Talk given in the Kolob Stake

Here is the talk I spoke on, it is about keeping an Eternal Perspective--

Today I have been given the wonderful opportunity to speak on a talk from this previous conference called "The Eternal Perspective of the Gospel" by Elder Rafael E. Pino. I pray that the Holy Ghost can be here with us and leads you to your own personal understanding of what I portray to you. In the talk that Elder Rafael gave he says "Understanding the plan of happiness provides us with an eternal perspective and helps us to truly value the commandments, the ordinances, the covenants, and the trials and tribulations. -Elder Rafael."

To understand and to gain an Eternal Perspective, we must first understand the Plan of Salvation. We are all Heavenly Fathers Children. Because we are his Children, we hold a divine potential, to be like Him. That is our purpose here on this earth, to "prepare to meet God" and to "Become perfect even as our Father is." We were sent here to this earth to "Prove that we will do all things which the Lord our God shall command us." After this life, we become resurrected beings in which we receive a perfected body. With this perfected body, we are judged and enter into a Kingdom in the which we will attain our reward. There are 3 separate Kingdoms. The Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Tellestial. It is only in the Celestial Kingdom that we can "inherit all things." In D&C 14:7, it reads "7 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." The only way into our Fathers Kingdom is to enter into the Ordinances of Baptism and Confirmation, the Covenants of the Gospel, and to be obedient to all of the Commandments of the Father" Only in and through Jesus Christ are we given the opportunity to attain and accomplish these things The Lord God has said "39 For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. -Moses 1" All of us are here to inherit Eternal life and Immortality, which comes from being obedient to the Commandments. This is our Eternal Perspective, to become as Our Father in Heaven. To attain his same Glory. 

Obedience comes through having an Eternal Perspective. When we keep the end in mind and know what we have the potential to attain, we desire to be obedient to inherit these things. Elder Rafael shares an experience with us, and it says, "In our home our children liked to do jigsaw puzzles. We have probably all had the opportunity to do a puzzle. Some are made up of many small pieces. I remember that one of our children used to focus on the individual pieces, and when one did not fit in the place where he thought it should, he would become angry and assume it was no good and want to throw it away. He finally learned to do the puzzle when he understood that each small piece had its place in the final picture, even when he did not know where it fit at a given moment.

This is one way of contemplating the Lord’s plan. We do not have to concern ourselves with each of its parts separately but rather to try to bring the entire picture into focus, keeping in mind what the final result will be. The Lord knows where each piece belongs so that it fits into the plan. All the commandments are of eternal importance in the context of the great plan of happiness. 

It is extremely important that we do not make decisions of eternal value from the perspective of mortality. For decisions that affect eternity, having a gospel perspective is essential.-Elder Rafael" Our decisions need to be decisions of eternity. We must always make decisions focused on being obedient. Understanding that the way into the Celestial Kingdom comes from being humble to the Commandments that God has given us and striving to be obedient to his council. Obedience is key to becoming "Perfect even as Him." Hope is so essential to have to attain an eternal perspective. We hope that through our obedience, and through Christ, we can receive what our Father has and to live with him again.

 "President Packer has said, "ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into [God’s] presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality. -President Packer". As Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we hold the ordinances and covenants available to enter into Gods presence. We must remain true to these covenants and always follow Christ. We must keep an Eternal Perspective when making our decisions. These Covenants that we make are found within the Temples. President Uchtdorf has said, "These temples are sacred structures in which eternal questions are answered, truths are taught, and ordinances performed so that we can live with an understanding of our divine inheritance as children of God and with an awareness of our potential as eternal beings. The house of the Lord helps you to see the end from the beginning. -President Uchtdorf" We must always direct our lives to be worthy to enter the Holy Temples. It is the Covenants we make in these Temples that bring us back to our Father. We must enter into these Covenants to attain all that our Father has. President Lorenzo Snow has said, "There could not be placed before men more glorious prospects than are placed before the Saints. No mortal man could wish anything greater or that will ultimately prove more satisfactory. Everything that pertains to perfect peace, happiness, glory and exaltation is before the Latter-day Saints. We should enjoy the spirit of this, and keep it actively before us. We should not let our prospects be darkened in the least by doing that which is not acceptable before the Lord."

