High Council Speaking Assignment
P.D. Laws
Milton & Pensacola First Wards
19 January 1997
1997 is a year of pioneers. This is the 150th since the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake valley from Winter Quarters which was near what is now Florence, Nebraska. The distance between the two points is 1031 miles! We in the Church today are the beneficiaries of the sacrifices and suffering of many an early Saint. We are not called upon to suffer as they did.
My third Great Grandmother on my father's side, was one of these pioneer Saints. Widowed with 7 children she made the trek across the plains with a handcart. I am humbled when I read of the trials that she and her family endured. They were members of the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company which was stranded with meager provisions in the snows of Wyoming. She and six of her seven children arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on the 9th of November 1856.
One of the great legacies left by the early pioneers and which may be freely obtained today is their sense of determination and dedication to the cause of Christ. Their "do it, or die trying" mentality of gospel dedication provided the required motivation to suffer all things that were placed at their feet. I rejoice in the opportunity we will have all of this year to commemorate these sweeping and significant events!
Today, the physical challenges we face as Saints have dissipated from handcarts to things like wrestling with unruly children in Sacrament Meeting, trying not to get hurt in a church basketball game, or dodging the Bishopric member who has that look in his eye which says "I don't think we've heard form you in a while in Sacrament Meeting!"
We are not however, any different from our early brothers and sisters as far as the eternal plans of our Heavenly Father go. His plan for each of his children is the same. In the second verse of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord declares:
For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.
The eternal plans of our Father apply to all of us. This truth was revealed to Moses in these words:
....and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Moses 1:38-39
How many times have you and I heard this verse quoted? Where do we fit into this work that is mentioned?
As individuals, and more importantly as families, we have a unique and powerful eternal identity and destiny as it pertains to this plan. The framework of the Plan was revealed to each of us in advance of the creation of this earth and caused great excitement among us. My earthly fathers' Patriarchal Blessing eloquently describes these events with these words:
(The Lord)...would have you understand that you lived and grew and developed for countless ages before this earth was created and that you were one of the number who sang for joy when this planet on which we now live was created, when you learned that in due time you would have the privilege of dwelling here in a tabernacle of flesh and bones....
Patriarchal Blessing of David P. Laws 10 Jul 57
The idea of being there and witnessing the events which led to the planning and creation of this world has always stirred in me a great longing to remember! I am sure that you and I were intimately interested in these prospects! How we must have longed to become more like our father! The greatest thing to me about this whole Plan is that we have the knowledge of the reality of these events. The prophets through the ages have continually reminded us of our identities! President Joseph F Smith, 6th President of the Church said:
What a glorious thing it is to know and be true to that which has been revealed in these latter times through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was revealed anciently by the Savior himself, and he exemplified that glorious principle of which I wish to say a few words, and which has been renewed and emphasized more especially in these latter days through Joseph Smith-I refer to our identity, our indestructible, immortal identity. As in Christ we have the example, he was born of woman, he lived, he died, and he lived again in his own person and being, bearing even the marks of the wounds in his flesh, after his resurrection from the dead-so also a testimony has been given to you, in later days, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and others who have been blessed with knowledge, that the same individual Being still lives and will always live. Jesus is possessed of immortality, and eternal life; and in evidence of his existence and his immortality, and in evidence of the great and glorious truths of the gospel which he taught, the death which he died, and the resurrection that he wrought from the dead, he has revealed himself and borne his own record and testimony to those who have lived and still live in this day and age.
What a glorious thought it is, to me at least, and it must be to all who have conceived of the truth or received it in their hearts, that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh-not some other soul, some other being, or the same being in some other form, but the same identity and the same form and likeness, the same person we knew and were associated with in our mortal existence, even to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities, defects or infirmities, for these will be removed in their course, in their proper time, according to the merciful providence of God. Deformity will be removed; defects will be eliminated, and men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that God designed in the beginning. It is his purpose that men and women, his children, born to become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, shall be made perfect, physically as well as spiritually, through obedience to the law by which he has provided the means that perfection shall come to all his children.
Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.23
Isn't this a marvelous concept? Doesn't it make you want to do all in your power to make it happen? I am anxious to be reunited with my departed ancestors, particularly my father who passed away nearly 20 years ago. Between the present day and our passage through the veil that separates this world and the world to come, we are called upon to experience all of the challenges and blessings which are designed to stretch us spiritually. In this progressive period we sometimes fall down, get caught in the thicket of sin, or get slogged with the vicissitudes of mortality. It is at times like these we may rely on the reassuring idea that others have indeed gone on ahead and are waiting for our successful return to our eternal home.
