“… The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine. We have three members of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—helping us because of the covenants we have made”, Said, Elder Hugo E Martinez.
Single Adults across the Africa West Area participated in the first-ever devotional held on September 10, 2021, with Elder and Sister Martinez.
Focusing on the theme “Coping with the Challenges of Being Single through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” the Martinez’s took turns to offer counsel and extended invitation to the single adults on how to balance their lives along the covenant path.
Enduring Well When Things Don’t Go as Planned, Sister Nuria Martinez
During some periods of my life, I have found myself thinking, “This is not where I thought I would be at this time.” You may have had this same thought at some point in your lives, you may have it even now. I will share with you some stories about people who had that same thought and what they did about it and add some quotes about enduring well the trials that may come as well.
In Genesis 28, Isaac sent his son Jacob to marry one of the daughters of Laban so that he could receive the blessings of Abraham, that is to bless all the families of the earth and receive an inheritance of land. Jacob had not only to marry in the covenant, he had to remain faithful to that covenant all his life.
Jacob met Rachel and agreed with Laban that he would work seven years to marry Rachel. After the seven years, Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, then he allowed Jacob to marry Rachel, but Jacob had to work seven more years for Laban.
Things didn’t go as planned, did they? Definitely not. Since Jacob had already married Leah in the covenant, he could have said that he would work no more and could have left. But what about Rachel? He loved Rachel so he committed to seven more years of work. For the blessing of marrying the person he loved, Jacob worked fourteen years!
I learned from Jacob that you continue to work and serve despite the fact that things did not go the way you planned them. You look for a motivation, in his case, Jacob was motivated by his love for Rachel. It can be the love for your
family, the love for your friends and neighbors, it can be your love for the Savior that can motivate you to continue to work and serve even if your life isn’t what you would like it to be. Not only will you be able to help others, but you will also be able to let go of your disappointment when you are engaged in a good cause. You will be able to endure well.
Elder J. Christopher Lansing, then Area Seventy, North America Northeast Area, said in a BYU address, “Sometimes we forget that in premortality we fought alongside the Savior in defense of the Father’s plan of moral agency.And we won! Lucifer and his followers were expelled, and we received the opportunity to experience the life we fought for. The Father’s plan included the Atonement. Our job is to face our challenges and endure them well. As we do this, the Atonement has meaning in our lives and we fulfill the Lord’s work and glory: “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses
1:39).
Emma Petty Addams wrote in a church magazine article (March 2010), “I thought that ‘to endure’ meant ‘to hang on’ through something unpleasant; then, after it ended, I could move on to the good stuff and be happy.
[Becoming the] mother of a child with special needs [has] vastly changed my perspective about adversity and [has] helped me learn—gradually—what has been the most important lesson of my life: It is not enough to have trials and to get through them. We have to endure them well…The challenges our family has faced … have helped me draw closer to my Savior. I know that even in the midst of our afflictions, in the epicenter of our adversity, if we choose to eat of the bread of life, to internalize the teachings of our Savior and make daily use of His Atonement, we will find within ourselves the power to endure and to endure well. As we allow the love of the Lord to abide within us through obedience to His commandments, we can have the strength to be happy and experience joy—even during times of adversity.”
The Meaning of the Word Endure can be found in Preach My Gospel (2004),
70. “Endure to the End: To remain true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity throughout life.” Is it possible to have afflictions and still feel happiness? If we remain true to the commandments and covenants we have made, the answer is YES.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught that we can have happiness amid adversity. He said, “When I was young, I loved playing sports. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life. “‘Joseph,’ she said, ‘come what may, and love it.’ “I have often reflected on that counsel.
“I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result. … “How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.
“If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.”
[Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1917–2008), “Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign, Nov. 2008, 26.]
