Brothers and sisters, it's a wonderful treat to be back
here in the Marriott Center to see so many of you here with
us tonight,
but more than that, to realize that across the earth there
are tens of thousands who are gathered in various
facilities,
maybe even hundreds of thousands.
Sister Bateman and I last week were in Argentina and Uruguay.
And we know that they'll be watching this on a
tape-delayed basis next Sunday evening.
But people are gathered everywhere, which exhibits the
faith that they have.
In August 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged
members of the Church throughout the world and
friends everywhere to read or reread the Book of Mormon.
He concluded the challenge with a promise:
"There will come into your lives and into your homes an
added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened
resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments,
and a stronger testimony of the living reality
of the Son of God."
The response to the prophetic call was immediate and
far-reaching.
People everywhere began reading the book--
in homes, on airplanes, at lunch, upon arising in the
morning, before going to bed at night.
It is likely that more people read the Book of Mormon during
the second half of 2005 than at any other time in history.
A few months ago, a friend of mine was in flight between New
York and Salt Lake City.
As he walked down the aisle, many were reading the book.
About midplane, he noticed two individuals across the aisle
from each other, reading.
And he stopped to see where they were.
He chuckled when he saw that they were
both on the same page.
Elder Richard G. Scott and I were on assignment in Africa
during November.
At a Sunday evening devotional with more than 2,000 members
in attendance at the Accra, Ghana, stake center, Elder
Scott asked how many were reading the Book of Mormon.
Almost every hand went up.
Ten days later in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, I met with
200 Saints and friends in a devotional.
I asked the same question.
About two-thirds of the hands were raised.
I learned after the meeting that the remaining one-third
were mostly investigators.
Now, by a show of hands, how many of you read the Book of
Mormon during 2005?
As I look through the audience, almost
every hand is raised.
And I suspect the same is true in Los Angeles, New York,
Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and many other
places in which you are gathered this evening.
What an extraordinary response to the prophet's challenge.
I accepted his challenge and read the book as well.
I experienced the fulfillment of the promises made by
President Hinckley.
I felt an added measure of the Spirit, a stronger testimony,
and a strengthened resolution to walk in the Lord's way.
May I share with you for a moment tonight an insight from
the Book of Mormon that came while reading last year?
For some time, I've known that chapters 5 and 32 in Alma deal
with the same subject, faith.
Until my reading last year, however, I'd failed to notice
how carefully the two sermons were tailored to their
respective audiences.
Alma's listeners in chapter 5 were
Church members in Zarahemla.
This city was the headquarters of the Church, and one may
assume that the members knew the doctrine.
In contrast, the listeners in chapter 32 were the
poverty-stricken Zoramites, who'd been forced out of the
synagogues by the rich.
The people in this part of the land had drifted
far from the truth.
Although the poor were humble and wanted to learn, they were
investigators needing to be taught gospel fundamentals.
Alma's sermon in chapter 5 to the members in Zarahemla is
deep and complex.
The series of questions he poses assumes familiarity with
the doctrine and experience with the Holy Ghost.
Otherwise, the questions have little meaning and are
difficult to answer.
The purpose of the questions is to prompt those members in
Zarahemla to review and renew their faith in the Lord and
His redemptive powers.
Listen to the questions.
Have you spiritually been born of God?
Have you received his image in your countenances?
Have you experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
Do you exercise faith in the redemption of
Him who created you?
Do you look forward with an eye of faith and view this
mortal body raised in immortality to stand before
God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done
in the mortal body?
To appreciate and answer these questions, one must know about
and believe in the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ, have experienced a cleansing by water and by
fire, have tasted the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and
believe in the literal resurrection of
the physical body.
This is not a sermon for initiates, but for
well-grounded members of the Church.
In contrast, Alma teaches the Zoramite investigators the
rudiments of faith--
how faith in Christ begins and then grows.
The sermon in chapter 32 is so clear concerning the
faith-building process that missionaries use it today to
teach investigators how they should develop a testimony.
The process begins with a desire to believe.
And the individual must then plant the seed, which is the
word of God, in his or her heart by searching the
scriptures, listening to the words of the prophets, praying
and asking for a confirmation of gospel truths, coming to
church, and obeying the commandments.
The result, Alma says, will be a swelling in one's bosom and
enlightenment of the mind, warm feelings in the heart.
These are the beginning of a testimony.
