Crazy that he could be flipped over by tiny waves simply because he was stationary. Our spiritual momentum as a family was stalled years ago and we are still paying the price.
Enduring to the end is not really a separate step in the doctrine of Christ. It is repeatedly and iteratively experiencing the steps of the doctrine of Christ by repenting and making and keeping covenants.
It is not spiritually healthy to restrict our testimony building behaviors to one day each week.
Baptismal and temple covenants are not, in and of themselves, a source of power. Power comes from the momentum of keeping covenants.
He gave me help at the time I needed it. He gave me advice when I was receptive.
Our advise is often ill-informed.
As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ we are propelled along the covenant path
By consistently paddling the kayak, I maintained momentum and forward progress, mitigating the effect of waves hitting me from the side. The same principle applies in our spiritual lives. We become vulnerable when we slow down and especially when we stop. If we maintain spiritual momentum by continually “rowing” toward the Savior, we are safer and more secure because our eternal life depends on our faith in Him.
I am picking up momentum again where I had slowed down for a while. Laura is trying to build up momentum after having stopped both spiritually, socially, and even physically for a long while.
Spiritual momentum is created “over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ.” Doing so, President Russell M. Nelson taught, produces a “powerful virtuous cycle.” Indeed, the elements of the doctrine of Christ—such as faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, entering a covenant relationship with the Lord through baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end—are not intended to be experienced as one-time, check-the-box events. In particular, “enduring to the end” is not really a separate step in the doctrine of Christ—as though we complete the first four elements and then hunker down, grit our teeth, and wait to die. No, enduring to the end is repeatedly and iteratively applying the other elements of the doctrine of Christ, creating the “powerful virtuous cycle” that President Nelson described.
Repeatedly means that we experience the elements of the doctrine of Christ over and over throughout our lives. Iteratively means that we build on and improve with each repetition. Even though we repeat the elements, we are not just spinning in circles without a forward trajectory. Instead, we draw closer to Jesus Christ each time through the cycle.
Repeating without iteration and improvement leads to stagnation.
Our faith in Jesus Christ needs to be nourished daily. It is nourished as we pray daily, study the scriptures daily, reflect on the goodness of God daily, repent daily, and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost daily. Just as it is not healthy to defer eating all our food until Sunday and then binge our weekly allotment of nutrition, it is not spiritually healthy to restrict our testimony-nourishing behavior to one day in the week.
I can testify by experience that doing one spiritually nourishing thing each day is good but doing 3 or 4 bite-sized spiritually nourishing things is exponentially more effective. I might be spending twice as much time but I’m getting at least 5 times the benefit.
Repentance is joyful and allows us to learn from our mistakes, which is how we progress eternally. We will undoubtedly have times when we flip over in our kayaks and find ourselves in deep water. Through repentance, we can get back on top and continue, no matter how many times we have fallen off. The important part is that we do not give up.
The next element of the doctrine of Christ is baptism, which includes the baptism of water and, through confirmation, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. While baptism is a singular event, we renew our baptismal covenant repeatedly when we partake of the sacrament. The sacrament does not replace baptism, but it links the initial elements in the doctrine of Christ—faith and repentance—with reception of the Holy Ghost. As we conscientiously partake of the sacrament, we invite the Holy Ghost into our lives, just like when we were baptized and confirmed. As we keep the covenant described in the sacrament prayers, the Holy Ghost becomes our companion.
As the Holy Ghost exerts a greater influence in our lives, we progressively and iteratively develop Christlike attributes. Our hearts change. Our disposition to do evil diminishes. Our inclination to do good increases until we only want “to do good continually.” And we thereby access the heavenly power needed to endure to the end. Our faith has increased, and we are ready to repeat the powerful, virtuous cycle again.
Forward spiritual momentum also propels us to make additional covenants with God in the house of the Lord. Multiple covenants draw us closer to Christ and connect us more strongly to Him. Through these covenants, we have greater access to His power. To be clear, baptismal and temple covenants are not, in and of themselves, the source of power. The source of power is the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Making and keeping covenants create a conduit for Their power in our lives. As we live according to these covenants, we eventually become inheritors to all that Heavenly Father has. The momentum produced by living the doctrine of Christ not only powers the transformation of our divine nature into our eternal destiny but also motivates us to help others in appropriate ways.
I like that distinction that the covenants are not the source of power.
As we minister to others, we do not need to ask unhelpful questions or state the obvious. Most people who are struggling know that they are struggling. We should not be judgmental; our judgment is neither helpful nor welcome, and it is most often ill-informed.
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We do need all our compassion, empathy, and love as we interact with those around us. Those who are struggling “need to experience the pure love of Jesus Christ reflected in [our] words and actions.” As we minister, we encourage others frequently and offer help. Even if someone is not receptive, we continue to minister as they allow.
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