The Doctrine of Jesus Christ

For this unit in the Teachings of the Book of Mormon we focused our studies on the doctrine of Jesus Christ. If I am honest I never really thought that there was a “doctrine of Jesus Christ.” I always thought that the doctrine we talk about all the time would be the “doctrine of Jesus Christ,” but I am grateful that I was given the chance to study this topic further.

According to my studies the Four major doctrines are Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Sacrament, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. If that sounds familiar, great! I thought so too. I thought that these doctrines were things I had been taught as doctrines my whole life in the church. One great thing that came out of this unit is that this isn’t anything new or earthshattering to me; however, as I studied these topics and talked about them in class I became more aware of my testimony of these things. I thought of the fourth article of faith as I was going through this unit: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second Repentance; third Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.” These doctrines are the ordinances and the first principles of the Church. They are what we are taught first and we build upon them the rest of our lives.

Faith:

I have always found it interesting that whenever we talk about faith it is always an action word to me. As I was studying this I found that my definition of faith is basically putting my hopes and beliefs into action. I have faith in prayer so I say my prayers. When I take a minute, and ask for help in a prayer. I believe that my prayers are heard and I hope that I will receive the help that I need, but I have to put those things to action in order to receive them. Whenever I am struggling I ask myself where is my faith? Do I believe in my Savior and the things I have been taught all my life? I know that as I put faith into action I come closer to my Savior and I receive the things I stand in need of. Faith has to come first and then we are able to build and grow and the Lord gives us opportunities to increase our faith.

Repentance:

I have come to know that repentance is sweet and it is how we move forward in this life. We are not perfect beings, and we won’t be until the next life. Repentance is the boat that helps us get to the next life though. Repentance is how we are able to have a mighty change of heart. As we repent with an open heart and a willing hand, we will find peace. As I have repented and tried again I have closer to my Savior and I have a strong desire to do good. I want to be better and do better because, honestly, it is easier to do so. The Lord knows our hearts and the desires we have, and he wants to bless us. Its only as we repent and become worthy that we realize how much He truly is blessing our lives. We cannot see His hand until we are worthy of it and it is only through repentance that we become worthy. Repentance is how we prepare for the next life. In Alma 34: 31-37 Amulek preaches quote:

“Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

“For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

“And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

“Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

“For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

“And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb.

“And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should work out your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ;”

Baptism and the Sacrament:

Baptism is necessary for our salvation. If you have more questions about it ask the missionaries, I am sure they would love to help you. I focused my studies more on the Sacrament. I think that I need to spend more time preparing and focusing during my Sacrament meeting. This is the time each week that I have to renew the covenants that I have made with my Savior and my Father in Heaven. I had someone share this thought and I can never forget it. When the Savior was in the Garden, He asked His apostles to stay one hour with Him. In His greatest hour of need He asked those He was closest to to stay awake and be there for Him, but instead He found them asleep. He didn’t find them asleep just once, but three times. During the sacrament, and also during our Sunday worship, is the Savior not asking us spend and hour, or three hours, with me? Can we not leave our world and be in a place to receive counsel from Him for three hours within a week? I don’t think that is asking too much, but how often am I on my phone during church or talking to the person next to? Why is it so easy sometimes to forget that this is our time to be taught by the Lord through the Holy Ghost? I think that it is because this is the time in which Satan’s greatest temptation for our world today is distractions. He wants us to be desensitized from the Holy Ghost and to shift our focus from our Heavenly Father’s plan to that of worldly things.  If anything throughout this unit I have become more aware of my need to stop with the distractions of my worldly pleasures and take the time to be with my Savior and to be taught by the Holy Ghost.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End:

The Gift of the Holy Ghost is the best gift we can ever receive, but we have to be worth to continue to receive it. the Holy Ghost should become a dear friend and I desire for it to always be the one friend that never leaves. I try every day to be worthy of it and to be taught by it. I love that as we learned of the His role in our lives that we also studied the topic of enduring to the end. If I were to add anything to the fourth article of faith it would be and fifth to endure WELL to the end. We cannot just go through this life saying, “I’m enduring but it still sucks or that I hate every minute of it.” I want to be clear, I am not saying that life is going to be sunshine and rainbows every day all day if we endure well to the end. Some days are going to be difficult and they are going to suck and those days may turn into weeks or months, but as we start to endure well we will be able to see some light within the suffering. We will have breaks from the difficult times. We will be able to find the hand of the Lord within our suffering. In my last blog post I asked if we are partaking of the bitter cup and not shrinking, and in this unit I have discovered that as we endure what the Lord has instore for us well we stop shrinking and we begin to change and be soft. All of us are going to have to endure challenges, but as we do so we are not left to do it alone. Elder Holland has said in his devotional titled “Lessons from Liberty Jail” quote:

“We note that not only has the Savior suffered, in His case entirely innocently, but so have most of the prophets and other great men and women recorded in the scriptures. The point is this: if you are having a bad day, you’ve got a lot of company—very, very good company. The best company that has ever lived.

“Now, don’t misunderstand. We don’t have to look for sorrow. We don’t have to seek to be martyrs. Trouble has a way of finding us even without our looking for it. But when it is obvious that a little time in Liberty Jail waits before you (spiritually speaking), remember that God has not forgotten you and that the Savior has been where you have been, allowing Him to provide for your deliverance and your comfort.”

We will all have to spend time in Gethsemane or in Liberty Jail, but we have to allow that time to change us to mold us into what Heavenly Father knows we can become. He does not put us through the fiery furnace just to burn us, but to make us more like Him. To close I want to end with my favorite story:  

Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse:

"And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

One lady proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver.

After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?"

"Oh, yes madam," replied the silversmith, "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured."

The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." God sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure.

Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you know the process is complete?"

"Why, that is quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."