And the seed is good.
Anyone with a sincere desire to know can obtain the
testimony by following Alma's teachings in chapter 32.
After explaining the initial faith-building process, Alma
continues with a question in chapter 32.
After ye have tasted this light, he says, is your
knowledge perfect?
No.
The process has just begun.
The seed has grown but is still only a seedling.
Alma explains that if one continues faithful, the
seedling will grow into a tree.
What tree?
The tree of life.
This tree is a symbol of God's love for His children,
expressed in the condescension and atoning
sacrifice of His Son.
Alma teaches the Zoramites that when the tree is deep
within their souls, they will feast upon its fruit and not
hunger or thirst.
In other words, they will have experienced spiritual rebirth,
the mighty change of heart.
And the tree deep within their soul produce God's image in
their countenances.
Isn't it interesting to note that Alma teaches the
Zoramites in chapter 32 what they must do to answer the
questions posed to the Zarahemla
members in chapter 5?
How remarkable.
Can you imagine Joseph Smith at age 24, with little formal
schooling, dictating a manuscript which outlines
fundamental doctrines over hundreds of pages with
consistency in every detail,
and more than that, tailors the presentations of the
doctrine to meet the needs of the audience?
And even more than that, Alma's sermons tie directly to
and build upon the visions of earlier prophets, Lehi's and
Nephi's dreams of the tree of life in 1 Nephi.
Of even more importance, the sermons are not only relevant
for the Nephites and the Zoramites, but for readers
thousands of years later.
Brothers and sisters, the Book of Mormon is the word of God.
It is true.
Joseph Smith was not the author of the book, but the
Lord's translator.
The book was written by ancient
prophets centuries ago.
I'm grateful to have read the Book of Mormon one more time.
Each time I learn new things which bear witness to my soul
that Joseph Smith was and is the Lord's prophet of the
Restoration.
Although there are many things that I do not know, one thing
is certain.
The Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Church are
part of the restitution of all things foretold by the Apostle
Peter 2,000 years ago.
Tonight, I wish to borrow now from
Alma's sermon in Zarahemla.
I ask you, the young adults of the Church in 2006, do you
look forward with an eye of faith?
Do you abide the gospel teachings so that you may
receive and retain His image in your countenances?
Do you recognize the critical point in life at which you've
arrived and the long-term implications of the key
decisions you will make during the next few years?
I believe the age span from 18 to 30 is one of the riskiest
and most challenging times of life.
It is also one of the most rewarding times.
Major decisions will be made in the next few years that
will impact you through mortality and into eternity.
Choices regarding education, employment, marriage,
children, and faithfulness in God's kingdom are upon you.
Your choices now, active or passive,
will affect you forever.
Knowledge of the Lord's plan, especially as it pertains to
this life, will help you make wise decisions.
For the remainder of my time this evening, I wish to
examine the purposes of mortality in the Lord's plan
and how these purposes relate to the important choices that
lie ahead for many of you.
When the Father called His spirit children together in
the Council in Heaven, He indicated that it was time to
create an earth.
That those who, quote, "keep their first estate shall be
added upon.
And they who keep their second estate shall have glory added
upon their heads forever and ever." We know the first
estate to be the spirit world and the second
estate to be this life.
In what ways were we to be added upon as we kept our
first estate and entered mortality?
There are at least three ways in which we are enhanced by
coming to earth.
First, we receive a physical body.
Second, mortal experiences allow us to prove ourselves.
And in so doing, we grow in
intelligence, or light and truth.
And finally, we have the opportunity to begin an
eternal family, where we forge special relationships which
bring added glory.
May we examine each purpose?
The physical body is one of the great gifts of mortality.
The scriptures teach that the body is not only important for
this life, but also for eternity.
During mortality, the body can be a temple of God, in that it
may house the Holy Spirit.
Listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit leads one to
the celestial kingdom.
The body is so important in the eternities that Christ
gave His life to overcome physical as well
as spiritual death.
In so doing, He made possible a resurrection for everyone.
Joseph Smith said we came to this earth that we might have
a body and present it pure before God in
the celestial kingdom.
The great principle of happiness, he said, consists
in having a body.
Why is the physical body so important?
How does it relate to your happiness here and hereafter?
What are its divine purposes?
There are at least three.
First has to do with the sacred power of creation.
The body contains the seeds of creation, which allows us to
have children and begin an eternal family.
