Lesson 24:Give Us Strength According to Our Faith in Christ

7/31/2019 Lesson 24:Give Us Strength According to Our Faith in Christ

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To download past handouts, go to: highlandvalleysundayschoolnotes2012.blogspot.com

#1 The devil has great power to deceive, stated the Prophet Joseph Smith. H

will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will ofGod.(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 227)

#2 Elder Bruce R. McConkie tells us: Since the kingdom of God or true churchhas been on earth from age to age, so also has the kingdom of the devil or the

church of the devil. Adam and Abel had true worship and offered sacrifices in theway the Lord ordained. On the other hand, Cain loved Satan more than God. Th

is, he chose to live after the manner of the world, and it was Satan, not the Lordwho told Cain, Make an offering unto the Lord(Moses 5:18) Thus the pattern was s

for all ages. Satan tells men to worship the Lord, but the proposed worship that he givesthem is false and without saving power.(A New Witness, 340)

#3 President Joseph F. Smith warned: Let it not be forgotten that the evil onehas great power in the earth, and that by every possible means he seeks to dark

the minds of men, and then offers them falsehood and deception in the guise oftruth. Satan is a skillful imitator, and as genuine gospel truth is given the world in

ever-increasing abundance, so he spreads the counterfeit coin of false doctrine.(Gospel Doctrine, 1919, reprint Bookcraft 1998, 376)

#4 President Joseph Fielding Smith gave the following counsel regarding wresting or misinterpreting the scriptures: It is wrong to take one passage of scripture and isolate it from

all other teachings dealing with the same subject. We should bring together all that hasbeen said by authority on the question. If we were to make a photograph, it would be nec

essary for all of your rays of light to be focused properly on the subject. If this were notdone then a blurred picture would be the result. This is the case when we try to obtain amental picture, when we have only a portion of the facts dealing with the subject we are

considering.(Doctrines of Salvation, 2:95.) It was such interpretations of the scripture that Peterwarned against when he said: . . . which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as

they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16.)

#5 Nehor is dead, but Nehorism lives on. Dressed in a variety of philosophical habiliment

and religious disguises, its influence is found almost everywhere.It can be felt, for example, in the current mechanistic philoso-

phies of the day, according to whose teachings man consists innothing more than an amazingly complex biological mechanism.

You don't punish or condemn a broken machine; it is ar-


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Other thoughts too great not to include:

gued, you fix it.With this easy, and dangerously superficial analysis of the whole problem of human

sin, they absolve mankind from any moral culpability for individual wrongdoing, and thuspave the way to spiritual corruption and death.(Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mor-mon, vol. 3, p. 229-30)

#6 Justin reviews the great dispensations Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraha

Melchizedek, Moses, David and duly notes that after each there was an immediate fallinaway. In the place of living waters, he says, the schoolmen in every age busy themselvdigging out puddles that can hold no water. The figure is a powerful one. We see the do

tors diligently scraping out holes in the earth in which they hope to preserve the preciowater which has ceased to flow from its source. But though they no longer have living wter, continually flowing as living water must, the standing pool is not without its uses. Aft

they fell, says Justin, they still kept a permanent memory about God, and a questioningtheir hearts. He admits that the Jews still have no small reminder of piety, and he wonde

just how much of the Old Law is still valid for Christians. But in refusing to recognize a

accept the truth, men lose their capacity for doing so, and the knowledge of the Son is dliberately withheld from them. these things seem strange to you,...because God has hiddfrom you the power of recognizing the truth, and that because of your wickedness.

No men spent more time with Jesus than the Scribes and Pharisees, they question

him constantly, and he always answered themyet there is no instance of his ever conveing one of them It was they who planned his death. (Hugh Nibley, The Way of the Intellectuamaxwellinstitute.byu.edu)

Spencer W. Kimball: Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given cer-

tain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not

now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to.(Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 316

