Thursday, February 20, 2014

Everyone is Welcome


Growing up in church, I've always been taught about the Savior's grace. I had learned about grace a million times, but was still a little unsure about what grace really is, and how it really works.

There's a story I was often told to illustrate the Savior's grace. In the story, a young boy sees a bicycle at the store, and he asks his father if he can have it. The boy's father looks at the price tag, and sees that the bike costs $100. The father then says, "Son, I'll tell you what. You save up all your money for the next month, and then we will come back, and you can get the bike." So the son works his very hardest to save all his money. After a month of working, the father and son return to the store. The father says to his son, "Alright, the bicycle costs $100. Do you have the money you saved?" Sadly, the son reports that he doesn't have enough money. "How much do you have?" the father asks. The son holds up his month's earnings: a meager 65 cents. "Give me all that you have," the father says, "and I will make up the difference."

This is not how grace works.

Though this is a touching story, it's a little inaccurate in its portrayal of the Savior's grace. We do not pay for ANY of our own salvation--not even 65 cents worth. The Savior did not sacrifice himself for all my sins except for one or two. He paid the price in full. The whole $100. It is only through His grace that I have the opportunity of salvation. Just as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

Does this mean we don't have to do anything to receive all the blessings that come from the Savior's grace? Obviously it does not. The words of Christ are full of admonitions of things we must do and be: "keep my commandments" (John 14:15), "repent, and be baptized" (Acts 2:38), "love one another" (John 13:34), "teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19), "give to the poor" (Matthew 19:21), and even "be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48). We must constantly strive to do God's will and to follow Christ's example.

But if our salvation comes from His grace alone, and not of ourselves, then why do we have to do all of that stuff? Here's why:

The blessings of Christ's Atonement are available to every single one of us. In the Book of Mormon, Nephi teaches that "[Christ] commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation" (2 Nephi 26:24). But when given a gift so great as this, we will only feel comfortable in the Lord's presence if we have fully appreciated His gift by using it to its fullest extent, as well as showing our appreciation for the gift through our actions.

Imagine this: your good friend sends you an invitation to a party he's having. It's going to be a lot of fun, and everyone will be there. The invitation has been extended to you; you are welcome to be there. The day of the party arrives. You spend the morning and afternoon lounging around in an old, wrinkly, smelly t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. You're sitting on the couch watching tv with a bag of potato chips, when you suddenly realize the party starts in 10 minutes! You quickly get up, head out the door, and run to the party. You approach your friend's house, sweaty and disheveled, and walk through the door. When you enter the home, you see that your friend's house is in immaculate condition. The very best food is being served, on his best china. You are surrounded by men in crisp tuxedos and women in fancy dresses. How do you think you would feel, standing there in your t-shirt and sweats, barely on time? You had an invitation to be there, but would you feel comfortable? Would you even want to stay?

That is the gift of grace. The Lord's mercy has been extended toward all of us, and we are all welcome to come into His presence. Unfortunately, not everyone will feel comfortable in His presence. Mercifully, God has provided a place for those who fall into this category; a place where they can be comfortable. No, they will not dwell with God. Yes, there will be regret, knowing what they could've had. But they will be comfortable, knowing the amount of glory they were given was the amount their works merited.

So let us choose to prepare, that we may feel confident and comfortable in the Lord's presence. Let us do our best to keep His commandments, to continually repent of our shortcomings, and to be an example, as we follow the example of the Savior. And let us always remember and be grateful for the Lord's sacrifice for EVERY one of us. "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that--miraculously--we can feel at home there." (Brad Wilcox, "His Grace is Sufficient", Ensign, September 2013.)


For more on this topic, click this link to read Brad Wilcox's "His Grace is Sufficient" from the September 2013 ensign: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/09/his-grace-is-sufficient?lang=eng

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Jump the Wake

A few summers back, I learned to wakeboard. Wakeboarding has since become one of my favorite things to do in the summer. I love it. I'm far from great, but I've improved a lot since I first learned. As I got a little bit better, I started to jump. I'd steer out away from the boat's wake, then turn and head back toward it. When I came to the "ramp" that the water made, I'd jump and catch a little air. Nothing special. I eventually got to the point where I wanted to jump across the entire wake and land on the other side. That became a goal of mine.

