Some of Gregg's thoughts were taken from the talk by Stephen
E. Robinson Entitled “Enduring To The End”
The doctrines of the Restoration make it clear: Those who endure,
loyal to their covenants, will receive eternal life.
Enduring to the End Few promises made in
scripture have the credentials and guarantees of the promise made to those who
endure to the end: “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for
unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” (3
Ne. 15:9.)
Nearly
thirty other passages from the standard works refer to this promise. This
joyous affirmation is one of the most consoling features of the gospel’s restoration
through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
God’s promise, given to us in our dispensation in such clarity, is sure: Once
we are on the path leading to eternal life, we need only endure in order to enjoy
the promised blessings.
Yet
exactly what does it mean to endure to the end? Endure what, and how? And when
is the end? For some people, the term endure calls up
images of tar and feathers or other forms of persecution. But few Saints
actually face such suffering today. Are we therefore less tested than the
Saints of former times? I think not.
The
fact is that enduring affliction is only a small part of what “enduring to the
end” means. Most frequently, the scriptures use the term endure to mean “to last,” “to continue,” or “to
remain,” rather than “to suffer.” For example, Alma expresses hope that his son
Shiblon “will continue in keeping [God’s] commandments;
for blessed is he that endureth to the end.” (Alma
38:2; emphasis added.) Nephi explains that we must “be reconciled
unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which
leads to life, and continue in the
path until the end of the day of probation.” (2
Ne. 33:9; emphasis added.) Thus, to endure is to continue in the path we
adopted at baptism by
keeping our commitments to Christ, until the end of our mortal life.
Usually
the scriptures link “enduring to the end” with keeping one’s covenants with
Christ. (See, for example,( D&C
20:29); 2
Ne. 9:24.) The Savior himself reinforced this dimension of endurance
when teaching the Nephites, specifically emphasizing repentance and baptism:
“And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name
shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold
guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.”
(3
Ne. 27:16; see also 3
Ne. 27:13–22.)
So
enduring to the end means, in general, entering into the gospel covenant
(through faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost) and
then remaining faithful to that covenant.
We
often refer to those who continue in their commitments to Christ as being
“faithful.” Thus, being faithful means that we can be trusted to keep our
commitments. The covenants of baptism and of the temple are solemn promises we
make to God about how we will conduct our lives. Enduring to the end is keeping
those promises throughout our lives—no matter what. It means we don’t quit
because of life’s difficulties or temptations. Conversely, failing to endure
means backing away from what we’ve started—first promising loyalty to God and
then withholding what we promised. Endurance is not so much a matter of stamina
as it is a matter of loyalty and integrity. Can you be trusted to faithfully
hold your course? Just as a spouse who can be trusted to keep the marriage
covenant is called faithful, so those who can be
trusted to keep their gospel covenants are called faithful.
There
was a man who had to decide whether to pay his tithing every
time his check came, whether to go to his meetings every time they were held,
whether to take an alcoholic drink every time he was offered one. Finally a
friend asked him: “Why can’t you just decide once and for all which side you’re
on? Why do you have to re-examine your loyalty every time a decision is called
for? You are spiritually reinventing the wheel over and over again, and you
will never make any progress until you can build on what you already know.”
A few weeks later he called his friend and asked for a ride to
some stake meetings. The friend was pleased he was going, and when he told him
so, the man responded: “You know, I wouldn’t like it if my wife told me she had
to decide every morning whether she still loved me or not, or if she told me
she only stayed with me because she hadn’t found a reason to leave—yet. I guess
the Lord is entitled to more of a commitment than that from me. I’m ready to
stop reinventing the wheel and move on.”
Some
people are basically saying, “well, today I think
the Church is true, but ask me again tomorrow.” There must come some point at
which our commitment to the gospel and our conviction of its truth settles
questions of faith in advance and predetermines our response to whatever
challenges that commitment.
