S3 E 37 Retaining the Holy Ghost in Our Lives

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey there everybody welcome back to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood.

(00:20):
David and Scott Durfey here.
How are you Dave?
Good, Scott.
Good.
Great.
Good to be with you.
Great time of the year.
It's hot, hot, hot, but so great to be outside and I enjoy the summers and the heat.
Yeah, I do too.
I love this time of year.

(00:42):
I love every one of the seasons, but summer just seems to go a lot faster than the others
for me.
I don't know why, but.
Well, there's more to do.
Yeah.
I love this time of the year as well, Scott.
And I love the seasons of our life.
You know, I'm learning, Scott, that getting ready to go on a mission takes a lot of work.

(01:07):
I really have a newfound love and respect for missionary couples because of all the work
they've gone through to get on a mission.
You know, the medical concerns, it's really impressive, amazing.
To me, the concern of the church for their senior couples, you know, that, man, there

(01:30):
are so many things you have to do and with all my, you know, my little medical things
that I have to deal with, I'm still trying to get the doctors to sign off and to take
all the tests that are required and it's good.
You know, I mean, I don't need to give a history of that on this podcast, but the decision

(01:55):
to go on a mission probably saved my life.
You know, you're probably right.
I hadn't thought of that, but you could be right.
It probably saved my life.
You know, who knows, but that's partially the doctor's opinion as well.
And so I'm grateful for all the tests. I don't want to discourage any senior couples from,

(02:20):
you know, applying for a mission because of the, because the work is more than worth it.
I'm, I'm probably in better shape now than I, you know, I know I'm in better shape now
than I was even four months ago when we started kind of this process, but it's taken me longer
than I, than I thought it would.

(02:40):
Well, as a matter of fact, we spent about the first 45 minutes of our time together
today. Dave has given me a new exercise for a job.
I'm telling you, isn't that amazing?
Yeah, I'm really grateful too, because, you know, if I can get ahead of some of this stuff
that, you know, just naturally comes as we age, I'm grateful for that.

(03:00):
Well, I've got to tell all our listeners got this, that it is, I'm, I'm old enough now
that I can bear witness how important it is to establish habits while you're young that
will last until you're old and into, into your next season of life.
Yeah.
I've been doing exercises now since a doctor told me that I was either going to have to

(03:25):
have back surgery or I could start doing exercises.
And I said, well, I guess if that's the choice, I'll, I'll start doing exercises.
Yeah.
Geez whiz.
Let me think about that.
I was into that was probably in about 2002.
So for about the last 22 years, I've had this routine of doing some simple exercises.

(03:49):
And I know that those simple exercises, the doctor, the physical therapist, the doctor
sent me to a physical therapist and the physical therapist was awesome.
Gave me a video back in those days, a video to look at and to study and I followed it.
And I developed this routine.
So for 22 years, I've been doing that routine and I know it has saved my back, kept me from

(04:14):
surgery and has even improved my golf swing.
I think.
Yeah.
So I am really grateful for physical therapists and others who can help us to be more, what,
flexible and stronger.
I work in my routine as to kind of strengthen my core and flexibility.

(04:39):
But you know, I've developed to kind of this, this hip issue now.
And so I was sharing that with a doctor and I went to physical therapist just a few days
ago and he wanted me to show him the exercises I do.
And I showed him and he said, well, let's just tweak a few of those.
And honestly, Scott, that was like a revelation to me.

(05:01):
That's amazing.
Just a tweak.
Just instead of instead of on this one exercise, instead of putting my feet in pointed inward,
I point them outward, completely changes the stretch and the effect of that.
The involvement of various muscles.
Oh man, by small and simple, this is the essence of by small and simple things, great things

(05:27):
come to pass.
And I am so excited.
Well, fired up about it.
Yeah, you are.
And I had to share it with you this morning.
And I'm grateful and I don't want you to ever stop sharing that stuff with me because I'm
going to fact I forgot to make a copy of those.
I need to make a copy of those before you leave because I want to at least implement
to at least part of that for sure.

(05:48):
You know, Dave, a couple of things.
Last week we spent a ton of time over the last several episodes, four or five even.
We've talked about how to have the Holy Ghost in our lives.
And this actually, this actually kind of plays into that.
You know, when we think about it, you know, I don't know where in the scripture, but where
it talks about the spirits willing that the flesh is weak.

(06:08):
That's a fallen experience, right?
We have that.
We have that experience.
And so much of what we've talked about over the last several weeks has been about having
the Holy Ghost in our lives.
If we are, if our vessel, if our physical temple is in, you know, the best condition
or at least in well enough condition, that definitely affects our ability to be aligned

(06:33):
and to fill that.
There's definitely a connection, Scott, to our physical well-being and our spiritual
health.
Yeah.
Or our physical health and our spiritual well-being.
Right.
They're connected.
No doubt about it, Scott.
That's one of the things I had in spirit.
Mind, mind, mind and body, mind, body and spirit.

