The Plan of Salvation

The past couple of weeks on our drive down to the branch and back, we have been listening to a book on cds, The Plan of Salvation, Understanding Our Divine Origin and Destiny by Matthew B. Brown.  We have felt the spirit greatly while pondering these truths and wanted to share some thoughts with you.

Heavenly Father loves us so much.  He wants us to have everything He has, and wants us to become like Him.  He created this earth so we could be tested and make ourselves ready for life with Him.  He knew it wouldn't be easy.  He knew we would make mistakes and need to be corrected.  Because of this, He gives us prophets through out the ages to teach us.  Most significant of all, He gave his Son so that we could be cleansed and sanctified and return to him.

These concepts are known by all of us.  We have been taught from our earliest years in primary and at home the plan of salvation.  The question is "Is it real to us?".  Do we really understand what it means?  We sing "I am a Child of God".  Do we really know that is literally true?  If we really believed it, would we not be doing all we can to return back to him? 

There is so much in our lives that are distractions from what is important.  The veil of forgetfullness makes it hard for us to remember.  The whisperings of Satan draw us to the things of this earth that at best distract us, and at worst lead us away from the things of God.  The whisperings of Satan are loud and persistant.  In contrast the whisperings of the Holy Spirit are quiet, and require us to listen carefully and heed or they do not persist. 

Challenge to all our married children:  Make a point of going to the temple this month and doing sealings.  Listen to the covenants and promises.  Both the sealings of spouses and the sealing of children to parents.  Think about what Heavenly Father really wants to give us.  Think about the blessings you and your children have been given, by either having been born in the covenant or being sealed to your parents.  What blessings have you been promised by being sealed to your spouse?  Share with your children, the blessings that have been promised to them.  Because they have been born in the covenant, they are entitled to all the blessings pronounced in the sealing of children to parents.  Teach them about that.

We have had occasion this past month to think about Scott and Marty and how they are in the Spirit World ahead of us.  We rejoice in the work they are doing, and are grateful we can do our part on this side of the veil.  We are awed by the love of Heavenly Father that we feel when we participate in these ordinances in the temple.  We love Him and Jesus Christ, His Son.  We love you and are so grateful to see you walking in His ways and teaching your children to love Him too. Keep It Up.  No Empty Chairs.