How perfect the type-Ammonihah, a city pretending religion, a religion perfectly tolerant of any ac-

tion save it be the preaching of the gospel of repentance! To preach repentance, to testify of Christ,to speak of the necessity of good works-these were sins too grievous to be borne. Their effect was to

unite in wrath and bitterness the diversified factions within the congregations of this ever-tolerant

religion. These missionaries of righteousness must be mocked, ridiculed, beaten, and imprisoned.Their adherents must be stoned, driven from the community, or burned at the stake. Such were theseeds they planted and such was the harvest they reaped in the desolation of Nehors. We are left to

wonder to what extent Ammonihah is a prophetic foreshadowing of that which the scriptures de-

nominate as the desolation of abomination (D&C 84:114, 117; D&C 88:85), events that will precedeand attend the coming of our Lord and Master that will bring again that peace once known to the

faithful of the Nephite nation. (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon,

vol. 3, p.119)

When it comes to inequality, the latter-day saints could learn lessons from the Book of Mormon


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saints. As part of the dispensation of the fullness of times, the Lord restored every righteous principle,

but not all of these principles are still practiced in the Church. One of these principles is the United Or-der. Through Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed, it is not given that one man should possess that which above another (DC 49:20), That you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly

things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things. For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be

equal in obtaining heavenly things; For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, yomust prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you (DC

78:5-7).Although the reasons for the temporary rescinding of the United Order are beyond the scope of

this discussion, it is useful to note that the Book of Mormon saints had no inequality among them.Whether this means that Almas people had all things in common or not is debatable, but the point is

that they were living the essence of celestial law of consecration. Apparently, they were less attached

their material possessions than we are today.It is no coincidence that the Lord responded to their equanimity by pouring out his Spirit on all

the face of the land. The Lord has revealed that the converse is also truefrom those who are not eq

n earthly things, the Spirit is withheld, In your temporal things you shall be equal, and this not grudg-ngly, otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld (DC 70:14).

(see http://www.gospeldoctrine.com/bomindex.html)

President Joseph Fielding Smith: With regard to the holding of the priesthood in the preexistence, I wsay that there was an organization there just as well as an organization here, and men there held au-

thority. Men chosen to positions of trust in the spirit world held the priesthood. (CR Oct. 1966)

President Harold B. Lee: To be persecuted for righteousness sake in a great cause where truth and vitue and honor are at stake is god-like. Always there have been martyrs to every great cause. The greaharm that may come from persecution is not from the persecution itself but from the possible effect it

may have upon the persecuted who may thereby be deterred in their zeal for the righteousness of thecause. Much of that persecution comes from lack of understanding, fro men are prone to oppose that

which they do not comprehend. Some of it comes from men intent upon evil. But from whatever causepersecution seems to be so universal against those engaged in a righteous cause that the Master warn

us, Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false proph-ets. (Luke 6:26) (Decisions for Successful Living, 61-62)

President Ezra Taft Benson: God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days b

fore the second coming of the Lord...God has saved for the [final days] some of His strongest childrenwho will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly. That is where you come in, for you are the generatio

that must be prepared to meet your God

In all ages prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the

deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about ityou are a markegeneration. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than the

s of us (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 104-5)

President Brigham Young: The Saints sacrifice everything; but, strictly speaking, there is no sacrifice

about it. If you give a penny for a million of gold! a handful of earth for a planet! a temporary worn ou

tenement for one glorified, that will exist, abide, and continue to increase throughout a never endingeternity, what a sacrifice to be sure! (Journal of Discourses, 1:114)


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Joseph Smith Lecture Given atBrigham Young University-Hawaii

What Is So Amazing About Grace?November 10, 2009Camille Fronk Olson

Associate Professor of Ancient ScriptureBrigham Young University

It is a profound privilege and sacred obligation to be invited to speak to you today. As a bonus, your alohaspirit has a delightful way of thawing the winter chill that has settled on the mountain west. I have entitled my re-

marks, What Is so Amazing about Grace? I want to talk to you about the grace of Jesus Christ for three reasons.First, we covenant every Sunday to always remember the Savior, but too often we explain to others or think to ouselves that we dont really need to talk about Him and include what He did for us in our talks and lessons because aChristians believe in Him. We therefore mistakenly assume that His importance is apparent in everything that we beieve in the Church and so we dont particularly need to include His essential power in our lessons.