Of course, life is not easy. President Spencer W. Kimball wrote the following: “If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.” When we keep an Eternal Perspective, the trials we endure and the sorrows we have are what shape us into the person God knows we can be. Elder Jensen has said, "When we understand the great plan of happiness, we are gaining an eternal perspective, and the commandments, ordinances, covenants, and the experiences, trials, and tribulations can be seen in their true and eternal light. Remember, however, that Satan will dim the brightness of hope and eternal perspective by the dark, compelling urgency of now. -Elder Jay Jensen" We cannot lose an Eternal Perspective. We must always press forward with our eyes centered on our Eternal Perspective. Elder Jensen has also told us, "Those without an eternal perspective, or those who lose sight of it, make their own standards to benefit themselves and their own selfish interests. Their mortal perspective becomes their standard and for some their god. -Elder Jay Jensen" We must hold strong to the Covenants we have made.  Obedience brings happiness, even through the difficult times. As Joseph Smith suffered in Liberty jail, his Eternal Perspective became diminished and He asks "Oh God, where art though?" And this is what the Lord tells him "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we. Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will shape us into the person God knows we can be. Our afflictions are but a small moment in the Eternity. We must Strive for Eternal Life.

So what can we receive in the Eternities if we do the will of the Lord? Knowing what we can have helps us to receive that full Eternal Perspective. We must know the end from the beginning. President Snow has said, "Through a continual course of progression our Heavenly Father has received exaltation and glory and he points us out the same path and, inasmuch as he is clothed with power, authority and glory, he says, “walk ye up and come in possession of the same glory and happiness that I possess. This is the high destiny of the sons of God, they who overcome, who are obedient to His commandments, who purify themselves even as He is pure. They are to become like Him; they will see Him as He is; they will behold His face and reign with Him in His glory, becoming like unto Him in every particular." We can and will become as God is. It is through obedience and the covenants we make that we can qualify for this inheritance. In Revelations 21:7 it reads, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things." Also In D&C 84:37-38 it says, "And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father, And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." That is our goal. That is why we are here. To become like our Father in heaven and to attain all that he has. President Snow has also said, "We are all aiming for celestial glory, and the grandeur of the prospects before us cannot be expressed in human language. If you will continue faithful to the work in which you are engaged, you will attain unto this glory, and rejoice evermore in the presence of God and the Lamb. This is worth striving for; it is worth sacrificing for, and blessed is the man or the woman who is faithful unto the obtaining of it." I know that we are here to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. As we keep our Eternal Perspective and follow the path to the temple and to The Celestial Kingdom, we learn to be obedient and desire to be faithful. President Snow lived by a statement that was revealed to him that helped him to keep an Eternal Perspective, and it says. “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”

It is not enough to just say, I have an eternal perspective. You must come to understand your potential into the eternities. As we are obedient and press forward with faith, hoping that we can and will attain these promised blessings, we keep an eternal perspective. Youth, follow the standards in For Strength of Youth and set your mind on the temple. There is nothing more important than you keeping the Gospel standards and being obedient. For us to attain the highest blessings in the Kingdom of our Father, we must enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant of Eternal Marriage only found within the walls of the Lords sacred temples. To enter, we must be obedient and worthy. That worthiness begins for you now. Parents, help your children to understand the Plan of Salvation, help them to understand that there is great potential for them. This potential is Eternal. We are heirs to the Kingdom of our Father in Heaven. This is attained through the temple. We must understand that the temple is the center of our Eternal Perspective. It is important to point the youth in the direction of the temple and the blessings which come of it. As you do this, your Children will come to understand that the temple is more than just a pretty building, it is a taste of the Kingdom of heaven. Read as families, pray, and always hold an Eternal Perspective. I invite you to take yourself and your family to the temple and renew that Eternal Perspective. I know as you go you will see a change in your family. A very positive and blessed change. I testify that Christ lives. He has made it possible for us to attain the Glory of God. I know it is through his atoning sacrifice that we can achieve our divine Destiny. I know that in temples, we come to understand the sacred nature of our humble existence. Through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can and will inherit kingdoms. In this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.