2 Nephi 25-26; 28-33

Quotes of the Week:

Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

--C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, p. 54

We live in a day of slick, quiet and clever sins.

--Ezra Taft Benson, A Nation Asleep. p. 44

Further Reading Suggestions:

Numbers 21:4-9
Bible Dictionary--"Grace"
Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, 4/02
Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, 11/94
Henry B. Eyring, "In the Strength of the Lord," Ensign, 5/04
Neal A. Maxwell, "Endure it Well.," Ensign, 5/90

Handouts:

2 Ne 25:23--Grace

LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, pp. 274-75
It is evident that none of our works or anything we can do can affect the Grace of God, which is a free gift.  But this does not alter the fact  . . .  that the 'righteous judgment of God . . .  will render to every man according to his deed.' (Romans 2:5-6)
Take the farmer as an illustration.  No matter how much land he owns, he cannot expect to reap unless he sows.  but when the farmer has prepared his land and sowed his seed, and cultivated and irrigated the land and harvested the crop, is he entitled to all the credit?  He did all the work and is entitled to reap as he has sowed, and the result of his effort will be his reward.  But no matter how hard the farmer may have worked, he could not have harvested the crop through his own effort since there are other factors to be considered:
1.  Who provided him the fertile soil?
2.  Who put the germ of life into the seeds he planted"
3.  Who caused the sun to warm the soil and cause the seed to germinate and grow?
4.  Who caused the rain to fall or the snows to fill the watershed to give drink to his growing crops?

None of these things could the farmer have done or supplied for himself.  The represent the free gift of grace, and yet the farmer will reap as he has sowed.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
"Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important."

2 Ne 25:13--Healing in His Wings

Richard G. Scott, Ensign, 5/94

[The Savior] has risen from the dead 'with healing in his wings.'  Oh, how we all need the healing the Redeemer can provide.  Mine is a message of hope for you who yearn for relief from heavy burdens that have come through no conscious act of your own while you have lived a worthy life.  It is based on principles embodied in the teachings of the Savior.  Your challenge may be a serious physical disability, a struggle with lingering illness, or a daily wrestle with a life-threatening disease.  It may have roots in the death of a loved one, the anguish caused by another bound by sin, or abuse in any of its evil forms.  Whatever the cause, I testify that lasting relief is available on conditions established by the Lord.

2 Ne 28:7--Eat, Drink and be Merry

Dallin H. Oaks, "Sin and Suffering,"  BYU 1989-90 Devotional and Fireside Speeches, 1990, 151

The idea that one is better off after one has sinned and repented is a devilish lie of the adversary.  Does anyone here think that it is better to learn firsthand that a certain blow will break a bone or a certain mixture of chemicals will explode and sear off our skin?  Are we better off after we have sustained and then healed such injuries?  I believe we all can see that it is better to heed the warnings of  wise persons who know the effects on our bodies.

2 Ne 31:13-14--Baptism of Fire

Lynn A. Mickelsen, Ensign, 11/03

Through the Atonement, the Savior, giving Himself as the ransom for our sins, authorizes the Holy Ghost to cleanse us in a baptism of fire.  As the Holy Ghost dwells in us, His purifying presence burns out the filthiness of sin.  As soon as the commitment is made, the cleansing process begins.

2 Nephi 29:11-12--Keeping a Journal

Spencer W. Kimball, “President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals,” New Era, Dec 1980, 26
I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us—and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted. . . .
Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life.
What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.

2 Ne 31:20--Endure to the End

Henry B. Eyring, “In the Strength of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2004, 16
So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us. That’s what the words in the scripture “Ye must … endure to the end”   seemed to mean to me when I first read them. It sounded grim, like sitting still and holding on to the arms of the chair while someone pulled out my tooth. . . .
It can seem that way to a youth faced with resisting the rising flood of filth and temptation. It can seem that way to a young man struggling to get the training he needs for a job to support a wife and family. It can seem that way to a person who can’t find a job or who has lost job after job as businesses close their doors. It can seem that way to a person faced with the erosion of health and physical strength which may come early or late in life for them or for those they love.
But the test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us. And to endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation, and whatever the tumult around us.

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, 5/10
My counsel to all of us is to look to the lighthouse of the Lord.   There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue.  It beckons through the storms of life.  The lighthouse of the Lord sends forth signals readily recognized and never failing.

Neal A. Maxwell, “‘Endure It Well’,” Ensign, May 1990, 33
When you and I are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we like our timetable better than God’s.
. . . We gain knowledge through particular experiences, but only incrementally, “in that thing.” (Alma 32:34.) Hence the ongoingness of it all, and perhaps we can be forgiven for wondering, “Is there no other way?” Personal, spiritual symmetry emerges only from the shaping of prolonged obedience. Twigs are bent, not snapped, into shape.
Without patient and meek endurance we will learn less, see less, feel less, and hear less. We who are egocentric and impatient shut down so much of our receiving capacity.
In any case, brothers and sisters, how could there be refining fires without enduring some heat? Or greater patience without enduring some instructive waiting? Or more empathy without bearing one another’s burdens—not only that others’ burdens may be lightened, but that we may be enlightened through greater empathy? How can there be later magnification without enduring some present deprivation?
The enlarging of the soul requires not only some remodeling, but some excavating. Hypocrisy, guile, and other imbedded traits do not go gladly or easily, but if we “endure it well” (D&C 121:8), we will not grow testy while being tested.
Moreover, we find that sorrow can actually enlarge the mind and heart in order to “give place,” expanded space for later joy.
Thus, enduring is one of the cardinal attributes; it simply cannot be developed without the laboratory time in this second estate. Even the best lectures about the theory of enduring are not enough. All the other cardinal virtues—love, patience, humility, mercy, purity, submissiveness, justice—they all require endurance for their full development.

2 Ne 33:4,14--Book of Mormon Promises

Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, 5/86
May I admonish you to participate in a  program of daily reading and pondering of the scriptures. . . . The Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day.  It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, 8/05
[R]egardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.

Blessings of General Conference

Neil L. Andersen, “Teaching Our Children to Love the Prophets,” Ensign, Apr 1996, 44
President Harold B. Lee said: “As the Latter-day Saints go home from this conference, it would be well if they consider seriously the importance of taking with them the report of this conference and let it be the guide to their walk and talk during the next six months. These are the important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this day” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1946, p. 68).
What do we do to bring [the Brethren's] messages to our children? Do our children see in us the desire to follow the Brethren’s counsel? Do we, together as a family, find ways to act upon their counsel and receive the blessings they promise?

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, 5/10
As we leave this conference, I invoke the blessings of heaven upon each of you.  As you return to your homes around the world, I pray our Heavenly Father will bless you and your families.  May the messages and spirit of this conference find expression in all that you do--in your homes, in your work, in your meetings, and in all your comings and goings.