Amazing Grace

I've dedicated my study time completely to studying grace and faith for the past few days and here's what I've decided. I want to share what I know and be edified by what you know as well.

First and foremost, grace is what saves us. Thus the term "saving grace."
Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice is a gift that he gives to us. He is infinitely and eternally our Redeemer.
He paid the price and there is nothing that we can do for ourselves that will ever repay that price.

In 2 Nephi 25:23 it says "it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do." 

and immediately I think...

"that must mean that I have to do a certain part, and once I reach that amount, Christ will make up the rest."

  But that's not what it means at all. Our Mission President has been talking with us about this scripture recently. When it says "after all we can do" it really is saying "beyond all we can do" meaning that Jesus Christ's atonement saves us with power beyond what we could ever do for ourselves. On our own, we would not be saved and our sins would condemn us indefinitely. We would have no opportunity to repent. But Jesus Christ gives us this opportunity and saves us. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." 

Jesus Christ has already atoned for everyone's sins. He's already paid the price. Because of him we will all be resurrected and will have the opportunity to return to the presence of God to be judged. It is not of ourselves. There is nothing we can do of ourselves that would enable us to do that.
Therefore, grace is a gift from God.

But this doesn't mean that we don't have to do a single thing in this life. God has told us "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

Through Jesus Christ's atonement, we will all be resurrected. We will all have a perfect and immortal body. Anything that was ever wrong with us will be corrected, and anything that was ever imperfect will be perfected. Those who have physical disabilities will be healthy, and those who have mental disorders and disabilities will be healed, etc. Therefore, the grace of God saves us and brings to pass our immortality. But immortality and eternal life are not the same.

Eternal life is to live forever as families in God's presence. Eternal life is to live in never ending happiness. It's the phrase used in scripture to define the quality of life that our Eternal Father lives.
Like immortality, this gift is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. However, eternal life requires our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. We know that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God, therefore only those who have been obedient will be able to have eternal life. But by those standards, none of us will ever enter into the Celestial Kingdom. Luckily, the atonement of Jesus Christ gives us the opportunity to repent and to try again. To get up when we fall down and try to be better.

President David O. McKay said "The purpose of the gospel is ... to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature." Someone once said the idea of Mormonism is constant progression. Always striving to improve our lives day by day and striving to be more like Christ every day.
James 2:14-26 says that our faith without works is dead. That doesn't mean that our works define our faith, but rather that "by their fruits ye shall know them." If someone truly has faith, or has a "good seed" planted in their heart, their fruits, or their works, will be good as well. Whereas if someone has a "bad seed" or a "dead seed" planted in their hearts, their fruits, or their works, will be bad. (See Matt 7:16-21, Luke 6:43-45, 3 Nephi 14:16-23) But God knows that we're not perfect. and that's where the strengthening and enabling power comes in. He knows that there are some things in this life that are going to be hard for us. He has promised us that he will not tempt us above what we are able, but that doesn't mean that everything in this life is going to be easy. It means that anything that I am tempted with, I can overcome, AS LONG AS I HAVE GOD ON MY SIDE. Without God, there are some things in this life that I would NOT be able to handle. But through the grace of God, or the strengthening and enabling power of God, I can overcome anything that he puts in my path. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

So we are saved through grace. We are resurrected and given immortality. Our faith will bring about our good works, and our works will determine the level of happiness we receive in the next life, or which kingdom of glory we will enter.

We are not perfect, so the atonement allows us to repent and improve. That's really the whole purpose of the atonement, is to transform us. To be changed by the grace of God, not just saved.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said that "The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts-what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-what we have become. Therefore, we can obtain Eternal life and happiness.

My prayer is that you will access the Atonement and the power of Grace everyday of your life.

Elder Falslev

The Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost

Based on the verses of: Moroni 7:14-19

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters of the Hamilton Ward!
I am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity in which to speak.

For those of you who don’t know me or can’t remember my tricky Danish name;
my name is Elder Falslev and I am from Logan, Utah. I’ve been serving in this ward since October and I love it here! You are truly an amazing ward!

