“We are overcome by the “cares . . . of this life” when we are paralyzed by fear of the future, which hinders our going forward in faith, trusting in God and His promises. Twenty-five years ago my esteemed BYU teacher Hugh W. Nibley spoke of the dangers of surrendering to the cares of the world. He was asked in an interview whether world conditions and our duty to spread the gospel made it desirable to seek some way to “be accommodating of the world in what we do in the Church.” His reply: “That’s been the whole story of the Church, hasn’t it? You have to be willing to offend here, you have to be willing to take the risk. That’s where the faith comes in. . . . Our commitment is supposed to be a test, it’s supposed to be hard, it’s supposed to be impractical in the terms of this world.” ~form a talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Parable of the Sower“, April 2015
The gospel commitment is not for the weak willed, the weak hearted. At the same time no heart needs be weak when our exemplar, confident, personal friend and Savior… is Jesus Christ. He is ready and willing to change our nature… our very dispositions, habits… and build in us spiritual armor against the adversary and against the world. The beautiful part of this commitment to Him comes when we realize he will not abandon us, EVER. (We fix our spiritual eyes upon Christ. Many end up abandoning the journey by looking to worldly distractions!) Our part is simple; We follow patient progression to (at first one at a time and then gradually) use all His gospel tools — often (consistent: prayer, scripture study, attending meetings, fellowship with others so focused in striving forward on His path). We will make mistakes no matter where on the path we are. Again, the key is to stay squarely on the path and never give up… because he will never give up on us! kdm