Historian Justin R Bray wrote about Joseph Smiths’ imprisonment at Liberty Jail: “Spending more than four months in the snug jail proved a daunting experience. Four-foot-thick stone walls, a six-foot ceiling, and constant harassment by guards caused Joseph and his companions to describe the structure as ‘hell surrounded with demons. The [prisoners] were placed in the lower-level dungeon, where temperatures dropped, light dimmed, odors reeked, and time seemed to slow.’ ” [ Revelations in Context, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-incontext/ within-the-walls-of-liberty-jail?lang=eng]
They were fed filthy meals that would make them vomit when hunger made them eat. They could light a fire to warm themselves but the smoke had no exit and it stung their eyes and affected their health. After three and a half months of this suffering, Joseph dictated a letter. This part is found in D&C 121:7, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes… know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”
The last verse in section 123 is the key to the correct attitude to have when things don’t go as planned: “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”
Elder Marvin J Ashton said in 1984, “When I think of the Savior’s admonition to do cheerfully all things that lie in our power, I think of the father of the prodigal son {who} was heartbroken by the loss and conduct of his waywardson. Yet we have no mention of his lamenting, “Where did I go wrong?” “What have I done to deserve this?” Or, “Where did I fail? Instead, he seemed to have endured without bitterness his son’s misconduct and welcomed him back withlove. ‘For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.’ (Luke 15:24.) When family members [or friends] disappoint us, we especially need to learn endurance. As long as we exercise love, patience, and understanding, even when no progress is apparent, we are not failing. We must keep trying.”
“What does it take to endure in the race for eternal life? To become a winner in the race for eternal life requires effort—constant work, striving, and enduring well with God’s help. But the key is that we must take it just one step at a time. The ingredient that is essential in learning to endure is consistent effort. In our race for eternal life, pain and obstacles will confront all of us. We may experience heartaches, sorrow, death, sins, weakness, disasters, physical illness, pain, mental anguish, unjust criticism, loneliness, or rejection. How we handle these challenges determines whether they become stumbling stones or building blocks. To the valiant these challenges make progress and development possible… Enduring well is accomplished by personal discipline hour by hour and day by day, not by public declaration. In whatever circumstance we may find ourselves, whether in the midst of tragedy, the pain of misconduct, or merely the daily struggle to live the life of a faithful Latterday Saint, we must remember ‘the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved’ (See Eccl. 9:11; Matt. 10:22; Mark 13:13.)
“No matter who you are, you will have problems. Tragedy and frustration are the unexpected intruders on life’s plans… Our challenge is to endure. There will always be testing and trials along life’s paths. Heartaches and tragedies need not defeat us if we remember God’s promise, ‘I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.’ (D&C 82:10.) A worthwhile attitude for all of us could well be, ‘Help us, O Lord, to remember thy love for us and help us to be fortified by thy strength when our eyes are blurred with tears of sorrow and our vision is limited.’
Greatness is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear to be totally unfair, unreasonable, and undeserved. Sometimes we are inclined to put up with a situation rather than endure. To endure is to bear up under, to stand firm against, to suffer without yielding, to continue to be, or to exhibit the state or power of lasting.Day by day we can make the effort to gain the power to last and to suffer without yielding. Inspiration and motivation are found in many places. We can receive strength from studying the scriptures and praying constantly. Friends and loved ones often offer strength and support when our own resolve is weak. In turn, our own strength and capacity will be doubled when we help others endure. When we endure well, with purpose and power… the meaningful declaration in 2 Tim. 4:7 will take on a new dimension: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
When heartaches, tragedies, disappointments, injury, unusual attention, fame, or excessive prosperity become part of our lives, our challenges and responsibilities will be to endure them well. God will assist us in our quest to conquer, triumph, and continue if we humbly rededicate ourselves to the meaningful declaration “We have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.” (A of F 1:13.)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, said in 1997, “Trying to comprehend the trials and meaning of this life without understanding Heavenly Father’s marvelously encompassing plan of salvation is like trying to understand a three-act play while seeing only the second act. Fortunately, our knowledge of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement helps us to endure our trials and to see purpose in suffering and to trust God for what we cannot comprehend.”
“Many [people] love and care but experience unreciprocated love. This is part of coming to know, on our small scale, what Jesus experienced. Part of enduring well consists of being meek enough, amid our suffering, to learn from our relevant experiences. Rather than simply passing through these things, they must pass through us and do so in ways which sanctify these experiences for our good (see D&C 122:7). Thereby, our empathy, too, is enriched and everlasting.”
