Holding Aloft Our Colors

Hello Friends and Family!

Wow, where has the time gone? There are few words to describe how amazing this Restored Gospel is. I am constantly, consistently, and persistently overwhelmed by the Love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of His Children, as well as the Love that our Savior Jesus Christ has for each of us individually and collectively. There are countless experiences I could share, but the overwhelmingly thought to simply share my testimony of a this Gospel keeps coming to my mind.

There seems to be nothing more I could offer than my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament as well as the Savior of the New. That He came not simply to fulfill ancient prophecies, but came to minister to those who came near His midst. I testify that Jesus Christ did walk this Earth, not just as a matter of History, but as a matter of faith. I do know that when He came, being sent from His Father who is in Heaven, that He came to fulfill a grand purpose which was to bring to pass the Immortality and Eternal Life of Man. I know that He came of His own free-will and choice, and was not compelled by any other thing or individual to be our personal Savior than by His own desire to serve His Father.

I know that in the beginning we lived with God the Father, and heard ourselves the Plan which was presented. We freely chose to serve our Father and agreed to follow the guidelines required to live this Plan. These guidelines were called the Commandments. They were laws made to protect us, as His Children, and made to guide us through the turmoil’s of life. Standing in opposition to this Plan was Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. He cunningly deceived a third part to follow him down to the depths of hell instead of follow the Father of all mankind. Because our Father loved us so, He provided a way for us to return to Him. He provided a Savior, a Christ, a Living Hope. So it was, as we read in John 1:1 (JST),"In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God". Our Exaltation became possible through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was preached from this beginning.

During our life here on Earth, it was never meant to be easy. There is a great modern parable which I love. It is called The Unmoved Rock. It reads:

"Once upon a time, there was a man who was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind such as: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" To this the Lord responded compassionately, "My child, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.

And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition, you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my child, will now move the rock."

In the words of the Book of Mormon, “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.” As we begin to prepare to meet God, we must prepare to overcome trials, and accept the joyful moments that come. Sister Grayson, the Mission President’s wife, said, this past week, “You have got to be prepared to be Exalted.” Simply, and in pure essence, this life is for us to be proved, tried, and pushed towards choices. We must either choose to follow God, the Eternal Father, or choose to follow the Devil, “for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” So it is, that in the beginning we decided to follow God; today, we must choose to do the same.

We are not saved by good choices, actions, or smiles. Instead, we are saved through the Atoning Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. That is why the scripture reads, from the New Testament, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

I pray that as we hear the words of Prophets, Apostles, and Sustained Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this weekends’ General Conference, that we may feel the presence of the Holy Ghost testify to us the truthfulness of their words. Because, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” The promise is given from the Bible itself, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”

Holding aloft our colors,

We march in the glorious dawn.

O youth of the noble birthright,

Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Until Next Week-

Elder Robb