Serving in the Kingdom of God

Recently I have been overcome with gratitude for being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the instrumentation of Joseph Smith.  I am so grateful for the many individuals who have given their lives over many years to serve in leadership capacities as apostles and prophets, and bishops and stake presidents, as teachers and leaders and students, as home teachers and visiting teachers and for every member’s contribution since the establishment of the church in 1830.  I am directly blessed by each person who has sacrificed and consecrated his or her time to the building up of the kingdom of God upon this earth.  Without each of their efforts the church would be less.  Without each dime of tithing, the hours spent cleaning the church, the great work of temples and family history, the sacrifice of personal time and pursuits and on and on, my life would be bereft of so much richness.  

The fruit of the kingdom of God is there for the picking but only seems available in full to those who themselves take hold of the iron rod and in doing so add their contribution to the whole.  We are all imperfect people and so our contributions are less than perfect as well.  But, through those individual efforts the kingdom grows and much good is accomplished. When I see and hear those who can only find fault or criticize the efforts of others and all the while they choose to hold back their own contributions and make minimal efforts, I sorrow for what they are depriving themselves of and for the blindness that ensues.  Without great personal sacrifice the early church would have gradually dissolved into a meager existence and the Book of Mormon would have gathered dust on obscure library shelves.   On the other hand, what incredible results have come from the continuation of constant effort of many individuals over multiple generations.

Happiness comes from giving of yourself to causes that are for the greater good of those around you.  Concerning yourself only with your own life eventually grows into discontent and lack of fulfillment.  

Ministering With the Power and Authority of God

Last Sunday evening (ward member) gave the prayer in our YSA ward prayer.  As usual we had made a list of those whom we were specifically praying for.  He then prayed the kind of prayer that President Nelson was referring to in his Priesthood talk in April conference.  He told Heavenly Father that many in the room held the priesthood.  He commanded by the power of the priesthood held in that room that those we were praying for would be blessed according to Heavenly Father’s will. He expanded those blessings to all of us in the room and to those in our ward and to our associates and loved ones.   It was a powerful prayer and you could sense that those blessings were called down and that a difference had been made.   As I re-read Pres. Nelson talk, Ministering With the Power and Authority of God I thought how we unintendingly leave untouched the blessings that could be all around us through a conscious use of prayer and priesthood power and through our temple covenants.  Our busy lives and the many, many distractions in our world keep us just a breath away from the fullest blessing of the gospel. 

And Thus We See......

13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.

14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.    (Alma 28:13-14)

Yes, our hearts are so easily ensnared!  And yes, this leads to sin and transgression as we are diverted into selfish pursuits, material pursuits, wicked pursuits.  And yes, this causes great inequality among men.   

I think of the sorrows and ills of society and the current political climate and I can say with Alma that these things would be resolved if all lived the gospel of Jesus Christ and kept God's commandments.  It is so easy to say "I'll do it my way!" forgetting that often "my way" stems from the natural man, the blindness of mortal life and is self centered.  As a society we are beginning to reap the whirlwind.  But, as individuals we can resolve to set aside the distractions of modern life and focus on the light of Christ unto life and lift those around us. 

The Robe of Righteousness

The-Righteous-Robe-Katerberg

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath ^aclothed me with the ^bgarments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.  (Isaiah 61:10)

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy ^arighteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine ^benemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.   (2 Nephi 4:33

I recently read of a man who had a near death experience.  In his understanding, he was taken up into heaven.  He described following a heavenly being who was wearing a beautiful sparkling robe made of some kind of heavenly material.  As that person walked the robe spoke of that person's righteous deeds and this man was able to know and understand all of the righteous acts of this individual throughout eternity. 

What a beautiful description of the robes of righteousness described in the scriptures.   It is an interesting thought that our daily decisions and deeds are weaving our heavenly garment what ever that may be. 

The ultimate "robe of righteousness" is that covering given to us by the Lord.  The Savior's own righteousness has brought about the atonement for all mankind.  If we allow it, we can be covered by that robe and that covering will bring us back into the presence of God. 

2 Nephi 9:14

14 Wherefore, we shall have a ^aperfect ^bknowledge of all our ^cguilt, and our ^duncleanness, and our ^enakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their ^frighteousness, being ^gclothed with ^hpurity, yea, even with the ⁱrobe of righteousness.

Doctrine and Covenants 29:12

12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine ^aapostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of ^bfire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in ^cglory even as I am, to ^djudge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:76

76 That our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with ^arobes of ^brighteousness, with palms in our hands, and ^ccrowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal ^djoy for all our ^esufferings.

The Importance of Calling Upon God....

Alma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon, Walter Rane

12 And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart.  (Mosiah 18:12)

It is easy to go about our labors in the church with good intent but under our own strength and power.  We desire to serve but are busy and become habitual in our routines, forgetting to call upon God before we endeavor to perform our labors in the kingdom.  We miss out when we do this.  We accomplish good but we leave so many blessings untouched for both ourselves and others.  The experience of having the spirit poured out upon us and those we serve is a choice blessing.  It is also a great blessing to be able to do our work with holiness of heart unimpeded by our ever present natural man. 

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. (2 Ne. 32:9)

10 Nevertheless Alma ^alabored much in the spirit, ^bwrestling with God in ^cmighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance. (Alma 8:10)

15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.  (Isaiah 32:15)