Second, in all the years I have taught religion in high-school seminary and university classes, I cant remember astudent expressing initial curiosity about what we as Latter-day Saints believe about the grace of Christ. And third, uderstanding what Latter-day Saints believe about salvation by grace is at the heart of every one of my discussions w

my Christian friends of other faiths. My hope today is that we can all have a greater awareness and reverence for thmatchless gift from the Savior, especially as it is taught in the keystone of our religion, The Book of Mormon.Consider a few examples to illustrate that we are often uncomfortable with and sometimes ignorant about the do

trine of grace. I recently heard a missionary bear a powerful witness of Jesus Christ after being ten days at the ProvMissionary Training Center, in which she observed: I have never thought about the grace of Christ before I came o

mission. Since Ive been at the MTC, I think of it and pray for it every day. Why is the doctrine of grace so foreign tus?

Not long ago, I heard a new convert to the Church request clarification on Nephis declaration, It is by grace thawe are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23). After hearing so many differing explanations for the passage frovarious members of the Church, he was even more puzzled about the role of grace in our lives. Why are there so madifferent interpretations among us about grace?

Words in the first verse of a well-known sacrament hymn speak for many of us: I stand all amazed at the love J

sus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. What is so confusing about grace? Why is it eafor Latter-day Saints to recite from memory and explain the doctrine in the epistle of James, Faith without works isdead (James 2:20), but difficult to proclaim Pauls writings in his epistle to the Ephesians, For by grace are ye savethrough faith;... Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)?

First, lets make certain we are together on the meaning of grace. In Hebrew, the term grace means favor ogoodwill. In the Greek, it is a gift freely given; a divine influence upon the heart. Theologically, grace refers to Godpredisposition to empower us in our vulnerability and weakness. According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, it is an endowment of power, a divine means of help or strength made possible only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Gra

s the assistance to do good works that [we] otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to [our] own means.The Dangerous Dichotomy

The root of our confusion over the grace of Jesus Christ generally stems not from our definition of the doctrinbut from our inability to know how to incorporate it into personal practice. How do we confuse our receipt of this un

paralleled gift? There is a human tendency to see grace and works as mutually-exclusive, polar-opposite positions,which tendency entices us to gravitate to one or the other. At one extreme of the dichotomy, we can justify any dis-obedience to God by claiming that Christs Sacrifice has already paid the price for our sins and so we might as welleat, drink, and be merry. Discounting any personal responsibility to become more like the Savior while believingChrist has already saved us is commonly referred to as cheap grace. At the opposite extreme, we focus exclusivon our list of good works as evidence of our righteousness, as though Christs role is merely to wait at the finish linecongratulate us for a meritorious life when we die. We mistakenly believe that we have to independently produce anoteworthy life before the power of Christ will kick in to help us. In either case, we neither comprehend the grandeuof Christs Atonement nor taste the singular sweetness of His grace. We are therefore left without the enabling grou

ng or perspective to sincerely respond to God in the humble manner that He requires of us.A similar pair of opposing beliefs emerged in Nephite society, as reported in the Book of Mormon. Two false teac


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ers among the Nephites represent the polar responses to Christs grace. One was Nehor who became immensely poar and wealthy by preaching that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor trem

ble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed allmen; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life (Alma 1:4). Nehors version of universal or cheap grace wso appealing that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give himmoney (Alma 1:5). According to Nehor, nothing we do, be it good or evil, makes any difference to our salvation be-cause a loving Redeemer has already saved us.

Arguing from the opposite extreme was the anti-Christ Korihor who [led] away the hearts of many, causing the

to lift up their heads in their wickedness, with teachings that men and women fared in this life according to the maagement of the creature,... prospered according to [their] genius, and ... conquered according to [their]strength (Alma 30:17-18). Drawing on our desire for control and self-righteousness, Korihor argued that we carve osuccess through our own intellect, brawn, and organizational skills. Under this philosophy, those who are independ-ently strong will naturally progress without any help from the Savior (see Alma 30:16-17).

Identifying the destructive dichotomy in ancient times can alert us to this equally enticing trap in our day. C. S.Lewis observed that the devil always sends errors into the world in pairs--pairs of opposites. And he always encour

ages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse.... He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to drawyou gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straigthrough between both errors.Falling into Korihors Trap

Latter-day Saints are more often accused of showing such distaste for Nehors philosophy that we over-

emphasize all we can do, thereby neglecting to recognize the grace of Jesus Christ and falling into Korihors trap.Perhaps its our reaction to what we think sounds like Protestant doctrine that drives us to avoid even the mentionthought of grace. By confusing the Apostle Pauls teaching by grace are ye saved through faith;... Not of works, lesany man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9) to mean a mere belief in Christ will grant exaltation, we emphasize our woall the more, tipping the balance so far the other way that we neglect the Savior and His grace altogether. The natunext step finds us assuming that it is our efforts and merits that save us.