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And we believe in the reality of all three of those and the importance of those three
kind of working together.
I don't want to get off on a tangent here, but I did have a stake president at one time.
In fact, it was when I was working my way back into membership and we were talking about
the importance of fasting, for example.

(07:14):
And we're not going to talk a lot about fasting today.
That's not our purpose, but we were talking about fasting and how that can help us to
draw the spirit into our lives and he taught me something that you probably should be,
well, yeah, duh, you should have known that.
It's obvious, but he taught me that fasting is one of the ways that we learn to subject,
subjugate the body to the spirit.

(07:35):
And the body is really, or the spirit is really dependent on our body, our condition.
Yeah, no doubt.
Dave's sitting in front of me.
He's not obese by any stretch of the imagination.
I hope I could be as good a shape as Dave is when I'm 70 and I pay attention to this
stuff.
I'm in the gym pretty regularly and stuff like that.

(07:56):
I gotta lose a few pounds, God, I'm working on it.
But you look great and you're doing great.
That's the point.
So just kind of be mindful, maybe that's not the purpose of the podcast today, but maybe
to just be mindful of how does my physical fitness or how does my physical well-being
affect my ability to receive the spirit?

(08:18):
Well, I, you know, just since you brought it up and maybe we have said this and maybe
we haven't, but one of my favorite all time quotes that I have in my in my notes, Scott,
and I'm just gonna, I'm gonna pull it up here real quick.
He's talking about kind of the connection of the mind, the body, the soul or spirit.

(08:39):
He gives this definition of spirituality and he's this is a quote.
Really our true aim is the consciousness of victory over self and a communion with the
infinite.
Now he's and he just, he has just talked about kind of allowing our spirit to control our

(08:59):
body and not to have passions or appetites or eating and drinking and those kind of things
control passions, appetites and desires, habits and those kinds of things.
Addictions, those all affect our spirituality.
You mentioned this earlier about addiction.

(09:20):
You know, that's, that's the addiction is a physical problem, but greater than that
is the spiritual problem.
You can't separate them.
No, well, you really can't, but if you're going to attack anything, if you're going
to diagnose an addiction and we don't, and I'm not inviting anybody to do that, not even
in your own life unless it's, you know, something that's prompted by the spirit to do it.

(09:42):
But if I take an addiction, yeah, there's a physical component to it, but that's not
the illness.
The illnesses is in my spirituality.
Yeah.
And we read that, you know, and I, I've wrestled with that and you may too listeners, you
may risk wrestle with that and say, Scott, I don't know if that sounds right.
I don't know if that's 100% accurate.
But if we take a look at the text from addiction, the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, addiction

(10:08):
really is a spiritual sickness, it's a departure from a relationship or a void of a relationship
with a higher power with God, with the relationship with Jesus and the Holy Ghost and all sins,
all sins, maybe even sins of omission.
Yeah.
Effect us not only spiritually, but they can also affect us physically.

(10:31):
Yeah.
I mean, it can affect our physical well being.
It can affect our light, our countenance, our aura, our, I mean, there, there's just
this inexplicable connection.
Yeah.
They're inseparable.
Between body and spirit.
It is just inseparable.
So Scott, we have talked in this podcast a lot about really how can we receive forgiveness?

(11:00):
How can we come to know where we stand with God?
I mean, I think our relationship with the Father, with the, with his Holy Son and with
the Holy Ghost are the essence of our, our lives, not just our mortal lives, but our
eternal lives.
And this is life eternal, right?
Jesus said in John 17 that they might know the, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom

(11:26):
now has sent and we can know that through the Holy Ghost.
All three members of the Godhead are really in that verse.
Anyway, Scott, I, we've spent now maybe three, two or three podcasts on the Holy Ghost.
Yeah.
How to recognize forgiveness and the role of the Holy Ghost, administering the messenger

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and the administer of the atonement of Jesus Christ in our life.
We've talked about how to receive the Holy Ghost, how to recognize the Holy Ghost and
how to recognize it when it's there.
So this is the key to knowing whether you're forgiven.
This is the key to our relationship with the Father, with the Son is to have the Holy Ghost

(12:09):
who will teach us, witness to us of, of their love for us.
It's through them that we feel his love.
It's through the Holy Ghost that we feel the blessings, the power, the mercy, the grace
of the atonement of Jesus Christ in her life.
It's the Holy Ghost that does all of this work.

