My talk today in Sacrament Meeting

[Jonathan Scott]

Endure to the End

1-16-2010

"Life stinks and then you die."

That was a phrase that was somewhat popular when I was a kid.  People would say it to one another when something bad happened and we felt like smiling through the problem.  I don't know why it's funny to us.  It just is.  Japanese people probably don't understand the humor of this.

Life is not easy.  Everyone during their lives is going to have a lot of problems.  Some of those problems are going to be serious and some of them are just going to feel serious.  God spoke about this in the scriptures many many many times.

D&C 136:31

My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.

Kyougi to Seiyaku Hyaku san juu roku shou, san juu ichi setsu.

Watashi no tami wa subete no koto ni oite kokoromi wo ukenakereba naranai.  Sore wa karera ga watashi ga karera no tame ni motte iru eikou sunawachi shion no eikou wo ukeru youni sonae rareru tame de aru.  Soshite, korashime ni taenai mono wa watashi no ookoku ni fusawashiku nai no de aru.

"Tested in All Things"  That's a very big phrase.  In English, it's only four words.  But, the meaning contained in it is so cruel it scares me to think about it.

We're going to be tested in all things.  All things.  God is going to place all sorts of problems in front of us.  Some of them are going to be extremely difficult.  He did give us hope though.

1 Nephi 3:7

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Dai 1 Nephi San Shou, Nana Setsu

Soko de watashi nifai wa chichi ni itta watashi wa itte shu ga meijirareta koto wo okonaimasu.  Shu ga meijirareru koto ni wa sore wo nashitogerareru youni shu ni yotte michi ga sonae rarete ori sore de nakutte wa shu wa nan no meirei mo hito no kora ni kudasarenai koto wo shouchi shiteiru kara desu.

God has told us that contained somewhere in either our own efforts or in his assistance or both, we have what we need to get through our problems and to do more than just survive, but to remain obedient and faithful members of his Church.  We have what it takes to get through our problems and return to Heaven.

In the October 2008 general conference, the seventy Lawrence E. Corbridge said something very interesting:

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.

Lawrence E. Corbridge "The Way", October 2008 - Saturday Afternoon Session

I have the sound file for this on my computer.  I listen to it and other talks when I go for walks.  I've heard the talk many times.  When I prepared for this talk, I looked the talk up in the Liahona and on the internet at www.lds.org.  It's intriguing to me.  The words he spoke at conference are different than the words that are printed in the Ensign and the words on the internet.  In the Ensign, he calls all other paths foolishness.  In the actual talk though, he didn't call these other paths foolishness, he called them madness.

Because the words of this talk were changed after the initial speaking, you should probably probably consider the new version as the best version...or the version closest to the truth.

I thought there was some value in his original words though.  How could it be that all other paths other than God's path be insanity?  Perhaps it doesn't make a lot of sense to most of us.  But, when you consider that life is eternal...whether or not that life is a happy one...perhaps it begins to make more sense.  There are consequences to mistakes.  If you can be happy living with those consequences today, can you still be happy ten years from now?  How about fifty years from now?  How about 10,000 years from now?  How about a million years from now?  We're all going to be alive then.  We're all going to be dealing with the consequences of our decisions then as well.  Do you have the endurance to deal with your mistakes until you die?  Maybe.  Do you have the endurance to deal with the consequences of your mistakes for an eternity?  I doubt anyone would.

D&C 19:5

5 Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand.

What I think Brother Corbridge was suggesting was that God's personality is the only personality that can survive happily over an infinite amount of time.  All other personalities will one day crumble and succumb to their shame, guilt, rage and pain.  They will all, in time, result in weeping, wailing and the gnashing of teeth.

3 Nephi 27:16-17

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

I keep saying such cruel things in this talk.  I'm sorry.  I have to say one more thing though.  What is the fire that is spoken of in 3 Nephi?  Why would God throw us into it?  Doesn't He love us?  In the scriptures, fire, in my opinion is a code word for something else.  Let me explain:

Revelation 14:11 - 12

11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

It's hard to imagine a crueler thing than this.  God tormenting people forever with fire because they were wicked.  Like I said though, in my opinion, fire is a code word for something else.  It is a code word for heavenly information and truth.

If fire means truth, then what does burning mean?  Burning is the injury we receive when we come into contact with fire.  Therefore, spiritually speaking, burning could mean the pain we feel when we finally understand God's truth.  In other words, shame.  So then, what is smoke?  What is smoke a code word for?  Many times in the Book of Revelations, the word smoke is a code word for prayer.  So, please look at the verses in 3 Nephi and Revelations again:

3 Nephi 27:16-17

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

Revelation 14:11 - 12

11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

I think what it means is not nearly as cruel as it sounds.  It means that when we die, we are all going to fully understand God and what he was trying to do for us.  We will know that the commandments were true.  And if have chosen to obey them in our lives, we'll be OK.  The rest of the world though, will not be OK.  They will feel shame eternally.