Today I will be focusing on the Light of Christ and its role with the Holy Ghost.

To describe the light of Christ, I’ll compare it to the light of the sun. Sunlight is all but familiar to us; it is everywhere present and can be seen and felt. Life itself depends upon sunlight.

The light of Christ is like sunlight. It, too, is everywhere present and given to everyone equally. Just as darkness must disappear when the light of the sun appears, so is evil sent fleeing by the Light of Christ. 

There is no darkness in sunlight. Darkness is subject unto it. The sun can be hidden by clouds or by the rotation of the earth, but the clouds will disappear, and the earth will complete its rotation. 

According to the plan, we are told that it must needs be that there is opposition in all things.

Mormon warned us that the devil persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one. Neither do his angels, neither do they who subject themselves unto him. Now seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully.

This Light of Christ, which gives life, is within us. The evil one will disguise it. It can be so clouded with confusion so far as to convince us that it does not even exist.

Just as sunlight is a natural disinfectant, the Spirit of Christ can cleanse the spirit.

Every soul, no matter who or where or when, is a Child of God. Our responsibility is to teach that there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 

President Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the teaching of the Holy Ghost and of the Spirit of Christ. “Every man can receive a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, even when he is out of the church, if he is earnestly seeking for the light and for the truth. The Holy Ghost will come and give the man the testimony he is seeking, and then withdraw; and the man does not have a claim upon another visit or constant visits and manifestations from him. He may have the constant guidance of the other Spirit, the Spirit of Christ."

The Spirit of Christ is always there. It never leaves us. It cannot leave.

We have a basic understanding of the Holy Ghost. We've experienced its promptings and understand why the Holy Ghost is called the Comforter.

We know the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit and a member of the Godhead.

But many of us do not know that there is another Spirit—“the light of Christ” —another source of inspiration, which each of us possesses in common with all other members of the human family. If we know about the Light of Christ, we will understand that there is something inside all of us, and we can appeal to that in our desire to share truth.

The Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ are different from each other. While they are sometimes described in the scriptures with the same words, they are different and separate. It is important for us to know about both of them.

President Boyd K. Packer has said, “The more we know about the Light of Christ, the more we will understand about life and the more we will have a greater love for all mankind. We will be better teachers and missionaries and parents, and better men and women and children. We will have deeper regard for our brothers and sisters in the Church and for those who do not believe and have not yet had conferred upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

This Spirit of Christ promotes everything that is good, every virtue. It stands in brilliant, indestructible opposition to anything that is coarse or ugly or profane or evil or wicked.

Conscience supports the reality of the Spirit of Christ in man. It supports, also, the reality of good and evil, of justice, mercy, honor, courage, faith, love, and virtue, as well as the necessary opposites—hatred, greed, brutality, jealousy. The Spirit of Christ can be likened unto a “guardian angel” for every person.

The Spirit of Christ can enlighten the scientist, the inventor, the painter, the sculptor, the composer, the performer, the architect, the author to produce great, even inspired things for the blessing and good of all mankind.

This Spirit can prompt the farmer in his field and the fisherman on his boat. It can inspire the teacher in the classroom, the missionary in presenting his discussion. It can inspire the student who listens. And of enormous importance, it can inspire husband and wife, and father and mother.

This inner Light can warn and guard and guide. But it can be repelled by anything that is unworthy or wicked or immoral or selfish.

The Light of Christ existed in us before we were born, and it will be with us every moment that we live and will not perish when the mortal part of us has turned to earth.

Every woman, man, and child of every nation, creed, or color—everyone, no matter where they live or what they believe or what they do—has within them the eternal Light of Christ. All men are created equally. The Light of Christ in everyone is a testimony that God is no respecter of persons, he treats everyone equally.

It is important for a teacher or a missionary or a parent to know that the Holy Ghost can work through the Light of Christ. A teacher of gospel truths is not planting something unrelated or even new into an adult or a child. Rather, the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there. The gospel will have a familiar “ring” to them. Then the teaching will come to the convincing of those who will listen that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.

