The Rest of the Lord

                In Hebrews 3: 11, Paul mentions that the people in the days of Moses, who wandered in the wilderness for forty years, not entering into the rest of the lord.  They lost this privilege because they hardened their hearts and did not understand the ways of the lord.  They could not enter because of their unbelief.  Although they had seen miracles in the wilderness they still were laxed in following the Lord.  Paul repeatedly warned the saints to not harden their hearts, warning them that if they did they would not hear the voice of the Lord nor enter into his rest.  This can apply to us today because we can harden our hearts by not listening to the words of the modern prophet.  The Modern Prophet is the voice of the Lord today and if our hearts are hardened we will not hear the voice of the Lord and we won’t understand his ways.

                Doctrine and Covenants 84: 23-24 describes the rest of the Lord as a fullness of the God’s glory.  God’s work and his glory is the immortality and eternal life of man (see Moses 1: 39) so the rest of the lord described here is Eternal Life in the presence of God.  To enter into this rest, Paul counsels us to labor and eagerly work to enter the Lord’s rest.  He notes that not laboring is a sign of unbelief (see Hebrews 4: 11).  Paul also said the “word” needs to be “mixed with faith.”  James taught that we need to be “doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1: 22).  Paul mentions the work of the creation and how on the seventh day God rested.  It is understood that God created the earth by the word of his power, which is Christ (see Moses 1: 32, Jacob 4: 9).  We need to not only confess Christ as our savior, but we need to do the works of Christ so that on our seventh day we will be able to rest.  Further, John 7: 17 and Matthew 21-23 state how important it is to do the will of the Father in all things in order to understand the doctrine (the word) and to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (eternal life) which is the rest of the Lord.

Work Out Our Salvation

When the Lord says to work out our salvation he is telling us we need to live righteous lives.  Ezekiel 3: 20 speaks of the necessity to repent of our sins and how if we die in our sins then it doesn’t matter how much good we’ve done, we will die spiritually.  On the other hand, D&C 20: 7 states that if we keep the commandments we will have eternal life.  To receive salvation we must persevere on the path of righteousness and not turn from it.  We must keep the commandments with full purpose of heart.  We must endure to the end.

                Paul Counseled in Romans 12 and 13 some things we can do in this life that will help lead to salvation.  He counseled us to treat our bodies with respect so that we may be able to offer them as acceptable sacrifices.  We are to renew our mind, meaning we need to stay active in our learning.  We need to abhor evil and cleave to that which is good.  We need to be hospitable and kind to others.  We need to not judge others or think we are better than them.  We need to be subject unto God and those ordained of God.  We need to settle our debts and love each other.  We need to love our neighbor as ourselves.

                In order to truly love others we cannot judge them.  In Romans 14 Paul reminds us that all of us will stand before God and be judged by him.  In another scripture he mentions that “all have sinned and come of the Glory of God” (Romans 3: 23).  Everyone does different things and has different strengths and weaknesses.  No matter what those are, it is important to do everything for the Glory of God.  Meaning, we need to give God the credit that is rightfully his and obey him out of love.  Since God is no respecter of persons, neither should we be.  We need to be “one” with our brethren so that we can be one with the Lord.  Paul often spoke of the people of his day as “saints.”  This title implies a sense of oneness and duty the people share one with another a common bond, in this case, the covenant of Baptism.

Christ is the Rock of our Lives

Jesus Christ is the rock of our salvation.  He is the one sure footing we can have to return and live with our Heavenly Father.  He is the rock because He should be the foundation of our testimonies.  He is the rock of Revelation.  He is the means by which the Father is revealed and known.  Christ is also the chief cornerstone of the church (Ephesians 2: 20).  He is also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for those who live in their sins and choose not to follow his teachings (Isaiah 8: 14).

                Today there are many sins and traps that we can fall into if we do not have our testimonies deeply imbedded in Christ.  Through Christ we can overcome all temptations.  God will never give us a temptation we cannot overcome through his help, “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that [we] may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10: 13).  Christ is our way of escape.  God sent his son Jesus Christ to the earth to provide an example and firm footing on which we can step to overcome the challenges of life.  We can be assured that if we if we place our faith in Christ we can trust him to help us overcome our challenges as we would trust a rock firmly planted in the earth.  However, if we do loose our footing, through repentance and the atonement of Christ we can regain it.  Alma taught that to fully utilize Christ in our lives, and to make him our one sure rock of faith, we need to pray unto the Father continually and that if we do so we will not be tempted above that which we are able but transversely we will become “meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering” (see Alma 13: 28)

Proper Authority and Ministering to People

                In order for priesthood ordinances to have saving power they must be done in the name of Jesus Christ.  The saints in Corinth learned this when Paul came to visit them.  At the time the saints had not received the Holy Ghost; they didn’t even know what the Holy Ghost was.  Also, they had not been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ into his church.  Upon learning this, Paul taught them that they needed to be baptized in the name of Christ so they could receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Paul then baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ and afterwards laid his hands on their head and bestowed upon them the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

                It is important to understand that these saints in Corinth were people who were living the best they could according to what they had been taught by John the Baptist.  However, they had not yet been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ nor received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and gained membership into Christ’s church.  Many people today face this same problem.  Many are “humble followers of Christ” (See 2^nd Nephi 28: 14) and are living the best they can according to what they know.  However, they have not received ordinances with the right authority.  The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that a man could be baptized a hundred times and that if it is not done with the right authority it availeth him nothing (see D&C 22: 2).  Only being baptized by someone having the correct authority, in the name of Christ, in preparation to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, will be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.

                The need to have an ordinance sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is one reason why the saints in Corinth needed to be re-baptized.  John had the authority to baptize, but he did not have the authority to confer the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  This is why he said Christ would come and baptize them “with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (see Matthew 3: 11).  Since the saints at Corinth hadn’t even heard of the Holy Ghost they needed the Gift of the Holy Ghost to allow the Holy Spirit of Promise to validate their baptism.

                Along with baptizing and conferring the Gift of the Holy Ghost Paul cast out devils, raised a man from the dead, and administered the sacrament.  An interesting point here is that up until now the Sabbath was on Saturday (the seventh day of the week).  Acts 20: 7 seems to suggest that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday.  This is likely in relation to the savior rising from the tomb on the 3^rd day, which was a Sunday, the first day of the week (see John 20: 1, 19).  The disciples now coming together on the “first day of the week” to “break bread” suggests that they are partaking of the sacrament on Sunday, which would also suggest that the Sabbath occurs now on Sunday rather than Saturday.