This is such a wonderful talk. I want to highlight a few parts.
MIRACLES
“In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.“
COVENANTS
“Dear brothers and sisters, I grieve for those who leave the Church because they feel membership requires too much of them. They have not yet discovered that making and keeping covenants actually makes life easier! Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. Please ponder that stunning truth!“
“The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Thus, covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God.“
Is it possible that these two are interlinked? Covenant Keeping leads to Miracles through Heavenly Power.
OVERCOME THE WORLD
“Before the Savior submitted Himself to the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary, He declared to His Apostles, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Subsequently, Jesus entreated each of us to do the same when He said, “I will that ye should overcome the world.””
“Dear brothers and sisters, my message to you today is that because Jesus Christ overcame this fallen world, and because He atoned for each of us, you too can overcome this sin-saturated, self-centered, and often exhausting world.“
“Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.“
“You can overcome the spiritually and emotionally exhausting plagues of the world, including arrogance, pride, anger, immorality, hatred, greed, jealousy, and fear. Despite the distractions and distortions that swirl around us, you can find true rest—meaning relief and peace—even amid your most vexing problems.“
HOW TO OVERCOME THE WORLD
- “First, what does it mean to overcome the world?”
- “Second, how do we do it?“
- “Third, how does overcoming the world bless our lives?“
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OVERCOME THE WORLD?
“What does it mean to overcome the world? It means overcoming the temptation to care more about the things of this world than the things of God. It means trusting the doctrine of Christ more than the philosophies of men. It means delighting in truth, denouncing deception, and becoming “humble followers of Christ.” It means choosing to refrain from anything that drives the Spirit away. It means being willing to “give away” even our favorite sins.”
So far I feel I have just been copying and pasting the talk. I really love this talk. President Nelson is so full of hope and optimism. He leaves you feeling as though, it is OK, just repent and do better. You can overcome any challenge in life.
For me personally, the thing that got me was this idea of “giving away even our favorite sins“. In relation to my journey to Zion. I realize that Zion is for the pure in heart. Would a Zion person entertain their favorite sins? It’s kind of like that one thing you are willing to cave on just to ensure you are never too perfect. Other times, it is that small thing that you tell yourself you don’t care what anyone thinks, you like it and you are going to hold on to it, I’m going to do it anyways.
- I’m going to drink that energy drink
- I’m going to watch that movie that is full of sexual innuendos
- I’m going to swear just for emphasis
- I’m going to just look and if it gets too bad I’ll stop
- I’m going to stop scrolling
“But overcoming the world does mean that your resistance to sin will increase. Your heart will soften as your faith in Jesus Christ increases. Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else.”
In all honestly, you won’t become perfect in this life. It is impossible. But as President Nelson says, it does mean your resistance to sin will increase and your love of God will increase. It is the culmination of a lot of small steps that get us there. One major big step doesn’t have the power to change us. But then again, sometimes small steps leave us in a position to justify stepping backward before stepping forward. At some point, you come to the realization that the step backward isn’t worth it. Appeasing the appetite… the brief momentary fulfillment as the result of sin… is never worth the stagnation or extra work it takes to overcome.
HOW DO YOU OVERCOME THE WORLD?
“Each time you seek for and follow the promptings of the Spirit, each time you do anything good—things that “the natural man” would not do—you are overcoming the world.”
It is just like I was talking about in the previous paragraph. It’s those small choices. Resisting what you know is “brief” fulfillment of some natural desire. I have felt for some time, this is where the “Gift of the Holy Ghost” comes into play. I believe many times we have that influence there, guiding us to resist these desires to sin (giving into our favorite sins). This could be either through a thought or a feeling.
Each time we resist and follow the promptings of the spirit we have overcome the world. I know it is easier said than done. I can think of dozens of times in my life when I have had those thoughts and impressions and did it anyway. The result was the spirit fleeing from me. I have even had the warnings come so strongly to the point that my body would quake at the appearance of sin and I would ignore it and dive in head first. By the way, I don’t recommend that. Going back to my previous statement, the brief momentary fulfillment as the result of sin is never worth the stagnation or extra work it takes to overcome the backward progress.
- Repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ
- Repent daily
- Keep covenant
HOW DOES OVERCOMING THE WORLD BLESS OUR LIVES?
President Nelson uses the term “hollow substitute” in comparison to the happiness brought by living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve often thought of the duality of this world; both in “opposition in all things” and “parallels in all things.” Every gift of God has a dark counterfeit. Even though we can experience true happiness in this life, much of what we seek is the fulfillment of hope and happiness in the next life.
I like to use drugs as a comparison. I truly feel the glory of God will be euphoric in the world to come. Feelings of pure happiness and joy burst from every pore on our resurrected bodies. Satan’s counterfeit is the euphoria of drugs and alcohol experienced here and now in the flesh. Brief momentary fulfillment as a substitute for eternal joy. I do not doubt that eternal joy can be just as euphoric.
“Yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.”
“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, … lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.”
“I plead with you now—to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women.”
ANSWERS
“Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. “
I often told my primary class. There isn’t anything more important in this life than learning to hear the Holy Ghost. This urging from the prophet takes that one step further. Learn to hear the Holy Ghost or in a sense Hear Him, then write it down and follow through. Is this not following the Holy Ghost?
We often hear these amazing stories of prophets and apostles being prompted and following through. That is the very lesson they learned. They learned to listen and follow. The amazing thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that these blessings are available to everyone. Not just the prophets and apostles. But, only those who actively seek for these things will find them.
“Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.”