Continuing From Darkness Toward Light, Bruce C. Hafen teaches:
Often the Lord gives us a nudge by calling us, perhaps to serve a mission, inviting us to become, like Mormon, “a disciple of Jesus Christ” who is “called of him to declare his word among his people: (3 Nephi 5:13). Mormon referred to his own church calling as a “gift” (Moroni 7:2), probably because he discovered that his calling gave him experiences that led him to truly come to know Christ. However we get started, the choice to begin this journey requires that we exert our will or at least desire to believe (Alma 32:27). God Himself cannot and will not force us to take the first step.
2. Opposition. But as soon as we start moving toward the light, the gravitational pull of darkness will immediately try to jerk us back, for Satan “desireth to have you” (3 Nephi 18:18). He will tempt, frighten, and fight us.
Missionaries know all about this. One way or another, opposition will confront virtually every investigator. The first time Adam and Eve taught their children the gospel, Satan came along, saying, Don’t believe your parents. So the children “believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish” (Moses 5:13). “From that time forth” tells us that the children of Adam and Eve chose to be devilish after the Fall; they were not born devilish.
Satanic opposition has great power in today’s world. Satan holds “a great chain in his hand” (Moses 7:26), which symbolizes such addictions as drugs, alcohol and pornography. The prince of darkness looks up and laughs at the poor souls he ensnares.
But that opposition cannot ensnare us. Remember Joseph praying in the grove—an enemy power bound his tongue “so that [he] could not speak” (Joseph Smith–History 1:15). Remember Moses when he first saw the grand vision. Satan came tempting him until Moses feared exceedingly, seeing the “bitterness of hell” (Moses 1:20). But both Joseph and Moses called upon God, who gave them power to drive Satan away (Joseph Smith–History 1:16; Moses 1:21). That is a key insight. Satan may rattle us, but he cannot overcome us, for God can and will cast Satan from our presence.
Lehi said, “It must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” (2 Nephi 2:11). So wherever we are on our journey, there will always be a reason not to go on. We must not wait until all obstacles disappear. The purely rational mind will always find a reason not to go on. We must not wait until all obstacles disappear. The purely rational mind will always find a good reason to hold back, for Satan places his reasons in our path. But opposition can strengthen; it need not stop us. The skills of human growth are best learned slowly, and against great difficulty.”6
3. First Sacrifice. When an investigator breaks free from the world’s gravitational pull enough to repent and make serious covenants with God, he is ready for baptism—the clearest symbol of his first barrier of sacrifice. . . .
This sacrifice requires, at a minimum, giving up the most obvious sins. As King Lamoni’s father said, “I will give up all my sins to know thee” (Alma 22:18). By giving up short-term pleasures, he became free to seek more lasting satisfactions.
This sacrifice asks us to live the most basic temporal commandments, such as tithing and the Word of Wisdom, which is “adapted to the capacity of . . . the weakest of [those who] can be called saints.” (Doctrine and Covenants 89:3). Often these are physical temptations. In the Judean wilderness, Satan first taunted the hungering Christ to change stones into bread and eat (Matthew 4:3).
For Church members who want to become serious disciples, the sacrament represents the first level of sacrifice. They also commit to not only give away their sins but also to remember Him and follow until they know Him.~Bruce C. Hafen, Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009), 9-14 (continued)
