…and
having on the breastplate of righteousness; (Ephesians 6:14)
When
thinking about the armor of righteousness, I am reminded of Nephi’s vision.
“And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and
its numbers were few… and their dominions upon the face of the earth were
small...
“And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of
abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth,
among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the
power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of
the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all
the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the
power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:12-14, emphasis added).
Nephi
saw the covenant people of the Lord in the last days being few in number, but
they were armed with 1) righteousness and 2) the power of God in glory.
To
be armed means to be “furnished with weapons, or with something that provides
security, strength and [the power to produce the desired result]” (Merriam
Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10 ed). Righteousness, through our obedience,
can provide security and strength during our lives; but it often requires faith
to be obedient.
To
help explain what I learned about the power of God in glory I want to turn to the story of Lazarus in the
Gospel of John. Lazarus had died and Jesus had been notified. After four days
He came.
“Jesus…cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
“Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
“Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest
believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid….
“And…he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
“And he that was dead came forth (John 11:38-44, emphasis added).
The
glory of God that the Savior demonstrated was the righteous use of Priesthood
power. Such power is available to us today through our faith, obedience, and
righteousness.
TEMPLE COVENANTS
When
my children were younger they loved to dress up and pretend to be super heroes.
My oldest came up with the super power of choice: anything power. This incredibly versatile power could meet
whatever challenges the opposition could imagine. Bad guys coming? Anything
power became the desired weapon of
choice. Volcano erupting? Couch-cushion tower crumbling? Aliens invading? Anything
power was there—and always
defeated the enemy.
I
have referred back to this often when talking to my children about the power of
God—for He truly is all-powerful “to the fulfilling
of all his words” (Alma 50:19).
One
way to access this power, and spiritual protection, is through making and
keeping covenants. A covenant is a two-way promise that we make with the Lord. Covenants
aren’t something trivial where we can decide that we will do whatever we feel
we want to do and expect the Lord’s blessings in return. As Linda K. Burton
states, “the Lord sets the terms and we agree to keep them” (link to talk). In
order to gain access to the Lord’s power and protection we need to abide by the
Lord’s rules. Elder Russell M. Nelson teaches us that, “[We] keep [our]
covenant by obedience to His commandments” (link to talk). As we keep our
covenants, through our obedience, they can be a shield and a protection to us
throughout our lives.
Nephi
saw in the last days—our day—that the covenant people of the Lord would be
provided with strength, security, and power through their righteousness. Elder
M. Russell Ballard declared,
“When men and women go to the temple, they are both endowed with the
same power, which is priesthood power….
“Our Father in Heaven is generous with His power.
All men and all women have access to this power for help in their lives. All
who have made sacred covenants with the Lord and who honor those covenants are
eligible to receive personal revelation, to be blessed by the ministering of
angels, to commune with God, to receive the fulness of the gospel, and,
ultimately, to become heirs alongside Jesus Christ of all our Father has” (link to talk).
The
blessings and power of God can come to those who worthily attend the temple and
make and keep the covenants therein. President Boyd K. Packer said, “Our labors
in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as
a people” (Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple, 1980, p 265).
We
can be sure of the blessings that come from making and keeping our covenants.
The Lord has reassured us, “I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto
the children of men” (2 Nephi 10:17), and “Who am I…that have promised and have
not fulfilled?” (Doctrine & Covenants 58:31). We are also reminded that, “I,
the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye
have no promise” (Doctrine & Covenants 82:10). The Lord will always do His
part. Our commitment to our covenants is the catalyst for the blessings we are
to receive.
DELIBERATE RIGHTEOUSNESS
In
the New Testament we read about a visit the Savior made to two sisters: Mary
and Martha.
“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain
village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and
heard his word.
“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and
said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid
her therefore that she help me.
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art
careful and troubled about many things:
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).
Mary
and Martha were both faithful, obedient women in the gospel. The Savior came to
teach them. Martha was overwhelmed and focused on the physical logistics while
Mary chose to “lay aside the things of this world, and [sought] for the things
of a better” (Doctrine & Covenants 25:10). Many times in our life we are
faced with choices. The question to each of us is whether we will choose to
fill our daily lives being cumbered about by our own doing, or by spiritually sitting at the feet
of our Savior.
Our
daily, individual, righteousness will probably not be something that is touted
in the news, or broadcast for the world to see. But, “the
Lord seeth not as man seeth; [He] looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We will be blessed by those day-to-day, seemingly unremarkable, acts of obedience. Howard W. Hunter quoted President Joseph F. Smith when he said,
“Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable, or unusual may
make history, but they do not make real life.
“After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the
common lot of all mankind,
is the truest greatness. To be a successful father
or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a
successful statesman”
(link to talk).
As
we are deliberate in our righteousness and obedience to God we can be blessed
more powerfully than ever before.
At time we will be faced with challenges and temptations. These may be the adversary's attempts to thwart our efforts, or may be what happens to us due to the trials of life. No matter what the reason we can look to the example of our Savior when we need the faith to keep moving forward. As stated by Elder Tad R. Callister, "All that He had intellectually was an unanswered why, but what he had spiritually was faith, and with that faith he pressed forward" (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 153).
The Savior also “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He didn’t do good because He wanted others to see how good He was. He
did good because that is who He was. To be righteous is a personal matter of
the heart. As we choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ we will be
blessed. And the choice is always ours. President Henry B. Eyring
reminds us, “Heavenly Father and the Savior are our perfect examples of what we
can and must do. They never force righteousness because righteousness must be
chosen” (link to talk, emphasis added).
BLESSINGS OF GUIDANCE
One of the blessings of living a righteous life, for those who have entered into the covenant of baptism, is the ability to receive the Holy Ghost. Elder Parley P. Pratt explains about the powerful refining nature the Holy Ghost can have in our lives.
“The gift of the Holy Ghost adapts itself to all these organs or
attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges,
expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them,
by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates,
and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and
affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness,
gentleness, and charity.…
“Such is the gift of the Holy Ghost, and such are
its operations when received through the lawful channel—the divine, eternal
priesthood” (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, 61–62).
As
we choose to live righteously we can have the Holy Ghost in our lives, and we
can know that it is by the hand of the Lord that we are led. We may not
understand why things happen the way they do, but it will be for our ultimate
good. Our lives are tailored individually to our own specific needs for growth
and development. It may not be until the next life when we see the reason for
different trials or challenges, but one day we will know. Sharon G. Samuelson, wife of Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, expresses it this way:
“[I]n retrospect, what transpired [in our lives]
clearly was not just by chance or coincidence. Likewise, we want to emphasize
that customized, special blessings that have come to us are not predictive of
what might or will happen with you. Similarly, you will have individualized
blessings and interventions that have not been afforded to us or to other
people. While Jesus Christ has promised that those who are faithful, keep the
commandments, and make and observe their sacred covenants will receive all that
the ‘Father hath’, the timing is unique for each person and does not always
happen in this life” (link to talk).
We
may not understand everything that happens to us in this life, but as we don
the armor of God with obedience, faith, and righteousness we can be guided and
protected by the hand of the Lord.
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