Considering the end of thy Salvation

Consider: to think about and be drawn toward

 
I think we like lists.  Lists are easy to follow and to "check off" as they get done.  The Lord gives us a fair amount of lists in the scriptures as well. Let's look at the verbs in these verses, for example: 

 

D&C 46:7 - But ye are commanded in all things to ^aask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all ^bholiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, ^cconsidering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and ^dthanksgiving, that ye may not be ^eseduced by evil ^fspirits, or doctrines of devils, or the ^gcommandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.

Mosiah 4:16 And also, ye yourselves will ^asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the ^bbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish...I would that ye should ^bimpart of your substance to the ^cpoor, every man according to that which he hath, such as ^dfeeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

One phrase in the above scripture caught my attention, "considering the end of thy salvation."  I think that generally we are pretty good at giving service when asked or when we see a need.  But what of the addage, " ...and when thou art ^bconverted, ^cstrengthen thy brethren (Luke 22:32)?"


If we are to truly serve as the Savior, we must learn as He learned.

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel (Luke 1:80)."

In addition, forty days before He entered His mission and ministry among the people, He separated Himself from all others to fast, to pray and to receive the spiritual strength to overcome the adversary.

Should we not follow that example?  We may not be able to take the 40 day solitude challenge, but what if we did the equivalent of that in our daily scripture study? 

If we took a cup and filled it with a rock for every thing we are "supposed" to do...pray, read scriptures, help the needy, feed the poor, visiting and home teaching, tithing, etc...etc...we become weary and weighed down, right?  Not only that, but there are gaps between the rocks.  Who is it that will come and fill in those gaps if we let him?  That's right, the adversary.

However, what happens when we fill that glass with water....living water?  That glass isn't heavy, rather it quenches your thirst and rejuvenates your energy and spirit.  You can see through it, more clearly than with the rocks anyway.  Most importantly, there are no holes.  It is filled with light so much that it cannot be penetrated.

D&C 88:67  And if your eye be ^asingle to my ^bglory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light ^ccomprehendeth all things.

 As we fill ourselves with light  we can then truly be ready to serve as the Savior served.  Why?  Because we will then feel for others the way the Savior feels. As we truly become converted through a study of His words we will naturally yearn to follow Him and do those things that are needful. Why?  Because we don't only learn about Him by reading the verses, we become familiar with Him and know who He is. 

Just before King Benjamin gave us the list of service were are to render he spoke of this love.  Here are his words:

And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the ^alove of God, and always ^bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the ^cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

 And ye will not have a ^amind to injure one another, but to live ^bpeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due  (Mosiah 4:11-13)."

Action and obedience are necessary for the Lord's work to move forward, but if we are to be strong enough to withstand the wiles of the adversary we must understand the scriptures with our mind and our heart. We must consider the scriptures daily  in order to truly know God when we see Him.  

I'll end with these words from President Joseph Fielding Smith:

We have the right to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, but we can't have that guidance if we wilfully refuse to consider the revelations that have been given to help us to understand and to guide us in the light and truth of the everlasting gospel. We can't hope to have that guidance when we refuse to consider these great revelations which mean so much to us both temporally and spiritually.