The Doctrine of Christ

The following is a talk that I wrote for the Kalispell 3rd Ward's Sacrament Meeting about a month ago. I didn't get to share it all so I figured I would just put it on here. Sorry, but it'll just be in bullet point format. Here goes:

"Strengthening their understanding of the doctrine of Christ will do more to . . . build their excitement to do missionary work than anything else you can do." -Preach My Gospel pg. 161
What is the Doctrine of Christ?
2 Nephi 31:17-21 Note: Unshaken faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the End.

Faith
Bible Dictionary: "Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation."
Pray with faith to be able to assist the Lord in this great work.
See Alma 31:26, 35. Note the difference from the beginning of Alma's prayer to the end? What was the turning point? Vs. 31 - "comfort my soul in Christ."

Repentance
"Our faith in Christ and our love for Him lead us to repent, or to change our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are not in harmony with His will." Preach My Gospel pg. 62

Baptism
When we are baptized we covenant to:
-Mourn with those that mourn
-Comfort those that stand in need of comfort
-Stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places
In L. Tom Perry's talk, Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear, he says, "There are a number of things that we can do - that you can do - to advance an understanding of the Church." Some of those things include:
1. Be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ
2. Be righteous examples to others
3. Speak up about the Church

Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost will help us do missionary work. "If we listen with love, we won't need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us - by the Spirit and by our friends." -Elder Holland
John 14:26-27 Speaks about the Holy Ghost bringing things to our remembrance an and also bringing us peace.

Endure to the End
After doing all of this it is important that we don't stop. We must keep pressing forward looking toward Christ (2 Nephi 31:20). If we will continue on this path then we will have eternal life.

5k for Life

Ready. Set. (Snap) The starting gun is fired and the race begins. Running a 5 kilometer race begins with everyone fighting for position, testing the strength of their competitors, and getting into a rhythm for the rest of the race. I would compare Mile 1 of the race to the first 15 years of life for us. We are just starting out; just getting to know ourselves and take in our surroundings.

Mile 2 of the race is to me the most important. This is where many runners kind of 'fall asleep' so to speak. After all, the finish line seems so far away and they start to rationalize slowing down, maybe working a little less than they could. Some even quit and give up entirely. In life, this period of time is often referred to as the decade of decisions. We have many choices to make that will greatly impact the rest of our lives. So we'd be best to 'stay awake' during all of it.

The last mile is a different length of time for each of us. Unlike a race we don't know exactly where the finish line will be. We could stumble upon it at any time. Let us endure to the end of our lives with perseverance, dedication, and hard work. If we do so I know that we will find peace in this life and happiness in the life to come.

No Regrets

During my high school days I ran on the cross country team. I was definitely not the fastest runner on the team but I had fun and was able to work hard and improve my race times. Many runners would write things on their arms with a marker or a pen to remind them of something during the race. One such phrase I often saw on our team was "No Regrets."

One of the worst feelings after finishing a race is to not be tired. You look back and can see that you could have worked much harder and ran much faster. It's a disappointment most runners will feel at one point or another. Our lives can be compared to a cross country race. We don't want to walk through the finish line, or even jog. We don't want to look back afterwards and see that we could have done so much better. We want to finish strong knowing that we have fought a good fight and finished the course.1 Let us live our lives in such a manner that we will have "No Regrets."

See also:
2 Timothy 4:7

Running the Race by Elder Steinicke

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Through Christ We Can Be Cleansed from Sin

Faith in Jesus Christ

Repentance

Baptism, Our First Covenant

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

Endure to the End