28 July 2002
I have been assigned to speak to the topic: “Now is the time to prepare to meet God.” May I refer you to an excellent discourse on this topic given by President Thomas S. Monson in the October general conference of 2001. It is found in the November Ensign on page 59. Would you please review that article and find out why “Seagull” is important.
This title comes from the Book of Mormon in a speech by Amulek to the people of Ammonihah: “This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God: yea, behold the day of his life is the day for men to perform their labors. … Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this. …” (Alma 34:32–34)
Now we all know that the way to prepare to meet God is to have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and to keep the commandments. Our consciences amply supply us with things to do better. If we would follow our consciences, things would go better with each of us. But today, I have a bit of a different message. Instead of talking about what to do to have faith in our Savior, I am going to give you a formula as to how to exercise your faith. I believe this is a sure-fire formula. Anyone who will do the four things I will mention, will come to full faith in Jesus Christ and be well prepared to meet God when they pass from this life. In addition to helping us to prepare to meet God, this formula also has the added benefit of making each passing day most enjoyable. And it is a good practice for the way we will live in eternity. So how could we go wrong with such a formula? Now to the formula.
How to No. 1: Be happy. I say be happy, because being happy is something each of us controls entirely. We are not made happy or unhappy by what we own or don’t own, by what others do or don’t do to us and for us, nor even by what we do. Happiness comes from within. It is not something that happens to us. Rather it is an attitude of ours. If we insist on being happy, we will be happy, no matter what is going on around us or to us. And, if we insist on being unhappy, we will be unhappy, no matter what.
Why be happy? Because we are children of our Heavenly Father, children of Jesus Christ, and blessed beyond our desserts. Any live human being can write down all of the pluses in his or her life, then all of the minuses, and the pluses will far outweigh the minuses. Just being children of God and potential heirs to all that they have and are should be enough to make us happy. To make a long story short, to be unhappy is to be ungrateful for our blessings. Anyone who really understands what is going on in this world will insist on being happy. Being happy is the beginning of love of God and of our neighbor.
It took me a long time in this mortality to figure out that I am responsible for my own happiness. Most of the time I have been apprehensive, worried, burdened down with cares and responsibilities. Yet when I look back, I see how incredibly blessed I have been. I should have been happy all of the time. So I insist on not being unhappy or depressed. I like this quotation from the Prophet Joseph: “I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties should surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all of the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith and keep up good courage and I should come out on top of the heap.” (Citation lost)
So please be happy.
How to No. 2: Live by prayer. Nephi counseled us: “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 Nephi 32:9)
Amulek also counsels us on this matter: “Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; yea, cry unto him for mercy, for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.” (Alma 34:17–27)
Indeed, prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, his native air. Prayer is the key to feeling right, planning correctly and executing our work well. I cannot tell you how much better genealogy work goes with constant prayer. It is marvelous to see the difference between praying and just doggedly slogging along. If we wake up praying, the Lord will help us plan the day that we labor not in vain. If we consult Him all during the day, he will see that we are alerted to what we need to do and watch out for. As we lie down unto Him at night, we rest secure in His love.
How to No. 3: Live for others. To live outside ourselves in love is the purpose of a Christian life. If we cast our bread upon the waters, our needs will be taken care of as we concern ourselves about meeting the needs of another. To give service to others is the occupation of the child of Christ, service to friends and enemies, service to the deserving and the undeserving. It is our business to drop into bed exhausted each night, having spent our day improving everything we affect or lay our hands on. Our path through this work should be one of overcoming the second law of thermodynamics: While the world around us tends to disorder, decay and evil, everything we do should tend to order, improvement, good, and kindness. What a difference one good person can make in this world.
The consecrated life is a life of purpose, and the servant of Christ makes that a priesthood purpose. Many years ago the Aaronic Priesthood handbook had a wonderful message. Make sure that every activity for the young people of the Church has a priesthood purpose. I came to see that this applies to all of us. If we bear the Lord’s power and authority, everything we do should be an act of priesthood service, directed by Him, to make this world a heaven.
Every time we forebear doing things for our own will and pleasure, and instead seek the will and pleasure of him who sent us in service to others, we are helping to reduce the quantity of evil in the world and preparing for the coming of our Savior. And service is a great backbone for happiness.
How to No. 4: Fear nothing. Our Lord has counted fear as one of the great sins, classing fear with lying, whoremongering and sorcery (D&C 63:17). those who pretend to be servants of Christ and yet are in fear are contradicting themselves. For the work of Christ is to see that all things work together for the good of those who love and serve Him. If all things work for our good, what is there to be afraid of? Illness? It will be the hand of the Lord to bless us. Afraid of poverty? It will come only because it is needed. Afraid of failing? Failing is the great way to learn to succeed. Afraid of not getting something your heart is set upon? If it is right, God will give it to you, and if it is not right for you, he will spare you the misery of getting an unrighteous desire fulfilled. Afraid of pain? Know you not that pain is the great purifier of souls, and that to always deaden or mask pain is to miss one of the great blessings of life. Afraid of dying? We are born to die, and dying is the only way we can progress to our eternal blessings. Afraid of not finishing a task? If it is your errand and mission to do this task, the Lord will see fit that you can do it, and if it is not your errand and mission, it doesn’t matter whether you finish it or not.
Fear is the enemy of faith and love. Let us not be fearful, but rather let us bask in the love of Jesus Christ, in the arms of His mercy, in the richness of His blessings. Anything else would be rank ingratitude.
May I now review the four things that help us to maximize each mortal day, that help us prepare to meet God, that prepare us to live in eternity: 1. Be happy. 2. Live by prayer. 3. Live to serve others. 4. Fear nothing.
I pray that our faith in Christ may be fulfilled by our being wise servants unto Him, that when He appears, we will have no regrets. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.