thoughts in my mind following the meetings. Hopefully I can do them justice in this post.

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge was the presiding authority (accompanied by Gene R. Chidester, since they were reorganizing the stake presidency), and I loved his messages both yesterday and today. He reminded us of the First Presidency's instruction that every Saturday evening session of stake conference throughout the church was to be about hastening the work of salvation. He mentioned that we often talk about the what and occasionally the how, but that we do not always talk about the why.

So he extended the question, relating to the why: "How will my life be better if I join your church?" or "What do you have to offer if I join your church?" He then asked for responses from the congregation. I'm glad I was able to offer the last response; it was necessary to pay close attention to the wording and intent of the question. The other answers that were given were doctrinally sound, but they touched on aspects of gospel beliefs rather than on how joining the church would better a person's life.

My response was that closely following baptism, a person receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, which provides many of the feelings others had already mentioned, and which provides us with strength, peace, joy, comfort, etc., as nothing else possibly can. Having the gift of the Holy Ghost also means that we can have the Spirit of the Lord as a constant companion.

Elder Corbridge took my answer (and my name; I'm the only one whose name he asked!) and explained that the greatest gift of God is eternal life, but the greatest gift we can have in mortality is the gift of the Holy Ghost. A person should join the church to be forgiven of sins and to be endowed with God's power, to partake of the fruit of the tree of life and of the fruits of the atonement.

He then cited a couple of scriptures relating to receiving these things and to sharing the gospel:

"And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be." (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:37)

"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth...." (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:8)

He also asked why we should be afraid or ashamed to offer what we have to others. If we understand what we have, the effect it has on our lives, and the effect it can have in others' lives, shouldn't we be eager to reach out and share?

Another benefit he mentioned was that as we help to build the Kingdom of God, we retain a remission of our sins and have the Holy Ghost in our lives.

All this was at the beginning of the Saturday evening session. As he spoke again at the end (following other wonderful talks on hastening the work of salvation), he posed several more questions:

What will I do? How can I do something more?

Personally, I need to ponder a lot more on that. I have some ideas, but I need to understand my sphere of influence and how I can best reach out to others--friends, family, people I may not have met... One suggestion that was made (I think it was last night, but I don't remember for sure) was to commit to meet someone new every Sunday. I need to work on that one; as an introvert, I sometimes find it easier not to talk to people, especially people I don't know. I need to be better at reaching out and getting to know people.

Elder Corbridge added that the consequences of the gospel being true are enormous. Knowing that, wouldn't we want to share it with everyone? If you don't have the gospel now, wouldn't you want to learn it? Because, you see, if it is true (and I know that it is), the consequences truly are enormous. This increases our responsibility and should give us the drive necessary to move the work of the Lord forward. He ended his Saturday remarks by saying that we need to declare the gospel: "Determine to do something. Everything depends on this."

I left with the desire to do more. I need to spend time on my knees and then be willing to act under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I need to understand how the Lord would have me share the gospel.

There were many fabulous talks both days, but today it was again Elder Corbridge's talk that really hit home for me. He began by describing how the Lord invites us to become involved in His work, not for His benefit, but for our benefit--not to help Him, but to help us. He pointed out that even in the very name of the church, we are all invited to be a part of Christ's Kingdom: It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--not of latter-day prophets, not of a select few. We are a part of His Kingdom and called to participate in His work.

Much of the rest of his talk focused on the questions: Who am I? and Who am I in the process of becoming? He cited a number of scriptures on keeping the commandments. The most interesting part to me was when he referenced Alma 50:20 (in the Book of Mormon). The first half of the verse says, "Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land." But he then explained that the rest of the verse explains what it means to prosper in the land by presenting the opposite situation: "But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord." Have you ever thought of it that way? This also clarifies what king Benjamin said about how the Lord will "immediately bless [us]" if we keep His commandments (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:24). The blessings and the prosperity will not necessarily be physical. Prospering in the land does not necessarily mean we will be wealthy. What it does mean is that we will be in the presence of the Lord: we will have the Holy Spirit to be with us, to strengthen and guide us in all of our endeavors.

The other two questions I jotted down from his talk were:

Who is my God?
When everything earthly is taken from me, what kind of person will I be?