(12:30):
And I, I, we just can't, uh, state strong enough, uh, how you and I feel, but also how
the prophets feel as witnessed in, uh, third Nephi chapter 19, that the thing that they
prayed for most, this talking about the 12 apostles in third Nephi chapter 19, the things

(12:52):
that they prayed for the most was that the Holy Ghost would be with them.
The thing that they most desired, I think it says the thing that they most desired as
they prayed was for the Holy Ghost to be with them.
That should be our greatest desire, Scott.
Our greatest desire should be that we have the Holy Ghost with us.

(13:16):
I think it's like verse 21.
You want to?
Yeah, Dave, so it's actually third Nephi 19 and we'll start in chapter.
Yeah, 19, nine, first nine.
Okay.
And they did pray for that, which they most desired and they desired that the Holy Ghost
should be given unto them.
And when they had thus prayed, they went down into the water's edge and the multitude followed

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them and it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
So this Scott is just the 12 apostles and they're praying and it's right before Jesus
reappears to them.
You know, he's appeared and he's left them and and and they're praying and intensely
and and after they do this, he he comes to them again.

(14:00):
But I love this this thought and it has influenced me for dozens of years now that the one thing
I should pray for the most, the one thing that I should exercise my faith in the most
is that I can have the gift constant companionship of the Holy Ghost to be with me.

(14:24):
And that is what I pray for.
I don't think I ever say a prayer.
Scott, maybe even when I bless the food, I'm not sure I ever say a prayer that I don't
pray for the spirit to be with me.
And I I wish that your children, my children, our grandchildren, our listeners could really

(14:48):
focus more on what do I need to do to qualify for the Holy Ghost to be with me?
How can I receive him?
The word receive is just so, I think, important in understanding the whole idea of our relationship
with the Godhead.
How can I receive it?
What must I do there?

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We have to be proactive and intentional in it.
And how can I walk in the spirit as Paul invites us to do in Galatians chapter five?
I need to walk in the spirit.
What can I start doing?
What do I need to stop doing that the spirit will always be with me?

(15:30):
I'm not even sure, Scott, that if people were to, if you were to really ask people, do you
really want the spirit to be with you always?
I'm not sure people have even really thought that through.
Do I really do I do I just expect him to be with me?
Do I do I do I do anything that would would help him to be with me?

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Or am I doing things that keep him from being with me?
I'm not sure how much they even intentionally think about that.
I think I think it's kind of an abstract random idea about having a relationship with God
and having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
But when I think about having a relationship with the Holy Ghost, Scott, that is concrete

(16:18):
and sequential to me.
There are things I know I have to do to have the Holy Ghost with me.
And that when I have the Holy Ghost with me, a member of the Godhead that he will teach
me about the Father and the Son, he will witness of them and my relationship with them will
be what it needs to be.

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I think the whole key to our spiritual lives is to have the Holy Spirit to be with us.
And I my family in making decisions and choices and in receiving inspired answers to their
prayers and having revelation be a part of their daily life as I think it's a healer

(17:03):
in chapter 11.
Scott, did we read this last week?
I think we might may have a human chapter 11 talks about how how how did they survive
or how were they surviving the really difficult times that were in heat in the book of Healman.
It was by receiving revelation daily.

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That's how they that's how they survived in Healman 1123, Scott.
We learn how the people were able to survive the people who were righteous were able to
survive such wickedness during this this incredible difficult time in the history of the book

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of Mormon, which is right before precedes the great destruction of Nephite.
Lamanite cities in preparation for the coming of Jesus.
And in that verse 1123, Scott, what does it say?
And in the 79th year, there began to be much strife, but it came to pass that Nephi and

(18:07):
Lehi and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations
daily.
Therefore, they did preach under the people in so much that they did put an end to their
strife in the same year.
I love that verse and I know Elder President Eyring loves that verse.
That's where I first learned to love it was him quoting it and giving commentary on it.

(18:31):
So Scott, do you think are are are we getting revelations daily?
I think we have an opportunity to be mindful just being aware of the things in our lives.
And I think, you know, Dave, I don't really know that I've really until, you know, the
last several years when it's become important to me that I've noticed the existence or the

(18:53):
the Holy Ghost in my I think we just take sometimes things for granted.
I'm not sure that I understand or I have in the past when it's been with me.
I would challenge us, invite us, rather all of us, to maybe just pay attention over the
last next few days, maybe even write it down if you want to keep a journal or keep track
of that, but just recognize when we have seen the influence or felt the influence of the

(19:18):
Holy Ghost or the Spirit of our Lord in our the Lord in our lives.
So I think that it happens more potentially than we're aware.
And not only does it happen potentially more often than we're aware, but that little exercise,
that little process that we go through if we do that will in and of itself make us more
aligned so that we can draw it in better.

