"Trump Guilty" - What's Really Behind the Story?

I will confess my naivete about the political and legal circus we have witnessed in recent days as it played out in a New York courtroom. To say the least, a unanimous guilty verdict against Trump on 34 felony counts by a jury should awaken the American electorate as nothing else might. But I remain resolutely indifferent to what happened yesterday.

Why? Because at the base of all of it is a fundamental moral principle that has been ignored. From the moment Moses descended from Mount Sinai where he revealed the Ten Commandments for the first time, this seventh commandment has been widely ignored in the avalanche of reporting that has been done:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." 

(Exodus 20:14)

Imagine how different the world would be this morning if we were living in a country built not just on Constitutional law, but on a higher moral law! I am certain the debate will rage for all the days hence until the election on November 5th. Trump is the master of the three-ring circus, and is using his conviction as a fund-raising platform. The other side will relish using the term "convicted felon" from here on going forward. 

Years ago on this page, I wrote an entry entitled "Personal Righteousness, Key to Governing America." You can read it here. I still believe it today.

You will hear legal experts and political pundits trying to score points for their respective teams, and all of it will be rhetorical at best. None of it will focus on Trump's well-known infidelity to his wife. Why? Because infidelity is so commonplace these days most are giving the former president a pass. What he did to cover up his sins to curry favor in 2016 among voters only compounded his underlying adultery. The lawyers can argue about the seriousness of breaking the law, but there will be a thorough and exhausting back-and-forth that will weary even the staunchest political observers and adherents.

The law of chastity is a bedrock among the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with all our like-minded Christian brothers and sisters of other persuasions. 

Why should parents teach their children about procreation and chastity? How can they appropriately do this? God commanded each living thing to reproduce after its own kind (see Genesis 1:22). Reproduction was part of His plan so that all forms of life could continue to exist upon the earth.

Then He placed Adam and Eve on the earth. They were different from His other creations because they were His spirit children. In the Garden of Eden, He brought Adam and Eve together in marriage and commanded them to multiply and replenish the earth (see Genesis 1:28). However, their lives were to be governed by moral laws rather than by instinct.

God wanted His spirit children to be born into families so they could be properly cared for and taught. We, like Adam and Eve, are to provide physical bodies for these spirit children. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have stated, “We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). God has commanded us that only in marriage between a man and a woman are we to have sexual relations. This commandment is called the law of chastity.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

“In the first place, we believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. We believe that marriage may be eternal through exercise of the power of the everlasting priesthood in the house of the Lord.

“People inquire about our position on those who consider themselves so-called gays and lesbians. My response is that we love them as sons and daughters of God. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. Most people have inclinations of one kind or another at various times. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church. If they violate the law of chastity and the moral standards of the Church, then they are subject to the discipline of the Church, just as others are.

“We want to help these people, to strengthen them, to assist them with their problems and to help them with their difficulties. But we cannot stand idle if they indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 91; or Ensign, Nov. 1998, 71).

As a former bishop and a member of bishoprics and high councils, I have witnessed firsthand the sorrow and contrition of those who seek repentance for their violations of the law of chastity. Sins can be blotted out, forgiveness can be extended, and those who have strayed from the path of discipleship may and are encouraged to return to full fellowship in the Church. However, it has been my observation that the memory of those sins once committed is more difficult to purge from our consciousness. In time, it is hoped, even those awful memories can fade away.

I will quickly add, however, that I have forgotten the names, faces and circumstances of most of those with whom I have interacted years ago on those occasions, and if I can forget, then so can our Father in Heaven.

The Lord told Alma, “Whosoever transgresseth against me … if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also” (Mosiah 26:29).

Each of us has a loving Father in Heaven. Through the Father’s redeeming plan, those who may stumble and fall “are not cast off forever” (Book of Mormon title page).

“And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” (D&C 18:13).

“The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; nevertheless” (D&C 1:31–32), the Lord said, “he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42).

Could there be any sweeter or more consoling words, more filled with hope, than those words from the scriptures? “I, the Lord, remember [their sins] no more” (D&C 58:42).

I conclude with these glorious promises from Jesus Christ:

"And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them - Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths - then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

"Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.

"For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.

"But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.

"This is eternal lives - to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law." (D&C 132:19-24).

I began by saying I was naïve. I would be foolhardy to think Donald J. Trump would ever consent to turn his life over to God and join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and partake of the fulness of the gospel that is available to him. He may never confess his sins publicly about his well-publicized infidelity to his wife, but I can at least hope the bombastic defiance coming out of him could somehow be quelled to even a fraction of what it has been.