A
testimony isn’t like a hypothesis in science, which may be supported by
evidence one day and destroyed by it the next. It is a conviction based on the
evidence of things not seen that some things are eternally true. (See Heb.
11:1.) The provisionally (short term) converted (committed) are
those who just haven’t found a reason to leave—yet. Just as such a relationship
would be unsatisfactory in a marriage, so it is unsatisfactory in the spiritual
marriage of the gospel. Such individuals need to become converted, to receive
the witness of the Spirit and the conviction that accompanies faith. Just as
partners in a truly celestial marriage say, “we are sealed, no matter what,” so
a truly converted member says: “I am a member of this church. My lot is cast
with the Apostles and prophets—no matter what. Above all other issues,
loyalties, agendas, and commitments, this is where I
stand.”
Without
such a prior commitment, some new policy or required sacrifice, some imagined
(or real) offense on the part of Church leaders, might challenge our endurance.
Of those who fluctuate in their commitment, the Lord said that they have no
“depth of earth” in which to sow the word of the gospel, and when trials come,
by and by they are offended. (See Matt.
13:18–21; Mark
4:3–20.) We must not fear to send the roots of the gospel deep into
our hearts. Elder L Whitney Clayton said “Our souls should be so deeply rooted
in Christ that we will be able to endure any challenge, triumph over any
affliction, withstand any attack on our faith, and become like oak trees—firm,
immovable, and steadfast. That kind of rootedness transcends time and outlasts
every enemy, even the most subtle, invisible, and insidious ones.”
Enduring to the end requires a personal awareness of obligations
(commitments or covenants) made to the Savior and a personal determination to
keep those covenants faithfully. While the term “being active” describes
visible behavior, “enduring faithful to the end” describes an inner commitment
to the gospel and to the church of Jesus Christ.
It’s possible to appear to be an active member of the Church without such a
conviction.
Occasionally,
those who cannot keep their commitments seek to justify themselves by
separating loyalty to Christ from loyalty to his church, but this is
impossible. Our covenants in the restored gospel of Christ are covenants which
specifically include our relationship with his church and which are
administered through his church—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. We cannot endure to the end in those covenants without
enduring to the end in that church. This
is made clear by the Savior himself: “And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I
establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.”
(D&C
10:69; emphasis added.)
There are no private arrangements. Enduring in one’s covenants
means enduring in the Church. God will not excuse those who leave the Church,
thinking that they have good reasons or that they can keep covenants made in
and through the Church while rejecting the Church. No matter what their
intentions, they are deceived. By definition, if they have not lasted, continued
or remained, they have failed to endure to the end.
In
Matthew 24:9–13, the Savior’s promise to those who endure includes a warning
against three specific hazards. These are affliction, deception, and iniquity.
Concerning affliction, Church history, both ancient and modern,
provides us with many examples of those who broke their covenants rather than
face persecution. They couldn’t bear the malice of the world. When Satan
threatened them with pain or loss, they gave up the kingdom.
On
the other hand, Church history provides no better examples of enduring
afflictions than those of the early pioneers. Consider someone like Hosea
Stout, who buried his wife and five of his six children on the journey west.
After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he made only a simple notation in his
journal: “My family then
consisted of eight members, and now but two.” In the resurrection, how
could we face those who lost their lives, who lost their homes and fortunes,
who buried their loved ones in shallow graves—all for the gospel’s sake—if we
wither in the face of lesser trials?
The Savior warned of a second hazard to our endurance, perhaps
even more relevant to today’s Saints than affliction. This is the hazard of
deception: “For in those days, there shall also arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible,
they shall deceive the very elect (covenant makers), who are the elect
according to the covenant.” (JST, Matt. 24:23.)
