The Pillars of Eternity Are the Human Experience

Bruce R McConkie taught in a BYU Devotional in 1981 the following:

"The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught."

As I pondered over these key events after a recent visit to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, I realized that we emphasize the pillars of eternity because they are a representation of our own lives and include a pattern we must follow.

Creation Is a Spiritual Birth
The creation of the Earth is its birth and is a critical event, for without it, the future events would not be possible. The journey of discipleship begins when one is baptized, a spiritual rebirth. This is the "creation" of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because covenants are made to follow the Savior and take His name upon oneself. I propose that the weekly partaking of the Sacrament is a weekly "creation" as we renew our covenants and are spiritually born again.

The Fall is Personal Sin
Despite our best intentions as disciples of Jesus Christ, we sin and fall short of the glory of God. None of us can maintain the state of purity in which we arise from the baptismal waters or obtain through repentant participation in the Sacrament. Sin is not something God can tolerate and the consequences are inevitable as they are just. It leaves us in a fallen state, distanced from God and unable to make amends on our own. We find ourselves falling short weekly, even daily.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ Saves Mankind from the Fall and Us from Personal Sin
Just as Christ's Atonement saves mankind from many of the consequences of the Fall, it also saves us personally from the consequences of our own personal sins. When I sin, I know that I can receive forgiveness and be cleansed through the grace of Jesus Christ. The Savior's Atonement is infinite and should help us every time we fall short, even daily.

Conclusion
These three personal pillars of eternity are the foundation upon which all things rest in our own lives. This mortal existence loses its meaning if we do not choose to follow Christ and make repentance a part of our life throughout our journey of discipleship. We must do our best to avoid sin, but when we do make mistakes, let us recognize them as opportunities to grow closer to our Savior through sincere repentance and reliance on Him.

I personally believe this parallel is a key reason we are reminded of the pillars of eternity so powerfully in our temple worship. The process of partaking of the Sacrament weekly, of making mistakes constantly, and of relentlessly repenting is the process of sanctification and becoming perfect (eventually). This is the human experience.

The Priesthood

In my last post (here), I studied the restoration of the Priesthood, so now I would like to dive into the Priesthood itself in more detail. The Priesthood is the power of God delegated to man to act in His name.

Why is the Priesthood important?
The Priesthood is important because it is the authority required to perform saving ordinances that are required for exaltation, such as baptism. We know ordinances such as baptism are required for salvation because Jesus taught that we must be baptized to enter into the kingdom of God (see John 3:3-5). Remember, Jesus did not just go to anyone to be baptized, he sought out John because he had the Priesthood authority to baptize. Even Jesus had to be baptized because it is a commandment for all of us (see 2 Nephi 31:5), and so he needed to be baptized by the proper priesthood authority.

How is this Priesthood authority obtained?
While many people think that studying theology is enough to claim devine authority, the Bible teaches the exact opposite. In Hebrews 5:4 we read, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Ok, so we have to be called of God the way Aaron was; we don't take it upon ourselves, so how was Aaron called? We can read about how Aaron was called of God in the Old Testament:

Called of God, as was Aaron
Aaron was called to receive the Priesthood through one of God's servants who also had the Priesthood, in this case Moses, the prophet at that time. God said to Moses in Exodus 28:1: "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons." The event is also recorded in Exodus 30:30 where the Lord tells Moses, "And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office."

How is the Priesthood given/received?
The Priesthood is given and received by the laying on of hands by someone who has the Priesthood authority. There are many examples of this throughout the scriptures and I will share a three here:

(1) Moses gave Joshua the priesthood by the laying on of hands in Numbers 27:18, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him" - feel free to click the link and read the full context if you are unfamiliar with the story.

(2) When the Apostles met together to call new Apostles and give them authority, they also laid their hands upon them:

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. (see Acts 6:6)

(3) Paul reminds Timothy of how he was given the Priesthood ordination by the laying on of hands in 1 Timothy 4:14, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."

Recap: How do we get the priesthood?
We must (1) be called of God by one of his chosen servants and (2) receive the Priesthood from someone else who has the Priesthood, by the laying on of hands.

Painting depicting how the priesthood was conferred by Christ as recorded in the New Testament:

Do Infants Need to be Baptized?

The answer to whether we need to baptize our infants is no. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon uses very clear terms to explain to his son, Moroni, that baptism is not necessary for children (Moroni 8).

