Be True to God and His Work

There will come a time when you will receive all the trials and persecutions that you can stand…

“The time will come when no man can live in borrowed light.”

The sun has its own light but the moon only has reflected light, “borrowed” light.

Impressions on the soul by the Holy Ghost are far more impactful than a vision.

To bridle passions doesn’t universally mean to hold them back, nor does the principle apply only to those passions we think of as evil or dangerous. Sometimes bridling passions can mean stoking them — choosing to express love to your spouse when you don’t have any particular desire personally, finding ways to express appreciation or confidence in people who need bolstering, or marshalling our energy to serve those in need when we would rather rest or turn our attention to easier things.

Let me say to you, that many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble, trial and persecution that you can stand, and plenty of opportunities to show that you are true to God and His work.

To meet the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not [until] you [attain] it. If you do not you will not stand.

Heber C. Kimball

We each need a personal testimony of God’s work and the seminal role of Jesus Christ. The 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants refers to the three degrees of glory and compares the celestial glory to the sun. It then compares the terrestrial kingdom to the moon.

It is interesting that the sun has its own light, but the moon is reflected light or “borrowed light.” Speaking of the terrestrial kingdom, verse 79 states, “These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus.” We cannot obtain the celestial kingdom and live with God the Father on borrowed light; we need our own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Having our own light as opposed to relying on borrowed light may be the difference between celestial and terrestrial staying power.

The counsel I want to emphasize is Alma 38:12, which reads in part, “See that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.”

Bridle is an interesting word. When we ride a horse, we use the bridle to guide it. A good synonym might be to direct, control, or restrain. The Old Testament tells us we shouted for joy when we learned we would have physical bodies. The body is not evil—it is beautiful and essential—but some passions, if not used properly and appropriately bridled, can separate us from God and His work and adversely impact our testimony.

We tend to emphasize the “restrain” aspect but that is no more important than “guide” “direct” or “control”

Let’s talk about two passions in particular—first, anger, and second, lust. It is interesting that both left unbridled or uncontrolled can cause great heartache, diminish the influence of the Spirit, and separate us from God and His work. The adversary takes every opportunity to fill our lives with images of violence and immorality.

I never knew the need to bridle my anger until I was tested with the stresses of potty-training Isaac and later the stresses to trying to singlehandedly carry the whole family.

In our day one of the most significant challenges is contention and verbal abuse related to societal issues. In many cases anger and abusive language have replaced reason, discussion, and civility. Many have abandoned the admonition of the Savior’s senior Apostle, Peter, to seek Christlike qualities such as temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. They have also abandoned the Christlike quality of humility.

Alma testified that Christ would take away sin. Without the Savior’s Atonement, the eternal principle of justice would require punishment. Because of the Savior’s Atonement, mercy can prevail for those who have repented, and it can allow them to return to the presence of God. We would do well to ponder this wonderful doctrine.

None can return to God by his or her own good works alone; we all need the benefit of the Savior’s sacrifice. All have sinned, and it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can obtain mercy and live with God.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ in two paragraphs or the gospel of Jesus Christ in 40 seconds.