You Need a Firm Spiritual Foundation

 

The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation

By President Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.²

So I ask each of you, how firm is your foundation? And what reinforcements to your testimony and understanding of the gospel are needed?...

Should distance, health challenges, or other constraints prohibit your temple attendance for a season, I invite you to set a regular time to rehearse in your mind the covenants you have made....

And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances.¹⁸ Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation.

Be Willing to Compromise and Eliminate Strife

 

Personal Peace in Challenging Times

By Elder Quentin L. Cook

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To have peaceful relationships, the lesson is clear: we should be willing to compromise and eliminate strife with respect to matters that do not involve righteousness. 

Don't Cut Class

 

“I Am He”

By President Jeffrey R. Holland

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

So, through abundance as well as poverty, through private acclaim as well as public criticism, through the divine elements of the Restoration as well as the human foibles that will inevitably be part of it, we stay the course with the true Church of Christ. Why? Because as with our Redeemer, we signed on for the whole term—not ending with the first short introductory quiz but through to the final exam. The joy in this is that the Headmaster gave us all open-book answers before the course began. Furthermore, we have a host of tutors who remind us of these answers at regular stops along the way. But of course, none of this works if we keep cutting class.

prosperity, possessions, and ease constitute a potent mixture that can lead even the righteous to drink the spiritual poison of pride.

 

In the Space of Not Many Years

By Elder David A. Bednar

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

How could a once-righteous people become hardened and wicked in such a short period of time? How could people so quickly forget the God who had blessed them so abundantly?

In a powerful and profound way, the negative example of the Nephites is instructive for us today.

“Pride … began to enter … into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God … because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land.”

“[They] set [their] hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world” “because of that pride which [they] … suffered to enter [into their] hearts, which … lifted [them] up beyond that which is good because of [their] exceedingly great riches!”

Ancient voices from the dust plead with us today to learn this everlasting lesson: prosperity, possessions, and ease constitute a potent mixture that can lead even the righteous to drink the spiritual poison of pride.

Allowing pride to enter into our hearts can cause us to mock that which is sacred; disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and revelation; trample under our feet the commandments of God; deny the word of God; cast out, mock, and revile against the prophets; and forget the Lord our God and “not desire that the Lord [our] God, who hath created [us], should rule and reign over [us].”

Therefore, if we are not faithful and obedient, we can transform the God-given blessing of prosperity into a prideful curse that diverts and distracts us from eternal truths and vital spiritual priorities. We always must be on guard against a pride-induced and exaggerated sense of self-importance, a misguided evaluation of our own self-sufficiency, and seeking self instead of serving others.

As we pridefully focus upon ourselves, we also are afflicted with spiritual blindness and miss much, most, or perhaps all that is occurring within and around us. We cannot look to and focus upon Jesus Christ as the “mark” if we only see ourselves....

At the individual level, each of us must “beware of pride, lest [we] become as the Nephites of old.”

May I suggest that if you or I believe we are sufficiently strong and stalwart to avoid the arrogance of pride, then perhaps we already are suffering from this deadly spiritual disease. Simply stated, if you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger. In the space of not many days, weeks, months, or years, we might forfeit our spiritual birthright for far less than a mess of pottage.

If, however, you or I believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we consistently will do the small and simple things that will protect and help us become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us].” “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.”

Contention is Spiritually Unhealthy for Us

 

The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity

By Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Yet, in some instances, the spiritual stress test has shown tendencies toward contention and divisiveness. This suggests that we have work to do to change our hearts and to become unified as the Savior’s true disciples. This is not a new challenge, but it is a critical one....

His latter-day work is compromised when contention or enmity⁹ exists among His disciples.¹⁰ Second, contention is spiritually unhealthy for us as individuals. We are robbed of peace, joy, and rest, and our ability to feel the Spirit is compromised....

If I am quick to take offense or respond to differences of opinion by becoming angry or judgmental, I “fail” the spiritual stress test. This failed test does not mean that I am hopeless. Rather, it points out that I need to change. And that is good to know.

