You Already Said Yes

I've got a question for you: are you having troubles moving on? Does the future and all of its challenges and struggles loom dauntingly before you? Are you sitting, anguished, on the brink of a decision, knowing you need to make the right choice but seeming to lack the courage or strength to move forward?

I've been thinking about you recently. And I want to tell you something: I know you can do it. I know you've got what it takes. How do I know this? Well, it's because I know certain things about you. I know them because they're true of everyone on this earth.

You see, before you or anyone else was born here, you still existed. You lived as a spirit in heaven, with God, your Heavenly Father. He created you; you are and were his child. You grew up as a spirit in His presence, living and learning. You noticed that He, unlike you, had a physical body, and He also had all wisdom and knowledge. Perhaps, on a whim, you may have wondered if you'd ever become like Him, but more often than not you were content with your life with Him and all your brothers and sisters.

It probably surprised you, then, when God called for a great gathering of His family, a "council in heaven." As you took your spot, you may have been a bit apprehensive, but felt your worries ease a little when you saw Jesus, God's firstborn and your older brother, sitting at God's side. You looked up to Him, and trusted Him.

While we don't have a specific record of what happened next, I imagine it went something like this: when everyone was present and accounted for, God stood to speak. He smiled warmly at all of you. He expressed His love for each and every one of His children. He talked of how happy He was to see all of you learning and progressing. He told you how much he cares for you and how often He thinks about what He can do to make you happy.

With that in mind, Heavenly Father announced something incredible. He told you of a plan that He had created, a plan in which every one of His children, you and all of your brothers and sisters, would be given an amazing opportunity. God said He would create a place for all of you to go, in order to gain a physical body (like His) and continue learning and growing in ways not possible in your then-current state. Then, everyone would have the opportunity to return and live with Heavenly Father again, but now with perfect physical bodies and enhanced understanding. It was a plan in which all of God's children could become more like Him.

You likely were taken aback, amazed at this incredible opportunity. Thousands of questions could have sprung to mind, but in that moment, a feeling of peace probably entered your being. You knew, as incredible as it seemed, that this plan was right.

As you pondered these news, though, another voice sounded, one of discontent. Another one of God's older children stood, and, to your astonishment, spoke out against God's plan. Whether or not he'd heard of this plan before the council, you weren't sure, but he seemed to be more familiar with it than most. You listened intently as he pointed out what he saw to be a flaw in the plan. Though all of the spirit children would, indeed, be given an equal opportunity to succeed, to prove themselves worthy of the great blessings God promised, their success wasn't guaranteed. As God had outlined the plan, every one would have Agency, or the ability to choose. And, as this son pointed out, many of God's children could easily choose wrong, and lose their privilege of returning to God's presence, forever.

You were likely stunned; it hadn't occurred to you before that so much of your success would be dependent on on your choices and actions. What's more, God had said that, in order for the plan to work the way He intended, everyone would forget their previous lives. Doubt perhaps crept into your thoughts; could you really choose the right without anything to guide you?

Perhaps, at this point, Jesus spoke up, reiterating that the children of God would not be left completely alone; God had promised to send them blessings such as Prophets, the Scriptures, and the Holy Ghost to aid in their journey. He also described that Agency was what Heavenly Father treasured most, and to take it away would spoil the entire purpose of the plan But this wasn't enough for the other son. In his mind, a plan in which failure was a possibility was imperfect, and to be discarded.

Then, turning to the rest of you, this son began to tell you of his wonderful news; that he had devised a plan as well. The plan was similar to Heavenly Father's, but with one marked difference: there would be no choice. Every child of God would come to the world prepared for them, receive their physical body, and automatically do everything required to merit returning to God's presence. Not a single soul would be lost, he promised, and all he asked for was the credit of coming up with such an amazing scheme.

You pondered this idea in your mind. It seemed to be the perfect solution; and yet, something didn't feel right. That feeling, that assurance that you'd felt before was missing.

Uneasily, you turned to look at God again. He looked sad, pained by His son's proposal. Jesus then spoke:

"Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2)

And thus began a war in heaven. Whether it was a war of words or a war of weapons or a war of some other sort, we don't know. What we do know is that a "third part" of God's children sided with the rebellious son. They balked at the chance of losing everything, and flocked to the assurance that his plan seemed to offer. In the end, though, they lost the war. God, Jesus, and the rest of His children fought against the other souls, and won. As a result, all those who rebelled were cast out of the presence of God. They lost any opportunity to receive a physical body and progress. The rebellious son was then known as Satan, and from that point on he and his followers have sought the destruction of God's children.

So, what does all this have to do with you, right here, and right now? Well, before the war in heaven was fought, you and everyone else had a choice to make. Both God's plan and Satan's plan were laid out in front of you completely and thoroughly. You had absolutely all the information you needed. And then you maid a choice. You saw Satan's plan, which appeared easy and attractive. You'd be guaranteed a place back in heaven with God, and you didn't even really have to do anything.

Then, you looked at God's plan, and frankly, it didn't seem easy. You'd forget your entire life in heaven from beforehand. You'd be born into a world with natural disasters, sickness, and wars. You'd have to make your own choices and then live with the consequences of those choices. You'd have to walk by faith and not by sight. And there was a very real possibility that you could fail and lose everything you held dear.

But you looked to God, and you said "I'll do it."

