I liked this lesson because it was so simple, and it has so much common ground with so many other people. All Christians believe that Faith in Christ is important, and all good people believe that if someone does bad things, they should repent or change their ways. Many churches believe in baptism, but the mode of baptism, who has the need to be baptized, and who has the authority to baptize are the topics of many inter-faith religious arguments. Not many people know what we mean by the "Holy Ghost," but many are familiar with the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God, so it isn't too hard to explain, and Enduring to the End simply means to continue living a Christian life - to continue to strengthen your faith, to continue to repent as needed, etc. It was a very easy lesson to teach, and there wasn't much in there that those we were teaching would disagree with.
A few nights ago, I reread that chapter, following along behind our family scripture study, and I was impressed by something Jesus said after telling the Nephites His gospel:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
3 Nephi 11: 39
While I was reading this chapter, I was still thinking about defense; about how I can defend my soul against Satan's attacks. That verse stuck out to me. The basics of the gospel - the Seminary answers that pop into your head immediately when someone asks you what Christians believe in - this is how build upon the rock. This is how we make sure our testimonies are strong. This is how we defend our souls. It's astonishing how easy it is to forget the basics, considering how important it is to remember them. I'm so glad I read this the other night. I think I needed the reminder.
1 comment:
I think many, if not most, of us need frequent reminders.
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