I would settle for that. . . and for the rest of us, let's keep the 7th Commandment.

My Latest Temple Road Trip

I went in search of the sun last week. It took me to southern Utah, where I found temperatures in the 80s, blue skies and plentiful spiritual blessings. I stopped for endowment sessions in the Manti Temple, St. George Temple and Red Cliffs Temple.

Manti was an added bonus as I headed south. I veered off at Spanish Fork, realizing I could not make that trip complete without a side trip to Sanpete County. I was rewarded with a deep appreciation for the sacrifice of our pioneer ancestors' workmanship on that magnificent edifice. It is one of the few remaining temples that teaches us our mortal quest is always an upward climb by using staircases between each ascending room. It's a feature we don't often get anymore in the modern temples. The original murals remain, and they are totally unique.

Years ago, as Patsy and I attended a session there, those in attendance who were familiar with the veil ceremony were asked to please come forward and assist at the veil. They must have been short of veil workers that day. It was the first time I had done that, and gave me my first glimpse of stepping into the shoes of Elohim. I helped a trembling young bride who was going through the temple for the first time on her wedding day. She was obviously overwhelmed with the experience, and nowadays we suggest going through a few days before the wedding to avoid what can otherwise be too much emotion all packed in to one momentous day.

I loved being there last week, especially as we moved into the Terrestrial Room and waited for our turns to go through the veil and then into the Celestial Room. Once again, we climbed a few steps upward to access the veil. As I entered the Celestial Room, I was overcome with the LIGHT in the room pouring through the windows. I sat for a few minutes, prayed, and pondered. I had been asked to speak in my home ward's sacrament meeting yesterday, which I did, and my topic was to describe my path in discipleship. 

I realized in that moment in the Manti Temple that I was nearing the end of my path in mortality. It's an increasing awareness I have these days. My discipleship has culminated in my love for the temple covenants and the enhanced changes President Russell M. Nelson has made in the plainness and superb teachings around the covenants we now receive. 

My next stop that afternoon was in St. George. I chose a hotel near the St. George Temple, and attended an endowment session the following morning. I have such fond memories of attending the St. George Temple in the days when I served as a national vice-president to President Tom Pike in Sigma Gamma Chi, the college men's Church fraternity. We were serving concurrently with the national officers of Lamda Delta Sigma, including Barbara Winder and Joanne Doxey, who would later serve in the General Presidency of the Relief Society. Whenever we made a trip to the campuses in southern Utah, we always included an endowment session with our spouses who were able to accompany us. Those were treasured memories.

The St. George Temple has been restored to its pioneer heritage. Every detail is outstanding, and the color scheme of deep blue hues breathtaking. The baptistry's ironwork is impressive and totally unique. Once again, I was deeply impressed with the evidence of the hard work that had gone into building the temple originally. President Brigham Young and President Wilford W. Woodruff were instrumental in fleshing out the design of the endowment presentation that was first introduced in St. George, improving upon the basic outline that had been revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

Here's the order of completion and dedication of the Utah temples: 

1 St. George Utah Temple 6–8 April 1877         Daniel H. Wells

2 Logan Utah Temple 17–19 May 1884         John Taylor

3 Manti Utah Temple 17 May 1888                 Wilford Woodruff

4 Salt Lake Temple 6–24 April 1893         Wilford Woodruff

Someday in the next couple of years, we will all participate in the rededication the Salt Lake Temple. I await that day with eager anticipation.

The final day of my recent temple trip concluded with an endowment session in the new Red Cliffs Temple with my sister Jane Reiser who now lives in St. George. I have been so accustomed this past year of not participating in the prayer circle since Patsy's passing that I was surprised when Jane tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to join her. Laurence, her husband, had also passed away this last year, so we were mutually blessed in our time together in this new temple. The interior design in Red Cliffs complements the desert landscape in that part of the world beautifully.

As I stood later in the locker room beside another brother while we waited for our locker to clear, I asked him where he was from. His response was that he lived in Nauvoo. He had worked as a contracted painter on the gold leafing in the Nauvoo Temple, and they liked it so much that he and his wife bought a home there. Then he was called as a full-time worker missionary to paint other temples. After that assignment, he was hired as a full-time employee of the engineering company that had contracted with the Church to paint many other temples. He explained he was on vacation at the moment, doing what he loved doing best - attending temples because he loves temples so much.