“The Atonement is the chief expression of Christ’s loving-kindness. He endured so many things… Yet in His later description of His agonies, Jesus does not speak of those things. Instead, after the Atonement, there is no mention about His being spat upon, struck, or proffered vinegar and gall. Instead, Christ confides in us His chief anxiety, namely, that He ‘would that [He] might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink’ (D&C 19:18)—especially desiring not to get partway through the Atonement and then pull back. Mercifully for all of us, He ‘finished [His] preparations unto the children of men’ (D&C 19:19). Jesus partook of history’s bitterest cup without becoming bitter!”
The Lord’s answer to Joseph Smith’s desperate plea from Liberty Jail, an experience he described, as I said, as being in “hell surrounded with demons,” let’s us see the reward of enduring well. D&C 121:7 says, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes… know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”
To comprehend the trials and meaning of this life, we must try to comprehend the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Like Elder Maxwell said, “The more we know of Jesus’ Atonement, the more we will humbly and gladly glorify Him, His Atonement, and His character. We will never tire of paying tribute to His goodness and loving-kindness.”
My husband and I joined the Church when we were recently married. This is a story from the time before I had met Elder Martinez. When I was young, I felt that my life had been planned until I was fifteen years of age. I believed that after that, I would die. When my sixteenth birthday came and went, I was surprised to still be alive. I said to myself, “I am still alive, so there must be something I must be doing. I must have been sent to Earth with a special purpose or mission.” So, I set out to find my purpose and mission taking very seriously the “extra” time I had been given to live. For years I continued to think about that “special purpose” I had yet to identify, until it was revealed to me by two young missionaries who knocked on our door. They taught us the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness, and opened the gates of heaven. I know now that my mission and purpose on this earth is to make and keep covenants with God and help those who are under my influence to do the same so that I, with my family, can meet all of those who choose to do as we do in the Celestial Kingdom.
So, what should you do when life does not go as you planned? What are the options before you when you are not satisfied with the way your life is at present? How can you endure and do it well?
You can do like Jacob: continue to work and serve. You have received similar promises, you can aspire to similar rewards if you work and keep your covenants.
You can do like Joseph Smith did. You can cheerfully do all things that lie in your power and then you stand still to see the salvation of God. He knows your life plan better than you do. He can guide you to where he wants you to be if you cheerfully do all that lies in your power to do.
You can even do like I did: Search and ponder and find your purpose in life and fulfill it as best as you can even when you may have thought at first that your destination was another one.
You may find that part of your purpose in life is to prepare yourself to receive Christ, and to do that you must follow what is said in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Perfection in this life, will prepare us to receive Christ, because we are like Him. And because we are like Him, we will be able to endure well.
But “being therefore perfect” is a most difficult commandment and trying to follow it and failing to do so in this life can discourage us. President Russell M. Nelson explained how we can avoid discouragement as we try to reach perfection so we can endure well.
He said, “We need to remember that the Lord gives no commandments that are impossible to obey. But sometimes we fail to comprehend them fully. Our understanding of perfection might be aided if we classify it into two categories.
The first could pertain uniquely to this life—mortal perfection. The second category could pertain uniquely to the next life—immortal or eternal perfection.” [Russell M. Nelson “Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 88.] It is the first category, perfection in this life, that will help us at present. To become perfect, we can decide to be perfect in some aspect of our spiritual life, for example, in following the Word of Wisdom.
Once we achieve self-governance in that principle, obeying it consistently and without hesitation, we can choose another, like honesty: no lying or cheating of any kind. Gaining perfection in one thing will at the same time encourage us to be perfect in others, in such a way, that with time, little by little, our spiritual achievements obtained in this world will be many and they will follow us into the eternities.
President Nelson concludes, “Mortal perfection can be achieved as we try to perform every duty, keep every law, and strive to be as perfect in our sphere as our Heavenly Father is in his. If we do the best we can, the Lord will bless us according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts (see D. & C. 137:9).” [Russell M. Nelson “Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 88.]
