Last post we discussed the core and foundation of God's Plan of Happiness: The Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Now let's talk about what we need to do in order to put our Saviour's plan to use, and not waste it. Because whether or not we obey His commandments, He did suffer for us. We will allow that suffering and that pain to be for nothing if we ignore what He teaches us.
Now let's talk about what we need to do in order to put our Saviour's plan to use, and not waste it. Because whether or not we obey His commandments, He did suffer for us. We will allow that suffering and that pain to be for nothing if we ignore what He teaches us.
I feel like I should take a step back and reiterate something we talked about early on in this blog. I know these things to be true. However, I don't expect you to believe me, or act on anything I say. And, importantly, the purpose of this blog is not to persuade you or anyone else to act. It is my way of sharing what I believe. I want to share it for two reasons. 1. to help those who know me, to know me better and 2. to make this knowledge available for anyone who is looking for it.
So.
There are five major steps we need to take in this life.
The first thing we need to do is to develop Faith in Jesus Christ. We're not going to get very far along His path if we don't feel confident that He is leading us home.
The first thing we need to do is to develop Faith in Jesus Christ. We're not going to get very far along His path if we don't feel confident that He is leading us home.
The second follows naturally from the first; it is Repentance. Repentance means to change in whatever way is necessary in order to bring our life more in sync with the teachings of our Saviour. If we are participating in things that do not bring us to Him, then our faith in Him will cause us to want to change that and to begin living as He would have us live.
The third is not as intuitive as the first or second. The third step is Baptism by the proper authority. If we recall a post from the beginning of this blog, that proper authority was restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith, and the LDS church is the only church on the earth that holds this authority.
The fourth is more like a second part to the third. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is something we receive immediately after, and really part of, baptism. It is the blessing that the Holy Ghost (the third member of the Godhead) will be with us to guide us and help us along our way.
The fifth isn't so much a step as it is a way to live. Endure to the End, we call it. This really just means keeping steps one and two and on Sundays renewing step three through an ordinance called the sacrament.
Now, obviously there are other standards and laws that our Father and His Son have given us that we must live by. But to make a list of do's and don't's would be silly.
I love our Father's plan, and I know that if we follow these five steps that we will return to His presence after this life.
check out mormon.org if you have any questions.
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Next post will be basically about that ^.
Where do we go when we die?
