Believers in Christ have watched
for the Savior throughout the History of this world. They watched for the sign of His birth. They
watched for the sign of his death. In my heart I don’t think those who REALLY
watched for him just allowed those moments to sneak upon them. I think they
really prepared, in ways that many of us are unfamiliar with. They were
patient, obedient and faithful… and when he arrived it was not a moment of
feeling unprepared. I think they were able to rejoice… because they had known
him before and this was a reunion. What a glorious moment that must have been
for them.
In this moment we find ourselves
watching for Him again. We are familiar with some of the prophecies we read about
in the scriptures and are watching for the signs. We are witnessing the gospel spread
to every corner of the earth. We are just beginning to see the trials and great
calamities, and persecution against the church. I am not going to speak further
of the hard things that we will face, other than I encourage you to continue to
make the necessary physical preparations that we have been instructed to make
by our prophets and apostles. We might associate the second coming with fear, but
we forget that it will also be glorious for those who are found to be righteous
and faithful and obedient. One of the glorious events that must happen before
the Savior comes is the building of the great City Zion, the New Jerusalem; a
City like unto the City of Enoch, where Christ himself will come to live among
us, due to the righteous state of those who will be allowed to enter there.
That time is not quite yet, so we
return to our lives and wait for his glorious return… but oh how glorious, we
know not. And prepared, we are not. I reached a moment 2
years ago where I gained a great desire, and I am beginning to get an idea of
just how glorious it will be. Since then I have made a transition. I am not
just waiting for the second coming of my Savior… I am ANXIOUSLY taking great lengths
to prepare myself for that moment. The more I prepare, the more excited I
become. Because of my preparations that will continue until the moment he
arrives, I will not be surprised in that moment because I will have KNOWN him
long before He actually gets here. And it will be a reunion.
This Christmas Season has been
wonderful. We have felt the light of Christ in our hearts and have been warmed
by the abundance of love and extra compassion we feel during this beautiful
time of year. When sadly it is over, and the time comes that you take down your
beautiful Christmas tree and the decorations that bring this glorious season
into full life… make extra sure that you don’t pack him away in those boxes and
put him in storage.
I want to talk on how we can do this.
The gospel should not be just a
wonderful PART of our lives; it should BE our lives. This gospel IS Jesus
Christ, so Christ should be the center of our lives.
I am reading the Book of Mormon
again and highlighting every reference to our Savior. Do you know what I have
found? Nephi and Lehi, and Jacob, and Enos, and the Alma’s, and King Benjamin,
and Mormon and Moroni, and all our other wonderful heroes in the Book of Mormon
made Christ their lives. They walked and talked with him in their every day
life. Do you think they did because they were more special, or more talented,
or more loved by God than you or I? Were they born extraordinary? These
wonderful and remarkable individuals were simply extraordinarily obedient. They
sought after Christ diligently, and they found Him. They knew him, because they
had a true and earnest desire to seek his will in all things. God is no
respecter of persons, and offers this to any who desire it and who will seek
and knock… You and I can do that. It is possible to glorify him all the
daylong. Then… you will begin to know Him. You will begin to step into HIS
realm instead of occasionally inviting him into ours.
To apply this you must first
understand that this will be not easy. It will never be easy. The fact and
truth is that we forget about him. This is a fallen world and demands that we
must work by the sweat of our brow. We must work to provide, we have to sleep
and eat, we must take care of our families, and we must fulfill our callings
and other obligations. And that doesn’t include the important unimportant
things Satan sneaks into our lives. Life is full of things to be busy with.
You must DECIDE that you want Him
in your life…
This is where you begin applying
the greatest gift He has given you. The atonement. If we could only begin to
truly understand that gift. There are two portions to this gift. The first
atoned for our sins, allowing us to repent and become clean. We are all
familiar with this process. But our Savior never intended us to keep working on
the same sins and weaknesses over and over again until WE overcome them. So
that is why he gave us the second portion of his gift, the one we don’t
understand as well. This is the enabling power, the ability to overcome those
sins and put them behind you. This is the portion that heals and empowers you
to become. This portion has become most dear to me as I am learning everyday
how to better apply it in my life. It truly is a key to becoming more like the
Saints we are asked to be, it is the key to becoming more like Him. If you
would like to know more about this amazing part of the atonement Elder Bednar
gives a wonderful talk called The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality in the
April 2012 General Conference. I highly recommend it. It helps put the
sacrament into a better perspective each week.
We covenant to always remember Him
and to take his name upon us. Ask him to be in your countenance so that you can
bear witness of him at all times, no matter where you are because he will be IN
you.
To always
remember Him is to have him an active presence in your home. We have wonderful
parents and grandparents in this room. But we can do more as parents. To quote
Tad R. Callister in our most recent conference please make sure that your
children are not receiving your second hand efforts after you have given your
best effort to work, your calling, or other endeavors. Take an active role in
their spiritual needs. This is the most valuable gift you could ever give to protect
them. Please don’t leave it up to Primary and our youth program to teach them how
to combat Satan in his attack on our children, for he has no mercy. Make great effort
that they grow up not just knowing OF Jesus Christ. Please make sure they KNOW
him. Then when they get to the age where they must enter the battle without you,
they will walk out your door with the full armor of God. And they will
faithfully go into battle knowing without a doubt that their mothers knew it.
How do WE truly come to know the
Savior? By doing more than we are now. I am not talking about increasing the
amount of callings you have, or how much time you are spending in your
callings, I am talking about the private time that you give to your Savior in
your personal studies, your personal commitments to him, and showing him that
you desire to do his will in all things.
Let’s not be afraid of being too
righteous; for that is the fear of men. Those we read about in the scriptures
glorified God continually, and were not ashamed to praise him and share his
word. And they were not afraid to seek out greater righteousness. Nephi’s
father, Lehi, was a prophet. Nephi respected and followed his father as a
prophet, but that did not stop him from seeking out great revelation for
himself. He saw and experienced the same things his father had and more. He desired
greater light and knowledge. He wanted the greater portion and his own access
to the Lord and was highly favored of the Lord because of it.
My dear brothers and sisters… the time for preparation is RIGHT NOW. Christ
is coming. And before He can come Zion must be built. He needs His people
worthy and ready at that time to build it and reside there; people who have
risen above the mark and have prepared themselves early on. If you haven’t
already felt it around you, I want you to know that Zion has already begun… it
has begun in the hearts of people and they are changing. I feel it growing in
my heart and others that I love. Christ cannot be present with us today in our
current state… so we have work to do. I think this is the message the Savior
wants me to give you today, is that we must start preparing right now because
this remarkable process of change does not happen overnight and time is growing
short. So I ask you… Do you want to be
there? Do you want this to be a reunion to see your Savior come to dwell among
his people? If you desire this, you will begin your journey to Zion in this
very moment by accepting the gift of this season and truly plant Him in your
heart where he will wrought a mighty change in you that will change you forever
and leave you with a desire to no more commit sin. You will begin to be a Nephi
who walks and talks with God and KNOWS him. You will be prepared to be in His
presence. He is truly the best gift you could ever unwrap this Christmas
Season.
I bare testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. He is our Savior
and Redeemer. He is our advocate with the Father and there is no other way home
than by Him. I know that He desires you and I to begin a greater preparation,
right now, to live in his presence.
I leave these things to be pondered in your heart, in the
name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
