40- 10-30-23 Hope in Christ

40- 10-30-Hope in Christ

This week I was asked by a High Councilman in our stake to be his companion speaker. He was speaking on missionary work, and asked if I would talk about the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives in relation to the Hope we have in Christ.

I thought I would share it with the family as my email this week. I am very grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost in my life, and that each of you have been blessed with this Gift from our Heavenly Father. 

I love you all so much,

Dad



Hope in Christ. 


Several weeks ago, my 14 year old son Graham and I were asked by the full time missionaries to attend a missionary lesson for a young man named Cal that they were teaching. We were happy to accept the invitation. In the weeks that have since followed that experience I have witnessed this young man’s Hope in Jesus Christ grow stronger.This Hope has led him to exercise his faith through obedience to Jesus Christ, leading him to the waters of baptism, and to receiving the Gift of Holy Ghost through binding covenants entered into with His Heavenly Father. It has been a powerful witness and reminder to me of the Hope that Jesus Christ offers each one of us. 


As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint we have be prophesied to be the Hope of Scattered Israel. We sing about this truth in a familiar Hymn, a rallying call of sorts, Hope of Israel rise in might with the sword of truth and right…. 

This sword of Truth is the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Right is the right or authority of the Priesthood of God that governs essential Ordinances necessary for all of God’s children to enter back into His presence. 


Seeing this young men embrace the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed his perspective on life. He now has the ability to “think Celestial, with a hope Celestial Glory.


No wonder our Prophet has said, “Gathering Israel is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.” 


Our Hope in Jesus Christ is found and maintained in the exact same way as my new fried Cal. Through Sacred Ordinances offered to us by a loving Heavenly Father. These covenants bind us to Him, and to His son Jesus Christ. Through obedience to the covenants we make with God we receive access to the power of Godliness meant to lead us back to our Heavenly Home.


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught: “The first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.” 


Consider this. All of His heart, might, mind, and strength. Having all wisdom and all power our Heavenly Father designed a perfect plan to allow for us to come back into His presence. It is called The Plan of Salvation/ The Plan of Happiness. 


This plan would allow us, his spirit children

  1. to come to earth to gain a physical body. 
  2. Here we would learn, grow, and progress. 
  3. Essential in mortality we would be given the ability to choose between right and wrong, light vs darkness
  4. Knowing we would stumble along the way, He promised to provide a Savior for us, Jesus Christ. Through the power of the resurrection, and atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we could overcome both death and sin, two obstacles that would keep us from His presence.
  5. In His Perfect Plan, He designed for sacred ordinances to line a covenant path back to Him. These covenants would would bind us to God and His promises, a perfect way to keep us close to Him.  One of the these covenantal promises is the Gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant influence for good, truth, and light. 
  • Think of this - the Perfect Gift. A gift to encourage, guide, influence, direct, teach, warn,  comfort, and sanctify us along the path back home without interfering with our agency

When we made that initial covenant with God at baptism and were born again of Water and of the Spirit, we were promised the glorious Gift of the Holy Ghost. One of the greatest gifts of God to mortal man. When we renew this Covenant  as we worthily partook of the Sacrament we are again promised this same glorious Gift. Hear in your minds the words to these sacramental prayers. Praying to our Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus Christ we ask Him to bless and sanctity the emblems of his death and sacrifice. We again promise to take the name of Jesus Christ upon us and Remember Him always by keeping His commandments. And in return we are promise this precious guiding, comforting, and sanctifying gift. I love this teaching given by Elder Christofferson: “The Holy Ghost is the Messenger of Grace by which the blood of Christ is applied in our lives to take away our sins and to sanctify us.” (Todd D. Christofferson)


Consider the importance of The Gift of the Holy Ghost in our lives. He is the Messenger of Grace and Hope we seek through Jesus Christ. Our prophet has warned us that we will lose this Hope, without the Holy Ghost’s daily influence in our lives. "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." - Earnestly seek - President Russell M. Nelson


If we want to maintain this Hope, the desire to “spiritual survive” must be governed by our choices. As the prophet has taught, “Our choices really do matter.” Here is what President Nelson reminded us of this past conference: “Our choices today will determine 3 things.”

  1. Where we will live throughout all eternity 
  2. Th kind of body with which we will be resurrected 
  3. And with whom we will live forever 

If you are desiring to feel the Holy Ghost more in your life, a prophet of God has given us the very best way. “Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.” - President Nelson


I close with my testimony that I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ does provide Hope. Hope that we can return and live with our Heavenly Father to be with our families forever, and Hope that we can overcome all the struggles of life through His atoning sacrifice and His infinite love and grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, amem23

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