I reflected on our brief visit for these days since. We are blessed beyond measure for our devotion to the ordinances of the temple. That's where the real power resides, not in the beautiful architecture as impressive as it is. Here was a man, typical I suspect of many, many saints in the Church today, who are becoming the very temple-loving people President Nelson is hoping we will be. 

And, yes, I did return to a chapel full of ward members and visitors yesterday in the Woodland Ward to give a brief account of my path in discipleship. I suspect I am not unusual when I say that from the first day I received my first temple recommend until now, I have always had a current recommend, and my circumstances make it possible for me to attend the temples of my choice A LOT. How blessed I am!

Am I Worthy to Enter the Temple?

On October 6, 2019, the First Presidency under the direction of President Russell M. Nelson issued a press release that explained the temple recommend questions asked by local Church leaders to members seeking to obtain a temple recommend would be made public. What follows are those questions for your consideration. Please note: The questions are more directed at individuals to ask themselves and are introspective in their nature.

Andrew and Jessica Goates

The interview questions are made public so members of all ages can better understand the requirements for temple worship and prepare to enter the temple.

The interview questions for temple recommends are below. Verbiage in 11 questions has been modified. Questions 12 and 13 are omitted when youth are interviewed for a limited-use recommend.

1. Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?

2. Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?

3. Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

4. Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?

   Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators?

   Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local leaders of the Church?

5. The Lord has said that all things are to be “done in cleanliness” before Him (Doctrine and Covenants 42:41).

   Do you strive for moral cleanliness in your thoughts and behavior?

   Do you obey the law of chastity?

6. Do you follow the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ in your private and public behavior with members of your family and others?

7. Do you support or promote any teachings, practices, or doctrine contrary to those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

8. Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

9. Do you strive to be honest in all that you do?

10. Are you a full-tithe payer?

    For new members seeking a limited-use recommend: Are you willing to obey the commandment to pay tithing?

11. Do you understand and obey the Word of Wisdom?

12. Do you have any financial or other obligations to a former spouse or to children?

    If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations?

13. Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple, including wearing the temple garment as instructed in the endowment?

14. Are there serious sins in your life that need to be resolved with priesthood authorities as part of your repentance?

15. Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances? 

In the press release, President Nelson expanded his thinking in these words:

“The crowning jewel of the Restoration [the process of fully establishing the Church of Jesus Christ on earth] is the holy temple. Individual worthiness to enter the Lord’s house requires much individual spiritual preparation. But with the Lord’s help, nothing is impossible. In some respects, it is easier to build a temple than it is to build a people prepared for a temple. Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord, to be an honest citizen, to be a better example and to be a holier person.”

We no longer need to worry, wonder or speculate about what might happen as we seek out a local leader for a temple recommend. The questions are now a matter of public record and can be accessed by anyone with an interest in knowing what might be expected of them as they prepare for the additional covenants available to them in the holy temple.

For young people today, there are now only three requirements to obtain a full-use recommend - 1) that you have the desire to go to the temple, 2) that you are eighteen years old, and 3) that you have graduated from high school. 

Young men are now eligible for full-time missionary service at eighteen, and young women at nineteen. I salute this generation of Church members who are answering the Prophet's call to serve in record numbers. 

As he stated above, he is seeking to prepare a people who are worthy to enter the temple while simultaneously building the physical temples globally. 

I will teach the youth in our ward the second lesson in the temple preparation course this coming Sunday, where we will discuss temple worthiness. The bishop will be coming into our class to introduce these questions to the youth. I am so excited to help them catch a vision of the magnitude of the temple blessings that await them. 

Do You Believe People Can Change?

Wow, what a great topic this is! When I think of all the people I have met in my life, I have to conclude that every one of them changed from the first time we met. Sometimes they changed for the better, and others changed for the worse. But change is the stuff of which mortality is made, isn’t it?

If we believe change in people is not possible, then why would we deploy tens of thousands of missionaries all around the world to see if we can share the gospel message with them? We have this abiding belief that they will embrace the fulness of the restored gospel, come unto Christ, join His Church here on earth, and then take steps to the temple where they are promised they can receive “all that my Father hath.” 

Imagine just how audacious that might seem to some. “I’m happy just the way I am,” they used to tell me in Northern England all those years ago. Or, “Got me own, luv,” was another frequent response when we posited changing churches. Those, of course, were the ones who could have cared less that I was in their home country on a two-year mission to save the world - their world - from certain destruction if they booted me off their doorstep. I learned how to deal with rejection in very real and precise terms in that experience.

