4/27/2017 - Section 20:9-34

April 27, 2017

Section 20:9-34

Book of Mormon Fullness of Gospel, Book of Mormon How To Book For Eternal Life, Commandments Reason For, Natural Man Put It Off, Justification, Sanctification,

The student manual, commenting on v 9, has a quote from Bruce R McConkie that was eye-opening for me: “Our revelations say that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel. (D&C 20:9; 27:5; 42:12;135:3) This is true in the sense that the Book of Mormon is a record of God’s dealing with a people who had the fullness of the gospel, and therefore the laws and principles leading to the highest salvation are found recorded in that book.” (Mormon Doctrine) It is a true ‘standard of judgment’—we don’t have to guess to know what the Lord wants us to do, and what He will do for us if we but turn to him.

V 19 starts a great listing of the reasons for commandments: “And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him…”.  Then v 20 gives us the consequences of not following those commandments….the ‘bewares!’: “But by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen.” And then v 22 gives us the instructions on how to face temptations: “He [Christ] suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.”  P 41: “The scriptural definition of ‘natural man’ is fallen, disobedient man, and this ‘nature’ (see Alma 42:10) can be overcome when a person ‘yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19)

V’s 30 & 31 discuss two principles: Justification and Sanctification. I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about ‘justification’. Elder Bruce R McConkie’s definition of justification: “all covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations (D&C 132:7), in which men must abide to be saved and exalted, [that] must be entered into and performed in righteousness so that the Holy Spirit can justify the candidate for salvation in what has been done….An act that is justified by the Spirit is one that is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, or in other words, ratified and approved by the Holy Ghost. This law of justification is the provision the Lord has placed in the gospel to assure that no unrighteous performance will be binding on earth and in heaven, and that no person will add to his position or glory in the hereafter by gaining an unearned blessing.   As with all other doctrines of salvation, justification is available because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, but it becomes operative in the life of an individual only on conditions of personal righteousness.”

It wasn’t until somewhere around 2008 that I really started wondering how to achieve sanctification. As I read of it in the scriptures, I thought of it as some ultimate place or standing, and did not understand how I could ever achieve it. The first time I noticed v 30: “And we know also that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their might, minds and strength.” I marked that verse in red—that was in 1985. Then in 2009—7 readings of the Doctrine & Covenants later!!—I wrote: “simple for me to gain sanctification”—all I have to do is to work with all my might, mind and strength and to “take heed and pray always” (v 32)…and then there’s that little detail of ‘enduring to the end’. I began to understand sanctification as a gift from the Lord, and just as perfection is an on-going journey that won’t be finished until sometime after this earth life—sanctification is a gift from God that I won’t fully achieve in this life---but that doesn’t mean that I can’t practice now!  I now pray to be able see people with the same charity, and understand, and love as Christ does. Certainly I fall far short so many times, BUT there are times I suddenly realize I am getting closer to my goal for I am filled with love and understanding for someone else in a way that is so different from my normal mode of thinking that I suddenly realize I am operating on a higher ground than usual for me. And I thank Heavenly Father when I experience these times, and I pray to be able to experience them more often. I remind myself that progression is an on-going process. Elder Kline, in Wallsburg, used to remind us that we are always moving: we are either moving forward to backward. The speed doesn’t matter, but the direction does matter. Hence, the reason for v 34 to all of us: “Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also.”

V 32 uses the phrase ‘fall from grace’ and states that is to ‘depart from the living God’. Elder Theodore M Burton commented on this scripture in the 1997 Oct Gen Conf: “…it means that Jesus Christ is kind and merciful to us when we serve him with our whole hearts, but not any of us can take refuge in past righteousness or service. It also means that there is a possibility that any one of us can fall out of good standing, even those who have already achieved a certain degree of righteousness. Therefore, we need to be on our constant guard, each of us, that we not allow ourselves to fall into habits of carelessness in our faith, in our prayers, or in our various Church activities or responsibilities. It is for this reason that I am resolving again to live closer to God each day and to follow his chosen prophets and apostles more diligently than I have ever done in the past.”