After the Savior’s visit to the Americas, the people were unified; “there was no contention in all the land.”¹² Do you think that the people were unified because they were all the same, or because they had no differences of opinion? I doubt it. Instead, contention and enmity disappeared because they placed their discipleship of the Savior above all else. Their differences paled in comparison to their shared love of the Savior, and they were united as “heirs to the kingdom of God.”¹³ The result was that “there could not be a happier people … who had been created by the hand of God.”¹⁴

Unity requires effort.¹⁵ It develops when we cultivate the love of God in our hearts¹⁶ and we focus on our eternal destiny.¹⁷ We are united by our common, primary identity as children of God¹⁸ and our commitment to the truths of the restored gospel. In turn, our love of God and our discipleship of Jesus Christ generate genuine concern for others. We value the kaleidoscope of others’ characteristics, perspectives, and talents.¹⁹ If we are unable to place our discipleship to Jesus Christ above personal interests and viewpoints, we should reexamine our priorities and change.

We might be inclined to say, “Of course we can have unity—if only you would agree with me!” A better approach is to ask, “What can I do to foster unity? How can I respond to help this person draw closer to Christ? What can I do to lessen contention and to build a compassionate and caring Church community?”

When love of Christ envelops our lives,²⁰ we approach disagreements with meekness, patience, and kindness.²¹ We worry less about our own sensitivities and more about our neighbor’s. We “seek to moderate and unify.”²² We do not engage in “doubtful disputations,” judge those with whom we disagree, or try to cause them to stumble.²³ Instead, we assume that those with whom we disagree are doing the best they can with the life experiences they have.

Recognizing our Fallen Nature

 

Embrace the Lord’s Gift of Repentance

By Elder Jorge M. Alvarado

Of the Seventy

Joseph’s sincere desire to repent and seek the salvation of his soul helped him come to Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness of his sins. This continuous effort opened the door to the continuing Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This remarkable experience of the Prophet Joseph Smith illustrates how feelings of weakness and inadequacy can help us recognize our fallen nature. If we are humble, this will help us come to recognize our dependence upon Jesus Christ and stir within our hearts a sincere desire to turn to the Savior and repent of our sins....

He can fulfill any righteous desire or longing and can heal any wound in our lives.

Lay aside your weapons of war

 

The Joy of Our Redemption

By Sister Kristin M. Yee

Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

To truly repent and change, we must first be “convinced of our sins.” A person does not see the need to take medicine unless they understand that they are ill. There may be times we may not be willing to look inside ourselves and see that which really needs healing and repair.

In C. S. Lewis’s writings, Aslan poses these words to a man who has entangled himself in his own devices: “Oh [humankind], how cleverly you defend yourselves [from] all that might do you good!”

Where might you and I be defending ourselves from those things that might do us good?...

I pray we may lay aside any “weapons of war” that we’ve consciously or even unconsciously taken up to defend ourselves from the blessings of God’s love. Weapons of pride, selfishness, fear, hate, offense, complacency, unrighteous judgment, jealousies—anything that would keep us from loving God with all our hearts and keeping all our covenants with Him.

As we live our covenants, the Lord can give us the help and power we need to both recognize and overcome our weaknesses, including the spiritual parasite of pride. ...

Like my painting, the Lord is not done with us when we make a mistake, nor does He flee when we falter. Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came....

The Savior can redeem that which was lost, including broken and fractured relationships....

If you are struggling with a situation you think you should have overcome by now, don’t give up. Be patient with yourself, keep your covenants, repent often, seek the help of your leaders if needed, and go to the house of the Lord as regularly as you can. Listen for and heed the promptings He sends you. He will not abandon His covenant relationship with you.

There have been difficult and complex relationships in my life that I have struggled with and sincerely sought to improve. At times I felt like I was failing more often than not. I wondered, “Did I not fix things the last time? Did I not truly overcome my weakness?” I’ve learned over time that I am not necessarily defective; rather, there is often more to work on and more healing that is needed.