Mosiah 8:13-18 The key to freedom is obedience

President Packer

“Obedience - that which God will never take by force - He will accept when freely given. And He will then return to you freedom that you can hardly dream of - the freedom to feel and know, the freedom to do, and the freedom to be, at least a thousand fold more than we offer Him. Strangely enough, the key to freedom is obedience.”  (Tate, Boyd K. Packer: A Watchman on the Tower, 174.)

Mosiah 5:2 Repentance is usually not a dramatic change, but a step by step consistent change.

President Ezra Taft Benson

“Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. …

“… True repentance involves a change of heart and not just a change of behavior. … Most repentance does not involve sensational or dramatic changes, but rather is a step-by-step, steady, and consistent movement toward godliness” (Ezra Taft Benson, “A Mighty Change of Heart,” Ensign, Oct. 1989, 5).

Mosiah 2:36-38. If something distances us from the Holy Ghost, then stop doing it.

Elder Bednar      Mosiah 2:36-38

“… If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing. If that which is intended to entertain, for example, alienates us from the Holy Spirit, then certainly that type of entertainment is not for us. Because the Spirit cannot abide that which is vulgar, crude, or immodest, then clearly such things are not for us. Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us” (David A. Bednar, “That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us,” Ensign, May 2006, 30).

WOM 1:7 Pres Monson follows a prompting while swimming laps at the pool

President Thomas S. Monson

“On one occasion many years ago, I was swimming laps at the old Deseret Gym in Salt Lake City when I felt the inspiration to go to the University Hospital to visit a good friend of mine who had lost the use of his lower limbs because of a malignancy and the surgery which followed. I immediately left the pool, dressed, and was soon on my way to see this good man”

“When I arrived at his room, I found that it was empty. Upon inquiry I learned that I would probably find him in the swimming pool area of the hospital, an area which was used for physical therapy. Such turned out to be the case. He had guided himself there in his wheelchair and was the only occupant of the room. He was on the far side of the pool, near the deep end. I called to him, and he maneuvered his wheelchair over to greet me. We had an enjoyable visit, and I accompanied him back to his hospital room, where I gave him a blessing.

“I learned later from my friend that he had been utterly despondent that day and had been contemplating taking his own life. He had prayed for relief but began to feel that his prayers had gone unanswered. He went to the pool with the thought that this would be a way to end his misery—by guiding his wheelchair into the deep end of the pool. I had arrived at a critical moment, in response to what I know was inspiration from on high.

“… How pleased I am to have been an instrument in the Lord’s hands on that critical day at the swimming pool” (Thomas S. Monson, “Consider the Blessings,” Ensign Nov. 2012, 87).

Enos 1:6 Christ takes away the burden and guilt of our sins.

“Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 101).

Pres. Uchtdorf. Asking questions isn't a sign of weakness, it's a precursor of growth.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“What about doubts and questions in principle? How do you find out that the gospel is true? Is it all right to have questions about the Church or its doctrine? My dear young friends, we are a question-asking people. We have always been, because we know that inquiry leads to truth. That is the way that the Church got its start, from a young man who had questions. In fact, I’m not sure how one can discover truth without asking questions.

“In the scriptures, you will rarely discover a revelation that didn’t come in response to a question. Whenever a question arose and Joseph Smith wasn’t sure of the answer, he approached the Lord, and the results are the wonderful revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. Often, the knowledge Joseph received extended far beyond the original question. That is because not only can the Lord answer the questions we ask, but even more importantly, He can give us answers to questions we should have asked. Let us listen to those answers. The missionary effort of the Church is founded upon honest investigators asking heartfelt questions. Inquiry is the birthplace of testimony. Some might feel embarrassed or unworthy because they have searching questions regarding the gospel.

“But they needn’t feel that way. Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a precursor of growth. God commands us to seek answers to our questions [see James 1:5–6] and asks only that we seek ‘with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ’ [Moroni 10:4]. When we do so, the truth of all things can be manifested to us ‘by the power of the Holy Ghost’ [Moroni 10:5]. Fear not. Ask questions. Be curious, but doubt not. Doubt not. Always hold fast to faith and to the light you have already received. Because we see imperfectly in mortality, not everything is going to make sense right now. In fact, I should think that if everything did make sense to us, it would be evidence that it had all been made up by a mortal mind.

“Remember that God has said, ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts’ [Isaiah 55:8–9]. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Reflection in the Water” [Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Nov. 1, 2009], broadcasts.lds.org).

Jacob 2:31-35. A young man unable to help because of a bad choice

Elder Holland taught the following about a young returned missionary:

“He … told of coming home from a date shortly after he had been ordained an elder at age 18. Something had happened on this date of which he was not proud. He did not go into any details, nor should he have done so in a public setting. To this day I do not know the nature of the incident, but it was significant enough to him to have affected his spirit and his self-esteem.

“As he sat in his car for a while in the driveway of his own home, thinking things through and feeling genuine sorrow for whatever had happened, his nonmember mother came running frantically from the house straight to his car. In an instant she conveyed that this boy’s younger brother had just fallen in the home, had hit his head sharply and was having some kind of seizure or convulsion. The nonmember father had immediately called for an ambulance, but it would take some time at best for help to come.

“‘Come and do something,’ she cried. ‘Isn’t there something you do in your Church at times like this? You have their priesthood. Come and do something.’ …

“… On this night when someone he loved dearly needed his faith and his strength, this young man could not respond. Given the feelings he had just been wrestling with and the compromise he felt he had just made—whatever that was—he could not bring himself to go before the Lord and ask for the blessing that was needed”

“‘No one who has not faced what I faced that night will ever know the shame I felt and the sorrow I bore for not feeling worthy to use the priesthood I held. It is an even more painful memory for me because it was my own little brother who needed me and my beloved nonmember parents who were so fearful and who had a right to expect more of me. But as I stand before you today, I can promise you this,’ he said. ‘I am not perfect, but from that night onward I have never done anything that would keep me from going before the Lord with confidence and asking for His help when it is needed. Personal worthiness is a battle in this world in which we live,’ he acknowledged, ‘but it is a battle I am winning. I have felt the finger of condemnation pointing at me once in my life, and I don’t intend to feel it ever again if I can do anything about it. And, of course,’ he concluded, ‘I can do everything about it’” (“The Confidence of Worthiness,” 59).

Jacob 2:17-19. Overcoming Pride

Antidote for Pride, the Universal Sin

“The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness… God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble... We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity (our opposition) toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are…We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel, by forgiving those who have offended us, by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others, by getting to the temple more frequently, by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God…We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives.”

How to Conquer Pride:

Esteem others as ourselves

Receive counsel and chastisement

Forgive those who have offended us

Render selfless service

Confess and forsake our sins

Be born of God

Love God and submit our will to His

Put God first in our lives

Be humble, meek, submissive

Have a broken heart and contrite spirit

(Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, May 1989. pp6-7)

2 Nephi 32:3 No one can stand approved before God if they haven't seriously read the BOM

2 Nephi 32:3

It seems to me that any member of this church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again, and thoroughly considered it…”

“…No member of this church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference report Oct 1961)