"Doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27)

This being the New Year and looking forward with great hope to the future I was somewhat startled at what I need to learn personally, but I am so grateful I can learn. I think there are many of us who are trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but we, for whatever reason, don't think we are going to make it to the celestial kingdom (see D&C 76:70; 1 Corinthians 15:40-42). This is not the Lord's problem, but ours. I realized this is a problem of faith. This is directed to all of those faithful followers of Jesus Christ who always think they aren't doing enough; even their very best isn't enough. This is filled with love, and understanding. I am right there with you. We all ask the Savior, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).

Let me see if I can explain what I was taught through a story in the New Testament. It is the story of the Ten Lepers. It is found in Luke 17:11-19. Ten lepers met Jesus and "stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us" (Luke 17:13). They all believed that Jesus had power to cleanse them of their leprosy, a physical aliment. And Jesus did have mercy on them and told them to go and show themselves to the priests and "as they went, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14). What is interesting to me is that only one of them "saw that he was healed" (Luke 17:15). He had spiritual eyes to see what had really had taken place. Then he turned back and "with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan" (Luke 17:15-16). He showed his belief in the Savior's power by his actions. The single leper worshiped Him. He had spiritual eyes to see the real healing that was taking place. Christ responds to the Samaritan by asking, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine" (Luke 17:17)? He had healed ten. Notice, it was healed. Then Christ tells the Samaritan the key for all of us, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made the whole" (Luke 17:19). The key is faith to be made whole. The Samaritan leper was made whole because of his faith in the Savior, not just healed physically.

We can be healed, but we have to have faith in Jesus Christ that He can and will make us whole, whole meaning perfect and complete. That is the purpose of the atonement, to make us whole, perfect, complete not just healed. To be made whole includes making all our short comings whole; all our hurts repaired, whether we inflicted them or they were inflicted upon us. This becoming whole is a two step process. First, we must recognize that Jesus is the Christ and has all power to do all things (Mosiah 4:9). He has the power to heal us and make us whole. The Samaritan recognized that Jesus was the Savior when he returned and gave thanks and glorified God. We too, praise and worship the Savior when we are "willing to take upon [us] the name of Christ, by baptism" (2 Nephi 31:13) and "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ...and endure to the end" (2 Nephi 31:20). We show our thanks by keeping His commandments and serving others. 

The second step is to "doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27) to the extent that faith replaces fear. When we say that we will never be enough and won't make it to the highest kingdom when we are doing all we can (see 2 Nephi 25:23), then the problem is ours, because really, we don't believe what He is telling us. Or simply put, it is called, lack of faith in Jesus Christ. That is a harsh one to hear. We don't really believe the Savior can make us whole, therefore, we lack faith. I think sometimes we mix up the concept of worth and worthiness. Our worth is infinite. Sometimes in our weakness we forget who we are, we forget our worth. We need to remember our worth through our worthiness so that we can be strong. Elder Russel M. Nelson said, "How you deal with life's trials is part of the development of your faith. Strength comes when you remember that you have a divine nature, and inheritance of infinite worth. The Lord has reminded you, your children, and your grandchildren that you are lawful heirs, that you have been reserved in heaven for your specific time and place to be born, to grow and become His standard bearers and covenant people. As you walk in the Lord's path of righteousness, you will be blessed to continue in his goodness and be a light and a savior unto His people" (Face the Future with Faith).