But I also, on occasion, was a witness to those few precious souls who DID embrace the possibility of change. They gave up coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco and hard drugs for starters. They had to change before they could be baptized, and a few blessed souls to whom I carried that possibility actually did change in dramatic ways right before my eyes. As our visits together progressed, I saw visible changes in their homes. They cleaned up before we had lessons. They cleaned their clothes, they bathed and dressed their young children so they were “presentable” to us. One even told me they thought we were angels from the presence of God who had come to their home. And they changed. Asking an Englishman or woman to surrender their tea to us, then never drink it again was like asking some to cut off their arm. It was the acid test of their sincerity, and some just couldn’t do it.

How does this relate to raising our children in today’s environment? Maybe that is a more compelling question for us to consider as parents and children.

We are bound together by celestial bonds and covenants as an eternal family. We love one another, we love being together, and we are sometimes saddened when one of us might weaken or falter in whatever extremity with which we are dealing at the moment. So we reach out to help one another in love. We are inspired by each other as we witness one rising above their challenges and succeeding as they move along life’s path. I know I have drawn strength from each of you as I watch from the sidelines. I thank you, each one of you, as I see you change, grow, and conquer your demons. 

A few months back, after I had upgraded to the new i-Phone 15, I hadn’t realized I would have to download all my apps on my new phone. The Google browser was just spinning, and I couldn’t figure out how to get it unstuck. Grandson Alex was here, I asked him my question, he took my phone, hit a few buttons, and bingo - it somehow “magically” downloaded in seconds. He said something that has stuck with me: “Grandpa, sometimes the best solution when it comes to technology is just to hit the restart button. That solves almost every problem.” I told him whimsically, “That’s why you came home from your mission, so you could help me change my phone.”

Isn’t that the way it is with each of us? Sometimes we get “stuck,” and we can’t seem to find the next step out of our dilemma, whatever it may be. We need a “reset.” How blessed we are to have the gospel to guide us to daily repentance. We reset ourselves, then begin again as we pursue our course in life and get back on the covenant path if we have wandered off it for a time. 

I think about just how extraordinary it is to be part of my family we started calling "the Goates Kids"!! We aren’t perfect, far from it (well, maybe not THAT far, right?) As many of them shared their memories of infant daughter Adrienne’s death thirty-one years ago, I was humbled to read that for many of them that tragic event in our family was the beginning of their testimonies of The Plan of Salvation and the hope of eternal life with their baby sister. They recounted that she has been a ministering spirit among us for all these many years since. I wonder if that reality doesn’t have something to do with who we have become as a family. Her death has cemented us, anchored us, and continues to inspire us to live in such a way that we can be with her again. 

That horrifying discovery that early December 9th, 1992, has sanctified this home in which I now live alone. It is, indeed, holy ground upon which I walk every day. I have changed. I no longer think about death the way I once did. I know it is a logical next step for me someday. I will eventually die, I know that. I have no doubts or fear about it at all. 

I love my dear companion, Patsy. When I watch the YouTube video Steve and Tina Goates put together and I see her so young, so vibrant and so beautiful from the earliest days of our lives together, I realize how much she changed (and changed me) and just how successful she was. 

I have always said that 95% of the stuff she worried about never came to pass, and now I realize that each of us should follow her lead and worry a little more than we do. We just need to adjust our thinking with the powerful thought that whenever we need to we can “reset” with powerful daily repentance to assist us along the way back to our heavenly home.

Just look at how well that worked out for her and how successful she was at chasing away all the bad things that might have happened if she hadn’t worried so much!

I testify we can all change. We must change. We will continue to grow and progress as a family anchored in our faith in the gospel. Change isn’t the least bit scary when we put it all in perspective, is it?

I must include one final thought about the Abrahamic Covenant, as found in Abraham 2:8-12:

"My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.

"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

"And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.

"Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee."

My children are all the literal seed of our bodies, Patsy’s and mine. They are blessing everyone in their path with the blessings of the gospel, and they are fulfilling the promise given to Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed with “the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.” 

President Russell M. Nelson reminded us all at the recently concluded General Conference of the importance of cherishing the blessings of the priesthood keys and the gospel of Abraham. 

Keep up the good work, all of you out there in the blogosphere! You are the agents of change in your world. 