Seeking perfection also helps us achieve a complete conversion. Being anxiously engaged in building the kingdom of God and doing all the good we can do without being constantly compelled prepares us for the Second Coming. Our heart will be pure as explained by President M. Russell Ballard: “When our hearts are no longer set upon the things of this world, we will no longer aspire to the honors of men or seek only to gratify our pride.
Rather, we take on the Christlike qualities that Jesus taught: We are gentle and meek and long-suffering. We are kind, without hypocrisy or guile. We feel charity toward all men. Our thoughts are always virtuous. We no longer desire to do evil.
The Holy Ghost is our constant companion, and the doctrines of the priesthood distill upon our souls as the dews from heaven (D. & C. 121:35–46 and Mosíah 5:2).” [M. Russell Ballard “Be Anxiously Engaged” General Conference October
2012.]
Sister Carol F. McConkie summarizes what we must do and whom we need to become. Listen to all the words that imply action. “If we will keep the associated covenants, the sacred priesthood ordinances will change us, sanctify us, and prepare us to enter the presence of the Lord. So we bear one another’s burdens; we strengthen one another. We retain a remission of sins when we give spiritual and temporal relief to the poor, the hungry, the naked, and the sick. We keep ourselves unspotted from the world when we keep the Sabbath day and worthily receive the sacrament on the Lord’s holy day. We bless our families and make our homes holy places. We bridle our passions so that we may be filled with pure and lasting love.
We reach out to others in kindness, with compassion, and stand as witnesses of God.”[Carol F. McConkie “The Beauty of Holiness” General Conference April
2017.]
When life does not turn out how we would like it, we can still recognize that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and is our Redeemer. Our purpose in life is to
learn and do His will, to be ready for the Second Coming of Christ, to be able to return to our Heavenly Home with our families. We have been given the words of the prophets and the scriptures to lead us back. Special witnesses have been sent to us, whose words also give us direction, and you are about to hear from one of them.
Our Journey Along the Covenant Path, Elder Hugo E . Martinez
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, with special emphasis on enduring to the end—remaining centred on the doctrine of Christ
Pres. Russell M. Nelson in his address on Jan. 16, 2018, when the new First Presidency was announced from the waiting room of the Salt Lake (SL) Temple
“As a new presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we are speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to the covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God, that of eternal life.”
Addressing the power to be found in making sacred covenants, he said: “Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual privilege and blessing available to men, women, and children everywhere.”
What is the covenant path? Elder D. Todd Christofferson stated in his April 2021 GC address titled “Why the Covenant Path,” that “It is the one path that leads to the celestial kingdom of God. In the course of the covenant path (which,
by the way, extends beyond mortality), we receive all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to salvation and exaltation.”
The importance of covenants
Guide to the Scriptures – A covenant is an agreement between God and man, but they do not act as equals in the agreement. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and men [and women] agree to do what He
asks them to do. God then promises men certain blessings for their obedience.
Principles and ordinances are received by covenant. Members of the Church who make such covenants promise to honor them. For example, members covenant with the Lord at baptism and renew that covenant by partaking of the sacrament. They make further covenants in the temple.
The Lord’s people are a covenant people and are greatly blessed as they keep their covenants with the Lord. Covenant making has been an essential part of His dealings with men and women from the days of Adam and Eve and their posterity down through the ages.
Mosiah 18:8-10 – The baptismal covenant entails these elements:
• We enter the fold of God and are willing to be called His people
• We bear one another’s burdens that they may be light
• We mourn and comfort those who are afflicted
• We stand as witnesses of God at all times and places for as long as
we live
• We serve Him and keep His commandments
The promised blessings are:
o We will be redeemed of God
o We will be numbered with those of the first resurrection
o We will have eternal life
o The Lord will pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon us
• In fulfilling these baptismal covenants, we eventually qualify to enter the house of the Lord, His holy temple. There, we make further covenants. These covenants encompass the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and include the ordinance of eternal marriage and endless sealing to our posterity—the union of our generations across eternity
o President Nelson added:
“The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there, are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.”