Isn't it incredible? Isn't it amazing? All that time ago, you had the faith to accept God's plan. You trusted that He wouldn't ask you to do anything out of your power. You felt that, as hard as His plan appeared, it was the right thing to do. So, unlike so many others, you rejected the offer to do what was easy, what was comfortable. Where countless souls faltered because there was a chance they could fail, you stepped forward with faith, trusting that there was a chance that you could succeed and that God would help you.

When asked to do something that perhaps wasn't easy, but was worth it, You Already Said Yes.

So take courage in this! As much as you've grown and changed throughout your life, you're still that same spirit that accepted God's plan. Look deep within yourself, and find the resolve you've already shown. If you can't seem to find it, then ask God, your Heavenly Father, to help you. He'll aid you to recover what you once had, and then he'll multiply it a thousand times over.

You can do it. I know you can. Keep up the faith. Keep doing your best. Keep Moving Forward.

I know that God lives and loves us. I know that He created a plan so that we could be happy. I know He wants each and every one of us to succeed, and is actively working to help us do so (see my favorite scripture, 1 Nephi 3:7). I know that he'll help you in whatever trial you face. I know this because He's helped me in countless occasions. He's helped me when I've lacked the strength to do better, to be better. He's helped me when I've been lost and confused, unsure of how to proceed.

He's helped me, even when I haven't felt worthy of it.

I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Richmond

Photo Courtesy of LDS.org

Why I'm glad to be a Drinking Fountain

Goodness, you do not know the writer's block I've had in trying to write this post.

It seemed simple enough: it all started off with an email from my family, describing how there was a group of women who were going to try and attend the Priesthood Session of General Conference a month ago. (What is Priesthood Session? It's a meeting in the conference that all Priesthood holders are invited to attend. Why don't women attend? We'll get to that) It seemed like it would be a good idea to jump on the issue and write a blog post about it. I'd originally wanted to post the entry a bit closer to Conference, but then I got rather busy with missionary things. Sometime last week, I finally sat down to start writing, and I've been stuck ever since.

It's not exactly that I don't have anything to say--if you could see my browser window you'd see that's not the case. It's just that I don't exactly know...what I want to say. And how I want to say it.

I guess I'll start out with the basics. The Priesthood is God's power (the same force that created the world and parted the red sea), coupled with the authority (or His permission) to use it. It's given to men on earth so that they can officiate in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which we believe is God's kingdom here on the earth. So, all the leaders of the basic Church organization, from the President of the Church to the local bishop (like a pastor of other faiths) have this power and authority, and if they use it righteously, the church succeeds and grows.

So, what's the issue? Well, when I said that God gives the Priesthood to men in order to church, I didn't mean it generally, in a mankind sort of sense; only men hold the Priesthood. There are auxiliary organizations in the church that are presided over by women (The Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary), but at the core of everything, the church is presided over and run by men. (And only the men who hold the priesthood attend Priesthood Meeting)

That seems a bit sexist, doesn't it? If this were any other organization, I'd probably be on the women's side, pushing for equality.

BUT...

This church isn't just any old organization. While it has leaders such as the Prophet and the Apostles here on the earth, they're really not the ones in charge. We believe that God, our Heavenly Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is the one calling the shots, and all the Prophets and Apostles do is relay His instructions to His children on the earth.

With this being true, another question pops up: if God is our Loving Heavenly Father, and all of His children are equal in His sight, why does he only want men to hold the Priesthood? Why doesn't He let women hold the Priesthood, too?

The answer (which, admittedly, I've been waiting this whole post to say):

WE DON'T KNOW.

Elder Neil L. Andersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, used a passage of scripture to illustrate this point beautifully (in fact, this topic, of women and the Priesthood, is what he spoke on. You should go read it/watch it/share it with friends here). The following dialogue is between an angel and an ancient Book of Mormon prophet, named Nephi:

 "And he [the angel] said unto me [Nephi]: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (1 Nephi 11:16-17)

Even though I very often do not understand why God does things the way He does, at the core of all my beliefs and testimony is the fact that He loves me and all of His other children, and would never do anything to limit their growth or hold them back.

So, sisters, in a sense we do have an answer for you: you don't hold the Priesthood because God loves you and knows that you don't need it to realize your full potential. And perhaps that's not true of men. Perhaps, without this power from God, with all of the responsibility it carries with it (Uncle Ben was right when he said that With Great Power comes Great Responsibility. You can imagine, then, what kind of weight the infinite, eternal power of God entails), we men wouldn't be able to reach what we're supposed to become.

That's just an opinion, though.

So, what does all this have to do with water fountains, and why am I glad to be one? Well, let's think about drinking fountains: their purpose is to distribute water, a substance necessary for life. Anyone, male or female, adult or child, can come to the fountain and drink. That's not to say that the fountain has any sort of power or control over the people. It's purpose is to serve.

Thus it is with the Priesthood. Though we men hold it, we can't use it to bless ourselves. We can only use it to bless others. We are to use it to serve, and as we do, we obtain indispensable blessings for ourselves as well.

I know that God lives and loves us. I know that He has an important part for each of us to play. I know that He knows best and has created a perfect plan for each of us to progress in the best way possible. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Whew, well, that took a while to get out. I hope I've expressed everything in a way that helps you. Even if I didn't, I'll Keep Moving Forward, as I encourage each of you to do. Carry on!

-Elder Richmond