(19:41):
I think that's partially what it means to receive him, right?
To receive him makes recognize the responsibility on me to, to, to do something about it and
to be more proactive in the, in this whole process of receiving the Holy Ghost to be
with us.
So I, I know, Scott, we could probably do a whole podcast on, on, you know, how to receive

(20:08):
the Holy Ghost, how to recognize him, how to receive him, how to recognize him, how
to respond to him.
I think it's just so critical to our, to the success of our mortality, but we have talked
about him mostly as being the agent of grace and mercy and forgiveness in our lives and,

(20:33):
and he is, and how do you recognize that you're forgiven by recognizing the presence, influence
of the Holy Ghost in your life?
How do you receive a remission of your sins through the gift of the Holy Ghost?
That's, that's scripture.
Scott, that's second Nephi chapter 31 verse 17.

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It's the Holy Ghost that brings a remission of your sins.
It's not water.
It's not physical water that we baptize people in.
It's not any confession or physical thing that we do.
The thing that brings a remission of sins is the reception of the Holy Ghost.

(21:15):
You want to, you're turned into that.
You want to read it again?
They're, they're Nephi.
Yeah.
Second Nephi.
Sorry.
Second Nephi chapter 31 verse 17.
Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen your Lord and your Redeemer
should do.
And therefore, for this cause, have they been shown unto me that they might know the gate
by which you should enter, for the gate by which you should enter is repentance and baptism

(21:41):
by water.
And then come at the remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
So I think we teach maybe missionaries.
I know I was, I did this.
I'm not, I was going to say guilty.
I don't think anybody's guilty, but I'm sure I taught that when people were baptized, they

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were forgiven of their sins.
Well, if you include baptism of water and fire, that's correct.
If you're only talking about baptism of water, that's incorrect.
So it's really through the Holy Ghost that we receive a remission of our sins.
And we've spent probably enough time on this and we should, we need to move into how can

(22:24):
we retain Scott a remission of our sins?
How do we retain it?
I, I, you know, I love that phrase retain a remission of your sins, which is unique to
the Book of Mormon.
Elder Bednar's given a talk or two on, on what it means to retain a remission of your sins.

(22:45):
King Benjamin, I think, did the, gave us the best and clearest idea of how to retain a
remission of our sins.
And maybe we should, maybe we should talk about that, which begins, I think, in, in his address
in chapter four, verse 26, Scott, how to retain a remission of our sins.

(23:08):
And then we'll go to Amuelic's discourse to the Zoramites and how they can retain a remission
of their sins.
All right.
So let's start in Mosiah chapter four, verse 26.
And now for the sake of these things, which I have spoken unto you that is for the sake
of the retaining a remission of your sins from day to day that you may want guiltless before

(23:31):
God.
That's cool.
Read.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that you remain.
So why do you retain a remission of sins?
So that you can walk guiltless before God.
How would that feel?
I would that you should.
How does it feel?
It feels great.
I thought that is.
Hopefully we have some idea how that feels.
Yeah, I thought that as soon as I said how does that feel?

(23:51):
Of course I know how that feels.
Yeah, we're sinners.
I don't know how it feels to dwell there on a consistent maybe consistent.
Stop.
And I love the word blameless.
Guiltless and blameless.
You know, he doesn't use blameless in the Zoramites.
But I love I love that idea, which is taught throughout the Book of Mormon that we should
walk blameless before God.

(24:12):
Right.
Blameless.
We don't blame others and others can't blame us.
And we don't blame ourselves.
Yeah, we don't blame ourselves.
All right.
Let's just be for God.
I'm going to start over.
That that caught me as a really cool little.
And I love the day to day insight.
Yeah, I do too.
All right.
Well, Zide chapter 4 verse 26 again and now for the sake of these things which I have
spoken unto you that is for the sake of the retaining of remission of your sins from day

(24:35):
to day that you may walk guiltless before God.
I still get chills when I read that.
I would that you should impart of your substance to the poor every man according to that which
he hath such as feeding the hungry clothing the naked visiting the sick and administering
to their relief both spiritually and temporally.
And I love this according to their wants.

(24:56):
I know.
Just their needs.
Their wants.
Their wants.
That's a loving, caring, heavenly father.
That that idea is taught in the doctrine comments to that law of consecration work according
to their needs and their wants.
But let's just pause on this for another minute, Scott, this person for 26 because he uses the

(25:19):
term remission of sins.
So what does remission even mean?
Remission of sins.
You know, I had a long discussion years ago with an Institute director about remission
of sins and that when we repent our sins go into remission.
That's kind of the way he used the term like cancer that when we repent our sins go into

(25:45):
remission.
And I said, so you think they're still with you or what does that mean to go into remission?
And we had a long discussion about that.
And I think the term remission as it's used in the medical field is not the best definition
of the term as used in the scriptural context here.

(26:05):
The remission of sin means and we just looked it up a little while ago, Scott.
And what does Miriam Webster say?
Says a remission of sins is a cancellation of debt.
That's what it means.
Totally.
We retain a cancellation of debt.
That is gone, paid for, done, guiltless, debtless.