Each of these questions is a reminder to me that my focus needs to be on my Savior, on relying on the atonement and the influence of the Holy Ghost. I need to be a part of hastening the work of salvation. I don't fully understand yet how I can do this, but knowing that I need to be a part of the work is a beginning. Now I need to come to understand what the Lord would have me do. How can I reach out to others? How can I share with them a message that means so much to me, that even defines who I am--that hopefully can define me more fully and clearly each day.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true. "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth...." (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:8)

America, constitutional freedoms, and agency

Brief preface to this post: First, although the documentaries I watched have brought a multitude of thoughts to my mind, they were both more about presentation of things I could already see for myself. Second, though I may quote scriptures within this post, these are my own thoughts and impressions and not representative of or endorsed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nevertheless, I hope they are doctrinally sound.

I have watched two documentaries this weekend. The first was Obama's America: 2016, the second was AGENDA: Grinding America Down. As already stated, these films confirmed things I have already seen and interpreted for myself.

Obama's America: 2016 is not an apocalyptic film. There is not really a strong prediction of what America will be like in 2016. However, it does focus on what is known of Obama's background and specifically of his mentors and other influences. It is shown that he was influenced by his Kenyan father as well as by a number of socialists and communists. Those who still have strong influence in his life and his ideas also fall into this category.

The approach to the film was interesting. It seemed unlikely that the communist agenda itself, or the lack of information about Obama, would be enough to promote the ideas of the film. However, by presenting it instead as an anti-colonialism agenda, the points were strengthened. In either case, the predicted end result is similar: the weakening of America.

AGENDA: Grinding America Down took a different approach. It did not focus strongly on Obama (though he was mentioned), but it did focus on how socialistic and even communistic values have been gradually creeping into our society for at least two decades. The creator of the documentary specifically focused on how the communists have pushed their agenda by attacking Judeo-Christian values, especially the family. Their focus has been on mitigating the influence of parents by allowing public schools (i.e., government) to take over as early as possible. The real idea of communism, as presented by the documentary, is big government.

Also figuring into the communist agenda are both environmentalism and the feminist movement. Why? Because each of these can be presented in such a way as to sound exciting to the people. But what are they really doing? Environmentalism has forced us to become dependent on the government for energy resources. And the feminist movement contributes directly to the breakdown of the family, forcing children to be raised by the government without regard to the moral ideology of the parents.

It's absolutely frightening to think of what forcing communist ideals would mean. The film made the point that communism is a killing machine, stating that it was responsible for more deaths in the 20th century than were all of the wars throughout history, combined. Yikes! And the truly frightening thing? We have historical evidence of socialist/communist leaders rising to power through the voice of the people. Hitler did not come in at random and take control of Germany. The German people elected him, and he proceeded to enact "emergency legislation" (overriding the laws then in place) that gave him absolute power. While I know some would disagree, I would venture to say that Obama has already bent and twisted American law, even our Constitution, to suit his own needs and agenda.

You might argue that we would never see communism become a killing machine in the United States. I would disagree. Obamacare is actually a prime example. My cousin's son was born with a rare heart disease. They are already experiencing the effects of Obamacare on their ability to care for their son. The limit on the amount of money that can be put into a flexible spending account has decreased. (I read over a year ago that Obama's plan was for this to increase tax revenue and thus redistribute money more evenly.) This means that not only will they be taxed on that money, but they cannot spread the cost evenly over the year as a flexible spending account normally allows. Unfortunately, they are also unable to qualify for government aid for their son's medical care. That is, not only has the provision that allowed them to pay their medical bills been removed, but there is no provision to make up for it. My interpretation? The government is already placing value on lives and determining who should and should not receive the necessary care to survive. I know some will not agree with me, but these over-restrictive policies sound like a step toward euthanasia. We already know the left does not place value on unborn life; why should we expect them to value our lives? What right does man have to rank the value of others' lives?

Another comment I found interesting was the communist idea that eliminating God elevates man. What?!?! I suppose it temporarily elevates one man or a small group of men who maintain control of mankind. But eliminating God--well, it eliminates everything. Even if we could exist without a higher Being, without a Supreme Creator, what would be the purpose? Judeo-Christian values would suggest that the existence of God is what elevates man: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Old Testament, Genesis 1:27). What could possibly be more elevating to man (and woman) than to know that we are created in the image of God, that we are His children? And because we are His children, every life, male or female, born or unborn, is of infinite worth.

