The Progressive Gospel

In his talk in the final session of the April general conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said this:

Obviously as the path of discipleship ascends, that trail gets ever more narrow until we come to that knee-buckling pinnacle of the sermon of which Elder Christofferson just spoke: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” What was gentle in the lowlands of initial loyalty becomes deeply strenuous and very demanding at the summit of true discipleship.

Elder Holland referenced the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7), speaking of the gentle blessings of the beatitudes and the more demanding higher law of avoiding lust, not just adultery, of avoiding anger, not just murder.

There are those who claim that our standing with God is dependent only upon an attitude or a one-time confession of faith. While I agree that I cannot pave my own way to heaven with my good works, I also acknowledge that the Sermon on the Mount requires my effort to live as Jesus would have me live.

That way of living spans from my relationships with others (friends and foes alike) to my innermost thoughts to my treatment of the poor to my relationship to God.

A growth in the gospel leads, according to Elder Holland, to an increasingly steeper path. That’s no surprise to me. A growth in testimony leads to clearer understanding of what I don’t understand as much as what I do. A progression in the covenants and saving ordinances of the gospel leads me to increasingly poignant commitments with the Lord. And an increase in understanding leads me to greater responsibility for what I understand.

Fortunately the Lord provides iron rods and liahonas along the way. I may search the scriptures, learn from the living prophets and seek my own answers through prayer. But the fact is, I must search. learn and seek. I cannot simply rest on some plateau, satisfied that I’ve traveled far enough.

And I must also remember that I cannot save myself. My only choice is to rely upon the merits of Christ, who is the author and the finisher of my faith (see Moroni 6:4).

Gifts of the Spirit - the Gospel Principles Discussion in my HP Group

I did it again in our last high priest group meeting. I made a comment that drew odd looks from my fellow group members.

We were reading in the Gospel Principles manual, Chapter 22 in which some of the gifts of the spirit are enumerated and discussed. I had taught this lesson earlier this year in the Gospel Essentials class and had appreciated the simple discussion of the gifts in that forum. But I was just a little bothered in our high priest group that we were rarely stepping beyond the words on the page as we read.

Finally when we read, "Every person can have a testimony through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit," under the heading The Gift of Knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, I decided to speak.

I've written here repeatedly about my understanding that we don't all have each gift of the spirit, and I believe that in my own experience I have sometimes felt one gift when I needed and then another at a different time.

I suggested that while it's true we may all have some testimony of the Savior, those testimonies may not look the same. The answer one person gets to the promise in Moroni 10:4 may come differently than it does for someone else. Some will more easily say they know; others will believe.

I assumed I'd get broad agreement, particularly since D&C 46:11-12 says, "For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby,” and the lesson manual quoted those verses on the next page.

I was surprised, however, that some suggested that I was wrong. One brother suggested that this particular gift was a requirement for all. Others suggested that all could get the same answer equally. I suppose that in theory God could choose to do that if He wants to, but my experience is that it does not happen that way. And it's ok that it doesn't.

The Gospel Principles manual continues: "To develop our gifts, we must find out which gifts we have…. We should seek after the best gifts." I agree that there is value in understanding what gifts we have, and petitioning the Lord for those we need. And for recognizing them when they come, even if only temporarily in response to a particular need.

Repentance

As I mentioned the other day, Joseph Smith cited faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the first principle of the gospel. The second, he says, is repentance (Articles of Faith 1:4).

Repentance is a remarkable gift offered us through the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is in my mind what allows us to change. We teach our children that it's a process – recognize that you've done wrong, feel remorse for the mistake, confess the error to God (and to others who might have been hurt), restore what was lost in the mistake, and don't repeat the error.

I was teaching a class in church a few years ago about repentance. I had drawn a picture of the straight and narrow path (the Savior taught that baptism sets us on that path; see Matthew 7:14, Matthew 3:15) on the board. I asked what the first thing we would do when we realize we are off the path. The answer: Stop! Then we'd try to find our way back to the path, and repentance is the way to do that.

One might think of repentance as "turning" back to the Lord.

However we think of it, repentance allows us to realign ourselves with God. And it's made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is, to me, part of His gift to us (which also includes His perfect example and His resurrection which gives us power over death).

In a world where self-help books line bookstore shelves, repentance is, to me, what makes it possible. Repentance is what allows us to change, to abandon our past mistakes, to leave guilt behind, and to move forward better men and women than when we started.

The other thing I've found in my own life is that I cannot do it alone, and this is why repentance is not simply another label for self improvement. Instead it is the vehicle through which self improvement is possible. Changing without repentance has not worked for me. The acknowledgement of the need for a Savior in my life to help me overcome my weaknesses has been a key for my own progress along that path.

- Paul