How to live the Restored Gospel without falling on your face.
The reason we need to come to Christ is because we keep falling on our face. Until he rescues us from ourselves, we will continue to fall on our face (to sin), and we cannot stop it. So when we fall on our face we need to struggle to our knees and acknowledge before heaven and earth that we need the help of Jesus Christ. We avail ourselves of that help by doing four things: (All that follows assumes that we know that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is true.)
- We need to stop sinning. We can examine ourselves to admit what we know already: we are sinning and then stop it. We must stop every sin we know about and replace each sinning with positive, righteous acts.
- We need to partake of the New and Everlasting Covenant. We can be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, receive our temple endowments, be sealed in the temple in the covenant of eternal marriage.
- We need to take upon ourselves the harness of the priesthood in serving faithfully and valiantly in the Kingdom of Christ. We can get behind the presiding officers over us in the church, pray for them, sustain them with our faith and prayers, fully fulfill any calling they extend to us to serve in the kingdom, and especially to do all of those voluntary, quiet labors of Christian service which being a neighbor to needy people can bring.
- We need to persevere in the path of righteousness until we have done all that we can do through faith in Christ to be righteous, then to implore the Savior that he will purify our hearts, to give us that greatest gift of charity. For we are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, but only after all we can do to perfect ourselves by the means he has already given us. By doing all we can first, we demonstrate that we really do want what he has to give and that we are willing to make any sacrifice necessary to do our part. Then he will make us pure. Then we will no longer have any desire to sin. Until we receive charity, that pure heart, we will continue to sin. Thus until we persevere to that end, we are as nothing.
We do not do these things, these four steps, in serial order, one at a time. We work on each of them constantly, every day, and the more we do of one, the greater our capability becomes to do the others.
What is the secret to doing these things fully and faithfully, to endure to the end? The secret is simple: to perfect each day. We can study out in our minds a plan for each day, then live as intelligently as we are able within our plan. Some elements should be in every plan:
- Personal prayer upon arising, upon retiring, and all during the day.
- Family prayer night and morning.
- Daily scripture study, privately and as a family.
- Planning each day’s work with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Executing the work of each day in the spirit of love and pure knowledge.
- Constancy in scanning the horizon for souls who may be in need of our help.
- Building our lives around the three great works of the latter days: missionary work, perfecting the Saints (establishing Zion), and redeeming the dead.
1 Peter 1:13–16: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.