Character

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No Atonement Except for the Character of Christ

November 10, 2009 in Jesus Christ by Greg | No comments

Last weekend, in an address about the recent Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Dedication, our stake president referred to a talk by David A. Bednar called “The Character of Christ.”1 In this talk, Elder Bednar stated:

The Temptation of Christ by Ary Scheffer Last September I participated in an area training meeting in Twin Falls, Idaho. Elder Neal A. Maxwell presided at the training session, and on a Friday night and a Saturday morning he, the Idaho Area Presidency, and other general church officers instructed a group of approximately one hundred stake presidents. It was a meaningful and memorable time of spiritual enrichment, learning, and edification.

During the course of his teaching and testifying, Elder Maxwell made a statement that impressed me deeply and has been the recent focus for much of my studying, reflecting, and pondering. He said, “There would have been no Atonement except for the character of Christ.” Since hearing this straightforward and penetrating statement, I have tried to learn more about and better understand the word “character.” I have also pondered the relationship between Christ’s character and the Atonement–and the implications of that relationship for each of us as disciples. This morning I hope to share with you just a few of the learnings that have come to my mind and heart as I have attempted to more fully appreciate this teaching by Elder Maxwell.

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  1. Bednar, David A. “The Character of Christ”. 25 Jan 2003. BYU – Idaho. 8 Nov 2009.↩

What the Lord Wishes of the People

March 9, 2009 in Religion by Greg | 1 comment

A number of years ago I came across this quote by Brigham Young about what the Lord wishes of the people. I thought it significant since I believe it conveys the reason for our journey to this earth. Here is what he said on this subject:

Earth and Moon I say, all revelations of God teach simply this—Son, Daughter, you are the workmanship of mine hands: walk and live before me in righteousness; let your conversation be chaste, let your daily deportment be according to my law; let your dealings one with another be in justice and equity; let my character be sacred in your mouth, and do not profane my holy name and trample upon mine authority; do not despise any of my sayings, for I will not be disgraced. I wish to send one of my servants to visit you. What for? That you may see and know as others have—that you may see as you are seen—that you may understand those principles pertaining more particularly to the kingdom you are in. I have, in my wisdom, reduced you; I have caused that you should drink of the dregs of the bitter cup. I have placed you in the depths of ignorance, and have surrounded you with weakness, to prove you. I have subjected you to all misery that can be endured. I have caused you to come upon this earth, where misery, and darkness, and every species of unbelief and wickedness reign, to prove you, that you may understand and know the good from the evil, and be capable of judging between these with a righteous judgment.

I have caused all this to be done; and now, son and daughter, the inhabitants of the whole earth that have lived from the days of Adam until now, the first and the last,—the grand aim of all that I, the Lord, have revealed is to instruct you to live so that I can come and visit you, or send my angels, that they can enter into your habitations, walk and converse with you, and they not be disgraced. By so doing, you shall be made partakers of all knowledge and wisdom, power and glory that the sanctified or glorified beings enjoy. And this is, first of all, what the Lord wishes of the people.1

Sources:

  1. Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses. 6:284-285.↩

True Education

November 4, 2008 in Education by Greg | 5 comments

What is the aim of “true education”? David O. McKay taught:

David O. McKay Character is the aim of true education; and science, history, and literature are but means used to accomplish the desired end. Character is not the result of chance work but of continuous right thinking and right acting. True education seeks, then, to make men and women not only good mathematicians, proficient linguists, profound scientists, or brilliant literary lights, but also honest men, combined with virtue, temperance, and brotherly love—men and women who prize truth, justice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-control as the choicest acquisitions of a successful life. It is regrettable, not to say deplorable, that modern education so little emphasizes these fundamental elements of true character. The principal aim of many of our schools and colleges seems to be to give the students purely intellectual attainments and to give but passing regard to the nobler and more necessary development along moral lines.1

Sources:

  1. McKay, David O. Gospel Ideals: Selections from the Discourses of David O. McKay. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1953. 440-441.↩