A Few Things My Mom Taught Me. . .

On this Mothers Day, 2024, I hope you will indulge me, all you faithful followers of this page, in a moment of personal privilege as I celebrate the life of my favorite mother in my life, Patsy. That's her infant daughter Melanie pictured with her at the left. What follows is a sweet tribute from that little girl, now a mother of five of her own. I felt like it captured Patsy's essence perfectly.

God and Family Matter Most

Mom's life was not complicated. That sounds crazy, since she raised 13 unique humans in a complicated and busy world, but her formula was simple -- love God and care for your family, everything else is details. 

Serve Others

She valued the two great commandments and lived them out in all that she did. Taking meals to those in need, helping with a funeral or wedding, dropping off cookies for birthdays, sending treats in the mail for holidays. She understood that the small things were big things.

Be Consistent

I am floored by the consistency with which my Mom served us, perpetuated traditions, and showed love. She never missed special occasions and her traditions were as sure as a ticking clock. For decades we marched to the drumbeat of butterscotch pull-aparts on Christmas morning, Valentines doorbell ditched in Feb., shamrock-shaped green sandwiches for St. Patrick's Day, a turkey dinner during General Conference, Jesus wall for Easter, baskets of caramel corn during summer game nights, handmade Halloween costumes, Runts in mini cornucopias for Thanksgiving. She never skipped weekly Sunday dinners on fine china or hot breakfasts each morning followed by family prayer. The woman was a master of consistency.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

She didn't have a sophisticated system for organizing, but Mom was never without a list she was working on, scrawled shakily onto a scrap of paper and sitting on the kitchen counter awaiting checkmarks. She often gave up sleep or comfort to do it, but long before 2-day Amazon deliveries and without the convenience of popping into the neighborhood grocery store, this woman planned ahead to make sure she could accomplish all she wanted to and get everyone where they needed to be. She had foresight, vision, and the grit to get things done.

Be Grateful

Whether it was her lengthy prayers filled with expressions of gratitude, or a note to someone who had done something seemingly insignificant, she expressed gratitude sincerely and often. No good deed went un-thanked. 

Love and Forgive

Whether it was her kids' routine lack of consideration or a deep hurt like divorce or family feud, Mom didn't get caught up in the details, she simply sought to love and forgive. She healed hearts and soothed fractured relationships through relentless prayer and tireless love. 

Listen for God's Voice

Mom was humble and even a bit too self-deprecating at times. She knew that without God she was nothing, so she lived her life to be the receptacle of the Spirit and divine guidance. She sought to tune in through prayer and scripture study, words of prophets, and temple worship. She asked, listened, then acted. 

"Hope Cometh in the Morning"

We have all recently been reminded of the sagacious wisdom of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: 

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. (Mosiah 2:41).

I am headed to the new Orem Temple for an endowment session this afternoon. I find these days filled with a constant desire to be in the Lord's House, no matter which one. I love the constant reminders of His goodness. I am anxious to learn more each time I go. I will never get to the end of all there is to understand and believe. It is an endless pursuit in mortality.

There are so many sources to which we can look for inspiration. Grief has been my constant companion since last July, when we bade a temporary farewell to my beloved companion of a lifetime, Patsy. But there is a corollary that goes with grief - the more we loved the more intense our grief may be. Saddened as I have been for my loss, my heart lifts in perpetual gratitude for the richness Patsy has brought into my life. 

I came across a statement this morning from someone named Frank O'Connor, who said: "All I know from my own experience is that the more loss we feel the more grateful we should be for whatever it was we had to lose. It means we had something worth grieving for. The ones I'm sorry for are the ones that go through life not even knowing what grief is." 

I can hardly conceive of someone going through life without knowing grief. It seems to be the very stuff of our existence. 

But then I remembered this verse also:

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5).

That ultimate morning of the first resurrection is what I focus on now more than ever. The fulness of joy will be unimaginable if we live for it, of that I am certain. There is no doubt we will all experience weeping at times in our lives, and that's when the darkness seems deepest. When we "lose" our spouse, it may be the most wrenching and devastating tragedy we can imagine. But I intentionally placed quotes around the word lose in that sentence. Nothing is ever really lost to us, maybe just temporarily displaced for a season.  

My children are all grieving for the absence of that maternal influence in their lives. There isn't a day that passes without one of them sharing with all the others what new discovery they are making. I am heartened as I read and hear their experiences. They are determined to go forth on their journeys in hope and trust in the Lord. What have they got to lose? And how much joy to gain!

