"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.

"Therefore, brethren (and sisters), stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

At Christmas time there are a lot of traditions that are done and created. It is fun to have traditions. They help unite us as families and friends. They help us create memories and even help us draw closer to Christ."Uplifting traditions play a significant role in leading us toward the things of the Spirit" (Elder Donald L. Hallstrom). In our home we have a simple tradition we do each Christmas that involves six simple ornaments. These ornaments are all words. With each word we have a scripture that we look up and then share with each other. As the years have gone by, the insights have grown deeper as to the meaning of each word and the application in the lives of our children. I would like to share these six ornaments and their traditions with you.

Ornament #1: Believe "Believe in God; believe that He is, and that He created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that He has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that He would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them" (Mosiah 4:9-10). In a time when it is taught to believe in Santa, it is vital to teach our children the true source of all power, Christ. Every time our children see or even hear the word believe we want them to think of Christ. If they are ever asked by Christ as the blind man that was healed and cast out by his fellow man, they may answer as he did. "Dost thou believe on the Son of God? [The man] answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him" (John 9:35-38).

Ornament #2 Faith "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me" (Moroni 7:33). God's purpose is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). And expedient means that He will, through our faith, give us the power to do what is appropriate to help us bring about His purpose. His whole purpose is us. He wants us back with Him and Heavenly Father. Our faith must be based upon the fact that all we do that is right, Christ will aid us and help us. He wants us to succeed.

Ornament #3 Hope "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:4). Hope is a wonderful blessing. We hope to return to live with Heavenly Father again through the atonement of Christ. All is not lost. We are "wanderers in a strange land", but most definitely not lost to God. He is ever mindful of where and who we are  (Alma 26:36). We have hope that we are on a path to a better world, however difficult this path may seem at the time we are traveling on it; and because our hope is anchored in Christ we are steadfast and able to move forward.

Ornament #4 Love "And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father" (Ether 12:33-34). Christ is the perfect example of love, or charity. We have been commanded to "love God" and "love our neighbor"  because "on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). It is true "when we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities" (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson). When we love God, we love our fellow man.

Ornament #5 Peace "Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world" (Helaman 5:47). Christ is the source of true peace. He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Christ's peace isn't like any other. It is the calm when the storm is raging. It is the calm when the darkness is unending because He is the source of all Light. He is the "Prince of Peace" (2 Nephi 19:6).

Ornament #6 Joy "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). Joy in the resurrection of Christ! Joy that we "have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for [our]selves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given". What joy to be "free according to the flesh", we are not dead forever! What joy that we are "free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:26-27). Joy doesn't come from trinkets and toys and items purchased in a store. True joy comes from choosing to follow Christ no matter our circumstances, knowing we are "free to choose" for ourselves to follow Him.

Traditions can be simple and bring in the Spirit of Christ. These ornaments hang on our tree during the Christmas season, but the tradition of unity and love doesn't need to stop at Christmas time. We need to follow the tradition of Christ all year long. "Therefore, brethren (and sisters), stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work" (2 Thessalonians 2:15-17). To follow Christ daily, all year long, is a saving tradition. This I testify.