If Satan can’t intimidate us with physical trials, he’ll
sometimes try to fool us with substitute programs. He would like us to invest
our time, talent, and energy in causes that are not the cause of Zion, in the
hope they may ultimately replace our commitment to the gospel. Often, these
other concerns are valid and worthwhile. The deception comes in giving them a
higher priority than our covenants. Those who are fooled in this way usually
feel the Church is not doing enough in the area of their pet concerns. They may
become disenchanted with the program of the Church and begin to follow
“alternate voices.”
These members do not lack zeal; indeed, they are often strong
enough to endure tremendous trials. But Satan has diverted their zeal to the
wrong causes, and they don’t perceive their shifting loyalties as
unfaithfulness. Generally, they do not feel that they are rejecting Christ;
they just decide to interpret his will differently or to serve him in different
ways according to new standards and values. Consequently, their original
commitments take a back seat to their new agenda. But the bottom line is still
that they couldn’t be trusted to hold their original course and keep their
original commitments. They didn’t endure.
Again
and again the Lord has warned the Church about following other voices. (See,
for example, D&C
43:1–6.) Right now, there are many alternate voices vying for the
attention of the Saints—social voices, intellectual voices, political voices,
and other voices. In our premortal life, all of us rejected Satan’s persuasions
to subscribe to a plan alternate to the Father’s. Now in mortality, we must do
it again. If we are to endure, we must avoid alternate religious “special
interest” groups.
Don’t
we know of someone who is going through a difficult time? He is politically intense and is particularly
worried about what he sees as events leading up to the end of the world. He
sees conspiracies in government and society, and he can’t understand why the
Church isn’t as intense and as concerned as he is about these perceived
threats. He spends a great deal of time trying to warn other members of the
Church whom he believes to be asleep, and he privately wonders if some in
leadership positions aren’t also asleep. Basically, his thinking runs like
this: “My Church and my politics are telling me two different things, and
I know that my politics are true … so there must be
something wrong with the Church.” He does not consider the other logical
possibility, nor does he recognize the reversal of loyalty evident in his
thinking.
There may be some truth in some things he says, but that is not the
point. The point is that he is listening to other voices and has transferred
his highest loyalty to programs other than the Lord’s. Tragically, his politics
have become the idol to which all else in his life must bow—even his commitment
to the Church.
For
all of us, our main defense against Satan’s deceptions must be a strong and
abiding testimony that the Church is true. All may not be well in Zion (which
is what the prophets said would be the case), but the Church is still true.
It’s not anemic; it doesn’t need supplements. It’s not true if, and it’s not true but, and it’s not true except. It’s just true!
Moreover, the Church is not off course; it’s not going too slow, and it’s not
going too fast. Its leaders are not asleep, and they don’t need any uninvited
help from the passengers to steer the boat.
Some protection from the hazard of deception may be found in the
principle of “more or less”: “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and
as they were, and as they are to come;
“And
whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a
liar from the beginning.” (D&C
93:24–25; see also 3
Ne. 11:39–40; 3
Ne. 18:13–15; D&C
10:67–68; D&C
98:6–7.)
In
the context of the gospel, truth is what God has actually said, what he actually directs,
what he actually requires—no more and no less. On a
strait and narrow path (see D&C
132:22), it doesn’t matter whether we fall off to the right or to the
left, we are in trouble either way. It doesn’t matter whether we are “liberals”
or “conservatives,” whether we believe “too little” or “too much”—that is, if
Satan can’t get us to abandon the principles of the gospel, he is content that
we should live them obsessively or as fanatics. One is less than the will of
the Lord; the other adds human requirements to his will. Either puts us in the
territory of the wicked one. There are those today who are embarrassed that God
and his servants have said so much on some things and who go about trying to
discredit the Brethren and neutralize the revelations and commandments. We have
others who are embarrassed that God and his servants have not said more on
other things and who go about preaching principles and programs the Lord has
not revealed. One takes words out of God’s mouth; the other puts them in. Each
preaches a “new, improved” gospel inspired by that wicked one who was a liar
from the beginning, the very first alternate voice.
