December 12, 2015

More quotes from the CES Institute New Testament Manual. 

Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration. It usually is not convenient to share the gospel with others. It isn’t always convenient to respond to a calling in the Church, especially one that stretches our abilities. Opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at convenient times. But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants” (“Like a Flame Unquenchable,” Ensign, May 1999, 86).

Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. …

Hunter similarly counseled us to serve the Lord without concern for status: “Don’t be overly concerned with status. Do you recall the counsel of the Savior regarding those who seek the ‘chief seats’ or the ‘uppermost rooms’? ‘He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.’ (Matt. 23:6, 11.) It is important to be appreciated. But our focus should be on righteousness, not recognition; on service, not status. The faithful visiting teacher, who quietly goes about her work month after month, is just as important to the work of the Lord as those who occupy what some see as more prominent positions in the Church. Visibility does not equate to value” (“To the Women of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 96–97).

President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency explained how the Savior’s teachings focused on the “weightier” internal requirements of God’s law:

“The Savior taught that judgment, mercy, and faith are the ‘weightier matters of the law’ [Matthew 23:23].

“I wish to state unequivocally that the commandments of God must be kept to receive the blessings and promises of the Savior. The Ten Commandments are still a vital thread in the fabric of the gospel of Christ, but with His coming came new light and life which brings a fuller measure of joy and happiness. Jesus introduced a higher and more difficult standard of human conduct. It is simpler as well as more difficult because it focuses on internal rather than external requirements: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love your neighbor as yourself. When smitten, turn the other cheek. When asked for a coat, give your cloak also. Forgive, not just once but seventy times seven. This was the essence of the new gospel. There was more emphasis on do than do not. More moral agency was given to each of us [see Matthew 7:12; 22:37–39; Luke 6:29; Matthew 5:40; 18:21–22]” (“The Weightier Matters of the Law: Judgment, Mercy, and Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 53).

Matthew 22:11–14. “A Man Which Had Not on a Wedding Garment”

In ancient times, it was sometimes the custom for wealthy individuals, such as kings, to provide invited guests with proper clothing to wear to events such as weddings. Despite being invited to the wedding, this man chose to attend on his own terms rather than those of the king, and he was not permitted to remain. There are requirements for entering the kingdom of God, even though everyone is invited (see Matthew 22:9). While the meaning of the required garment is not specified, elsewhere in the scriptures, garments and robes often symbolize righteousness and purity—qualities required to enter into the Lord’s presence (see Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:8; 2 Nephi 9:14; D&C 109:76). Today, the clothing worn in the temple symbolizes clothing ourselves in covenants, righteousness, and purity in preparation for entering into God’s presence. We cannot participate in the great “marriage supper” of the Son of God unless we have accepted and put on the protective clothing of His Atonement (see Revelation 19:8–9).

Drawing a lesson from the account of the rich young man, Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that being a valiant disciple of the Savior means not just avoiding sin but actively doing good:

“Failing to be valiant in Christian discipleship will leave us without significant happiness. Therefore, our active avoidance of wickedness must be followed by our active engagement in righteousness. Then we can come to know true joy—after all, man is that he ‘might have joy’ (2 Nephi 2:25).

“It is very often the sins of omission that keep us from spiritual wholeness because we still lack certain things. Remember the rich, righteous young man who came to Jesus asking, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ …

“A customized commandment thus came for that man [see Matthew 19:21–22]. It was something he needed to do, not something he needed to stop doing, that kept him from wholeness” (“The Pathway of Discipleship” [Brigham Young University fireside, Jan. 4, 1998], 4; speeches.byu.edu).

 

“Failing to be valiant in Christian discipleship will leave us without significant happiness. Therefore, our active avoidance of wickedness must be followed by our active engagement in righteousness. Then we can come to know true joy—after all, man is that he ‘might have joy’ (2 Nephi 2:25).

“It is very often the sins of omission that keep us from spiritual wholeness because we still lack certain things. Remember the rich, righteous young man who came to Jesus asking, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ …

“A customized commandment thus came for that man [see Matthew 19:21–22]. It was something he needed to do, not something he needed to stop doing, that kept him from wholeness” (“The Pathway of Discipleship” [Brigham Young University fireside, Jan. 4, 1998], 4; speeches.byu.edu).

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recalled a time when as a student in an institute class he learned the value of the money mentioned in the parable of the unmerciful servant and came to understand some of the eternal truths taught in the parable:

“[The teacher] noted that the 100-pence forgiveness, which we were all expected to give one another and acknowledged as a pretty fair amount of money, was now preciously little to ask in light of the 10,000-talent forgiveness Christ had extended to us.

“That latter debt, our debt, was an astronomical number, [the teacher] reminded us, almost incapable of comprehension. But that, he said, was exactly the Savior’s point in this teaching, an essential part of the parable. Jesus had intended that his hearers sense just a little of the eternal scope and profound gift of his mercy, his forgiveness, his Atonement. … For the first time in my life I remember feeling something of the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice for me; a gift bordering to this day on incomprehensibility, but a gift that made me for the first time seriously consider my need to forgive other people and to be unfailingly generous regarding their feelings and their needs and their circumstances” (“Students Need Teachers to Guide Them” [Church Educational System satellite broadcast, June 20, 1992], 3; si.lds.org).

The Atonement--There is enough, if we respond, Hebrews 4
Jesus Christ is the Veil
Jesus Christ is Full of Grace and Truth