Thursday, April 10, 2003

Doctrine and Covenants 38:19-20

“And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.
And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.”
Doctrine and Covenants 38:19-20


I was looking at the calendar this morning and thinking... April 10th... hmm, now why does that seem significant?  And then I realized that April 10th, eleven years ago, was the day that I was released from my mission.  It seems like so many things have happened since then, and yet it hasn't been long at all in the overall view of life. :)  Which brings me to this scripture.  God said these words through the prophet Joseph Smith in 1831.  He said similar words to Abraham, to Nephi, and to other prophets.  I think that he is saying it to all of us.  It can be an immediate promise, if you are trying to carve out a niche for yourself or your family, but it is also a gigantic promise in the overall view of life. :)  This earth is going to be the Celestial Kingdom, and if God gives us the right to the land, then we'll get to be here when that is complete.  Eternity is a pretty good amount of time for an inheritance. :)
The key here, and with a lot of the gospel, is that we have to seek it with all our hearts... there is a double meaning there as well.  The first is that we have to be completely dedicated to gaining an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom.  Completely.  We can't sit there and say, "hmmm... I don't know... how many square feet do I get?  Maybe the Terrestrial Kingdom can offer me more..."  We can't try to hold onto any souvenirs of hell when we travel to heaven.  It will take everything we have... every ounce of dedication that we possess... to achieve that goal.  And, it is worth that, and worth much more than we can offer besides.  The second meaning is that it will take all our hearts, plural... as a group... to achieve that goal.  We're here together for a reason.  We have the opportunity to help each other and to build the kind of Zion community that we want to live in, in our hearts, and start radiating it out to everyone we meet.  Living the gospel is a challenge at times, and we've all been tested and tried.  When we are strong, we have people we can help, and when we're weak, we have others to help us.  That is what being part of a Zion community is about.  Let's work at being worthy of our inheritance. :)

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