In his book “Accomplishing the Impossible”, Russell M. Nelson wrote:
. . .Because of the Atonement, the consummate blessings associated with these ordinances can be realized by each of God’s children who obeys His eternal laws. Through the ages, many of His children have had access to the blessings of the gospel, but many have not. Before the foundation of the world, our Heavenly Father instituted the ordinance of baptism for the dead for those who die without a knowledge of the gospel.4 He loves those children, too.
He also provided a way for them to be part of an eternal family. Every human being who comes to this earth is the product of generations of parents. We have a natural yearning to connect with our ancestors. This desire dwells in our hearts, regardless of age.
Consider the spiritual connections that are formed when a young women helps her grandmother enter family information into a computer, or when a young man sees the name of his great-grandfather on a census record. When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves. Our inborn yearning for family connections are fulfilled when we are linked to our ancestors through sacred ordinances of the temple.
While temple and family history work has power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. They are literally helping to exalt their families.
Together they obey the Lord’s commandment to teach the gospel to their children.9 Jesus wants children to come unto Him, “for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”10 Parents are responsible for that teaching, with assistance from the Church. All that the future holds for each sacred child of God will be shaped by his or her parents, family, friends and teachers. Thus, our faith now becomes part of our posterity’s faith later.
Each individual will make his or her way in a constantly changing world—a world of competing ideologies. The forces of evil will ever be in opposition to the forces of good. Satan constantly strives to influence us to follow his ways and make us miserable, even as he is.11 And normal risks of life such as illness, injury, and accident will ever be present.
We live in a time of turmoil. Earthquakes and tsunamis wreak devastation, governments collapse, economic stresses are severe and the family is under attack, and divorce rates are rising. We have great cause for concern. But we do not need to let our fears displace our faith. We can combat those fears by strengthening our faith.
Start with your children. You parents bear the primary responsibility to strengthen their faith. Let them feel your faith, even when more trials come upon you. Let your faith be focused on our loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Teach that faith with deep conviction. Teach each precious boy or girl that he or she is a child of God, created in His image, with a sacred purpose and potential. Each is born with challenges to overcome and faith to be developed.12
Teach of faith in God’s plan of salvation. Teach that our sojourn in mortality is a time of probation, a time of trial and testing to see if we will do whatever the Lord commands us to do.13
Teach of faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy.14 Warn your children that they will encounter people who pick which commandment they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the “cafeteria” approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith.
Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow without constraint. He will bless His obedient children with freedom from bondage and misery. And He will bless them with more light. . . . ~ Russell M. Nelson, Accomplishing the Impossible (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 2015), p.112-113
References: I apologize, the Church website wouldn’t let me make links of scripture references. Hence the references are given below:
4. Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982),391
5. Mosiah 2:41
6. Doctrine and Covenants 132:22
7. Leviticus 15:13
8. 2 Timothy 3:7
9. 1 Nephi 19:23
10. Isiah 5:20
11. 2 Nephi 9:41
12.Elder Thomas S. Monson ‘Courage Counts’
13. Moroni 10:32