(26:27):
Remembered no more.
I know, really, what a great feeling to be debtless.
When did you have you pay off your house yet?
No, not yet.
Oh, man.
What a feeling.
Yeah, I know.
And now I have a plan and it's on the horizon.
But I remember making my last house payment.
I remember thinking, wow, I just got a raise.

(26:51):
Wow.
You know, so debtless.
That is an take the spiritual take the spiritual side of that, Scott, compared to the temporal
side of that.
What it means to be debtless.
That is an amazing, amazing, freeing, liberating, exhilarating, humbling, grateful feeling that

(27:21):
you have.
Right, right.
Anyway, words can't describe it, but remission of sins.
So how do we retain that, Scott, according to King Benjamin?
Well, we serve others.
We impart of our substance to others according to their wants, their needs.
And what do you think it means substance and who are the poor?

(27:42):
Are the poor temporal or the poor spiritual?
Yes.
Okay, that's the answer.
Yes.
It's both, right?
Yeah, and substance is both physical, temporal and spiritual.
And spiritual, yeah.
For sure.
Yeah.
I mean, it's super easy and it's because it's measurable to impart our substance is

(28:02):
temporal, you know, I give you $10, you know, that is a percentage of my net worth $10.
But I can't, you know, I can't measure that in the spiritual, right?
Right.
But what's more valuable?
Yeah.
The immeasurable is always, yeah, absolutely.
Typically more valuable.
You know, when I, when I, when people maybe read this great chapter and he talks about

(28:27):
the beggar here, that are we not all beggars and giving to the beggars?
And he's, but again, he's talking not just temporally or financially.
He's talking about spiritually.
But you know, I think people immediately when they think about giving to the poor these
days, they think about the person at the stoplight who's got a sign up.

(28:51):
I don't know what do we call that?
Panhandling.
Panhandling.
Yeah.
People that are panhandling and maybe that's the first thing that people think of when
they think of giving money to the poor or giving your substance.
He doesn't use the term money giving substance to your to the poor.
Well you got to read maybe the next verse for those people that think that Scott.

(29:13):
So verse 27 and what does he say about, about how to give our substance temporally, spiritually
to the poor?
He says and see that these things are done in wisdom and order for it's not requisite
that a man should run faster than he has strength.
And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent that thereby he might win the

(29:34):
prize.
Therefore, all things must be done in order.
Yeah.
There has to be wisdom and order in giving our substance.
And I think I want to dwell more upon maybe the spiritual side of this Scott, because
I know that serving others and helping them with their temporal needs is critical to their

(29:57):
spiritual needs, but it's their spiritual needs that are going to determine their it's
not how much money they have or how big the home they live in or the food that they eat
that's going to determine their their eternities.
But it's their spiritual needs that are going to really determine where they spend the rest

(30:18):
of their eternal lives.
Immortality and eternal life.
So I want to maybe focus a little more on that than the giving of physical financial
aid to others.
I think that's awesome.
That's that's definitely included here.
He ends that verse in verse 26.
He says temporally and spiritually, right?

(30:40):
So I mean, he's talking both.
But I think to retain a remission of our sins.
It is what spiritual work am I doing daily to serve others that really affects me retaining
a remission of my sins.
I know there are there are many scriptures that we could look at in the Bible book Mormon

(31:04):
and doctrine governments that testify that if we bear our testimonies to others, we are
forgiven of our sins, if we serve a mission and we are teaching and testifying, baptizing
and helping others to receive God in their life, we save ourselves.

(31:27):
You know the great scripture on this.
Let's just turn to it.
Read it.
Scott is doctrine, covenant section section four in doctrine, covenant section four.
I think it's like the fifth verse and low he that thrust his thinnest sickle with his
mind the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not that he perisheth not that he perisheth

(31:48):
not the person that thrust in his sickle to do missionary work right to help in the harvest
in the gathering.
Yeah, the greatest gathering ever.
According to President Nelson, he the thrust in his sickle.
He lays up in store that he that he perisheth not.
Okay, keep going.
Yeah, and this is the key and faith, hope, charity and love with an eye single to the

(32:11):
glory of God qualify him for the work.
So let me read six to remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly
kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence, asking you shall receive knocking it shall
be opened unto you.
That's that's that's pretty laid out for us what we need to do.

(32:34):
If we can just to reoccur and cultivate those things.
Yes, to retain the relation.
Yieldless.
Exactly.
And to God to retain a a cancellation of debt.
This is what we need to do.
And our debt really, Scott, it's been canceled for sure.
But it's now we have to try to repay what we have received to others.

(33:00):
We need to pay it forward.
We need to help others.
We didn't earn.
It's a bad comparison me me comparing forgiveness of sin pain off my house.
Because I you know I work to do that and I I paid the money to do that.
I didn't pay any money to be forgiven of my sins.
I didn't pay any money to become guiltless.