Many of us have had the experience of traveling great distances and enduring extended periods of separation from our earthly homes and families and know first hand the sweet feeling that the return trip provides as we anticipate the reunion with family that awaits. This feeling magnified intensely probably approaches some of what our Heavenly Father feels when it comes to the prospect of his returning children! This is why he has made such an effort to make it clear to us what his work and glory is! He desires so much to have us return to Him!
Thankfully, we do not need to rely on abstract concepts or nebulous principles to envision our relationship to God our Heavenly Father. The Prophet Joseph Smith delivered a sermon before about twenty thousand Saints at the April conference of the Church, 1844, it was a funeral sermon for Elder King Follett, a member of the church who was crushed when a tub of rock fell on him in a well. He said concerning the nature and being of God:
God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,-I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p.345
The Prophet Lorenzo Snow also had a revelation concerning the character of God. His simple couplet "As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be." sparked in him gratitude and motivation. He wrote a poem which also expresses this theme:
Hast thou not been unwisely bold,
Man's destiny to thus unfold?
To raise, promote such high desire,
Such vast ambition thus inspire?
Still, 'tis no phantom that we trace
Man's ultimatum in life's race;
This royal path has long been trod
By righteous men, each now a God:
As Abra'm, Isaac, Jacob, too,
First babes, then men-to gods they grew.
As man now is, our God once was;
As now God is, so man may be, --
Which doth unfold man's destiny.
For John declares: When Christ we see
Like unto him we'll truly be.
And he who has this hope within,
Will purify himself from sin.
Who keep this object grand in view,
To folly, sin, will bid adieu,
Nor wallow in the mire anew;
Nor ever seek to carve his name
High on the shaft of worldly fame;
But here his ultimatum trace:
The head of all his spirit-race.
Ah, well, that taught by you, dear Paul,
Though much amazed, we see it all;
Our Father God, has ope'd our eyes,
We cannot view it otherwise.
The boy, like to his father grown,
Has but attained unto his own;
To grow to sire from state of son,
Is not 'gainst Nature's course to run.
A son of God, like God to be,
Would not be robbing Deity;
And he who has this hope within,
Will purify himself from sin.
You're right, St. John, supremely right:
Whoe'er essays to climb this height,
Will cleanse himself of sin entire --
Or else 'twere needless to aspire.
Lorenzo Snow
(IE, 22:660-61; the poem is dated 11 January 1892.)
What then is our place in this grand drama? Knowing that we are treading a well-worn path should provide for us the impetus necessary to "press forward" relying on the merits of our Savior who has prepared a way for our return to His Father's Kingdom. He has promised that there is a place prepared for us in His Father's house. (John 14:2) The "way" to His abode includes the basic principles of the Savior's Gospel, things like faith, repentance, Baptism, the Holy Ghost and endurance. Once we have entered the "narrow way" through baptism, we become prepared to make and keep additional covenants, and thus merit even greater blessings in the hereafter. The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith a "New and Everlasting Covenant" with these words:
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
D&C 132:4,5
The covenants and blessings mentioned in Section 132 are available exclusively in the Temple and pertain to the highest state of eternal existence, usually called "eternal life". As we prepare ourselves through righteous living and obedience to all of our Heavenly Father's commandments we become eligible for this "greatest gift" (D&C 14:7).
President George Q. Cannon, counselor to 4 Prophets has written:
Men talk about evolution. This is the true evolution-being such as we are and developing and advancing and progressing in that upward and onward career until we shall become like Him, in truth, until we shall possess the powers that He possesses and exercise the dominion that He now exercises. This is the promise that is held out to us. It is an incentive to faithfulness on our part.
(April 7, 1889, DW 38:675-6) Gospel Truth, Vol. 1, p.131
We are immortal beings and we have an eternal destiny. Within the walls of sacred temples we have the opportunity and blessing to unite ourselves, our ancestors, and our progeny in one unbreakable family that will exist through all eternity! Through Jesus Christ's perfect life we have the gift of resurrection. Through covenants and their faithful observance we have the potential to be with and LIKE our Heavenly Father.
I will admit to you that I have pondered what it will be like to be on the other side of the veil looking back on my earthly life and knowing that I have an eternity ahead. The thoughts I get cause me deep reflection on my life now and what I need to do to more fully draw near to my Savior. He has shown the way. He has provided temples wherein we can partake of the divine and apply it to our daily lives that we may more fully tread in his footsteps, which will surely lead us back to His Fathers' holy presence is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
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