Yesterday I listened to a BYU devotional from years ago where the speaker, when asking the Lord on what she should speak on, was told to speak on a part of her nature as a ‘reluctant servant’. I thought for her and then for myself, OUCH! That too often is a part of my nature, so I REALLY ‘sat up and took notice’. It also happened that I had been reading relevant information on her topic in terms of why it is important to make the most of our earthly sojourn. Here’s part of what I found from Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an Apostle of the Lord from 1901 to 1918. kdm
“A man may receive the priesthood and all its privileges and blessings, but until he learns to overcome the flesh, his temper, his tongue, his disposition to indulge in the things God has forbidden, he cannot come into the celestial kingdom of God– he must overcome either in this life or in the life to come. But this life is the time in which men are to repent. Do not let any of us imagine that we can go down to the grave not having overcome the corruptions of the flesh and then lose in the grave all our sins and evil tendencies. They will be with us. They will be with the spirit when separated from the body.
It is my judgement that any man or woman can do more to conform to the laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are dead. The spirit only can repent and change, and then the battle has to go forward with the flesh afterwards. It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined in one. This is the time when men are more pliable and susceptible. When clay is pliable it is much easier to change than when it gets hard and sets.
This life is the time to repent. That is why I presume it will take a thousand years after the first resurrection until the last group will be prepared to come forth. It will take them a thousand years to do what it would have taken, but three score and ten to accomplish in this life.
… (From) one of the Prophet Joseph’s revelations– he said that they, the righteous dead, looked upon the absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage.
I grant that the righteous dead will be at peace, but I tell you that when we go out of this life, leave this body, we will desire to do many things that we cannot do at all without the body. We will be seriously handicapped, and we will long for the body; we will pray for that early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it is to have a body.
Then every man or woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the resurrection until he has completed his work, until he has overcome, until he has done as much as he can do….
The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long periods of bondage, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master ourselves. .
“Wherefore let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God who shall subdue all enemies under His feet. These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.” Doctrine and Covenants 76:61-62
Discourse from Elder Melvin Joseph Ballard delivered at the Ogden Tabernacle, He served in the Council of the Twelve from 1901 to 1918. From the book: ‘Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard by Bryant S. Hinckley, 1949, under Discourses; ‘The Three Degrees of Glory’ p.241
