I am in a class called Christ and the Everlasting Gospel. It's a little funny because when I got home a couple of weeks ago, one of the first things that happened is that people kept coming up to me and asking if I would keep writing a weekly spiritual thought to share on my blog because they enjoyed the ones that I sent from the mission field. A requirement from this class is that we write our thoughts about something that we studied and share it with someone. So here I am, writing a spiritual thought once a week again, and I'm excited! :)
It is common knowledge in the gospel that when we read a passage of scripture during different times and phases in our lives, it will strike a different chord in our mind almost every single time. I know that seems normal; however, every time it happens, I cannot help but marvel.
Sometimes, I leave a lukewarm session of studying the scriptures, and I hear President Uchtdorf's words in my head:
"Think of how you felt when for the first time you believed and understood that you are truly a child of God; that Jesus Christ willingly suffered for your sins so that you may be clean again; that priesthood power is real and can bind you to your loved ones for time and for all eternity; that there is a living prophet on the earth today. Isn’t that wonderful and amazing?"
And then he counsels, "how could it ever be possible that we of all people would not be excited about attending our Church worship services? Or get tired of reading the holy scriptures? I suppose this could be possible only if our hearts were past feeling to experience gratitude and awe for the sacred and sublime gifts God has granted us. Life-changing truths are before our eyes and at our fingertips, but sometimes we sleepwalk on the path of discipleship...We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles."
I am loving this class, because it is reminding me just how precious the scriptures are, especially The Pearl of Great Price. In Moses 1, we learn important principles about Satan and who we are in relation to him. Satan comes and tempts Moses, saying: "Moses, son of man, worship me." Brother Griffin made the point that Satan takes away Moses' identity as a son of God by calling him "son of man" and then he steals God's identity for himself. Since Heavenly Father just spent the first few verses of Moses 1 explaining the divine identity of man, Moses isn't fooled by Satan and attempts twice to overcome Satan by saying: "Get thee hence, Satan." At this point, Satan "cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth," which caused Moses to "fear exceedingly." Here's the important part: Moses called upon the strength of the God and he received it. After that, he successfully overcame Satan by saying: "In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan." Heavenly Father never intended for us to use our own strength to overcome Satan. We cannot do it alone.
If we go back to Moses 1:15, Moses says, "Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me...I can judge between thee and God..." We obviously don't have the full glory of God with us all of the time, but we need to be grateful that we do have the spirit of God with us and therefore, we CAN and do discern between God and Satan. It's an innate ability. Jesus Christ himself was tempted three times by Satan in the wilderness.
Of course, he overcame those temptations, but James E. Talmage wrote:
"It is not to be supposed that Christ’s victorious emergence from the dark clouds of the three specified temptations exempted Him from further assaults by Satan, or insured Him against later trials of faith, trust, and endurance. Luke closes his account of the temptations following the forty-day fast as follows: “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” This victory over the devil and his wiles, this triumph over the cravings of the flesh, the harassing doubts of the mind, the suggested reaching out for fame and material wealth, were great but not final successes in the struggle between Jesus, the embodied God, and Satan, the fallen angel of light."
We are always going to need the spirit. We are always going to need to be able to discern. That's why it's so important that we live the gospel because even Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan throughout his entire earthly ministry. What makes us think that just because we did one good thing that one time that we are going to be good for the rest of our lives? The gospel and doctrine of Christ is here because it keeps us pure and worthy of the spirit. It's all linked to our true desire to understand and to keep the commandments. Not only do we have to take His name upon us and believe in Christ, we must be built upon the foundation of His gospel.
I love this class! I'm excited to continue sharing the things that I am learning,
Savannah
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