"Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me."
Alma 7:15-16
I like the phrase "bind you down to destruction" here because it illustrates the bondage of sin. When we call on the Lord for help, he gives us a way out of sin, and helps us to become the people that we truly want to be rather than the people we feel forced into being because of our addictions and appetites. He helps us to overcome ourselves, or the "natural" part of ourselves and get things back in order with our spiritual side in charge. :)
The whole keeping the commandments part can be tough sometimes, especially when we get into huge ones like "be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48), but that's why we have the sacrament, because God knows we have to work at it, and it isn't going to happen all at once--maybe not even in this life (see Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "Be Ye Therefore Perfect--Eventually"). The point is to keep striving to improve, and to be facing the right direction rather than giving up and giving in to sin.
Today, let's witness to God that we are willing to enter his covenant, or if we already have, let's renew our commitment, and keep striving to do the right, and keep the Spirit with us.
And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me."
Alma 7:15-16
I like the phrase "bind you down to destruction" here because it illustrates the bondage of sin. When we call on the Lord for help, he gives us a way out of sin, and helps us to become the people that we truly want to be rather than the people we feel forced into being because of our addictions and appetites. He helps us to overcome ourselves, or the "natural" part of ourselves and get things back in order with our spiritual side in charge. :)
The whole keeping the commandments part can be tough sometimes, especially when we get into huge ones like "be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48), but that's why we have the sacrament, because God knows we have to work at it, and it isn't going to happen all at once--maybe not even in this life (see Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "Be Ye Therefore Perfect--Eventually"). The point is to keep striving to improve, and to be facing the right direction rather than giving up and giving in to sin.
Today, let's witness to God that we are willing to enter his covenant, or if we already have, let's renew our commitment, and keep striving to do the right, and keep the Spirit with us.
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