Yesterday, I waded into my Google Photos account, and discovered a memory treasure trove. For an hour I indulged myself, locked alone in my thoughts of her. I found every stage of our lives being relived in all those pictures. Those momentary journeys into the past always include a way back into the present with a knock at the door from a well-intentioned someone who lives in the present with me. I am enriched by both.

At the altitude in Utah's mountains where I live (7333 ft.), I have been enduring four straight days with snow in the air and on the ground. The temps have plummeted too, forestalling what was suggested might be an early Spring. This morning I can finally see a break in the clouds overhead, and streaks of blue sky occasionally. There is nothing like the hope of a new Spring that stirs my soul. It is God's promise of renewal to me. It is as if He whispers, "Don't worry, David. I still remember Spring, and I will be generous to you."

What Have You Learned About The Plan of Salvation?

I preface what follows with my assertion that what we know about The Plan of Salvation has come to mortal men by the revelations of God the Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to living prophets through all generations of time tracing their lineage back to Adam and Eve. Throughout the scriptures, and embodied in the teachings of modern prophets, we are invited to participate fully in all that has been revealed for our salvation. In it all, we are promised our agency and freedom to choose.

I’ll start with Moses 1:39:

“For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

God our Eternal Father’s eternal PURPOSE, His very reason for being is to exalt ALL His children. That means His intention is for all of us to return to live with Him, and He stated:

“I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.” (Moses 2:1). 

The Light of the World

That Plan of Salvation was authored by Him, implemented by His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost bears witness to each of us it is true. Alma teaches us in one chapter of his writings that “there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.” (Alma 42:4). That time is our mortal estate, or the time in which we are living today. 

In the same chapter he refers to The Plan of Salvation as “the great plan of happiness” (verse 8); “the plan of redemption” (verse 11); “the plan of mercy” (verse 15); “the plan of happiness” (verse 16); and “the great plan of mercy” (verse 31). 

The temple endowment outlines the work of creation in detail. We learn there was a premortal council in heaven. We often hear people teach there were two plans presented in that council, but there was only ONE plan - the Father's plan. The contention arose over who the Father would send to implement the plan through the atonement.

“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abraham 3:25). 

In that council, Lucifer, one of God’s pre-eminent sons, rebelled because his offer to save all mankind was rejected:

“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency  of man, which I the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

“And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.” (Moses 4:3-4).

Adam and Eve were chosen to be the first inhabitants of this earth, and were introduced into the Garden of Eden as spirits. They were not mortal yet. Satan beguiled Eve and she partook of the fruit of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then she convinced Adam to also partake. 

“And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.

“And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all the earth.” (2 Nephi 2:19-20).

Why did they partake of the forbidden fruit? Because Eve sensed they would never be able to make babies without mortal bodies, and they could not become mortal without that step being completed. 

So they repented of partaking of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by exercising their agency, something Heavenly Father had promised them they would always have. 

“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.” (2 Nephi 2:22).

In other words, Adam and Eve had to fall. Death had to be introduced into the equation. The fall of Adam and Eve was a necessary next step in the plan. 

Death without a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation is often difficult for people to understand. Even for us in the Church with all the knowledge we possess, the separation from loved ones is painful and often excruciating, but it is also an integral part of the process we go through to inherit eternal life with our Father.

The period between birth and death is the period in which we now live. We are exercising our moral agency to choose between that which is good and that which is not so good, even evil. Those cumulative choices of a lifetime are what determine our joy or our misery. 

I was attending an endowment session last Thursday in the Provo City Center Temple. I was struck by how many people greeted me with a smile from the moment I got out of my car in the parking lot and walked through the doors. Everyone was smiling at me with a greeting - total strangers - and it persisted all through the endowment into the celestial room, the locker room and out the door back to my car. 

These were happy people who had exercised their agency their whole lives, and it had produced these results. There wasn’t a grumpy, angry or belligerent soul among them all. Their countenances told me everything about them. These ranged from young people to aged ones. Universally, they were happy souls. Their mortal probation was filled with the joy reflected in their faces. THAT was what God meant by “proving them herewith to see if they will do” all those good things He always hoped we would do.

Of course, none of us does everything perfectly, so provisions were made for a Savior when we yield to Satan’s enticing offerings, as we all do. We were offered the marvelous gift of repentance. 

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they shall have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

“And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit.” (2 Nephi 2:25-28).