In mortality, this power is given for a
limited period of time.
If we are faithful and abide by the commandments pertaining
to its use, that power of creation is restored in the
Resurrection.
The scriptures indicate that a fulness of joy comes when the
body and spirit are inseparably connected.
However, a fulness of joy requires more than the
Resurrection.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we are taught that those who
enter into the new and everlasting covenant of
marriage and are faithful enter into the highest degree
of the celestial kingdom
and there receive a fulness of glory and a continuation of
the seeds forever.
It is the eternal marriage relationship and the power to
create life which produces happiness in mortality and a
fulness of joy in the life to come.
Second, the physical body is an instrument of the mind.
President Boyd K. Packer taught this concept in a CES
satellite broadcast three years ago.
Many acts of love, kindness, and service require the
physical body.
These physical acts not only bless others, but oneself.
A personage of spirit is able to do many things.
But the physical body increases the range of
activities that can be performed.
In fact, President Joseph F. Smith, in his vision of the
spirit world, learned that the dead looked upon the long
absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage.
In other words, there will be actions we cannot take after
death before the Resurrection.
And we will look and yearn for the return of that physical
body and the freedom that it brings.
Third, the physical body is a receptacle for light.
Physicists indicate that every physical
object can hold light.
The brother of Jared must have known this when he exclaimed,
"Touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger and prepare
them that we may have light while we cross the sea." The
Lord, speaking to the Prophet Joseph Smith, stated, "If your
eye be single to my glory, your whole body shall be
filled with light."
Have you noticed the light in the countenances of those who
live the gospel?
Four months ago, I was in the Accra Ghana Temple.
The ordinance workers, dressed in white, were all Ghanaian.
The light emanating from their faces was visible.
As you live the gospel, light is added to your physical
being, with the body as the receptacle.
Finally, the Lord tells us that if we live according to
celestial law, in the Resurrection our bodies will
receive that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
"Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory
shall then receive of the same, even a fulness."
What does that mean?
If we strive to live the gospel, our bodies will be
quickened by a portion of celestial light in this life.
And then we'll receive a fulness of celestial glory in
the Resurrection.
Brothers and sisters, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, the
great principle of happiness consists in having a body.
It contains the sacred powers of life.
It's an instrument of the mind.
And as a temple of God, it increases one's capacity for
light and truth.
It is important that we respect the body through
modest dress, by refraining from immoral acts, and by
keeping it clean and unmarred.
There's one more aspect of the physical body
that should be mentioned.
It's the strength of the body over a lifetime.
Have you ever thought about the strength
pattern as you live life?
This life pattern of physical strength and this relationship
to spiritual growth provides a perspective for
the choices you make.
The chart on the screen utilizes data from physiologic
studies to illustrate the muscular strength of the human
body from birth to old age.
The horizontal axis depicts our age from birth
till when we die.
The vertical axis is a measure of the muscular
strength of the body.
At birth, the line is near the bottom of the chart.
A baby's strength is small relative to that of an adult.
The line then increases rapidly as the human body
develops from childhood to adulthood.
The strength of the physical body peaks
near 30 years of age.
It is well documented that muscular strength in both
males and females begins a long descent after 30 as the
body slowly deteriorates until death occurs.
Where are you on the graph?
You're all near or approaching the peak.
Since most of the audience tonight are under 30, note
that you've only experienced increasing physical strength.
For the most part, you only know what it's like to become
stronger and stronger.
But just wait.
It will not be many years before all of you will be over
the hill and on a downward course.
What will it be like then?
Is it any wonder that many of life's key decisions are made
during the 18 to 30 period?
You're nearing peak strength.
You feel indestructible.
Death is some distant event that may never occur.
From a physical point of view, the 20s are a particularly
important time to marry and begin a family because you're
in good health and have the energy required to raise a
family in the decades that follow.
As one looks at the chart, one might ask, why
the long, slow decline?
Are there lessons to be learned?
The answer is yes.
The mind and the spirit are taught many lessons.
One of the first, as you start down the hill, is that you
learn that you're mortal.
When I was your age, death was not an option.
Like you, it was so far off that I hardly
thought about it.
Today, I'm much further out on the curve and experience the
aches and pains that come with a body's steady deterioration.
Now death is right before me.
I've learned that life is short, regardless of
how long one lives.
Also I understand more fully the need for a Savior.
