I want to explain why you’re a member of this church, and not some other. It’s because there is more information, more knowledge. The bottom-line of what Joseph Smith, the prophet, did is restore lost knowledge. What was lost? Knowledge of the Celestial Glory of Heaven.
Everyone knew about “heaven” and “hell.” Ask any religion throughout the ages what Heaven is and they will describe exactly what we know as the Terrestrial Kingdom, the “honorable people of the Earth.” Ask about hell and they will describe the Telestial Kingdom – the “murderers, liars, whoremongers, and cheaters.” What does it take to get into heaven? Kneel and confess Jesus Christ. It’s all true. All are EXACTLY correct in that knowledge, but something was missing. What was missing? The higher glory, or Celestial Kingdom. It was there all the time in the Bible. The Apostle Paul spoke of the glory of the sun, moon, and stars – 3 glories. He also spoke of the third heaven. But, these were not understood, the knowledge of them was lost completely, until restored by God through Joseph Smith, Jr.
When we don’t understand the big picture, things change. The requirement for entrance into this higher glory is baptism. If you don’t know about the higher glory then baptism becomes unimportant. And, indeed, as expected, Christians have argued for millennia over the need for baptism. All you need is to live a good life and you can go to Heaven, and if you live a bad life, you go to hell. And, since the ordinances were unnecessary, the priesthood authority was also not needed, and was lost.
So, here we are. The Gospel is restored. The authority and ordinances are back. We now know the way back to God, our Father in Heaven. We have a testimony. We’ve been baptized. We’re here. Done. Whew! The Celestial glory is ours – if we can only endure, right?
Yes, that’s true too. However, there’s more. Much more. As William W. Phelps wrote in the hymn, “If You Could Hie to Kolob”
“The works of God continue, And worlds and lives abound;
Improvement and progression Have one eternal round.
There is no end to matter; There is no end to space;
There is no end to spirit; There is no end to race.
There is no end to virtue; There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom; There is no end to light.
There is no end to union; There is no end to youth;
There is no end to priesthood; There is no end to truth.
There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above.”
Hymn 284:3-5
As I was coming out of many years of “wandering in the wilderness” one thing that struck me is that existence is forever! We never cease to exist! It goes on and on! Nobody dies forever, we are only here to choose HOW we will go on. So, I decided to choose Eternal Life.
Above the door inside the chapel in Whittier, CA where I grew up there was a sign printed. Because it was right in front of me during every sacrament meeting until I was nine years old I memorized it, and it has become a guiding scripture for me. It is a verse from The Doctrine and Covenants section 14, verse 7: “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”
Getting on the "strait and narrow path"
Nephi explains the way very clearly at the end of his book, in 2 Nephi 31, where he repeats multiple times exactly what it takes to get on the path to Eternal Life:
“…for the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life;” (Nephi 31:17-18)
Jesus said, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14) May I add that He is talking to His disciples? Few of them will find the path to Eternal Life.
There is more. There is no end. Rest is not found in doing nothing, it is paradoxically found in constant growth. We should not rest on our baptism, but start now to move forward on the path to Eternal Life.
Seeking Mentors
One essential part of growth is having an instructor, teacher, or mentor. As we grow up, we have our parents to mentor our growth, however, once we become mature, we have to find our own mentors
One example is given of Philip in the book of Acts:
“…a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority... had come to Jerusalem for to worship…
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him…
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:27-35)
I currently have 5 mentors that I work with on a regular basis. My mom was very intellectually mature, and my dad was a mechanical genius, so they helped me in those areas, but neither of them were very socially, emotionally, or financially mature so I didn’t get tutored as much in these as I was growing up. Now, I need to learn so I need a guide. So, when my business was floundering, I called Frank Hovey. We went over our stuff, and he recommended a business coaching program. This has been a BIG help to me. Since I have seen the value of coaching, I now have:
• Business coach (Dr. Charles Webb)
• Life coach (Justin Jepsen)
• Emotional coach (Ann Ferguson)
• Heart coach (my wife :)
I also have coaches for learning the Gospel. Alma explained that one purpose of priesthood callings is to teach the commandments of the Lord. “And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest.” (Alma 13:6) The prophets, apostles, and others with authority can be our mentors as we study their words, and live them.