When we choose eternal life, we finish life in mortality with a smile on our faces. "Men are that they might have joy." We are not anxious about what our eternal destiny might be, nor fearful of a harsh judgment from which there is no escape eternally. Rather, as we repent - daily as necessary - we may embrace joy and hope. We may live our lives in anticipation of a joyful reunion with our family members who have preceded us, died and gone into the spirit world ahead of us. 

If we are in the path of discipleship when death comes, we will not fall off the covenant path after death. We will inherit eternal life, because that is what our Father in Heaven promised to us.  I know that is true.

In mortality, and as we attend the temple endowment sessions, we are reminded of the five laws we covenant to live: 1) The law of obedience, truly the first law of heaven; 2) the law of sacrifice, which means we are willing to sacrifice our fallen desires and the temptations to do evil; 3) the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which means we accept the Savior as our Redeemer through repentance, and it can be summarized in the 4th Article of Faith; 4) the law of chastity, which means that we will have no sexual relations with anyone other than our legally and lawfully wedded spouse according to God’s law; and 5) the law of consecration, which means that we consecrate (give freely) all that we possess - our time, talents and all we possess or ever will possess - to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion. 

We voluntarily take upon ourselves those sacred covenants (or promises) to God based upon our agency in all things. We MUST choose for ourselves. Sometimes it seems hard to choose because Satan is very good at what he does. He’s been at this game of deception for a long time, and he is forever angry that he has been denied a physical body. He is rebellious, belligerent and unrepentant. He wasn’t doing God’s will in the pre-existence, and he certainly isn’t going to change his stripes now.

I read and see reports of all the upheaval in the world today, and I am reminded again and again that we live in this fallen world as part of the Plan of Salvation. Satan has many minions on earth today who are doing his bidding. They tend to garner all the headlines and the cable news interviews. 

But as I witness the smiling faces I see in the temples, I am confident there are many of God’s children in the Church who are choosing well because they have overcome Satan’s temptations. They are happy, productive, and filled with light. They are binding Satan by their righteousness. I am content the Church is on the right path. The prophets are inspired to show us the way to eternal life. They help us avoid spiritual death:

“Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he [Adam] should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed.

“But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son.” (D&C 29:41-42).

Those angels have never ceased to minister to us since Adam and Eve were cast out. Consider this testimony from Mormon’s writings as captured by Moroni:

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

“For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. 

“And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men…

“Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face of thereof to be saved?

“Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief and all is vain.” (Moroni 7:27-29; 36-37).

We, as children of the covenant in our family, are witnesses of miracles, and we KNOW angels minister among us. We cannot deny these things. We have all known of these truths. We all have personal experiences, and we have shared in our stories generously with each other. We are living our mortal probation seeking to do God’s will and to do His divine work among our brothers and sisters in and out of the Church without hesitation. I testify that you are truly among those of whom Mormon wrote, “…them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.” (See Moroni 7:30).

And then we die the temporal death in mortality. Our mortal body goes into the grave, and our spirit goes into the spirit world. We become those very angels like our departed loved ones. Alma gives us the revelation he received from an angel on this topic:

“Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection - Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

“And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.” (Alma 40:11-12).

Those who were wicked are cast into “outer darkness” - also known as a “spirit prison” or "hell" - in a state of misery, being led captive by the will of the devil. This is a temporary habitation in the spirit world for those who were disobedient in mortality. In this sense, hell has an end. The spirits there will be taught the gospel, and sometime following their repentance they will be resurrected to a degree of glory of which they are worthy. Both the righteous and the wicked, we are told, “remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.” (See Alma 40:14). What is clear to me is that the spirits in paradise minister and teach those in spirit prison. There is missionary work going on there.

When the time of resurrection approaches for each of us, I always found this sermon from President Spencer W. Kimball to be very instructive (see April General Conference, 1977, p. 69):

“Any doctrine or ordinance as fundamental to man’s eternal salvation as the resurrection of the dead is of necessity regulated and performed by the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is also part of the resurrection of the family. So far as the celestial kingdom is concerned, the resurrection is a family event. We would at first naturally suppose that Jesus would resurrect himself, but perhaps he did not. Jesus did not baptize himself. The clear rendering of Acts 2:22-24, 32; 3:12; 5:30 (as cited above) represents Peter saying on three separate occasions that God raised up Jesus from the dead. If we read those passages literally and combine that concept with the teachings of President Young and Elder Snow, that only a resurrected being can perform a resurrection, we may gain an insight into the resurrection process as a patriarchal family order in which a righteous resurrected father would resurrect his son, and so forth.” 