(33:21):
There was nothing I could offer for that.
I was guilty and Jesus Christ paid all of it 100% of it.
But you did offer a broken heart and a contrary spirit.
Let's not leave that let's not leave that out saved by grace.
Yeah.
After all we can do and that's all you can do.
There is nothing in that debt that I could pay now not one millionth of one percent according

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to Robert J. Matthews.
Could I repay so how can we by paying off not paying off sorry how can we show our gratitude
for and retain a remission of our sins by helping to serve others.
I mean this is how I see it Scott and this is the key to ministering in the church and

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I'm talking about ministering to those were assigned to minister and minister to everybody
else including those who are or who are not of the church who incidentally were also assigned
to minister.
Yes.
Amen.
But how can I do that the best way I know to minister and there's lots of ways to do
it temporarily but spiritually the best way I know of is to help them understand Jesus

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Christ and his atonement and Scott I and to help them to receive the fullness of the Holy
Ghost and that's what you're saying.
Help them to repent to cry repentance.
Right.
That's the that's the net result.
That's why that's why crying repentance is the Lord tells us over and over again say

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nothing but repentance.
The thing that will be of most value to you you know this is in in doctrine comes 15 16
the thing that will be of most value to you is to cry repentance.
The first thing Jesus said when he came out of his 40 day fast repent all ye ends of the
earth and be baptized.
So how do we retain a remission of our sins by serving others serving him by serving others

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and how do we spiritually serve others by crying repentance helping others to understand
and access the atonement of Jesus Christ the power of Christ through his atonement in their
life.
When when Deb and I pray I love to hear my wife pray and I'm not going to get into all

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of it but one of the things that she frequently says is help me father to serve the best
serve the better by serving others.
I love that.
I do too.
That's one of the one of the many many many many thousands of things that I felt deeply
in love with her over but it's an important one.
I remember our dear late president of the Corps of the Twelve elder Ballard you know

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talking years ago about to pray about who you can share the gospel with daily daily
daily.
I pray to have the Lord lead people to you and to recognize them and to to cry repentance
and to teach others and to express God's love to others daily.

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That's what I think King Benjamin is describing here.
That's how we retain a remission of our sins is by continually trying to help others to
understand and receive the full blessings of the Atonement of Christ in their life.
Yeah.
Well and by doing this we're really focusing on and paying close attention to the second

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part of the first great commandment.
Yeah.
To love our neighbor as ourselves.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
That's right.
And always remember not to make the second commandment the first commandment don't ever
put the second exactly.
Right but once you have experienced the first commandment to the full extent and you've

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loved God and you have repented of your sin and you've been forgiven.
It's just natural Scott.
It's just natural to want to share it with others and to love your fellow men and to
want them to feel the love of God and to experience the remission of sins as you have
just the way Alma right Alma Enos all the great Paul becomes the greatest missionary

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of the church in some respects and I'm not going to compare him to others but he becomes
an amazing missionary because of his conversion.
Once you are forgiven what is your desire your natural desire is to help others to share
what you've learned to just participate in the things that he's asked you to do.

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So I think that to really for us to retain a remission of our sins to be able to walk
in the spirit to have the Holy Ghost with us continually testifying of God's love and
of God's power mercy and grace and ministering those gifts into our lives we need to be helping

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others to receive it as well.
Well Dave you know and I don't necessarily want to pivot on this but I do want to mention
it and if we do pivot that's fine but the thing is too is you know we've been we've
received a lot of great counsel from our current prophet and I can think of a lot of you know
things that he's inspired us and directed us and invited us to do one of the things that

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seems to be really at top of mind for President Nelson is gathering Israel and you know and
by gathering Israel that's what we're doing and or what I should have said is by doing
this that's what we're really doing is helping to gather Israel. Now there's two parts of
gathering Israel there's multiple parts but there's two main segments there's two main
sections one of them's here the other one's in the spirit world right and last week we

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talked a lot a little bit not a lot but a little bit about how we maintain or retain
a remission of our sins by having the spirit with us and how that can be benefited as we
worship for those of us who are able and making that effort how we can benefit by worshiping
in the temple and also helping in the gathering of Israel on that side of the veil.