One of my returned-missionary students confessed in a term paper his gravitation to one extreme because of hisdislike for the other, To me, it was a common understanding that some religions place too much emphasis on graceand not enough on works. I have talked to individuals who truly believe that their efforts are of no substance when comes to being saved. However, I had never contemplated the other extreme [of over-emphasis on our works].

Another student who had bought into the saved by our works philosophy, expressed his concerns this way: Aall we can do is a phrase that scares me to death. Every time I read this statement, or think about it, I worry thatthere is no way I am doing or am going to do all that I can do. Whenever I do anything, be it work, school, or someother activity, I think, I could have done it a little bit better. When I am repenting I think that I should do more tomake up for an offense or that I should be more active in my ward, etc. After all, Christ did all He could do and thawas to lead a perfect life. So how can I think I will ever measure up?

My guess is that he is not alone. If we espouse the belief that we have to earn our way back to God, we will eve

tually give up and lose hope of ever returning to live with God or else we will suffocate in the pride of our works.From the beginning, LDS leaders have warned that serious dangers spring from a zealous focus on works. Consi

two examples:In 1913, the First Presidency of the Church counseled members, People who pride themselves on their strict ob

servance of the rules and ordinances and ceremonies of the Church are led away by false spirits, who exercise an inence so imitative of that which proceeds from a Divine source that even these persons, who think they are the very

elect, find it difficult to discern the essential difference.Joseph Smith observed our tendency to take credit for successful performances and endeavors instead of givingcredit where it is due. He warned, When the Twelve or any other witnesses stand before the congregations of theearth, and they preach in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God, and the people are astonished and confounded at the doctrine, and say, That man has preached a powerful discourse, a great sermon, then let that man those men take care that they do not ascribe the glory unto themselves, but be careful that they are humble, and ascribe the praise and glory to God and the Lamb; for it is by the power of the Holy Priesthood and the Holy Ghost thathey have power thus to speak. What are thou, O man, but dust? And from whom receivest thou thy power and blesngs, but from God?

The Book of Mormon is a second witness that we are saved and enabled by the grace of Christ while at the samtime warning us of pride our mortal tendency to rely on self-righteousness rather than on the Saviors righteousne


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Take for instance Jacobs sobering description of what would happen to every one of us if the Savior had not com-pleted His Infinite Atonement, reminding us of our hopeless state without His grace and mercy: This flesh must havaid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! Fobehold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God ... and our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil

be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies (2 Nephi 9:7 -9). Clearly, the Atone-ment is not a mere convenience to avoid greater punishment.

In a prayer recorded on the brass plates that Lehis family carried to the New World from Jerusalem, the prophe

Zenock suggested that our problem with pride occurs because we choose not to recognize our hopeless situation witout Jesus Christ: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thouhast bestowed upon them because of thy Son (Alma 33:16). Because of pride we choose to believe that we succeeeither by our own greatness or by doing nothing. Pride is the enemy to grace in every era and culture.

Consider a sampling of Book of Mormon one-liners which underscore that we cannot boast to God as a result of good works, because it is only through the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah that we succeed in this lifeand receive eternal life forever.

1. After seeing a dream in which he was lost in a wilderness until he found the Tree whose fruit made him ex-ceedingly happy and gave him a desire to help others, father Lehi taught that all mankind were in a lost anda fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer (1 Nephi 10:6).

2. Lehi taught his son Jacob: Ye are saved through the righteousness of the Redeemer (2 Nephi 2:3).3. Jacob, Nephis younger brother, taught, the Lord showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by h

grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things (Jaco4:7).

4. Aaron, one of the four sons of Mosiah, taught, since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself;but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins (Alma 22:14).

5. The prophet Zenos prayed to the Father, And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sinceriand it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me (Alma 33:11). Note that Zenos did nsay that God hears us due to our good works and brilliant contributions. God hears our sincere prayers by virtue of His Sons merits.