If we have strayed from the covenant path, he said: “If you have stepped off the path, may I invite you, with all the hope in my heart, to please come back! Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there is a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church. You and generations yet unborn will be blessed by our actions now to return to the covenant path.”
o
Elder D. Todd Christofferson added in his April 2021 GC address, “Why the
Covenant Path:”
“Some might say, ‘I can make good choices with our without baptism; I don’t need covenants to be an honorable and successful person.’ Indeed, there are many who, while not on the covenant path themselves, act in a
way that mirrors the choices and contributions of those who are on the path. You might say they reap the blessings of walking a ‘covenant consistent’ path. What, then, is the difference of the covenant path?
“Actually, the difference is uniquely and eternally significant. It includes the nature or our obedience [avoid punishment, receive praise, receive blessings, because we love Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ], the character of God’s commitment to us, the divine help we receive [Baptism includes receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost], the blessings tied to gathering as a covenant people, and most importantly, our eternal inheritance.”
How to receive revelation to stay on the covenant path
o Guide to the Scriptures – Revelation, “Through revelation, the Lord provides individual guidance for every person who seeks it and who has faith, repents, and is obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “The Holy Ghost is a revelator,” said
Joseph Smith, and “no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations.”
o D&C 8:2-3
2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; ...
o D&C 9:7-9
7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must astudy it out in your bmind; then you must cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that
your dbosom shall eburn within you; therefore, you shall ffeel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a astupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is bsacred save it be given you from me.
o Think of ways in which the Holy Ghost remains with you as a constant companion
• How to face trials along the covenant path – service
o Guide to the Scriptures – Service: Care given or work done for the benefit of God and others.
o 2 Nephi 2:3
Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be aspent in the service of thy God.
o Mosiah 2:16-17
16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the bservice of your cfellow beings ye are only in the
service of your God.
o D&C 4
1 Now behold, a amarvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the aservice of God, see that ye bserve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand cblameless before
God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are acalled to the work;
4 For behold the afield is white already to bharvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in
his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in cstore that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
5 And afaith, bhope, ccharity and dlove, with an eeye single to the fglory of God, gqualify him for the work.
6 Remember faith, avirtue, knowledge, btemperance, cpatience, dbrotherly ekindness, fgodliness, charity, ghumility, hdiligence.
7 aAsk, and ye shall receive; bknock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.
Pres. M. Russell Ballard
Keeping it simple. How is it simple today [service]? Touch the life of one person who is not active in or not a member of the Church between now and Christmas. This is the greater gift we can give to the Savior on Christmas. Pray in the morning for Heavenly Father’s work – put someone in my path that I may help come or come back. Every active member of the Church should do so – Invite others to come unto Christ. Invite our members through social media channels of the area. Focus on finding the one. Share the stories at Christmas time.
o He has also said in his April 2021 GC address, “Hope in Christ:”
I personally feel the pain of those who lack a sense of belonging. As I watch news from around the world, I see many who seem to be experiencing this loneliness. I think that, for many, it is because they may not know that they are loved by Heavenly Father and that we all belong to His eternal family. Believing that God loves us and that we are His children is comforting and assuring.
Brothers and sisters, more than half of adults in the Church today are widowed, divorced, or not yet married. Some wonder about their opportunities and place in God’s plan and in the Church. We should understand that eternal life is not simply a question of current marital status but of discipleship and being “valiant in the testimony of Jesus.”8 The hope of all who are single is the same as for all members of the Lord’s restored Church—access to the grace of Christ through “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”9
May I suggest that there are some important principles we need to understand.
First, scriptures and latter-day prophets confirm that everyone who is faithful in keeping gospel covenants will have the opportunity for exaltation. President Russell M. Nelson taught: “In the Lord’s own way and time, no blessing will be withheld from His faithful Saints. The Lord will judge and reward each individual according to heartfelt desire as well as deed.”
Second, the precise time and manner in which the blessings of exaltation are bestowed have not all been revealed, but they are nonetheless assured.
