Clay's sacrament talk

Here's a copy of Clay's talk, again for our kids later.--

Abraham was taught by the Lord that he was a choice spirit and chosen before the world was formed. The Lord gave him a vision of the intelligences in the pre-mortal realm and during this vision he was taught the purpose of his and our existences on this earth. First he was taught that those who succeeded in their first estate or pre-existence were added to or given bodies upon coming to the second estate, or Earth. The Doctrine & Covenants teach that only when the spirit and the elements are inseparable connect can we achieve a fullness of joy.

It is prerequisite then that we have immortal bodies to return permanently to our Father. Satan and his followers are barred from this blessing and therefore work hard to guide us to abuse or surrender control of these bodies to them on a temporary basis.

During the vision to Abraham a second reason for our existence was stated. Abraham 3:24-25:
“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; “

This Earth is a proving ground. Alma described it as a probationary state. Ammulek described it as a time for men to prepare to meet God. All of thee descriptions are examples of the use of agency. Agency is our right to choose our path. In present times some people define it as their right to choose their path and the consequences of their actions. The Savior repeatedly has cautioned us to beware of these types of false doctrines. I find it interesting how many people on TV claim their right to act as they want and not be held responsible for the delinquent behavior they inspire. The Lord has demonstrated how important agency is to Him. He lost 1/3 of His children due to agency. It was by agency that the Savior accepted immeasurable pain and agony to make his infinite and eternal atonement. The Savior while on the cross cried out--“Eli, Eli, Lama Sabacthani?” Which translates to: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The one person who always was worthy of His Father’s presence was willing to give it up to be forsaken and alone just as we feel at times during our life.

Because of Adam and Eve’s agency, we are under a spiritual and temporal death or separation from God. Even though we are separated due to the transgression of Adam, the atonement of Christ overcomes these obstacles and allows us to account only for our choices. Lehi taught his son Jacob that without opposition, agency would not be possible. To make a good choice, we have to be given a bad choice simultaneously. The enemy of all righteousness is allowed to remain on this Earth to test us on our use of agency. I remember before my mission I was presented with a difficult choice. I could either fulfill my mission or remain at home and marry a young lady that I cared for. I chose to go on my mission. I’ve been grateful beyond words for that decision. My mission helped me to understand, believe, and love the Savior more than anyone else in my life. My wife and children also are gifts that I’m grateful for.

Every day we use our agency and ultimately our choices demonstrate who we believe in more: ourselves or God. As we believe more in God, we understand Him more and want to follow Him. To follow Him we must adopt His ways and goals.

His goals are not egocentric therefore our eyes should not be focused on ourselves, but be focused on our spouses, children and neighbors. The Savior defined our neighbor as those around us who stand in need. How do we know if they stand in need? We can ask. How will we know how to help them? We can follow the spirit as well as follow the Lord’s goals for man that he explained to Moses when Moses questioned why the Lord had created the earth for man. In response, the Lord told Moses His entire work was to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Do are actions help or encourage others to progress towards God? If not, we should reconsider our actions. What if we feel our circumstances are not fair or too hard? We can learn the wisdom that a young hobbit named Frodo was taught by Gandolf. Frodo was discouraged by the arduous journey that lay ahead and whishes his circumstances could be taken from him. Gandolf counseled him that our circumstances are not ours to pick, ours is only to do what is best with our circumstances.

Finally, we could ask if our plans seem to rarely come to fruition why try or even make plans? A story was told of a man who saw God in a dream and was instructed to push a large boulder. Initially the man pushes all day with his might, but by and by Satan began whispering to him about his foolishness in trying to move the boulder. The man began to push with less strength and for only part of the day. Eventually he stopped all together. When God visited him again, the man complained that his task was too great. He could never move the stone. God calmly replied that the man was not to move the stone, just push on it. God pointed out the now chiseled physique and tanned skin of the man to demonstrate the received blessings. God said he would remove the stone, not the man. As we exercise our agency, we should not be discouraged but thankful we are able to use it. Blessings rarely come in the form we anticipate because God’s ways are higher than man’s ways.