Dear Family and Friends,
You may be surprised to hear that the
title of this week's post is not referring directly to the mass murders
that occurred nearly 600 Tuesday's ago. I did, in my own quiet way,
honor the memories of the thousands of innocent men, women, and children
who were killed that day and in the subsequent conflicts, but I feel
that sharing any more of my feelings on that subject may breach the
guidelines set forth in the Missionary Handbook that counsels me not to
discuss politics.
The main topic of this week's letter to those I love is the 5th of
the 5 Blessings. They are Health, Prosperity, Good Fortune, Happy
Children, and Natural Death.
This week I was invited to attend a
memorial service for Brother Lee, a member of our Ward that had been ill
and unable to attend Church for a very long time. Missionaries are not
often invited to go to such ceremonies, so Elder Marrott and I were
deeply touched by the invitation extended to us by the deceased's niece.
It was a very peaceful service in which Brother Lee was remembered, the
goodness of God and the Plan of Salvation was extolled, and his mortal
remains were taken to be protected until he is called up by the Father
on Resurrection Morning.
The thing that makes Natural Death the 5th blessing, in my way of
seeing things, is that it gives one time to reconcile oneself with God.
As a person ages they begin to understand that their hour soon will
come to lay down their bodies and prepare to meet their Lord. I'm sure
this gives the aged time to ponder their lives and the chance to correct
any mistakes they may have made.
Unfortunately, as we were all reminded as we mourned on Tuesday, not
everyone is given the 5th Blessing. If you were to receive it, would
you be ready to meet the Father? Are you confident that you would
receive Eternal Life? I'm sure that, with the decades of quiet
introspection that usually proceed natural death, all of us would be.
But what if you didn't pass in your sleep in the sunset of your
life? If you were called back to the Judgement Seat tomorrow, would you
be ready? My purpose is not to frighten you into action, but to cause
you to search your soul and, if needed, correct yourself. Let me quote a
book I've been reading recently to help me clarify my words;
Alma 34:34 "Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess
your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit
will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."
The message here is very direct and simple to me; it doesn't matter what you outwardly do, but what you inwardly are. "That
same spirit" means YOU. If you have no desire to follow God's
commandments now, you won't in the next stage of your progression. If
you "set at naught the things of God" now, you will not be given more of
the things of God in the Post-Mortal world. To make it a bit more
clear; if you cannot abide by the laws and statutes of America, then you
cannot be a happy and free American. If you regard the laws as a cage
that needs breaking out of, you will be punished and your liberty will
be taken away. If you view these laws as a scaffold to help you grow
upwards to fulfill your full potential, you will receive happiness,
freedom, and be allowed to continue doing the things that make you
happy.
If you cannot follow the commandments of God, you cannot dwell with
Him. If you view the Word of Wisdom, the Laws of Chastity, of Tithing,
of the Sabbath as a cage, then you will begin to grow bitter as you
create an imagined prison around yourself. If you view these
commandments as a scaffolding that ensures you are building yourself
safely upward, and not dangerously outwards, you will feel yourself
being added upon. I know that it's not easy to accept at first that the
Gospel is a scaffold, not a cage, but I know that as you use the
doctrines and principles taught to govern your life and guide each
choice, our Heavenly Father will bless you with His Son's care and the
Holy Spirit's guidance.
I hope to be ready to meet my Father when the time comes, and that
each of you can also be so ready. I love you all, and I know that this
is the Lord's Restored Gospel. Love it, live it, and you will receive
true and unending joy and happiness.
Love,
Elder O'Gara
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