6. In his concluding testimony, Mormon observed, all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise menwere fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them (Moroni 7:24).

What is All We Can Do?Recognizing our overwhelming need for the Savior, does anything remain for us to do? Prophets in every era

are direct and unequivocal in their reminders that we have a role. Remember the essence of grace reflects not only gift given, but a gift humbly received. Choosing to accept His grace is at the heart of all we can do. In all His mag-nanimous offering, the Lord will not force us to accept Him or His enabling power. For there is a God, and he hathcreated all things, ... both things to act and things to be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:14). We are not mindless robots kiltime until someone programs us to conform to Christs law. We are more than empty vessels waiting to be filled. Weare free to choose to come to Christ. Our role is therefore neither a passive one nor independent of Christs enablingpower. The grace of Jesus Christ actually enables us to do and become all that the Lord envisions for us.

Reflecting on these teachings throughout the Book of Mormon, Elder M. Russell Ballard described our role in oursalvation this way: Our works consist of placing our full confidence and trust in Jesus Christ and then exercising ourdesire and willingness to live by His teachings. We do this by repenting of all our sins and obeying the laws and ordinances of Christs gospel. As we do this faithfully over our lifetime, we are sanctified by the Holy Ghost and our natu

s changed. The king of the newly converted Lamanites identified repentance as our work in grace and works. Hetaught, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain (Alma 24:11,emphasis added).

More specifically, the resurrected Lord taught that our role is to have faith in Him, repent of all our sins, be bap-tized in His name, be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end (3 Nephi 27:13-20; seealso 2 Nephi 31). In essence, this constitutes coming to Christ. These same requirements are reiterated and rein-forced elsewhere in scripture as being interconnected to the grace of Christ.

When we talk about our need to obey Gods command to receive the ordinances of the gospel without explainingthat the true power is in Christ and that the ordinances are given to symbolize or typify Him, it is soon easy to mistaenly conclude that our works or the ordinances themselves save us. Let me illustrate with what one of students re-membered from his baptism several years before. As one of many eight-year-olds in his stake to be baptized on the


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same day and in the same baptismal fount, he was adamant in his instructions to his mother that he could be the firone of the group to receive this important ordinance. His mother had sudden images of her son being a great religioeader because of the boys urgent desires to become a member of the Church until she deciphered his thinking. Thianxious eight-year-old feared being baptized second or third or tenth in the group of children because, he reasonedhe could come out of the water with more sins on him than he had when he entered the water. He had a mental im

age of innumerable, disgusting sins already floating on the water when he entered for his own baptism. In otherwords, he thought that the baptismal waters literally wash away our sins. In his mind, the symbol had replaced theactual sourced of power.

Nephi taught that it wasnt the ordinance of baptism that cleanses us from sin, but by fire and by the Holy Ghosour sins are purged away (2 Nephi 31:17). He further explained that although we enter on the symbolic path leadingto God through our willing baptism and repentance, ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ wunshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save (2 Nephi 31:19). By exercising scere faith in Jesus Christ because of His merits we make progress along the path.

In context, Nephi spoke of being saved by grace, despite all we can do after recounting the story of the childrenIsrael when poisonous serpents threatened their lives. Their healing occurred when they simply looked up at the symbol of Christ, the serpent on the staff (2 Nephi 25:20). They were saved by the grace of the Lord because they looketo Him in faith. Because what was required of them was so simple or easy, however, many perished (see 1 Nephi17:41). Therefore, Nephi petitioned, believe in Christ, and deny him not; ... wherefore ye must bow down before hi

and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise becast out (2 Nephi 25:29).

Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy, clarified Nephis words by teaching that we are saved by grace, both durinand after all we can do. Elder M. Russell Ballard explained it this way: It is only through the infinite Atonement oJesus Christ that people can overcome the consequences of bad choices. Thus Nephi teaches us that it is ultimately the grace of Christ that we are saved even after all that we can do. No matter how hard we work, no matter how mwe obey, no matter how many good things we do in this life, it would not be enough were it not for Jesus Christ andHis loving grace. He continued, Unfortunately, there are some within the Church who have become so preoccupiedwith performing good works that they forget that those works, as good as they may be, are hollow unless they areaccompanied by a complete dependence on Christ.