Everyone everywhere already has the Spirit of Christ, and while the Spirit of the Holy Ghost can visit anyone, the gift of the Holy Ghost is obtained “by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” by submitting to “baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is not automatically present like the Spirit of Christ is present. This gift must be conferred by one holding authority.

That is what we are commissioned to do, to nurture the Light of Christ, which is within every soul we meet, and bring souls to the point where the Holy Ghost may visit them. And then, in time, they can receive, through the ordinance, the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is conferred upon every member of the Church.

Once we have received that gift of the Holy Ghost and can support it together with the Light of Christ, which we already have, then the fulness of the gospel is open to our understanding. The Holy Ghost can even work through the Light of Christ.

The Light of Christ is as universal as sunlight itself. Wherever there is human life, there is the Spirit of Christ. Every living soul is possessed of it. It is the sponsor of everything that is good. It is the inspirer of everything that will bless and help us.

Mormon taught: “Search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ”.

Everyone knows about sunlight. When we liken the Spirit of Christ to sunlight, ordinary examples from our own experiences may come to our mind. These examples are almost endless. These examples can be understood by little children or by adults, as the parables of Christ can be understood. It should not be difficult to teach how revelation can come through Light, even though we do not know exactly how inspiration works.

With all of our restrictions, man can convey messages through fiber-optic cables. A single tiny fiber of glass, smaller than a human hair, can carry 40,000 messages at the same time. These can then be decoded and turned into sight and sound and color, even motion. Man can do that.

A laser beam, where there is no wire or fiber at all, can carry 100 billion bits of information in a second.

If man can do that, why should we marvel at the promise that the Light of Christ is in all of us and that the Holy Ghost can visit any of us?

Elder Boyd K. Packer has also said, “Once we understand the reality of the Light of Christ in everyone we see and in every meeting we attend and inside ourselves, and understand the great challenge that we have—the surroundings in which we live, the danger which sometimes besets us—we will have courage and inspiration beyond that which we have known before. And it must be so! And it will be so! All of this is a dimension of gospel truth that too few understand.”

Brothers and Sisters I testify that each of us has a divine potential and by the guidance of the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost we will be able to achieve that divine potential.  

My prayer is that you will prayerfully and diligently strive to comprehend the meaning of these principles, and then start to apply them. I promise as you do, you will gain a testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that the Restoration of the gospel is a reality, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly the Lord’s church once again restored to this earth. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father. And from Him radiates the Light of Christ to all mankind.

May you all feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Falslev 

A Fresh Start to 2014

5…4…3…2….1…HAPPY NEW YEAR’S!!

New Year’s is approaching us soon.

It’s literally a day away!

I love the New Year because it allows for us to make a new fresh start. It allows for us to make change in our life.

New Year’s is a time where we make a goal for 365 days in hope of keeping it. It always seems that we get going to good start then come March, we have begun to forget it happened and come December we forgot we decided to make a new life style for us.

It seems that when we make a New Year’s resolution that is only for the state that we are in. It seems we never take the time to make a spiritual change in us. We fail to see the aspect that matters the most.

For the year of 2013, I made the goal of becoming more spiritual and growing closer to my Heavenly Father. I can say that I was successful in doing so as I left to serve on a mission! What a ride this past year has been. How amazing it has been for me to grow closer to my Lord and Savior. Making this change was hard at first, but the great thing about change is that in three weeks, it becomes a life style.

With the New Year approaching, I have made the choice to dedicate myself to the Lord more. I will be making myself grow more spiritually by allotting time to pray multiple times in the day and studying the scriptures more too.

The quest for the year 2014, for me, is to find how I can serve my Heavenly Father better. How I can be more of aid for him in his work. I have made the choice to help my spirituality grow deeper in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we go about making change in the year 2014, ask yourself, how will I grow closer to my Lord and Savior? Are you willing to grow closer to Him?

The Great Deep

Pull out your copy of the Book of Mormon... I'd like to show you some things.
If you don't have your own copy. I've linked them for you.