P 41 has a quote from Brigham Young that I don’t truly understand, but I want to keep it close so I can read it again: “I will put my own definition to the term sanctification, and say it consists in overcoming every sin and bringing all into subjection to the law of Christ. God has placed in us a pure spirit; when this reigns predominant, without let or hindrance, and triumphs over the flesh and rules and governs and controls as the Lord controls the heavens and the earth, this I call the blessing of sanctification….All the Lord has called us to do is to renovate our own hearts, then our families, extending the principles to neighborhoods, to the earth we occupy, and so continue until we drive the power of Satan from the earth and Satan to his own place. That is the work Jesus is engaged in, and we will be co-workers with him. Do no suppose that we shall ever in the flesh be free from temptations to sin. Some suppose that they can in the flesh be sanctified body and spirit and become so pure that they will never again feel the effects of the power and the adversary of truth. Were it possible for a person to attain to this degree of perfection in the flesh, he could not die neither remain in a world where sin predominates. Sin has entered into the world, and death by sin. I think we shall more or less feel the effects of sin so long as we live and finally have to pass ordeals of death.”

So sanctification is a purification process. I can choose to help that process along, or I can choose to delay that process. I think today, I will choose to work on the minor irritation that flows up into my head when simple, daily things don’t go as I think they should. That irritation changes nothing….well, nothing except my mental state, my pleasant view of the world, my ability to take joy in that which is around me, and the possibility of my sharing joy with others. Yes, I will make that my quest for at least today.

3/2/2021 – D&C 20:31-67

 

V 31 speaks of a process that should be on my mind all the time: sanctification—“And we know also that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true , to all those who love and serve God with all their might, minds, and strength.” --because the closer we draw unto God, the sweeter our lives become! “

 

This is what Brigham Young said about sanctification: ““All the Lord has called us to do is to renovate our own hearts, then our families, extending the principles to neighborhoods, to the earth we occupy, and so continue until we drive the power of Satan from the earth and Satan to his own place. That is the work Jesus is engaged in, and we will be co-workers with him. Do not suppose that we shall ever in the flesh be free from temptations to sin. Some suppose that they can in the flesh be sanctified body and spirit and become so pure that they will never again feel the effects of the power of the adversary of truth. Were it possible for a person to attain to this degree of perfection in the flesh, he could not die neither remain in a world where sin predominates. Sin has entered into the world, and death by sin. I think we shall more or less feel the effects of sin so long as we live, and finally have to pass the ordeals of death.” (In Journal of Discourses, 10:173.)

 

I need to remember that my heart should be renovated to be more loving…and I need to remember that keenly when my mind becomes irritated toward others…especially in my family! V 33-34 tells me how to achieve this goal: “Therefore …take heed and pray always, lest [ye] fall into temptation. Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also.”  This is basically enduring to the end. And this is my protection, and my warning that sliding backward can happen to anyone.

 

Joseph Fielding Smith: “What is a broken heart? One that is humble, one that is touched by the Spirit of the Lord, and which is willing to abide in all the covenants and the obligations which the Gospel entails.” 

 

Bruce R McConkie spoke about this and said a very important phrase: “By the power of the Holy Ghost –who is the Sanctifier.”

 

In v 37 how one should approach baptism….but I remind myself that when we partake of the sacrament each week, we are essentially renewing the promises we made at baptism. The Lord reminds us about our baptism covenants: “And again, by way of commandment to the church…”  This is an important thing for us to certainly do each week during the sacrament—but I think it would be even more productive if I would do this each morning and each night as I talk with my Heavenly Father, and have my sacrament thoughts as the culmination of my week….or the establishing the foundation for my upcoming week.

 

Then the Lord goes one and explains many of the callings within the priesthood. But it is when I get to v’s 54-55 that I want to school myself to follow more exactly: “…see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking; and see that the church meet together often…” For those are all qualities that I need to try to do, and remind myself to try yet again until it becomes a wonderful habit in my life.