We aren't going to be perfect in this life. No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, we aren't going to be perfect and therefore we need a Savior. The real question is, do we believe Him? Do we believe Him when He says, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole" (Luke 17:19)? Or are we as the other lepers who were healed and go on our merry way and don't even recognize His power in our lives, the fact that His grace is ever effective in us, changing us, making us perfect as we worship Him daily by keeping our covenants and do our best to "come unto the Lord with all [our] heart, and work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling before Him" (Mormon 9:27). The kind of fear that is "equivalent to reverence, awe, worship, and is therefore an essential part of the attitude of mind in which we ought to stand toward the All-holy God" (Bible Dictionary). Not the kind of fear "spoken of as something unworthy of a child of God, something that 'perfect love casteth out'" (1 Jn. 4:18) (Bible Dictionary). That kind of fear keeps us from exercising full faith in Jesus Christ and really believing Him as He calls to us, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

This is a New Year. We can "doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27), "looking forward with an eye of faith" (Alma 32:40) to the future with the assurance that Christ will heal us and does make us whole. We can and are, through His infinite grace and mercy, because we "believe in Christ" and we are "reconciled to God" (2 Nephi 25:23), able to make it to the celestial kingdom. This I testify.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". (Philippians 4:13)

I got a new electronic device for Christmas that is amazing. It is called a "Kindle". It is this device that can hold books that are down loaded electronically and can hold many books at once. It can also surf the internet and I can shop for more books online. It also contains a dictionary (I love looking up definitions!). I was, and still am amazed at these electronic devices that give me instant information with a click of a button partly because I grew up in a home with no TV, and no computer; yes, we had a radio- I am not that old; I am only 42. Things have significantly changed since I was a kid. Information at the touch of a button is...good and must be used for good. 

I believe most things are invented with the intent to do good. I like to believe that people are and have the desire to do good and be good because we are all sons and daughters of God (see Acts 17:28-29). But we are sent here to be tempted and tried and allowed to choose for ourselves whether we will "know good from evil"; and God has given to us that we "might choose life or death" (Helaman 14:31). We get to choose whether or not we want a spiritual life or live spiritually dead lives and have no relationship with our Father in Heaven. We choose whether or not we connect to the "internet" of heaven. This takes an effort on our part. We must open the door and let Him in (see Revelations 3:20). We must also have a "good connection". And in order to have a good connection, we must make good choices.

When I got my Kindle I had to hook up to the internet. It wasn't done for me. I had to choose to do it. I also get to choose what kind of books I want on this device; they weren't put on there for me. It is the same with our relationship with God. He will never force us to come to Him. He will only invite us and then lets us choose whether or not we want to attend. What is so wonderful is that He will always invite us to "Come unto [Him]" (Matthew 11:28). Being invited to come to a wedding (see Matthew 22:1-10) or a "great supper" (see Luke 14:16-24) is much more delightful than being forced to go. It leaves the choice to us. And that is exactly what it is, our choice.

"Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve" (Alma 30:8; Joshua 24:15). There are so many choices to make every day; choices about what to wear, how to spend our time, what to say, how to behave, how to treat other people. We can be as Joshua of old and reply, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). It is a challenge every day to make good choices. We make mistakes. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). We waste our time, we say the wrong things, we behave badly at times, and sometimes, we treat others poorly. But we need not give up or feel all is wasted because it is not. We can make things right and look forward with hope and faith, because faith is about the future. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "...Remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives" (Remember Lot's Wife). The Savior helps us with our desires to "come unto Him and partake of His goodness; and He denieth none that come unto Him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and He remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile" (2 Nephi 26:33).

We can choose to use all that is given to us for good, and connect with God every day. We can learn from our mistakes. As hard as it is for some of us to not repeat those mistakes, we can learn from them because we "have stopped rhapsodizing about 'the good old days' and now eagerly look toward the future 'that [we] may apprehend that for which Christ apprehended [us]'" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We go forward with our faith in Christ, because He can do all things, and "[we] can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth [us]" (Philippians 4:13). 

Using that which is given to us, our time, talents, our money, and our education, everything...we get to choose how we will use it, for good or not. If it helps us draw closer to God it is good. "And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good" (Ether 4:12). We can look to the future, with all its electronic devices, the internet, and ‘touch of a button’ information with great hope and faith because we get to do the choosing. When we choose to follow Christ in faith, He will always lead us safely along life's path (see Alma 37:45) as we decide what information we want in our lives. This I testify.