Doctrine and Covenants 93

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human. May we refuse to let our own mortal follies, and the inevitable shortcomings of even the best men and women around us, make us cynical about the truths of the gospel, the truthfulness of the Church, our hope for our future, or the possibility of godliness. If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete&mdash;which is the New Testament meaning of perfection. I testify of that grand destiny, made available to us by the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued &lsquo;from grace to grace&rsquo; until in His immortality He received a perfect fulness of celestial glory. I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents. For such a perfect moment, I continue to strive, however clumsily. For such a perfect gift, I continue to give thanks, however inadequately. I do so in the very name of Perfection itself, of Him who has never been clumsy or inadequate but who loves all of us who are, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.&rdquo;</span></p>

<p>The prophet Nephi taught that after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, we must &ldquo;endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God&rdquo; (2 Nephi 31:16; James 1:2&ndash;4). Elder Dale G. Renlund described the process of enduring to the end as follows: &ldquo;We may be perfected by repeatedly and iteratively &hellip; exercising faith in [Christ], repenting, partaking of the sacrament to renew the covenants and blessings of baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost as a constant companion to a greater degree. As we do so, we become more like Christ and are able to endure to the end, with all that that entails.&rdquo;</p> <p>In other words, the reception of the Holy Ghost and the change that reception creates in us further builds our faith. Increased faith leads to additional repentance. As we then symbolically sacrifice our hearts and our sins upon the sacrament altar, we receive the Holy Ghost to a greater degree. Receiving the Holy Ghost to a greater degree further moves us along the path of being born again. As we continue in this process and obtain all the saving ordinances and covenants of the gospel, we receive &ldquo;grace for grace&rdquo; until we receive a fulness (D&amp;C 93:12, 19).</p>

<p>How does His Church accomplish the Lord&rsquo;s purposes? It is important to recognize that God&rsquo;s ultimate purpose is our progress. His desire is that we continue &ldquo;from grace to grace, until [we receive] a fulness&rdquo; (D&amp;C 93:13) of all He can give. That requires more than simply being nice or feeling spiritual. It requires faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism of water and of the Spirit, and enduring in faith to the end (2 Nephi 31:17&ndash;20). One cannot fully achieve this in isolation, so a major reason the Lord has a church is to create a community of Saints that will sustain one another in the &ldquo;strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life&rdquo; (2 Nephi 31:18).</p>

<p>So, how does understanding this heavenly revealed doctrine about the Godhead and the plan of salvation help us with our challenges today?</p> <p>Because we have the truth about the Godhead and our relationship to Them, the purpose of life, and the nature of our eternal destiny, we have the ultimate road map and assurance for our journey through mortality. We know whom we worship and why we worship. We know who we are and what we can become (D&amp;C 93:19). We know who makes it all possible, and we know what we must do to enjoy the ultimate blessings that come through God&rsquo;s plan of salvation. How do we know all of this? We know by the revelations of God to His prophets and to each of us individually.</p>

<p>In these short verses, the Savior describes the purpose of the revelation: &ldquo;that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship&rdquo; (D&amp;C 93:19). Addressing the first part of this statement, we must ask ourselves what <em>worship</em> really consists of. Bruce R. McConkie taught, &ldquo;Perfect worship is emulation. We honor those whom we imitate. The most perfect way to worship is to be holy as Jehovah is holy. It is to be pure as Christ is pure. It is to do the things that enable us to become like the Father. The course is one of obedience.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> In Church worship services, for instance, we ask young men to prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament, actions that Christ Himself first demonstrated. These simple acts of imitation, only a few minutes of every week, is intended to help us worship through direct imitation.</p> <p>In connection with His statement that He wants us to know <em>what </em>we worship, the Savior begins to describe the sons and daughters of God by using the words that John the Baptist used to describe Him. By teaching that men and women must also receive &ldquo;grace for grace,&rdquo; the Savior is teaching that humanity is an embryonic form of divinity&mdash;and that all men and women have the potential to become like God. However, this teaching ran contrary to the prominent Christian thinking of the day, that Christ was both fully human and fully divine, a philosophy which most Christians have followed since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> <p>Beginning here, the next few verses (D&amp;C 93:21-35) lead the reader through a sequence of truths that explain the true nature of all people and their relationship to God. Elder Tad R. Callister summarized these truths when he taught, &ldquo;The difference between man and God is significant&mdash;but it is one of degree, not kind. It is the difference between an acorn and an oak tree, a rosebud and a rose, a son and a father. In truth, every man is a potential god in embryo, in fulfillment of that eternal law that like begets like . . . Why is it so critical to have a correct vision of this divine destiny of godliness of which the scriptures and other witnesses so clearly testify? Because with increased vision comes increased motivation.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref3" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Bruce R. McConkie, <em>The Promised Messiah, </em>1978, 568.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Revelation, 6 May 1833 [D&amp;C 93], fn. 8, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> Tad R. Callister, &ldquo;Our Identity and Our Destiny,&rdquo; Education Week Devotional, August 14, 2012.</p> </div>

<p>After telling us that we must also receive grace for grace, Jesus makes a second connection, related to our premortal existence, between men and women, the Savior, and the Father. Jesus teaches that He was in the beginning with the Father and is the Firstborn. A 1909 declaration of the First Presidency clarifies the status of Jesus as the Firstborn, teaching, &ldquo;Jesus . . . is the firstborn among all the sons of God&mdash;the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh. He is our elder brother, and we, like Him, are in the image of God.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> The status of Jesus as &ldquo;the firstborn of every creature&rdquo; was also taught by Paul in his letter to the Colossians (Colossians 1:15).</p> <p>Jesus, however, asserts not only that He was in the beginning with God but also that <em>we </em>were in the beginning with God. This is the first place in the Doctrine and Covenants in which the Lord clearly teaches of the premortal existence of men and women. In an earlier revelation given to Joseph Smith during his translation of the book of Genesis, the Lord declared, &ldquo;I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh&rdquo; (Moses 6:51). But in stating that all people were also in the beginning with God, the Savior is referring to the eternal, uncreated characteristics of all men and women. Contrary to Christian perceptions of the day, which generally taught that human beings were created <em>ex nihilo</em>, or out of nothing, there is an eternal and everlasting part of every person. This is the revelation&rsquo;s second great doctrinal contribution: the difference between men, women, and God is one of degree, not one of kind. It is the difference between a majestic oak tree and an acorn.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> James R. Clark, <em>Messages of the First Presidency</em>,1965&ndash;1975, 4:203.</p> </div>