Third, waiting upon the Lord implies continued obedience and spiritual progress toward Him.
Fourth, God offers eternal life to all of His children. All those who accept the Savior’s gracious gift of repentance and live His commandments will
receive eternal life, even though they do not attain to all its characteristics and perfections in mortality. Those who repent will experience the Lord’s readiness to forgive,
Fifth, our confidence in these assurances is rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ, by whose grace all things pertaining to mortality are set right.16 All promised blessings are made possible through Him, who, by His Atonement, “descended below all things”17 and has “overcome the world.”
For many years, we have talked about “young single adults,” “single adults,” and “adults.” Those designations can be administratively helpful at times but can inadvertently change how we perceive others.
Is there a way to avoid this human tendency that can separate us from one another?
President Nelson asked that we refer to ourselves as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That seems to cover all of us,
doesn’t it?
Every member in our quorums, organizations, wards, and stakes has God-given gifts and talents that can help build up His kingdom now.
Let us call upon our members who are single to serve, lift, and teach.
Disregard old notions and ideas that have sometimes unintentionally contributed to their feelings of loneliness and that they do not belong or cannot serve.
In a recent discussion of Church leaders, President Ballard repeated this message when he said: Consider the older single adults as a resource and an opportunity. Put them to work in the work of salvation and exaltation.
Temple Marriage
Remember the words of President Nelson in his address to the Church and the world on January 16, 2018, in the SL Temple:
“Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual privilege and blessing available to men, women, and children everywhere.”
“As a new presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we are speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to the covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God, that of eternal life.”
o From the General Handbook (GH) 2.1, The Role of the Family in God’s Plan God’s promise of eternal life includes eternal marriage, children, and all other blessings of an eternal family. This promise applies to those who are not currently married or are without family in the Church (see 38.1.4).
Although the precise time and manner in which the blessings of exaltation are received is not known, these blessings are assured to those who strive to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
o From the General Handbook 38.1.4
Unmarried Member Participation and Blessings
All members, even if they have never married or are without family in the Church, should strive for the ideal of living in an eternal family. This means preparing to be sealed as a worthy husband or wife and to become a loving father or mother. For some, these blessings will not be fulfilled until the next life, but the ultimate goal is the same for all.
Faithful members whose circumstances do not allow them to receive the blessings of eternal marriage and parenthood in this life will receive all promised blessings in the eternities, provided they keep the covenants they have made with God (see Mosiah 2:41).
o The following was said by members of the Quorum of the Twelve in the recent discussion with Church leaders from which I quoted President Ballard previously:
The faithful single sisters significantly outnumber the worthy single brethren. Older single women who desire marriage and children have sought counsel to know if marrying someone outside of the Church is a righteous option for fulfilling these desires.
Marrying someone who is not a member of the Church is not violating a commandment. Church culture can interfere. Women should seek direction from the Holy Ghost and seek out what the Lord would want them to do in their situation.
No priesthood leader should say you should or shouldn’t. Help these women consider all sides of their situation and think of future matters, such as how their children would be raised.
“Beginning with our baptism, we make covenants as we follow this path to eternal life, and we stay on the path by keeping them. …
“… The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine. We have three members of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—helping us because of the covenants we have made.
“To remind us of those covenants, we partake of the sacrament each week. In the prayer offered on the bread, we ‘witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that [we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]; that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us]’ [D&C 20:77]” (“What I Wish Every New Member Knew—and Every Longtime Member Remembered,” Liahona and Ensign, Oct. 2006, 11–12).
INVITATIONS TO ACT
1. Study the gospel of Jesus Christ [2 Ne 31; 3 Ne 11; 3 Ne 27) and seek answers by revelation to our challenges and opportunities 2.Make and keep the sacred ordinances of salvation and exaltation and keep the associated covenants 3. Serve Bring one other person to Christ by Christmas, as our gift to Him 4.Attend the Temple as regularly as you are able, to further understand the Plan of Salvation and the Covenant Path
Elder Hugo E . Martinez