"Jesus is knocking at the door, it is up to us to answer."

August 22, 2010

Hello from Mt Gambier!

Things are good here. I didn’t go to church yesterday. I went on a priesthood splitoff to take the sacrament to members of the church in outlying areas. My companion stayed in Mt Gambier. I went with a member of the bishopric and his wife. We went to Lucindale and Naracoorte for the members that live quite aways from Mt Gambier, it is difficult for them to travel to come to church. We just bore our testimonies after administering the sacrament and left. While we were traveling we were listening to a man reading a book on the CD in the car. This may be a bit dodgy but i got so much out of it. This CD was all about our salvation, how we are justified to return home to God. I had always looked at the final judgement as a scale weight, with our good deeds on one end and our mistakes and sins on the other counter balancing. Which ever side is in more abundant decides if you get the nod to enter into the kingdom of heaven or to be cast off. It is not that at all! D&C 1:31 states that, God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. If you think you will make it to god’s presence with just a little sin, think again. It was one simple transgression that kicked Adam and Eve from the presence of god. No unclean thing can dwell in the presence of god. This is pretty harsh, it is the law of Justice, to fulfill this law god revealed if the ancient Israelites. In Theory if they obeyed all the commandments rules, which adds up to just over 600 of them, we will become perfect and worthy to return to our heavenly Fathers presence.

This can be compared to a little child, lets say 4 years old, wants to buy a bicycle. The father does not have the income to buy her daughter a bike so he stalls her, hoping she would forget. He promises her that if she saves up all her penny’s she will have enough money to buy a bike. So time goes on, perhaps months. They go to the store to buy a bicycle, they find the perfect bike for her. It is 200 dollars. The little girl had only collected 44 cents. She began to cry, the price was just too much. In Theory she could save enough money to buy this bike. By the time she has accumulated that amount she will start wanting her first car.

Comparing this to our lives, we could keep every single commandment ever revealed and become totally Christlike, become perfect and clean. But we are weak evil and carnal. We do not have that much time in this probation, this life to fulfill that. We cannot make it back to God by our own Merits. No matter how hard we try we cannot obtain perfection on our own. We need an Atonement.

Back to the story the father loves his daughter, realizes she does not have nearly what it takes to receive her gift he says to her, “Daughter give me all that you have and i will pay the rest.” That is not a bad deal, that is mercy. This same deal has been offered to us. Not because we deserve it. It is because of Love. The love that God has for all his children.

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beleiveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus Christ brought the “good news” the “good tidings” or most known as The gospel. The Gospel is a lifestyle that if we follow we will receive a remission of our sins. A way for our sins to be forgiven. The first step of the gospel is Faith in the lord Jesus Christ, 2nd Repentance 3rd Baptism by water 4th Baptism by fire, or by the spirit to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and finally we must endure to the end which means to continue to repent and keep the commandments the rest of our lives.

When we are baptized we are adopted into the House of Israel. In the bible the House of Israel is known as the bride. And Jehovah or Jesus Christ is known as the Bridgegroom. When we enter into the gospel covenant we become married to Jesus Christ. We covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. Just as a wife takes upon her self the name of her husband. When you are married you become One flesh, united. Even united in a bank account for instance. Lets say i am in horrible debt, tens of thousands of dollars in the red. If i were to marry the queen of England theoretically of course, she is a millionaire, our bank accounts become one. And i am now out of dept. The same happens when we are baptized, our sins become Jesus Christs Sins. In the Garden of Gethsemane our Saviour took upon himself the sins of the whole world (Alma chpt 7:11-12). Jesus Christ felt every sickness, affliction and pains we all will ever feel because of the price of Sin. It was so intense that he bled from every pore in anguish. He performed the Atonement, which if you break the word up it says, to make “At One” therefore Atonement. Mankind is fallen we are alienated from our Heavenly Father. But now our dept is paid by Jesus Christ. All we have to do is Come unto him and be baptized. And we will once again be At One with god. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd, he is leading us to eternal life. We are not saved by Faith, we are not saved by works. We are saved threw the Grace of God. It is up to us to finish this great marathon of life, few of us will run threw over the finish line. Others will walk over, many will crawl over. We are all climbing a mountain leading to heaven, everyone is at different levels. At the end of the day if we were true to our gospel covenant, if we tried our hardest with all our efforts, than Jesus Christ will carry us the rest of the way, to the top of the mountain, even to the Celestial Kingdom. I know that if we endure to the end striving to do our best, with all our heart, might, mind and strenght, to do the will of our Father instead of the Will of the world, then is his grace sufficient for us. Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.

This is the grand message of the Book or Mormon. You will come unto Christ stronger and more successfully by this book than by any other. If this book is true than that means the bible is the word of God as well. It is proof that god is the same yesterday, today and forever. He loves us and shows it actively. The heavens are open, Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and restored the priesthood authority to administer the ordinances of this great gospel. Revelation is flowing down to his authorized servants, even Thomas S Monson as a latter day prophet for our benefit today. Jesus is knocking at the door, it is up to us to answer. As a missionary I literally represent Jesus Christ physically knocking on a door. I know that this is God’s work and his glory. I know God helps all missionaries to fulfill his purpose because we are one in purpose. We have the divine companionship with us continually. The Holy Ghost truly is the comforter. You can look at it as a down payment from our Father letting us know that we are on the right track towards him. How wonderful that every time we partake of the Sacrament we should be able to feel the spirit, for we are promised he will be with us. I know that this is the true church. This is the Lord’s church. I am grateful for the blessing of technology that allows me to email you this spiritual thought without me having to write it.

I am going to go now. Love you all heaps.

-Elder Montgomery