Mormon inquired of the Lord concerning the baptism of children and the response of the Lord was, "Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin;" (Moroni 8:8). Mormon then explains that "it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children."

Mormon continues:

"19 Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. 

 20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption." (Moroni 8:19-20)

Since baptism is unto repentance, it makes sense that babies should not need baptism because they are innocent and incapable of sin.

What Is the Purpose of Life?

This is a big question that most people have at some point in their life: What is the purpose of life? I'm going to study the words that Amulek taught in the Book of Mormon in Alma 34 to see what can be learned about the purpose of life.

First we must realize that because of the fall of Adam and Eve, all mankind is in a fallen and lost state. We commit sin and not one of us can avoid that. In this fallen state we are unable to return to God's presence, which is why we are "lost." For this reason, God has lovingly provided a way to overcome our fallen state. He provided a Savior for us, who of course is Jesus Christ. His perfect atonement (sacrifice for us) allows us to become clean and perfected in him if we follow his gospel by having faith in Him, repenting, and being baptized (Alma 34:8-15). So I guess we can classify that as one purpose for us during this life: follow Christ's gospel so we can return to God and be saved.

To put this one more way, in terms of mercy and justice, the atonement provides mercy, which can "satisfy the demands of justice." So, "he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption" (Alma 34:16).

Where do we start? Amulek says, "cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him" (Alma 34:18-19). The first step is to pray to God in humility asking for his help and his mercy. I'd even suggest meeting with missionaries; in fact, Amulek was a missionary when he taught this lesson! Click here to contact the missionaries in your area.

Amulek gives a big warning to the people he teaches. He tells them: "If ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and import of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need- I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain and availeth you nothing..."(Alma 34:28). So more is required of us than just faith and repentance, we must use our means in this life to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

The next point Amulek makes is also with very strong language that I won't paraphrase because that would only take away from it. He warns us against procrastinating our day of repentance:

"32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked." (Alma 34:32-35)

Some more counsel on how to live our lives to fulfill our purpose here (Alma 34:38-40):

• "Humble yourself"
• "Take upon you the name of Christ" (you do this through repentance and baptism)
• "Worship God," regardless of where you are
• "Live in thanksgiving daily"
• "Be watchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the temptations of the devil"
• "Bear with all manner of afflictions" (patiently endure trials)

Salvation and the Fourth Article of Faith

The fourth Article of Faith states:

"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Articles of Faith 1:4

This statement teaches us some basic things about salvation and how it is achieved. There are many people in the world that believe that God has preselected a group of people on this earth to receive salvation and that the rest of us are out of luck unless we are part of that group. What a false, sad doctrine that is! God loves us as our Father and wants ALL of us to return to him. However, he will not force us to be obedient to his commandments and live in such a way that will qualify us for the blessing of returning to him because he has given us agency to choose for ourselves.

God has given us his gospel with steps that we should follow to prove ourselves to him and qualify for his greatest gift, that of eternal life. The first principles and ordinances of the gospel are the first steps in following the path that God has prepared for us to return to him. Not only are they inspired of God, but they also make sense logically.

Faith
First we must have faith in him. We must believe and more importantly do. Faith is an action word that implies that we will not only believe but do as the Lord wants us to.

Repentance
As we begin to have faith in God and in his son, Jesus Christ, we will naturally change to be better. We will want to make changes to leave our old lives behind and start fresh. We will ask God for his forgiveness and as we do this, repenting, he will forgive us.

Baptism
We show our repentance and change of heart through the ordinance of baptism. When we are baptized, we promise to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings. We come out of the baptismal waters clean just as we were when we were born. Baptism opens the door to salvation but does not guarantee salvation.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost
There is a second part of baptism. After we are baptized with water, we must be baptized with fire, or the Holy Ghost. This ordinance is performed soon after baptism. The gift of the Holy Ghost is given by the laying on of hands by someone who has the priesthood authority. It is important to note that the Gift of the Holy Ghost does not just come upon baptized members of the Church automatically. It must be given by the laying on of hands as recorded in the New Testament in Acts 8:16-18.

Of course following these steps, the first principles and ordinances of the gospel will not guarantee salvation, but as I mentioned, these are the first steps that we must take. After we have completed these steps, we have begun on the path that will lead us to eternal life if we press on, enduring to the end. One of my favorite scriptures that talks about this responsibility is found in 2 Nephi 31:20, which reads:

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."