Grounded in the teachings of Lehis Dream and 2 Nephi 31, Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught on more than one ocasion, if you are on that path and pressing forward, and you die, youll never get off the path. There is no such thias falling off the straight and narrow path in the life to come, and the reason is that this life is the time that is givenmen to prepare for eternity... So if youre working zealously in this life, though you havent done all you hoped you

might do, youre still going to be saved. You dont have to live a life that is truer than true. You dont have to have aexcessive zeal that becomes fanatical and unbalancing. Elder McConkie didnt say we are saved based on how fast ware going along the path or how close we are to the Tree when we die, he said, if we are on the path and going in tright direction, pressing forward when we die, we will be saved in the Celestial Kingdom.My Personal Discovery

I have not always recognized this profound truth in our scriptures or teachings of latter-day authorities. Thecatalyst for me occurred about 25 years ago, coming in the form of a students observation about her former LDSward. I had been teaching released-time seminary for about five years when a student I had taught when she was asophomore came back to visit me when she was a senior in high school. After a few pleasantries, she informed methat she was no longer attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she told me she now attended aProtestant church in the area. I felt as though she wanted me to react with alarm when she made this announceme

so I remained calm and simply said, Oh, that is interesting, what led you to that decision? Her answer shook me frmy calm demeanor because it was not at all what I expected. She said, When I attended my LDS ward, we talkedabout being honest, the importance of reading scriptures and getting married in the Temple, and the importance of

iving prophet, but I never heard much about Jesus Christ. In this new church I attend, Jesus is the heart and soul oall their sermons.

My first reaction was denial. In my thoughts I was arguing that she wasnt listening when she had attended theLDS Church because certainly the Savior is at the heart of all that we believe and understand. In an attempt to validthese assumptions, I asked all of the students in my five classes the next day what they thought of this girls observtions about her ward. To my amazement, the great majority in every class agreed with her, concluding that we didnspeak, teach, or mention much about the Savior other than in our hymns and at the end of prayers and talks.

I made a silent vow that day that I would never teach a lesson or give a talk without making a connection betwe


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the topic or scripture block and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My motivation in the beginning was to prove to my stdents that we did indeed teach of Christ and rejoice in Christ. That reason, however, changed rather quickly. In seekng to find connections to the Savior and His Atonement to present in class, I discovered a deeper, more meaningfulscripture study experience. Instead of looking first for ways that the passage applied to me, I sought to understandwhat it taught about the Redeemer. Students responded to our class discussions differently after I consistently made

connections to the Atonement. There was a feeling of reverence in the room. After class, students often reported ththe scriptures we had explored that day were the very ones that they needed in their personal challenges. Perhapsmost dramatic, I noticed a change that was occurring in me. My reverence for the Redeemer increased beyond any-

thing I had previously known. I also found a new sense of confidence that motivated me to action. I wanted to do asay whatever the Lord wanted me to do and say and felt an added energy to actually do it. Too often before this experience, I had looked beyond the mark, or the target upon which to focus. Looking beyond the Savior, I stumbledtrying to explain tangents and ancillary principles, getting caught up in faddish topics scintillating stories instead of rmembering the foundation of faith in Christ and repentance through the Atonement.

During Ezra Taft Bensons presidency, he often reminded the membership of the Church about the revelation givto Joseph Smith about the Church being under condemnation because of the Book of Mormon. And [the church] shremain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and tformer commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have writ-ten (D&C 84:57). Many thought he meant that we needed to read the Book of Mormon more often. Although frequ

study of this great book of scripture is always a great habit, my experience with finding connections to Christ in allscripture suggested there was something more. Shortly after President Benson passed away, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of

the Quorum of the Twelve reviewed the many speeches that he gave on the subject and concluded that the Presideof the Church had something more specific in mind. In my opinion, he wrote, one of the principal reasons our Heaenly Father had His prophet direct us into a more intensive study of the Book of Mormon is to help us counteract [thmodern tendency to try to diminish the divinity and mission of our Savior.... In too many of our classes, in too manyour worship services, we are not teaching of Christ and testifying of Christ in the way that we should.Conclusion

