Monday, October 19, 2009

Safety for the Soul

On my (Mike's) bike ride with Landon this crisp and sunny fall morning, I listened to Elder Holland's talk, Safety for the Soul, from October 2009 conference. Poetry.

I removed my earlier post. Seemed a bit heavy, even for my tastes. ;) I will just keep this bit, though: "What the Church and the gospel represent goes so much deeper than a clever young man, a claim to prophetic gifts, a talent for storytelling and organization, and so on. There’s a richness and a subtle elegance to it all that is profound and beautiful and that can be understood if you’re willing to just keep at it and trust it will make sense in time."

I feel like the point of the gospel is to teach us about love for ourselves and others. Through the gospel, we learn about God's love and how that love gives us hope in Christ, the capacity to see beyond ourselves, and the goal to become like God and Jesus Christ, whose work and glory is wholly centered on love--on building others up to become like them, partakers of eternal life. I see the Church is the social vehicle that helps us practice God's love as we work with others and get over our selfishness through living the gospel and serving others. It all boils down to love. If you can get that, the rest will fall into place.

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