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Well gathering of Israel at the heart of the gathering of Israel Scott is to participate
in ordinances of the gospel and to enter the covenant path right and so we need to talk
about that we need to make that pivot here shortly but before we do let's let's cross
reference mosaic 426 with Alma 34 and what amulet teaches the Zora mites and I can reference

(39:59):
that earlier so in Alma 34 and before you read it Scott Alma 34 28 let's keep in mind
he's just told them how to read how to exercise faith unto repentance how to receive the infinite
entombed and and doing it all receiving it by crying out to God and to cry out to God

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that they may receive a remission of their sins right and then he says after you've done
all this then you got to do this so okay I'm a 34 28 now behold my brother and I say and
do you do not suppose that this is all for after you have done all these things if you
turn away the needy and the naked and visit not the sick and the afflicted and in part

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of your substance if you have those who stand in need I say unto you if ye do not any of
these things behold your prayer is vain and availeth you nothing and ye are as hypocrites
who do deny the faith now and keep in mind keep in mind everybody that we're not just

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talking temporarily here poor we're not just talking physically afflicted we're talking
spiritually spiritually afflicted spiritually poor spiritually needy we're talking we're
definitely talking temporarily we're talking physical but that there's always a relationship
and and you can't separate them in my in my mind so if we neglect those who are poor

(41:28):
in spirit for example then we are hypocrites he says we're hypocrites anyway I I love
this idea is taught so clearly in the Book of Mormon and the other verses you know that
what that once we have received the blessings of the Holy Ghost in our life we need to help

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others to receive those blessings too and you've taught me Scott that that's really the key
to a dictionary covering right that this isn't just a gospel principle or law this is an
eternal law yeah definitely this this helping others in is so important to in fact the last

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two step actually last step of alcoholics anonymous is that we help others you know we
continue to do what we're doing and we help others having had a spiritual awakening as
the result of the steps and so we know we take the steps the 12 the first 11 steps and
then in 12 it says as having taken those steps or the result of taking those steps those

(42:40):
first 11 steps now we have a spiritual awakening it's interesting because it doesn't say now
you're recovered now you don't want to drink anymore now you don't have this addiction
anymore doesn't say any of that but what it does say is that having had a spiritual awakening
as a result of these steps we continue to practice these principles and all our affairs
and to help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety and that's important because without that giving

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back without that help it's an eternal principle you know the the alcoholics anonymous we've
said that before is just a small microcosm of the gospel without the authority that you
know has been restored and a few other things and it's not the only thing that is but it
is and the fact that it is it really helps me to understand because if I as I've experienced

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that Dave some of my most spiritual experiences have been in some pretty raunchy places pretty
scary dark damp dank places some of my most spiritual experiences have been there though
as I have gone in to assist alcoholics who are still struggling just to help them see
light just to help them and as we breathe that light now this is the cool thing about

(43:50):
it as I breathe that light into them or as the spirit breeze that light into them and
I'm the vessel by which it's doing so yeah that strengthens me yeah the power that the
strength that comes to that person that's wonderful but it might be even more poignant
for me for a couple of reasons number one I'm familiar more familiar with it now number

(44:14):
two I know what to do with it when I'm feeling it now and you know when I'm in the beginning
of that I just feel that I just feel hope now I feel hope charity love right you know
and I think that that's the difference well so any and any return missionary 100% right
and experience that right yeah if you any missionary yeah you get called to a mission

(44:36):
you may not be excited to go there you go there you fall in love with it you don't fall
in love with the place you fall in love with the people those that you serve and it's not
about going on a mission it's about being a missionary and any missionary called or not
has experience that when you when you try to help somebody receive the Holy Ghost to

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receive Christ and his atoning sacrifice in their life and to be baptized by water and
by fire you get it it comes it comes to you anyway you can't give it away you you share
it and you receive it and that is the continual process that we should be engaged in in order

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to retain a remission of our sins and and maybe now is the time to pivot and part of
that Scott to retain a remission of our sins is to be continually at least weekly and maybe
more often to be participating in ordinances of the gospel and the the importance of participating

(45:47):
in those ordinances can also help us to retain a remission of our sins and I don't think
we have time to to go into the full extent of what that means and how how what it means
to call upon the name of Jesus through the ordinances of the gospel and how to continually

(46:09):
even even daily Scott in some ways to be calling upon the name of Jesus and I'm not just talking
about prayers now I'm talking about that through ordinances and covenants that we participated
in how to remember him always right as the sacrament prayer puts it an ordinance how

(46:30):
to remember him always that we may always have his spirit administering the atonement
of Jesus Christ in our life to be with us you know I think I think when I think when
people hear that that the Holy Ghost may always be with us they think of to guide us to direct

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us to protect us to give us promptings to give us inspiration revelation whatever and
they don't think about enough to give us redemption the Holy Ghost brings redemption into our life
the Holy Ghost brings read read forgiveness into our life the Holy Ghost brings the atonement

(47:16):
of Jesus Christ into our life so when I hear the sacrament prayer that we may always remember
him that we may always have his spirit to be with us I think about forgiveness I think
about a remission of sins when I hear that that phrase I don't think of it includes all
of that it includes all of that but I think too many times we don't think about the Holy