Assemble your DREAM TEAM
In the book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill discusses a method he used to improve himself, finding teachers from the past including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Edison. He later added many others such as Socrates and Plato. He studied their lives, and their writings. He counseled with them every night, asking them individually for wisdom on a subject.
A team of mentors that might help you achieve Eternal Life might include those who you know have achieved it, or have mastered a part of it. I would suggest that you look for those people, past or present, who have what you want, or what you need to achieve your highest potential. It may be a quality of character, or a gift, and study the life of those people, and add them to your “dream team.”
Do not form your personal council until you know what you want. The wrong team will take you off course.
I know who I am; I know what I want; and I know my strengths and weaknesses so I am choosing a "dream team" to help me on my personal path of growth. Some of the members of my council include: Abraham, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith.
However, moving forward on the path to Eternal Life always requires only one coach -- the Holy Ghost must be your personal mentor. No matter what other counsel you are given from Earthly or Heavenly beings, you must always run it by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is your personal guide – everything else is counsel, or opinion.
“Counsel with the Lord in ALL your doings…” All means all and all is all all means.
Ultimately, the greatest mentor we could have is the Holy Ghost. After baptism, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by those who have the authority, which gift is a simple commandment to receive Him. The gift is essential before starting on the path to Eternal Life.
How to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
1. Memorize the 4th article of Faith
2. Then read: 2 Nephi chapter 31
These two will tell you exactly how to receive the Holy Ghost, and get on the path to Eternal Life.
Staying on the path
Read 2 Nephi chapter 32 – this chapter is how to stay on the path, it tells you exactly what you should do, including:
1. Feast upon the words of Christ
2. Pray always
Temple worship
Once you take the Holy Ghost as your guide, feasting daily from the Scriptures, and praying continually, those who desire Eternal Life need Temple Worship. The word “worship” means to seek a close, or intimate relationship. When we go to “The House of the Lord” we can seek a close relationship with Him through our service to others. Moreover, we have the opportunity to sit in the Celestial Room and counsel with our Father in Heaven where He symbolically dwells (the Celestial glory), without any disturbance, because evil spirits are not allowed in there.
In the Temple we find the ordinances required to reach the Celestial Kingdom. From there we step up into the sealing room to receive the highest ordinance -- Eternal Marriage. Without receiving and LIVING this ordinance, we cannot receive the gift of Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.
I’m not sealed to anyone. My first wife had her name blotted out, and my second wife is sealed to my best friend. Those of us who aren’t sealed to anyone can still go to the temple and act as proxy for others, knowing that God will not deny ANY blessing that we desire.
Getting Started
If this seems difficult – may I also suggest simple ways to get started?
Improvement doesn’t come suddenly, it takes time. There is a simple principle for change that applies to all of life. How long does it take to physically grow up? We make little changes over a long time. By the same method, we can gain Eternal Life.
Make small changes
If we save $1 a day in an interest-bearing account, at the end of a year we have very little money. However, in a few decades it becomes a tremendous amount. Even with no interest you would have $15,000 in 40 years. With 10% interest, it goes up to $211,000.
The two most important parts of this equation are:
1. Consistency
2. Time (If you need patience, then ask Job to be on your dream team)
This is the path to Eternal Life. It only takes a tiny amount of change in the things we already discussed to stay on the path:
1. Read one verse daily in the Scriptures.
2. Pray morning and night.
3. Find a mentor, get together, ask questions.
4. Go to the House of the Lord once a month.
If you save $5 per day you would have $1M in 40 years. Likewise, if your read more, pray always, meet with your mentors, and visit the House of the Lord more frequently, you will grow faster, and more. … but it still takes:
1. consistency
2. time.
Start now. Make small changes daily.
What could you change today to help you on the path to Eternal Life?
I have done this, and I know it works. I have gained tremendous knowledge, such that “my cup runneth over.”
The path to Eternal Life, restored by Joseph Smith, is hard to find because it is straight and narrow. We have been given an amazing gift to have it spelled-out plainly. The path is simple, everyone can do it, if we desire. God will give no commandment to us unless He has already prepared the way for us to accomplish his commands. Jesus Christ has “marked the path, and led the way, and every point defines…” That we may all follow Him all the way to Eternal Life, I pray.
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