So I'd try and I'd try. I'd lean out as far as I could from the wake, then quickly change direction and head back toward it. When I got to the edge I'd jump as high as I could, only to crash, or, if I was lucky, land the jump but come up short of clearing the whole thing. I remember trying this for two summers, never successfully reaching my goal.

One summer day, not too long before I left Utah to serve my mission, I was out on the lake with my family on my uncle's boat. I was pretty determined that it was going to happen that day. I was going to jump the wake.

The water was smooth enough. I didn't have any excuses there. I was using a great board and boat, and my uncle was driving like a pro. There was no reason I shouldn't be able to jump the wake. So I started to go for it. I'd go out, then come in, jump in the air, and land inside the wake. I repeated the process, always with the same result. I was coming up short of my goal. I tried and tried, and eventually got to the point where I was so close, yet unsuccessful.

Then my cousin Trevor gave me the advice I needed. He told me that I was holding back, just a little. It wasn't much, but every time I'd shoot in toward the wake, I'd hesitate ever so slightly as I took off. He told me I just had to go for it, and to quit holding back. He was exactly right.

So out I went. I leaned as far away from the wake as I could muster. Then, I leaned the other direction, and sped toward the wake as fast and hard as I could possibly go. I went all out. I didn't care if I lived or died (a little dramatic, but that was my mindset ;) ). When I came up over the wake's edge I launched myself as far as I could. When I landed, I felt smooth water underneath my board, rather than the rough, disturbed water that I was used to feeling when I landed inside the wake. I'd done it. The wake had been successfully cleared.

I couldn't believe it. That ounce of fear was the difference between success and failure. That tiny hesitation, that was more mental than physical, was my roadblock. It was so slight that I had even convinced myself that it wasn't there. But it was there, and that was the difference. The difference between giving 99.9% and 100% was the difference between failure and success.

I've applied this story to my work as a missionary. I live day in and day out with the expectation that I give everything I have to my work, and that is my desire. I strive to keep the commandments and the mission rules with exactness. I strive to talk to every person I can, and to give them an opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I attempt to channel not only my actions, but my words and thoughts toward furthering the Lord's work. In short, I'm trying to give 100%, withholding nothing.

A man named Amaleki, a descendant of Lehi, gave these words of exhortation, recorded in the Book of Mormon:

"And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved" (Omni 1:26).

The Lord doesn't expect us to be 100% perfect, but he does expect us to give 100% of our efforts. This was taught by Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. He said "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). But I often confuse doing my best with being perfect. Remember, they aren't the same thing. Perfection is impossible at this point. So don't get discouraged when you aren't perfect. But never stop trying.

A good friend of mine that I met here on my mission taught me this: There are two types of pain. The first is the pain of sacrifice. It's the pain that comes from going the extra mile, going out of our way, and doing things even when we don't want to do them. As a missionary, it's the pain that comes from riding my bike up a big hill even when I'm pretty sure the person we're going to visit won't be home. It's going out to talk to people, even when it's freezing cold. That's the first type of pain. The second type is the pain of regret. That's the pain of guilt that comes when we know we didn't do as much as we were capable of. It's when we could have done better, but we chose not to. As a missionary it's when I let somebody pass by me on the street, instead of stopping them to share the gospel. It's when I take a few extra minutes of lunch time instead of getting out to work right on time. These are the two types of pain. The difference is, the pain of sacrifice weighs in ounces. while the pain of regret weighs in tons. You will always be glad you chose the pain of sacrifice over the pain of regret. Always. There are no exceptions.

My invitation to you is to be your absolute best. Give 100%, not 99.9%. Have No Regrets.
mormon.org