(47:40):
Ghost being the one the third member of the Godhead to be his role and his purpose is
to bring us a remission of sins and to help us to retain a remission of our sins but the
ordinances Scott definitely help us to receive the Holy Ghost we receive the gift of the

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Holy Ghost through the ordinance we receive we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through
the preparatory ordinance of baptism by water and then by the laying out of hands we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost when we exercise our priesthood Scott either as the giver
or the receiver of a priesthood blessing we learn that those in James in the book of
James in the New Testament those who are healed are forgiven of their sins he talks about

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the laying out of hands and and and blessings and those who are healed call in the elders
he says this James the half brother of Jesus call in the elders and when they're blessed
and when they're healed they're given up for remission of their sins so whatever we participate
in any ordinance of the gospel the atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in our life I shared

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that thought with brother Robert J. Matthews years ago in Minnesota he had come there to
teach and train I've shared this story before but for new listeners and brother Robert J.
Matthews is of course the man that wrote the Bible dictionary working on it for nine years

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by the way every day he told me for nine years every day including holidays and Sundays he
told me I worked on the Bible dictionary anyway he was in my home he was staying with us for
a week and I had known him for years and I love Robert J. Matthews and I said brother

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Matthews we were up what late one night talking gospel and I said I've come to this conclusion
that whenever we participate in any ordinance of the gospel the atonement of Jesus Christ
is applied in our life and he said say it again David so I repeated it after I repeated
it he said do you have a pencil and paper so I went got a pencil and paper I think I

(49:59):
got a pencil not a pen it's got a pencil and paper and I remember I can picture this right
now in my mind him taking that old yellow pencil and writing down on a yellow pad whenever
we participate in any ordinance of the gospel the atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in

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our life and he looked at that for a moment and he studied it and he said I think that's
true in fact David that was worth coming to Minnesota for and he later told me that he
would add the word faithful the any whenever we participate faithfully in any ordinance

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of the gospel faithfully or worthily the atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in our life and
I think that's an important distinction so I we we need to talk about this in maybe our
next part yeah we'll need to extend I just want to say this though you know in Dr. and

(51:12):
Covenants 84 is talking about the temple is talking about the priesthood rather is talking
about the power of it and all of that and that is through the priesthood that these ordinances
are performed and it has to be through the authority power godliness in an 8420 it says
therefore in the ordinances thereof the power of godliness is manifest that's it yeah an

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elder bednar has shared that and said that the atonement of the power godliness is among
other things the power godliness is the atonement of Jesus Christ it is the redemption it is
the forgiveness of sin it's it that's the power of godliness right is to help us to
return to his presence so I I love the talk that elder bednar gave on that is called honorably

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hold a name and a standing that's from April 2009 if you want to look that up I encourage
you to do it it's one of my very favorite talks or invitations as to our relationship
and understanding the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives and we need to talk about that
talk next time and we need to talk about elder Oaks talk in April of 1985 called taking upon

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ourselves the name of Jesus I think it's what it's called and let's talk next in our next
podcast then about how ordinances and covenants of the gospel of the restored gospel of Jesus
Christ help us to access the atonement of our savior in our life so I think again maybe

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our listeners can contemplate what does it mean to have the spirit to always be with
us how can I walk in the spirit how can I daily have the spirit what again do I need
to start doing or stop doing that the spirit may be with me always what is the importance
of sharing the gospel of serving others of ministering to the needs of temporally and

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spiritually how can I minister to others and the whole goal of that remember is to help
them to receive and feel the love of God in their life and receive the blessings of the
Holy Ghost in their life who will administer to them for remission of sins and to help

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them to return to their presence of our heavenly Father so Scott I think with that we'll we'll
look forward to having a great discussion next week about the ordinances and covenants
of the gospel and their their role in this process and that includes the sacrament that

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I hope others will listen carefully to the sacrament prayers this Sunday and the power
that's in the in those in that ordinance right now especially not especially but in the the
sacrament prayer on the bread there's actually something that talks about he says that they
may that they will take his name upon them and so you know pay attention to that as

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we do that this week and did you have something to say about I was just gonna say witness
witness unto the that they will take that they will take upon them the name and and elder
Oaks explains that beautifully as well as elder bed are in those two thoughts we'll talk
about that next week we're kind of at a spot where it's like we begin to feel the the effects

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of the atonement of Jesus Christ more fully in our lives that if and as we participate
in the stuff that we talk about it'll never be perfect but it will it will definitely
benefit us it will definitely bring the spirit into our lives our invitation this week would
be to just pay attention be mindful about how the spirit is working in your life and

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as you're mindful about that maybe be mindful about the increase of the spirit as you pay
attention what we focus on tends to expand and if we are focusing on that then let's
let's experience the expansion of the spirit in our lives thanks for being with us we
look forward to being with you every week you can contact us and questions etc he redeems
us at gmail.com take care everybody