Endure to the End

Last Sunday I was asked to be the speaking companion with a high councilmen in my stake and I was also asked to speak in my own ward. Here is my talk in case you're interested:

 Doctrine and Covenants 14:7 reads, “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Endure to the End. In Latin it means “within”, “to be firm or solid,” In Hebrew endure means “to render firm” “to be faithful, to trust,” and in Greek it means “to remain,” “stay” or “continue.” Therefore “to endure” means commitment within one’s soul.

Often when we hear a sermon on the subject “enduring to the end” it focuses on the people who endured great trials and remained steadfast but today I would like to take a slightly different approach. I’d like to address the subject of perspective and knowledge.

For perspective Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught “Some think of enduring to the end as simply suffering through challenges. It is so much more than that – it is the process of coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

Elder Wirthlin then goes on to share three attributes we can foster in our daily lives in order to endure despite our trials.

The first he lists is testimony, saying, “Testimony gives us the eternal perspective necessary to see past the trials or challenges we will inevitably face.”

The second attribute is humility, “Humility is the recognition and attitude that one must rely on the Lord’s assistance to make it through this life. We cannot endure to the end on our own strength. Without Him, we are nothing.”

The third attribute is repentance. He says, “The glorious gift of repentance allows us to return to the path with a new heart, giving us the strength to endure on the path leading to eternal life.”

Now for knowledge I’d like to share the story Sister Elaine S. Dalton read in the past April conference about the son of King Louis XVI of France. “As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men who had dethroned his father, the king. These men knew that if they could destroy him morally, he would not be heir to the throne. For six months they subjected him to every vile thing life had to offer, and yet he never yielded under pressure. This puzzled his captors, and after doing everything they could think of, they asked him why he had such great moral strength. His reply was simple. He said, “I cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a king.”

The young prince understood who he was and who he was born to become. In Sister Sheri Dew’s book “No Doubt About It,” she says, “our spirits long for us to remember the truth about who we are, because the way we see ourselves, or our sense of identity, affects everything we do. It affects the way we behave, the way we respond to uncertainty, the way we feel about ourselves, and the way we make choices. In short, it determines how we live our lives.”

Elder Truman G. Madsen said, “The cruelest thing you can do to a human being is to make him forget that he or she is the son or daughter of a king.”

In the book of Moses, we learn about when “he saw God face to face, and talked with him.” The Lord first announces Himself and secondly tells Moses, “behold, thou art my son.” Only a few verses later after the Lord teaches Moses, Satan comes to him and once again tries to deceive him by saying, Moses thou art a son of man. Moses understood his divine birthright and that knowledge gave him great strength to stand against Satan.

Elder Neil A. Maxwell declares that, “When priorities are proper, the power to endure is increased.” The young prince knew his priorities, Moses had his priorities in proper order, both of them and many others have had the power to endure increased because of their faith in the Lord.

However as Elder Wirthlin admonishes, “No one is immune from Satan’s influence and temptations. Do not be so proud to think that you are beyond the adversary’s influence. Be watchful that you do not fall prey to his deceptions. Stay close to the Lord through daily scripture study and daily prayer. We cannot afford to sit back and take our salvation for granted. We must be anxiously engaged our whole lives.” He then tells the story of President Heber J. Grant “a few weeks before [he] passed away he prayed “O God, bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end! Can you imagine President Grant, one of the great prophets of the Restoration, the President of the Church for nearly 27 years, praying that he would keep faithful to the end?”

I’m sure that President Grant’s priorities were in proper order, but he realized the powerful influence and temptations of Satan. President Uchdorf explains, “To endure to the end, we need to trust our Father in Heaven and make wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our temple covenants, and serving the Lord and one another willingly and faithfully in our Church callings and responsibilities. It means strength of character, selflessness, and humility; it means integrity and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means making our homes strong places of defense and a refuge against worldly evils; it means loving and honoring our spouses and children. By doing our best to endure to the end a beautiful refinement will come into our lives.”

We are tried because of our divine heritage. God’s plan is the plan of happiness. Nephi teaches that there “must be opposition in all things.” And without trials, we would not know of happiness. Our Heavenly Father knows that we will have the power to endure if we rely on His Son, even our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son.” He promises that “if [we] keep [His] commandments and endure to the end [we] shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Just as carbon under pressure and heat becomes a diamond, prized for its strength and beauty, we too must be tested in the fire of faith.

May we never forget that we are sons and daughters of the most high King. And as the 13^th Article of Faith states: “we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things”

I hope and pray that we all will be able to endure all things. For “if we keep the Lord’s commandments and endure to the end we shall have eternal life – which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”