General Conference, ‘The Strength to Endure,’ October 2013; “Our ability to endure to the end in righteousness will be in direct proportion to the strength of our testimony and the depth of our conversion. When our testimonies are strong and we are truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, our choices will be inspired by the Holy Ghost, they will be Christ-centered, and they will support our desire to endure in righteousness.” – Richard J. Maynes
Jeremiah 17:7-8; “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Today’s dilemma is provided by Melissa! Here’s the e-mail she sent to me and what she had to say –
Today I was listening to the song Thrive by Casting Crowns and as I thought about the lyrics:
We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
It’s time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive
I thought about the Mormon saying “endure to the end”. Enduring and thriving are very different things. One sounds like such drudgery, while the other is very encouraging.
I looked up the a quote about how Mormons must do this and that and “endure”, and the scriptures the group gives for the song.
When Melissa sent me this I had just finished speaking with a Mormon about the Mormon scripture below and asked him what he thought about it. I told him it sounded ominous and personally defeating. In essence the end isn’t really the end for the Mormon. Their work here won’t be over when they die and tragically they’re responsible for making sure they pay the price of their sin. Where’s Jesus?
Doctrine and Covenants 138:57-59; “I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead. 58 The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, 59 And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works…”.
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