DiAnne Casperson gave the lesson from May 2006 Ensign, "As a Child, Enduring through Perilous Times" by Elder Henry B. Eyring
Our natures must be changed to become as a child to gain the strength we must have tobe safe in the times of moral peril
The prophets of God have foreseen the times in which we live. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that the peril is great. The peril comes from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become harder, not easier, to keep the covenants we must make to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is hope in the promise the Lord has given us - of a place of safety in the storms ahead. A loving father told his sons of it this way as he tried to strengthen them against the storms of temptation:
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation ¦ whereon if men build they cannot fall.
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
What we need is faith in Him and to love Him. We must know that He lives and who He is. When we do, we will love Him.
King Benjamin suggested how to know Him in these words:
For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?
We come to love those we serve. If we choose to begin to serve the Master out of even a glimmer of faith, we will begin to know Him. We will come to know His purposes for the people we serve for Him. Even when they do not accept our offer to serve them, we will feel His appreciation if we persist.
I bear you my witness that the Savior lives and that He is the sure foundation. I know that by acting on our faith in Him we can be cleansed and changed to become pure and strong, as a little child. I bear you my testimony that the Holy Ghost can lead us to truth and away from sin.
Elder Henry B. Eyring
No comments:
Post a Comment