Returning to my earlier question, why are we confused at the grace that so fully [Jesus] proffers me? Be-cause the grace of Christ isnt fair. Not in this fallen world that defines fairness through an eye-for-an-eye mentality.Grace is a gift an infinite gift and we are the recipients, not the givers. Grace is receiving what we dont earn andgetting what we frankly dont deserve. In a legalistic world filled with warnings about being taken advantage of, westruggle to accept that Christ gives us more infinitely more than we can ever repay. After worldly bombardments oIf you think its too good to be true, it probably is, and you get what you pay for, we try to get our heads and

hearts around the Saviors gift of enabling power. And in our modern world, that seems just too good to be true. Incontrast to pay as you go and earn what you receive and its better to give than to receive, we encounter the doctrinof grace. And we become confused.

Grace requires us to look beyond the treasures of a fallen world. It demands our focus to be on the One whosepower, knowledge, and love supersede the greatest accomplishments that all the Korihors and Nehors can muster. Iteaches us to be gracious receivers. Grace leads us to finally accept our status as unprofitable servants and admit thwe can never pay back the only One who rescues us. We call Jesus the Savior because He saves us. In truth, that good news.

Accepting the grace of Jesus Christ is not a weakness, it is our only strength. In all that we want to do, His gift intercedes to support and enable. How can we receive His gift? What is all we can do? We can put our trust in the Lorand His unique and essential gift of the Atonement. We will stop trying to cover our sins, but turn them over to the

Savior, accepting His generous offer of repentance in return. We can more consciously acknowledge His strength anwisdom in all of our successes. In the final verses of the Book of Mormon, Moroni left us his final plea: Yea, comeunto Christ, and be perfected in Him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all u

godliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by His gracye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power ofGod. (Moroni 10:32)


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Id like to begin with a question that Michael Wilcox asked in a BYU Hawaii devotional: Haveyou ever met an antichrist? He then said that the phrase antichrist has been demonized to suan extent that it doesnt mean much anymore.

~What doyouthink of when you hear the term antichrist? (let answerprobably notvery applicable to us in our everyday lives, right?)

~When Mormon was compiling the Book of Mormon, who did he have in mind? (us. Oworld. Our challenges.)

And so Mormon included four antichrists. Brother Wilcox prefers the term faith-shakersanybody who shakes or troubles our faith [or] causes some doubt or concern. (The Book of Mmon Provides Antichrist Antidotes, http://newsroom.byuh.edu/node/2180)

~So what might be some faith-shakers in our lives? (family member, anti-Mormon literature, scientific theory, an experience youve had in your life)

To successfully confront the antichrists in our lives, we first need to understand the source oftheir teachings:

~Lets contrast that with Heavenly Fathers overarching goal: ...to bring to pass what(...the immortality and eternal life of man. see Moses 1:39)

Its the same old theme: bondage vs. liberty.

~Can we see the world gaping at the Church of Jesus Christ? When was the last time yofelt gaped at? (If we had some teens in here, you knowtheyd relate to this!)

Its interesting that Satan doesnt usually say dont worship God, instead he says: go ahead, budo it this wayits much easier this way. You see, Satan doesnt care how we worship, just thatwe do it in a way that has no power to save, or exalt us. Because if we are not saved, who will we

be in bondage to? (Satan)

With these ideas in mind, lets read Nehors counterfeit doctrine:

~How does Nehors doctrine compare with Satans tactics in the Council in Heaven?(Its the same thing, isnt it? I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lostsee Moses 4:1)


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Todays lesson covers Alma 13-16. Alma & Amulek are still preaching to the people of Ammonhah.

~Why bring up Nehor? Isnt he long since dead? (The people of Ammonihah still followNehors philosophy. See Alma 14:18)

~Do we find this philosophy in the world today? (many Christians believe it doesnt mattwhat church you belong to, just that you believe. They single out some scriptures andignore others.)

~Each of the antichrists of the Book of Mormon, and today, have one thing in commonconcerning the Atonement of Jesus Christ. What is it? (they dont believe its necessarand if they do, they twist it to reflect their own ideas)

~What did Sherem say would save us? (the Law of Moses. The commandments. He didnbelieve in revelation.)

~How many religions today believe in revelation? In prophets? An open cannon?

~How about Korihor? What did he think would save us? Trick question. (Nothing. Wedont need to be saved since there is no such thing as sin!)