1 Nephi 5:1-5
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/5.1-5?lang=eng#primary

What is happening?

         Sariah is complaining against Lehi, many trials are occurring.

How does he respond?
         "But behold, I have obtained a land of promise."

         Did Lehi have any idea that he and his family would spend eight years in the wilderness?
         He only knew that he had been promised a choice land, and that he must obey to get there.

Ether 2:24-25
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/2.24-25?lang=eng#23

The Lord tells them in advance that, "mountain waves shall dash upon [them]."

He also promises: "Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth."

"And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come."

great deep/sea/waters = life
winds/waves/floods = trials/afflictions
stones of light = light of Christ within us
promised land = eternal life

Ether 6:5-7
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/6.5-7?lang=eng#4

"And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blown upon the face of the waters, 1 towards the promised land."

"And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind."

"And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, 2 their vessels being tight like unto a dish ... therefore when they were encompassed about, they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters."

I can't help but think the Lord must have prepared us for crossing the great deep of life in much the same way. He definitely let us know that  our decision to come to live on earth would be a trying one, that the "storms of life" would rage around us. Within the Gospel he has shown us how to make our "vessels tight like unto a dish," and has not suffered that we should take our journey without light; the Holy Ghost, and more basically, the light of Christ, provides us with the light and knowledge we need.

Ether 6:8-12
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/6.8-12?lang=eng#7

1) The wind did never cease to blow them upon the face of the waters
2) They did not cease" to praise the Lord
3) No monster of the sea could break them; no whale could mar them
4) They had light continually
5) 344 days was the duration of the trip

-Compare to the Voyage of Nephi and Family-

1) The Liahona stopped working when their faith dwindled. Their progress was halted.
2) When faith was rekindled, the Lord provided for them
3) Both parties began to till and prepare things as soon as they landed.
4) The Jaredites had continual light and "peace." (Christ's peace) Lehi and family did not



Notes
1. Our faith in God's plan for us is essential. Though the Jaredites were constantly beset by trials (ie: waves, winds, water...), they remained faithful and all their afflictions worked together for their good.

2. Alma 60:23
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/60.23?lang=eng#22

We need to make our vessel=bodies "tight like unto a dish"
tight: fixed, fastened, or closed firmly; hard to move, undo, or open.

A Most Wondrous Gift

Imagine waking up Christmas morning and in the midst of all the neatly wrapped presents is one labeled:

To: [Insert your name]

From: Heavenly Father

Heart racing, mind whirling you open up the present and find The Gift of:

Thank goodness for the description on the back:

The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Prior to baptism, we feel the power of the Holy Ghost, which can guide us and testify to us.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is a more powerful and sustaining influence.
This gift is given by the laying on of hands of those authorized to hold the priesthood.
This is received after the baptism by water.

To sum it up:
1. The Holy Ghost can be your constant companion!
2. It comes after baptism by someone holding the priesthood of God.
3. It is more powerful than the Spirit we feel prior to the reception.

Think about it, this is one of Heavenly Father's most precious gifts.

But that's not all. Look at what it includes:

-Cleansing Effect
-Comfort
-Knowledge and Truth
-Guidance
-Promptings
-Warnings

This is the ultimate gift! It can do practically anything! 

But wait:

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED

Guess what? The gift of the Holy Ghost is only activated by our personal righteousness.

When we are worthy, the Spirit is with us. When we are not worthy, our gift doesn't work.

WARNING:
                Feelings of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance will occur when using this product. See Galatians 5:22-25

Check out what a messenger of God says about this gift:
In simple terms, the gift of the Holy Ghost is an enhanced spiritual power permitting those entitled thereto to receive it, to receive a greater knowledge and enjoyment of the influence of Deity.
                                                                                                -President James E. Faust

Rest of talk can be found Here

What can you do to include the gift of the Holy Ghost in your life?

Friends, life will be too difficult without the help of the Holy Ghost. Work towards being able to enjoy this wonderful gift our Loving Heavenly Father is willing to give to us!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Elder Falslev