Life is Hard, Not the Gospel!

Today I'd like to share a quote my family and I have memorized. It is by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy from his Oct. 2008 General Conference talk, The Way.

"Life is hard, not the gospel. 'There is an opposition in all things,' everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone . . . without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier? . . . Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it."

This is so true. After we have faith, repent, are baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, we need to endure to the end. ALL the way to the end. We can't quit as soon as we start, we can't quit halfway through, we can't even quit when we're in sight of the finish line--or else we will not make it. We need to "finish our course". Even if there are hard things along the way, or tempting 'Detour' signs. Even if everyone around us is turning back, or sitting down, or running off the road to chase temporary ideals. We must stay on the strait and narrow. We must "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope". We must keep our minds and hearts fixed on the goal of eternal life.

President Harold B. Lee taught, "You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory' (D&C 21:6)." This seems particularly relevant with the recent hype surrounding the Church's new policy. There has been a distinct contrast here between two different groups of people: Group A, whose members have chosen to leave the Church, claiming that the Brethren are bigots, or that Mormons are gay-haters, and Group B, which includes those who sought confirmation from the Lord and were able to feel peace regarding this policy.

I know that the prophet and apostles are called by God, that they receive revelation from Him, and that they will never lead us astray. I love them and pray for them.

Endure to the end!

PS: Another great article on this is "The Whole Earth Shall be in Commotion", by MMM.

It's Go Time!!! Be DEAF to the Things of the World!

Last night we had a wonderful joint activity with our stake president. He invited us to his wonderful backyard and made us delicious (excuse me, I mean the BEST!!!) pizza in his outdoor brick oven. At the end of the evening, after we had eaten our fill and participated in some fun active activities like basketball and a little bit of golf, the bishop gathered us all around the fire pit and informed us that the stake president had been serving us all evening. We gave him a hearty thanks and applause, then he stepped forward and shared a message that I think none of us will forget easily. 
He started by giving an analogy from his own life. He's originally from California and loves to surf. There's a point in a wave that is called 'go time'. The wave is just getting started and the surfer starts paddling as hard as he can towards that wave so he can catch it. The stake president said that we are at that point. We're in 'go time' mode. Now is the time when we can make some great choices and choose which way our life is going to go. 
He then shared four things we can do to ensure that we make the right choices and have a fruitful, fulfilling, joy-filled life. He taught us this in the form of an acronym: DEAF, as in 'deaf to the things of the world.'

Decision. Make good decisions. There are two ways to do this--the easy way or the hard way. You know what he said? Choose the hard way. If your alarm clock rings and it's time for seminary, you can choose the easy way (hit the snooze and go back to sleep) or you can choose the hard way (get up and go). Of course, you'll be happier you chose the hard way when you've seen the big picture. 

Endure to the end. We've all heard this one...over. And over. And over again. It must be important. ☺ He quoted Galatians 6:9: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." So basically, don't get tired of doing good and you'll get results! Don't worry! It. WILL. Be. Worth. It.  

Attitude. Have a good attitude about the gospel and a good outlook on life. He quoted President Hinckley: "Accentuate the positive." He also repeated the old adage "Fake it 'til you make it." Put a smile on your face, even if you don't feel like it, and soon enough, you will feel like it. 

Faithfulness. It's simple. The key? The questions in your temple recommend interview. If you live righteously and answer those questions with complete honesty and sincerity, and you are 'valiant in the testimony of Jesus', then you are deemed faithful. 

So, don't forget to be DEAF to the things that the world whispers and paddle! It's 'go time'!

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