To The End

"I am asking this morning that we put ourselves in the place of James and John, put ourselves in the place of seemingly committed, believing, faithful Latter-day Saints, and ask ourselves, "If we are Christ's and he is ours, are we willing to stand firm forever? Are we in this church for keeps, for the duration, until it's over? Are we in it through the bitter cup, the bloody baptism, and all?" And please understand that I am not asking if you can simply endure your years at BYU or serve out your term as gospel doctrine teacher. I am asking questions of a far deeper and more fundamental sort. I am asking about the purity of your heart. How cherished are our covenants? Have we--perhaps beginning our life in the Church as a result of parental insistence or geographic happenstance--have we yet thought about a life that is ultimately to be tempted and tried and purified by fire? Have we cared about our convictions enough and are we regularly reinforcing them in a way that will help us do the right thing at the right time for the right reason, especially when it is unpopular or unprofitable or nearly unbearable to do so?"

-Elder Jeffery R. Holland

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of god and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

-2 Nephi 31:20

Some days I get a little too casual with my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I forget what I have known since I made the decision so many years ago to join with the saints and be baptized. This church is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I must be vigilant to not take it for granted. It is easy to forget why I am on this special path when the shafts in the whirlwind are raging. It is no one's responsibility but my own to stay on the path and live the gospel to the end. That is the commitment I have made to myself and to God. It is to the end. So today I re-affirm the commitment to myself that I will live the gospel I know to be true "to the end"; that I will do a little better and give a little more. I pray that I can succeed in this and do what I have promised.