~Do we see this mind set today? (atheists, agnostics, and even many Christians! If you sawere saved by grace alone, arent you saying there is no sin?)

~So is priestcraft rampant today?Hugh Nibley likes to quote from Justin Martyr, who was the first Christian apologist. He livedfrom 100-165 A.D. He talks about the pattern, which began from the beginning, of rejecting th

Messiah, prophets and revelation.That must be why we are cautioned not to debate the gospel, but to seek out His sheep, who reognize His voice. But I digress.

Alma is speaking to the people of Ammonihah, who do not recognize his authority or believe sin.

~But did they have the scriptures? (yes, see Alma 13:20. They must have made copies ofthe Brass Plates!)

And so in Alma 13 he speaks to them in depth about the priesthood. Really in depth. He goesback to the Council in Heaven and shows that those who were valiant there were ordained to thpriesthood, and foreordained to hold it here on earth.

~Can men call themselves to the priesthood? (No!)In verse 6 he explains the purpose of ordaining men to the priesthood, in the second half of ver6 it says: to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they might also enter inthis rest. Alma uses a variation of enter into the rest of the Lord NINE times in just a few


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verses!~And what is his rest? (exaltation)

Next , Alma brilliantly opens up their own scriptures and pulls out the story of Melchizedek.~Why Melchizedek? (Melchizedek has a lot of clout! See v. 14: even Abraham paid tithes

to him!)~Were the people of Salem wicked, like those in Ammonihah? (Yes, see v. 17: ...his peop

had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination) Alma wanted to show these people that Melchizedek had called the people of Salem to repent jas Alma was doing now. Thats what people who hold the priesthood do, in contrast to imposteike Nehor!

~Did the people of Salem repent? (yes, see v. 18)~And what was the result? (peace)

In fact, in the JST of Genesis 14 we learn that Melchizedeks city was translated, just like the Cityof Enoch. They entered into his rest.

~Did the people of Ammonihah repent? (Many, see 14:1, but more didn't, v. 2)~So what happens next? (Alma & Amulek imprisoned)~What happened to the men of Ammonihah who believed? (cast out and stoned)~What happened to their wives and children? (burned in front of Alma & Amulek)~How were Alma and Amulek rescued from prison? (earthquake. They to to Sidon)~And what happened, almost a year later, to Ammonihah? (destroyed)

~While Alma is on his missions to the cities of the Nephites, what are the sons of Mosia

doing? (on a LONG mission to the Lamanites)~We know they had much success. What did their converts call themselves? (anti-Lehi-Nephites)

To condense the story, many of the Lamanites became very angry at the converts among theirown people, and began killing them.

~Did the anti-Lehi-Nephites fight back? (no)And this made the Lamanites even angrier. They stopped killing their own and swore vengeanceon the Nephites.

~What was the first Nephite city they came to in their rage? (Ammonihah)

And so we come full circle.~Does this account of the City of Ammonihah have relevance to us?~Is our world steeped in priestcraft?~What can we expect the wicked to do to the righteous? (kill them or cast them out)~And then what will happen to the wicked? (they will destroy each other)

That is the pattern.

Id like to conclude by talking about Amulek.


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~What happened to his wealth? (left it in Ammonihah, see Alma 15:16~What happened to his friends and family? (rejected him, ibid.)~What happened to anyone he knew who believed him? (burned)~And what happened to the rest of his people? (destroyed by Lamanites)~Amulek paid a high price for his testimony of the truth. Was it worth it?

For more than 30 years Ive been searching for a quote I heard in a class at BYU. The professorcouldnt find the source! Well this week I was reading one of Brigham Youngs talks and cameupon it. Id like to share it with you in conclusion:

The Saints sacrifice everything; but, strictly speaking, there is no sacrifice about it. Ifyou give a penny for a million of gold! a handful of earth for a planet! a temporaryworn out tenement for one glorified, that will exist, abide, and continue to increasethroughout a never ending eternity, what a sacrifice to be sure!(Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 1:114)

Yes. Its worth it! That we will resolve to do whatever is required of us to obtain it, even in ourworld filled with priestcraft, is my prayer...

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Lesson 24:Give Us Strength According to Our Faith in Christ