Concerning the smoke spoken of in Revelations, God is omniscient.  In whatever glory the wicked eventually find themselves, they will know this.  They will know that God loves them and they will know that they were wrong.  They will also know that because of God's omniscience that God will hear their prayers.  So, the wicked will pray eternally.  It'll probably be their only link to sanity.

A lot of the time, people hit their problems and are so overwhelmed by them that they want to give up.  Some people give up on membership in the church.  They become inactive.  Others give up even on life itself.  They choose suicide.  Both are similar because both are a form of spiritual suicide.  Neither are probably ever condoned by God.

A woman I knew in college once told me that when her problems had been very overwhelming that she had considered suicide.  She told me that she had felt so bad somedays that she felt like she was on fire.  She told me that it was all she could do somedays to keep from screaming all day long.  When she was going through the worst of it, she made a decision that seemed to helped her get through it.  She decided that her own mind and personality were the cause of her problems.  She was honest enough to be able do this.  She then told me that if it was her own mind and personality that were the cause of her problems, suicide wasn't a solution.  It wasn't a solution because her own mind and personality were the only two things that she would take with her into the next world.  If her mind and personality caused her such intense pain here, they would still do the same in the next world as well.  She decided it would be better to work through her problems here.  And she did.  I knew her after her darkest days and she still had problems, but she learned how to lead a much happier life.  I think she actually learned how to like her life in time.

I have one last quote, it is from Gordon B. Hinckley.  He said this back in 1978 before he was the prophet of the church.

"I meet so many people who constantly complain about the burden of their responsibilities. Of course the pressures are great. There is much, too much, to do. ... Turn your thinking around. The gospel is good news. Man is that he might have joy. Be happy! Let that happiness shine through your faces and speak through your testimonies....

"I enjoy these words of Jenkins Lloyd Jones....

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed.

Most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.

The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride’ ( Deseret News , June12, 1973)” ( Four Imperatives for Religious Educators [address to religious educators, Sept. 15, 1978], 4).

I'm sorry to have given such a dark talk.  I think for people though to understand how and why it is so important to not give up.  I hope it has been helpful.

I say all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

[Chet]

A beautiful talk, and I'm not going to reprint it here. Let me add, if I may, a little more light to a clever deduction you made.

You say that you've deduced that "fire" is a code word for truth. See if this doesn't make it even more clear: "Fire" was, to our ancient ancestors, a synonym for "light."

When the scriptures that speak of "fire" or "burnings" are read in this light (Ouch! No pun intended!) we get an entirely different view than that which the "God's gonna get you" fire & brimstone preachers of my youth (and quite a few old ladies of our little church!). 

It's also intriguing that you see following any way but the Lord's as madness. I quite agree, and I would point to the curse mentioned in conjunction with "what if Elijah didn't come and turn the hearts of the children to their fathers/ancestors?" That curse has many times in my reading and in discussions been considered as insanity gripping humanity, according to whether they strive to live the Gospel or don't try. (I do like that the scriptures say all blessings are for those who obey all the commandments AND for all those who strive to do so.)

In short, I do agree that this life is a training ground -- a boot camp, if you will. And for what we're training to become, only the most stringent training will work. It helps to remember that this life IS the easiest way -- every other plan or way was and is harder. Every other way doesn't include a Messiah to take our sins upon Himself, and at least one other way insisted we give up our agency.

And I'm just a little too stubborn for that.

-
*jeep! and God Bless
  --Grandpa Chet, MM, DM 
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

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[Jonathan Scott]

Thanks.  People seemed to like it.

About the fire concept.  I'll be stretching this one a lot farther than perhaps it should be stretched, but if you look at the beginning of the book of Revelations, it depicts the seven leaders of the churches in Asia as lamps.  It then shows Christ as a person that breathes fire.

Lamps need to be lit.  But, Christ's fire comes from inside of him.  He doesn't need to be lit.  Instead, his words are capable of giving that light (fire) to others.

Later on in the book, it shows the beast with ten horns and seven crowns.  All of the crowns are made of gold.  My personal opinion is that seven of the ten horns represent all of the world' s political powers and the heads represent the world's religious powers.  The reason why the crowns are made of gold is that gold reflects light.  Gold reflects what it sees.  It reflects it in a slightly warped fashion.  And it can only reflects what is around it.  If you touch it though, it is exactly the same temperature as whatever it is closest to.  Lastly, if it comes into contact with fire, it melts.

I think, in the Book of Revelations, that gold and fire are used in the same way the Christ and the Anti-Christ are used.  The one is pure and the other is an evil copy of it.

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