I did feel a surge of gratitude as I listened to the presentation of the idea that this leftist agenda is especially being pushed in education. I agree with what they say. However, I was blessed to have some amazing teachers, Mr. Smith in particular, who strongly encouraged us to think for ourselves and to question everything we read or hear. It was exciting as a teenager to sit through a history class each day where I knew the teacher would allow me to challenge him. But I am ever so much more grateful for that, now--especially from a history teacher! The last two months leave us all wondering: who writes history, and what do they share or not share? America has yet to receive answers about Benghazi. Who will put it in the history books? What will they say? Will we ever know the truth?

In regard to education, my desire to home school (if the day comes when I do marry and have a family) was strongly reinforced. I will not allow the government to raise my child. I am capable of teaching not only moral values but secular learning. Even for me, where I was not home schooled, my love of learning came not from school (though I liked going to school), but from the values taught at home. This was not just religion. This was our shelves full of books, the music that was regularly a part of life, the family field trips to zoos and museums and other places. My children will be educated, not indoctrinated.

I was particularly struck by the comments relating directly to agency (even though the word "agency" was never used). The suggestion was made that the acceptance of the communist agenda by the left wing was born either of ignorance or of evil, and that evidence shows that for many ignorance is not an option. That leaves evil. Later it is also said that the farther communism progresses, the more difficult it is to recognize evil. Yikes! Think of Isaiah: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Old Testament, Isaiah 5:20). And yet there are people who would do all in their power to blur those lines. Darkness cannot be mistaken for light, not bitter for sweet--not unless we have lost or given up our ability to see or to taste. The same is true between good and evil. One cannot be mistaken for the other unless we give up our ability to judge and to choose.

Which brings us to the heart of the problem with communism. What I drew from the documentary was that the greatest problem with communism (which is the direction our country appears to be headed) is the removal of our agency. I fought for agency before I came to this earth! You did, too, or you would not be here. One man, Saul Alinsky, who promotes the communist agenda and has strongly influenced Obama actually dedicated a book: "Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgement to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history... the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom--Lucifer." My jaw dropped when I heard that. Evil, evil, evil! No God-fearing Christian could deny that this is evil! And this man has an influence on our president?

We, as humans, are set apart from the rest of God's creations by our agency: the ability to distinguish and to choose between good and evil. Satan's (Lucifer's) plan was to have a "perfect" world in which our agency would be removed and we would all be forced back to heaven. In exchange, he wanted the glory. Sound a little like the communist agenda? I would say so.

I chose God's plan. This I know, because I am here on earth. I chose to gain a physical body, to come to earth with agency: the freedom to choose. I knew I would make mistakes. But I also knew that God's plan included a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would make it possible for me to repent, to continue to choose right, and eventually return to God. I chose this. I even knew there would be suffering. But I also understood that the suffering was necessary in order to experience joy. Without opposition, we do not learn or progress. The communist agenda would remove all opposition and with it our ability to choose.

Nearly 50 years ago, then Elder Benson (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) warned against the evils of socialism as seen in this link. I love his comment: "Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. It can help to save your soul, and maybe your country." Several thoughts come to my mind as I consider this. First, my grandpa grew up in Hitler's Germany. I have rarely heard him speak of it; it is not something he likes to remember. Knowing this, knowing that he left his homeland to establish a home and later a family in a land of freedom, knowing the great love he has for the United States, how could I possibly support anything that resembles Hitler's Germany? Second, as I have already said, I know I fought for agency--for the freedom to choose--before I came to this life. Because of this, the final thought is that I will continue to fight. This is about the triumph of good over evil. God's plan will prevail--we know which team will win. The question is, whose team will we be on? I want to be found on God's team. I will continue to fight for freedom--freedom to choose, freedom to worship my God. Elder Benson said, "Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost." To my dying breath, I will stand up for freedom, against socialism and communism. No matter what the cost. If the day comes that I must give my dying breath in this fight, so be it. I would rather give my life knowing that I am on the Lord's team, and receive my reward from Him, than merely exist on a team that will ultimately be defeated.