It
requires discipline to embrace as gospel and to teach as gospel exactly what
the Lord has revealed, no more and no less, and to avoid revising the gospel to
suit ourselves. But those who can do it will know things as they really are
(see Jacob
4:13) and will avoid deception.
The
third hazard of which Jesus warned is iniquity: “And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matt.
24:12.) If Satan can’t shake us with affliction or trick us with other
plans, sometimes he’ll just try to buy us. In the latter days, many will “take
the money and run”—will take the cash, the flesh, or the fame and run from
their covenant obligations. One test of our endurance is not to fall in love
with this world’s pleasures. The faithful can’t be bought with these things. On
Sundays they’re in church. They willingly pay tithes and offerings. They keep
their physical appetites and desires within bounds. They are honest in their
dealings. Their loyalty is not weakened by the possessions and powers God has
placed in their care.
Happily, failing to endure is not a sin one commits once and for
all time. While we remain in mortality, we always have the option of
repentance. Not long ago, there was a student who had lost his membership as a
result of repeated, willful iniquity. He said that he wanted to straighten his
life out. He was asked him if he had a testimony, and he said no, he didn’t.
Surprised, he was asked him why he wanted to repent and regain his membership
if he didn’t have a testimony. Who can forget his answer: “I don’t know right
now that the Church is true, but I know that I once knew, and I know God knows
I once knew. The Church didn’t change between then and now—I did. And now I
want to know again what I knew before, and I am willing to repent to do it.”
In Alma 37:33 we are taught: Teach unto them repentance, and
faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. Teach them to humble themselves and to be meek
and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with
their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
One critical element in our eternal progression is doing all we
can do, accepting guidance from our Heavenly Father, and enduring to the end
and being lifted up at the last day. Enduring to the end is, for many,
difficult.
An elderly sister, meeting with her bishop, explained that she
was ready to go. I have completed everything I need to do. Her husband had died
years earlier and she had been at his side as he served as a bishop and as a
stake president, and she too had served faithfully. I am old and I am tired and
I am ready to move on? Why am I still here? She asked the bishop. He was
inspired to say, ”there is a need for each of us to overcome weaknesses and
also find purpose in life as we endure, continue to grow and progress. But
bishop, I have no bad habits, and I’ve done everything I’ve been asked. What do
I still need to do? she asked.
The bishop thought that when mortal life ends, the timing of our
journey’s end is not a decision we can make. The bishop assigned thru the
Relief Society President the aging sister to be a visiting teaching supervisor.
The ward’s visiting teachers received a needed boost, and an
aging, faithful sister began the last decade of her life, serving others,
sharing wisdom and experience, and enduring to the end. In the following 10
years, this sister called, encouraged, set a demanding pace, and, most of all,
set an energetic example.
Attending her funeral when she died at age 89, many younger
sisters expressed their love and appreciation for the blessings they received
as they became more diligent in their visiting teaching efforts through this
sister’s efforts. As we endure, heeding answers to daily prayer and listening
to inspired leaders are two important steps in our mortal process.
Even when one’s endurance has failed before the end, repentance
can bring about a new beginning.
Three specific hazards to those trying to endure, trials,
deception, and iniquity—these are the enemies of endurance. Those who can bear
the pain of trials, who can ignore alternate voices, whose loyalty can’t be
bought with sin—these are they who will not betray their Master’s trust. They
will faithfully maintain the charted course. They will endure.
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine
afflictions shall be but a small moment, and then, if thou endure it well, God
shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C
121:7-8).
Follow these principles included in the Doctrine of Christ
through the constant utilization of the third member of the Godhead, even the
Holy Ghost. Accept the blessings that come with enduring to the end. Avoid the
three hazards in our fight in enduring to the end. Remember when we fail at
times, we can always repent and right ourselves and continue in the path of
enduring is my hope and prayer.
Stephen E. Robinson was
department chair in ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. Talk was
taken from the October Ensign of 1993.
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