From his book “Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times,” Bruce C. Hafen taught:
A few years ago our then-teenage daughter was feeling quite unsettled, asking some very honest questions, such as, “Why is life so hard?” As Marie and I talked with her over dinner, I prayed as a missionary would for the right thing to say. After all our children and grandchildren are the most important investigators.
In that moment, I received a prompting about gravitational pull. I grabbed a paper napkin and drew a sketch I’d never thought of before, which sparked a lively discussion. I felt very close to her that night. She is the child of our covenant and I want to be with her always. (At this point Brother Hafen shares an explanation about a sketch he shared with his daughter he called ‘a disciple’s journey’. . . . )
The illustration shows that a disciple moves from darkness into light, increasing from the dim light of the stars, to the moon, and then to the brightness of the sun. Joseph Smith compared heavenly bodies with the telestial, terrestrial and celestial kingdoms. As the temple teaches we can and should move toward that celestial light during mortality. We do live in the world, but need not be of the world.
. . . . No matter where we are on the path, we are never lost to Him. Sometimes we sing, “Who’s on the Lords’ side? Who?” Let us also sing, “Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side.:2 We never have more value in the Lord’s sight than when we are feeling worthless—as the prodigal son felt.
Various terms describe the overall process shown here. Mormon called disciples “true followers” of Christ—following the Son to return to the Father (Moroni 7:48). Moroni said, “Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him” (Moroni 10:32). Jesus asked, “What manner of men ought ye to be? . . . even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). Our Primary children sing, “I’m trying to be like Jesus.”3 Whatever we call it, this journey is the gospel’s central concern.
Some non-Latter-day Saint observers of our Church think we clearly haven’t taught this concept. One of them, Jan Shipps, said that while Latter-day Saints “emphasize . . . Christ’s dying for humanity,” they don’t go on and “link the atonement to that part of the [LDS] ‘plan of salvation’ that involves progression towards goodhood.”4 In other words, she thinks we haven’t explained what the Atonement has to do with becoming like Jesus.
Another observer recently chided the Church for not explaining in a public way what he called our “doctrine of perfectability of mankind into divine form.”5 In fact, however, the Restoration answers these questions with stunning clarity. Consider the following steps a direct response to such questions.
- Initiation. As an act of will, we must take the first step that begins our journey. Some people take that initiative through their own desire to find and follow God. Think of Nephi who (wanted to see what his father saw (1 Nephi 11:1-3). Think of Abraham, who desired “to be a greater follower of righteousness” (Abraham 1:2).
Some who live worldly lives finally decide they have had enough of Satan’s darkness, like the prodigal son when “he came to himself” and headed for home (Luke 15:17). Some, like Enos or young Alma, start moving when they remember the teachings of their parents (Enos 1:3-4; Alma 36:17-18). Many others initiate their journey when they accept the invitation of a missionary or another Church member to listen to the message of the Restoration.
2. Opposition. . . . (continued)
~Bruce C. Hafen, Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009), 9-12
