Sacrament Service
First Speaker
Christ chose to suffer because He loves us more than anyone.
Next Speaker
“Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence.” (Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Covenants”, April 1987)
DnC 2
1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
“Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Come, Follow Me,” April 2019 General Conference)
Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on April 3, 1836 in the Kirtland temple.
“This distinctive influence of the Holy Ghost draws people to identify, document, and cherish their ancestors and family members—both past and present.” (Elder David A. Bednar, “”The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn”, October 2011 General Conference)
Next Speaker
God provides that none will be disadvantaged by circumstances that they did not choose.
Abraham 3:22-23
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
Alma 34
34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
Elders Quorum
Lesson was based on “They Are Their Own Judges” by Elder David A Bednar
Alma 41
7 These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil.
Moroni 10
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen.
“I am intrigued by Moroni’s use of the word ‘pleasing’ to describe the Final Judgment. Other Book of Mormon prophets likewise describe the Judgment as a ‘glorious day’ and one that we should ‘look forward [to] with an eye of faith.’ Yet often when we anticipate Judgment Day, other prophetic descriptions come to mind, such as ‘shame and awful guilt,’ ‘dread and fear,’ and ‘endless misery.’
“I believe this stark contrast in language indicates that the doctrine of Christ enabled Moroni and other prophets to anticipate that great day with eager and hopeful anticipation instead of the fear they warned of for those not spiritually prepared. What did Moroni understand that you and I need to learn?” - Elder Bednar
DnC 88
21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
“How great, how glorious, how complete
“Redemption’s grand design,
“Where justice, love, and mercy meet
“In harmony divine!” (“How Great the Wisdom and the Love”, LDS Hymn)
“From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become”, October 2000)
Life is not as much about doing, it is about becoming.
We are not saved by our works, we are saved by who we become through the grace of Christ.
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