Yesterday, I explored the ordinance of baptism and discuss how it is the gateway into the strait and narrow path. Believe it or not, that is the easy part. The challenge after baptism is to endure to the end. This is not always so easy. I remember when I was baptized as a child thinking that from that moment on, I could never sin again. You can imagine how devastating that was to a child when I did. No one really explained to me the relationship of the Sacramental Ordinance to the Baptismal Ordinance. It took many years of hearing how with the Sacrament I was renewing my covenant before I realized the covenant I was renewing was the one I made in the waters of baptism. It was many years more before I had a glimpse of what it meant to endure to the end.
- . . . if ye will enter by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do. (32:5)
- After baptism, I was confirmed. I thought they were giving me the Gift of the Holy Ghost. More accurately, they were inviting me to receive the Holy Ghost. If I want the companionship of the Spirit, it is my responsibility to ask for it and live worthy to receive it.
- 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. (31:20)
- We talk about faith before repentance, baptism, and confirmation, but we sometimes forget the principle of hope. Nephi teaches that we must press forward having a perfect brightness of hope. I have always had faith to one degree or another, but I have not always felt the brightness of hope required. I suffer from depression and work very hard to keep it at bay. I truly believe that discouragement is one of the adversaries most effective weapons because most of us don't recognize it as his. It is human to feel discouraged on occasion, but if we live in that feeling of hopelessness, it can get in the way of the things we wish to do for Christ.
- Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ (31:20) . . . for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all what ye should do. (32: 3)
- Where to do we find the words of Christ? The sciptures are obvious, but we also receive His word through the teachings of our prophet and apostles. If we live worthy of the Spirit, you can gain the words of Christ by personal revelation. But first, we must feast, not nibble; receive His word, even if it is different from what we might want; finally, we must do whatever the Spirit is asking of us, no matter how challenging the task. Nephi as a youth said, I will go and do. Good advice for all of us.
- For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray;(32:8). . . But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always and not faint (32:9)
- Pray regularly, not just at night or in the morning, but whenever you are prompted to pray. In the most difficult times of my life, I have lived with a prayer constantly in my heart. It is how I survived.
- . . . 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 perfomance for thee.(32:9)
- We need to pray most when we feel like it the least. The evil spirit teaches us not to pray; we must not heed him. There are times when I have prayed, "Dear Father, I don't even know the questions to ask, much less the answers. Please read my heart." We are performing all the time. How much better our service will be if we will pray about it.
Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting on the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (31:20)
Search, ponder, and pray. Find the path. Stay on the path.
© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings
Buntin Danielson
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