The Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
The next law you will covenant to keep as part of your endowment in the House of the Lord is the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Study:
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Ponder:
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From what the Savior taught in those verses, what is the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Obeying the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ includes:
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Exercising faith in Jesus Christ
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Turning to Christ as we repent from all sin
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Coming unto Christ with all our hearts
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Making covenants with God by receiving His ordinances of salvation and exaltation
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Enduring to the end by keeping covenants
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Striving to live the two great commandments to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," and to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:37, 39). (Learning to truly love God and then love everyone around you because of your love for God is the core of what it means to minister! As we learn to truly love God above all else, our love for others will come more naturally to us. Ministering becomes part of who we are! And because our love for others grows out of our love for Heavenly Father, our love for others will naturally lead them to Him!)
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The Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is applying the doctrine of Christ that we read about in 2 Nephi 31-32 and 3 Nephi 11. The remainder of this study guide is meant to help you more deeply appreciate and understand how the doctrine of Christ applies to you.
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Consider Your Own Lost and Fallen State
Study:
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Ponder and Discuss:
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Why do we need a Savior and Redeemer?
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How can we overcome our lost and fallen, or natural state?
Because we are born into a fallen state and have sinned, we fall short and cannot obtain eternal life on our own.
Lovingly, our Heavenly Father sacrificed His Son, and Jesus Christ willingly sacrificed everything so that we could have a chance to overcome the effects of Adam and Eve's Fall and the negative effects of our own worldly sins. "Overcoming the world [and natural man] is not an event that happens in a day or two. It happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ" (Russell M. Nelson, "Overcome the World and Find Rest," general conference, October 2022).
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Faith
Study:
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Ponder:
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According to this verse, how much faith do we need to exercise?
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And how is exercising faith in Jesus Christ different from merely believing in Him?​
"Having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ allows me to better understand His sacrifice for me and the sadness my sins have brought Him. As I come to love him more completely, being so thankful for His love for me, and the amazing gift of His father to send and sacrifice His Son for me, I find the strength and courage to turn from the things that keep me from being more like Him" (Neil L. Andersen, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness, 146).
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Repentance, Forgiveness, and Justification
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Study:
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Ponder:
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Once we have sinned, how do we receive forgiveness and become justified? We are saved from our sins by Jesus Christ after all we can do. According to the prophet Alma, what is "all we can do"?
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"Repentance is not an event but a way of life, something we embrace for all of mortality. In our desire to become more like the Savior, we never stop repenting. Repentance requires a constant broken heart and a contrite spirit, along with daily efforts to obey the commandments, keep our covenants, and always remember Him. As we do, we will feel His approval even in our imperfections. We will know that we are in the process of becoming clean, that our sins are being forgiven, and then we are being prepared to live with Him" (Neil L. Andersen, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness, 144-145).
Because Jesus Christ descended below all things, He has the power to lift us. He atoned for us and His power can justify us, or make us clean again. But once we are forgiven, what stops us from giving in to the same temptations again? The answer is Jesus Christ. Forgiveness from sin is not all He desires to give us. "He has high hopes for us" (Russell M. Nelson, "The Everlasting Covenant," Liahona, October 2022).
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Sanctification, Becoming a Saint
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Study:
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Ponder:
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What brings us sanctification of our sins?
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And how can we be spiritually reborn now that we have a physical body?
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"Our spiritual purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin, both the taint and the tyranny of sin" (David A. Bednar, "Clean Hands and a Pure Heart," Ensign, November, 2007).
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"We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping covenants that endow us with power. We stay on the covenant path and are blessed with spiritual strength, personal revelation, increasing faith, and the ministering of angels. Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.
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"As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace, and rest" (Russell M. Nelson, "Overcome the World and Find Rest," general conference, October 2022).
Study:
Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-22
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Ponder:
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What role do the ordinances of the priesthood and their associated covenants have in allowing us to become sanctified and changed?
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"Holy ordinances are central in the Savior’s gospel and in to coming unto Him and seeking spiritual rebirth....
"The ordinances of salvation and exaltation administered in the Lord’s restored Church are far more than rituals or symbolic performances. Rather, they constitute authorized channels through which the blessings and powers of heaven can flow into our individual lives....
"Ordinances received and honored with integrity are essential to obtaining the power of godliness and all of the blessings made available through the Savior’s Atonement" (Elder David A. Bednar, "Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins," general conference, April 2016).
These lyrics written to the tune of "I Am a Child of God" can help us see the need for us to receive Jesus Christ's power to change our nature as we prepare for the gift of eternal life:
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I am a child of God. That's only half the view:
If I don't shed the natural man I'm sunk, and so are you.
Lead me, guide me, reconcile me, chasten me on earth:
Help me overcome the fall; grant me second birth.
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I am a child of God. That doesn't clear the slate:
I'm carnal, sensual, devilish in a lost and fallen state.
Save me, change me, rearrange me, gracious God above:
Cleave unto my broken heart; bestow redeeming love.
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I am a child of God. Yet I've become His child.
Through faith in His Beloved Son's Redemption undefiled.
Lead me, guide, me justify me, cleanse me, make me pure;
Help me love as thou hast loved, or I cannot endure.
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"Our repentance and obedience, our service and sacrifices do matter. We want to be among those described by Ether as 'always abounding in good works.' But it is not so much because of some tally kept in celestial account books. These things matter because they engage us in God’s work and are the means by which we collaborate with Him in our own transformation from natural man to saint. What our Heavenly Father offers us is Himself and His Son, a close and enduring relationship with Them through the grace and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer" (D. Todd Christofferson, "Our Relationship with God," general conference, April 2022).
Ponder and Discuss:
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When you consider our journey back home to God along His covenant path, how are God's commandments a gift to us?
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​How might keeping our covenants with the Lord strengthen our relationship with Him?​
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How does learning to love like the Savior loves help our hearts to change?
Learning Activity:
Write down some of the ways you feel you can work this week to strengthen you relationship with the Lord and share His love with others.