Choose Eternal Life

Lehi teaches his family the Plan of Salvation, and gives a powerful testimony of agency and the importance of choosing to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think 2 Nephi 2:27 is powerful as it clearly illustrates the destination we will attain depending on our use of agency. Lehi says:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

After describing this choice to his sons, he exhorts them to "look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words." Then with the pleadings of a loving parent who knows he will soon pass away, Lehi says, "choose eternal life." 

It's true that this may seem overly simplistic. We don't just decide, "I'm going to choose eternal life," and then we're set. But along with this simple plea, he does provide instruction for accomplishing this important goal. He points his sons to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and he exhorts them to obey the commandments. This reminds me of the third article of faith: We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Turn to Christ and obey His commandments. Choose Eternal Life!

Cleave Unto Your Covenants

In D&C 25:13, the Lord tells Emma Smith to "cleave unto the covenants which [she had] made." In thinking about what it means to cleave unto our covenants, I wanted to explore where the word cleave is used throughout the scriptures. A search turned up 54 hits, and here are a selection of these:

• Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (Romans 12:9)
• Ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. (Deuteronomy 4:4)
• Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else. (D&C 42:22)
• Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)
• ...exhorted them all, that...they would cleave unto the Lord. (Acts 11:23)
• But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. (Joshua 23:8)
• Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. (D&C 13:4)
• Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all... (Moroni 7:46)
• Cleave unto me with all your heart. (D&C 11:19)
• They who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing. (Moroni 7:28)
• Forsake all evil and cleave unto all good. (D&C 98:11)
• Except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish. (Helaman 4:25)

To summarize, we are commanded in the scriptures to cleave unto five things. We must cleave unto:

1. The Lord
2. Our spouse / family
3. Our Covenants
4. Charity
5. Every good thing

What great perspective! Aligning our personal goals and priorities with these five areas pretty much sums up what it means to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Warning: Avoid Lazy Faith

We are familiar with the story of the Lord commanding Nephi to build a ship for his family to cross the ocean found in 1 Nephi 17. One thing I hadn't previously caught when reading this story was some of the reasoning behind Laman and Lemuel's murmuring and unbelief that Nephi was instructed of the Lord to build a ship.

Check out verse 18: "And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord."

Laman and Lemuel were being lazy (desirous that they might not labor)! They realized that if they believed the Lord had commanded Nephi to build the ship, then they would have to offer their help and have to labor with him in this effort. So, this led them to doubt, question, complain, and mock.

I worry that far too many people fall into this same trap today. If you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, then you become obligated to live according to that gospel. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that means living the word of wisdom, law of chastity, keeping the Sabbath day holy, and many other commandments. The easier and lazier approach is to not fully believe the truth so that you're off the hook in having to fully live it.

The catch is that it's either true or it is not true, and the easy/lazy approach is only valid if it's not true. For most who face this "dilemma," they've already received a witness that it was true, a witness from God - just like Laman and Lemuel had many times previously. Laman and Lemuel were fortunate though because Nephi really did need their help. God gave Nephi power to shake/shock them, which made them believe so that they would help him out.

Most of us today are not so fortunate. There may not be a shake or shock to jolt us back to reality and get us on the right path, and do we really want one? How often have you heard the story of a man who chooses not to believe, stops going to church, hits a low point in his life, and then has a sudden tragedy occur (death of a wife, parent, child, etc) that brings him back to God?

I think the subtle lesson here is to beware of this temptation of the adversary. He wants us to look for the path of least resistance. Taking the easy way out in life means denying Christ and His truth. Instead, step up and love God. Keep His commandments, and do everything you can to serve Him and those around you. This is the difference between a Nephi attitude and a Laman attitude.