Hard Work & Humility

http://bcove.me/peta63ul



My thoughts today are a reflection of my post yesterday and this week's Devotional from Brigham Young University-Idaho, the above link shares the video.

I have been asked about works vs. faith so many times in my life.  I believe I am coming to truly understand the significance of the question.  Without faith, work is dead.  It is not a question of whether or not a man is saved by his own works or by faith.  All human kind has been purchased and saved by Jesus Christ.  He alone has the power to wrought the mighty miracle of God's work here on the earth.  His work and glory is "...—to bring to pass the ^cimmortality and ^deternal ^elife of man." (Moses 1:39)

Christ has saved every person from physical death.  Without His Atonement no man would rise from the grave, body and spirit would be eternally separated.  However, that is not the full extent of His redeeming work.  There is another death that, though we all rise and reunite with our bodies, does not permit us to live in the presence of God again.  Spiritual death is sin, choosing to go against God's will and commandments. 

Physical death and Salvation from it come to every one, no matter how we choose to act in this life.  But Christ's mediation for us before the Father and His taking upon Him our sins is conditional upon repentance.  He has asked us to come unto Him.  John 3:16 is often quoted, but not in full.

"16 ¶For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonlybegotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife."

I would like to continue this citation further:

" 17 For God ^asent not his Son into the world to ^bcondemn the world; but that the world through him might be ^csaved.

 18 ¶He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that^abelieveth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the ^bname of the only begotten ^cSon of God.

 19 And this is the condemnation, that ^alight is come into the world, and men loved ^bdarkness rather than light, because their ^cdeedswere evil.

 20 For every one that doeth ^aevil ^bhateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

 21 But he that ^adoeth ^btruth cometh to the ^clight, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

These words to me are priceless.  The words do, deeds, come, believe; I believe are a part of repentance.  "...that his deeds may be made manifest" does not refer to works done for the world's acknowledgment or glory, rather as a way to understand constant change, constant turning toward God.

Ether 12:27 in The Book of Mormon says, "And if men come unto me I will show [or manifest] unto them their^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them."

John 3:21 is the what and Ether 12:27 the how.  The Lord wants us to work through Him, by His Atonement are our changes/deeds wrought.  We would be unable to change by ourselves, Christ was given power to show us the greater way, the higher path.  He will teach us, as individuals, if we come to Him in humility and work hard in His ways, forever turning away from our natural, or fallen, ways.