He also offered this stunning insight in his sermon: “We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know you would like to ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of resurrection.”

It would seem there is sufficient time in the spirit world for progress, repentance and improvement prior to the final judgment. We learn there are three degrees of glory - telestial, terrestrial and celestial. (See D&C 76). Within the celestial glory there are three degrees. The Lord has chosen to reveal very little about the two lesser degrees, and focuses our attention almost exclusively on the celestial glory. He expects us to set our sights higher. I urge you to study that section of the Doctrine and Covenants for the details. Of the spirit world, we learn the following:

“There is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.” (Alma 40:21).    

I treasure this teaching from the Prophet Joseph:

“The great designs of God in relation to the salvation of the human family, are very little understood by the professedly wise and intelligent generation in which we live. Various and conflicting are the opinions of men concerning the plan of salvation, the [requirements] of the Almighty, the necessary preparations for heaven, the state and condition of departed spirits, and the happiness or misery that is consequent upon the practice of righteousness and iniquity according to their several notions of virtue and vice… .

“… While one portion of the human race is judging and condemning the other without mercy, the Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; He views them as His offspring, and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men, causes ‘His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ [Matthew 5:45.] He holds the reins of judgment in His hands; He is a wise Lawgiver, and will judge all men, not according to the narrow, contracted notions of men, but, ‘according to the deeds done in the body whether they be good or evil,’ or whether these deeds were done in England, America, Spain, Turkey, or India. He will judge them, ‘not according to what they have not, but according to what they have’; those who have lived without law, will be judged without law, and those who have a law, will be judged by that law. We need not doubt the wisdom and intelligence of the Great Jehovah; He will award judgment or mercy to all nations according to their several deserts, their means of obtaining intelligence, the laws by which they are governed, the facilities afforded them of obtaining correct information, and His inscrutable designs in relation to the human family; and when the designs of God shall be made manifest, and the curtain of futurity be withdrawn, we shall all of us eventually have to confess that the Judge of all the earth has done right [see Genesis 18:25].”  (TPJS, pp. 217-218). 

This is the reason we do baptisms for the dead. We are incapable of ascertaining the desires of the hearts of men. Only God can judge completely and accurately. We can assist them here by performing all the vicarious ordinances for them in the temples, while they progress, repent and improve upon their desires there. How merciful that God extends our time and offers salvation in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom for as long as possible! Consider further this statement:

“Our heavenly Father is more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive; and, at the same time, is more terrible to the workers of iniquity, more awful in the executions of His punishments, and more ready to detect every false way, than we are apt to suppose Him to be. He will be inquired of by His children. He says, ‘Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find;’ but, if you will take that which is not your own, or which I have not given you, you shall be rewarded according to your deeds; but no good thing will I withhold from them who walk uprightly before me, and do my will in all things - who will listen to my voice and to the voice of my servant whom I have sent; for I delight in those who seek diligently to know my precepts, and abide by the law of my kingdom; for all things shall be made known unto them in mine own due time, and in the end they shall have joy. (Aug. 27, 1842).” (TPJS, p. 257). 

All our hopes and dreams in righteousness will be realized if we stay on the covenant path. I promise each of you a fulfillment of all you desire. I assure you of my love and the love of our Heavenly Father. Our Savior is Jesus Christ, who eagerly encourages us to “Come Follow Me.” He promises the realization of all those blessings, withholding nothing.

I am always struck with the sheer magnitude of the promised blessings in the temple ordinances. We can indeed become kings and priests, queens and priestesses in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and we can perpetuate our posterity through all generations of time and throughout all eternity by embracing the glorious Plan of Salvation as I’ve briefly outlined it today. I feel it now as much as I have always known it before. 

“And again, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed upon them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them - Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths - then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.” (D&C 132:19-20).

I cannot conceive, nor can I even begin to write, such comprehensive and breathtaking language! This is the promise I am seeking to obtain through my faithfulness. It’s what I have learned in part about the Plan of Salvation, and what I wholeheartedly embrace as a son of God.

(On Sunday, I began teaching the temple preparation course to the graduating seniors in our ward - the bishop tells me there are sixteen whom he has invited to attend. The first of seven lessons involves the introduction to The Plan of Salvation, hence my brain dump in this post.)