2 Nephi 30-31

(August 11, 2014)

                There are core doctrines that I think I understand until such time as I really begin to try to articulate what I think that I know.  One of these is the Millennium.  It was surprising to me, when I read about Satan being bound and then loosed, how little I understand or know about this time period.

                We know that there will be communications between the Heavens and the Earth.  We know that the Earth will be essentially in a Terrestrial state (I wonder if there will be those who cannot believe the Telestial state that we live in is real?).  But then, amazingly enough, all of that will end and there will again be a brief season of conflict until the final winding up.

                Ordinarily, I can put myself in the state of mind where I can envision what is actually happening (or, what it could be like), but I lack the imagination to do so here.  What’s more, many of the ways that I imagine the Kingdom of God unfolding in the future are actually at variance with what little doctrine I understand about this time.  Long story short, as I read through these chapters it came to my attention how deficient my knowledge was and how this deficiency was affecting other areas of my Gospel understanding.  It is something worthwhile for future study.

                The second thought I had was when the Father confirms the words of the Son.  This is a significant thing – we understand that most of the time the words we hear from Divinity are the words of the Son coming to us.  When the Father likewise speaks, it is very dangerous to trifle with His words.  He does not speak unless it is vitally important.  And what does He say here?  “He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.”

                I have learned over the course of the last several years how very important the doctrine of enduring to the end is.  I had lived, up until a couple years ago, a very charmed life.  I wasn’t so much enduring to the end as I was coasting to the end.  Then things changed, and I found myself challenged as never before.  Some of my challenges come from self-inflicted wounds, while other are as a result of the decisions and mistakes of others.  In both cases, however, the result is the same – I have, from time to time, found myself hanging on by my fingertips to the Iron Rod and the Gospel.

                What I have learned through this challenging time, however, is an internal strength that has supplanted my false beliefs about myself.  I used to think that I was somehow special.  I thought that I was different, more important, or similar thoughts.  Now, however, I realize that each and every one of us will be tested to our breaking point (whatever form that test needs to be in for us), and we will each get the opportunity to choose how we react to those challenges.  I now realize that I am not special, not more important, but yet I have value because I am holding on.  And that confidence that comes from a choice rather than a chance – the choice to endure, and to do your best to endure well – is a blessing.