April 2014 General Conference: The Cost—and Blessings—of Discipleship

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of us will face adversity and challenge for attempting to defend our faith, says Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  We want to meet these challenges with courage and courtesy.  We have good examples of those who have experienced this kind of reviling and adversity with all due restraint. The scriptures witness that ultimate example was set by Jesus.

And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.  (1 Nephi 19:9)

For all who follow that example, there has been a long history of rejection and a painfully high price paid by prophets and apostles, missionaries and members in every generation.  We may question if it is worth the cost.  Yes, it is worth it, Elder Holland suggests, because the alternative is to have our “houses” left unto us “desolate” — desolate individuals, desolate families, desolate neighborhoods, and desolate nations.

Elder Holland observed a characteristic of our age that

"If people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick marigolds.^"

He assures us,

"...Folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God. Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like “comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village love-in?"

We are called upon to worry, to warn, and to weep.

The promise of Jesus was not to bring peace to the world, but the sword. The bumper sticker slogan "What would Jesus Do?" does not always bring comfortable answers.  The requrement from Jesus is characterized in "If you love me, keep my commandments".


We must forsake transgression and any advocacy for it in others.  We are confident that the keys to saving ordinances are restored and represent the path to Christian discipleship. The path is without a great deal of latitude at some points, but traversing successully brings great rewards, “...with...steadfastness in Christ....a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.

Divine Love

In the February 2003 Ensign, Elder Russel M. Nelson presents an exposition on "Divine Love".

In the article, Elder Nelson explains the nature of divine love, a frequently misunderstood and mistakenly characterized idea.  "While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional."

  He offers unambiguous scriptural references to conditional promises that the Lord has offered through time.   The nature of divine conditional love is expressed in specific language that characterizes such scriptures.

It is equally evident that certain blessings come from a loving Lord only if required conditions are met. Examples include:

“If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, … then I will lengthen thy days.^"  (1 Kings 3:14)

“If thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments … ; then will I perform my word with thee.” (1 Kings 6:12)

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

“When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21)

“Unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:38)

Elder Nelson explains, "Understanding that divine love and blessings are not truly “unconditional” can defend us against common fallacies..."

“Since God’s love is unconditional, He will love me regardless …”; or 

“Since ‘God is love,’  He will love me unconditionally, regardless …”

These are popular ideas today, but they are as mistaken as the false teachings of Nehor in the Book of Mormon, 

...he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life. (Alma 1:4)

Does this mean that Jesus has no love for unbelievers and sinners?  No, it means that the Lord gives us our agency, and we choose the extent to which we receive the Lord's blessings.

Elder Nelson quotes from Brigham Young:

“Every blessing the Lord proffers to his people is on conditions. These conditions are: ‘Obey my law, keep my commandments, walk in my ordinances, observe my statutes, love mercy, … keep yourselves pure in the law, and then you are entitled to these blessings, and not until then.’” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 454)

Jesus asked us to love one another as He has loved us.  The pure love of Christ is granted to all who seek and qualify for it.   Such love requires our obedience to the conditions and laws upon which it is based.

I guess I'll be on first

I ran across this quote today by Patricia Holland that I really liked:

Believe me when I tell you that God is a God of justice. Ultimately, he cannot treat his righteous children differently. Whatever blessings you have gone without will be made up to you in divine and glorious fashion. I give you every assurance, they will be made up to you to the point where you will not be confident that God treated you fairly but embarrassed that he treated you so very generously.

I posted this in the comments section on accident, but it's worth reading twice. I am Jim's sister, Sarah; and I don't blog!