“Spend your time at nothing which you know must be repented of.” ~Richard Baxter
There are different levels of sin / disharmony with God. The above suggests deliberate planning to do things against His will. While built in human weakness, daily unplanned mistakes cause me to call and depend upon him.
When I internalize this as a ‘destination to meet daily’ and become a little more true to uplifting principles, upward change has to happen. I overcome in that weakness; then another comes into focus to work on, and another and so on… line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. (see D&C 98:12,)
The greatest gift I can give God, when pursued with all my energy is the mindset and tenacity to do His will. When I am sincere, earnest and focused, He opens the path one small piece at a time, returning peace to me when I follow what he says. Embrace each suggestion, live it even in the face of adversity and opposition, and I am prepared for the next small piece. Should I tend to do too much or take a path accordingly to my ‘worldly wisdom’, I deceive my into regression and disappointment. His path will be relatively easy for me and his burden light, when I do it His way (see Matthew 11:29-30). In an eternal sense Christ is the only way. Even in the sense of simply finding God’s approval, there is no other way! In all things, He is the way the truth and the life, no man (or woman) cometh unto the Father but by Him (see John 14:6).
Man’s wisdom, trusting in false teachings, or the easy undisciplined way will not return me to God’s presence no matter how deeply sincere I am. The great I AM, Jesus Christ, has THE ONLY yoke that is easy and the only burden that is light when I allow him to be the major player in my life. Without him, the burdens I carry of sin, or any other of life’s challenges or distractions are much more difficult because my relationship of trust with Him is broken… I no longer have his support in times of trouble. Should I think, “I just want to take a temporary detour and have a little worldly fun”, that’s a dangerous path to take. As soon as I so give my agency over to the adversary, I risk never returning, or return much weakened when facing a similar temptation again. With Him on my side, I am still a sinner, but it is so different… my mistakes are no longer as deliberate and he is the good friend coaching and healing me along the way.
In this ‘The New and Everlasting Covenant’ (D&C 132:4) it is new because it is Christ’s ‘forever answer‘ to the great apostasy from the truth and is new to those who embrace it. It is as old as Abraham and Noah, but new to me daily again when chosing to live covenants of following Christ. They cause ‘ah ha’ moments I may have never felt before (or become newly refreshed in as needed). When I understand and then resolve to draw closer to His light through change… I also am in favor of his teachings and principles. Many so influenced by that new (daily or even moment by moment) renewal of self commitment to Christ become enriched even (in time) moment by moment when needed and as the Lord wills it. (revised and updated from June 22, 2015) kdm
Note: The scripture reference D&C 132:4 talks of the damned… meaning progression through following Christ’s true teachings is stopped in the same way water is stopped by an earthen dam.