There's no way I can overcome spiritual and physical death
without His grace.
I also realize that many of the blessings received in
later life stem from the decisions made
between 18 and 30.
My greatest blessings in life stem from the decision to
marry Sister Bateman shortly after a mission,
to finish our educational pursuits together, even though
resources were limited,
and to listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit
in laying a foundation for our future life.
As one experiences the downhill portion of later
life, inevitable aches and pains serve
an important purpose.
They help one put off King Benjamin's natural man or
woman as we learn to yield to the
enticings of the Holy Spirit.
The aches and pains of later life teach humility, the
meaning of longsuffering, the importance of patience, an
appreciation for the qualities of kindness and love, and help
one learn moderation in all things.
It's interesting.
These are the divine attributes for the faithful.
The slow deterioration of the body serves as a refining
instrument for the spirit.
If you take care of your body early, it increases the
chances of living a long life.
That is important, because many of the important lessons
of life are learned in the latter part.
One pack of cigarettes per day shortens
life by 10 to 13 years.
Please notice the diminished strength in the chart.
Drugs shorten life even more.
No wonder the Lord provides a health law in every
dispensation.
My young friends, the Lord's Atonement and Resurrection
affirm the importance of the physical body.
May we understand and respect the important roles that it
plays in mortality and in eternity.
The second grand purpose in eternity is the acquisition of
intelligence, or light and truth.
The dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity
to acquire and apply knowledge.
The Lord's definition, though, is a little bit different.
He defines intelligence with an additional element.
It is not only the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge,
but the wisdom to use it righteously.
In the Lord's words, light and truth forsake that evil one.
Light is an attribute of Deity.
The Apostle John states that God is light and in Him is no
darkness at all.
Jesus stated that He was the Light of the World.
The gospel is a message of light.
A key mortal objective for all of God's children is the
acquisition of light, to become more like Him.
We are to prove ourselves in mortality through obedience to
His commandments.
And then the reward is added glory or light.
The Doctrine and Covenants records, "That which
is of God is light.
And he that receiveth light and continueth in God
receiveth more light.
And that light groweth brighter and brighter until
the perfect day."
The Lord has provided two sources of spiritual light.
The first is the Light of Christ.
This light is given to every person, that he or she may
know good from evil.
The second source is the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is
bestowed on members of the Church.
The Holy Ghost has many gifts which enlighten and strengthen
us, especially in our testimony of Jesus Christ,
but also in other ways.
The graph on the screen depicts three different
spiritual paths that one may take through life.
The upper path leads to the celestial kingdom.
As noted earlier, those on this path receive more and
more light throughout life.
This is because they, quote, "are wise and have
received the truth.
And have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide."
These are they who received the testimony of Jesus.
And believed on His name and were baptized.
And receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.
They are they who have received of His fulness and
of His glory.
These individuals learn from both the Holy Ghost and the
Light of Christ.
Please note that the celestial curve rises rapidly for young
members of the Church.
Baptism and the promptings of the Holy Ghost over a period
of years bring significant light to an individual.
The second path leads to the terrestrial kingdom.
There is spiritual growth along this path as well, but
the trajectory falls short of what might be.
Along the middle path, men and women accept and learn from
the Light of Christ but not the Holy Ghost.
They are the honorable men of the earth who are blinded through
the craftiness of men.
They receive of His glory but not of His fulness.
The third, or bottom path, leads to
the telestial kingdom.
The travelers on this road reject even the light of
Christ, as well as the Holy Ghost.
They cheat, steal, commit adultery, and
love to make a lie.
Although they will receive glory, telestial glory, in the
Resurrection, these individuals lose
light during mortality.
In Paul's words, they have their conscience seared over
with a hot iron and do not respond to the promptings of
the Light of Christ.
The next chart examines the effects of sin.
Suppose one is traveling the celestial path
and commits a sin.
The effect is a loss of light.
Embracing evil lowers the trajectory of one's path, as
the Holy Spirit withdraws.
Is it possible to return to the upper road?
Yes.
One may return through the process of faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ and repentance.
Suppose one steals another person's wallet.
What must be done to reverse the course and climb to the
higher road?
A recognition of the sin.
A feeling of remorse.
Asking for the person's and the Lord's forgiveness.
Expressing regret, returning the wallet, and refraining
from further sin will start one's return
to the upper path.
It will take time to prove oneself, but it is possible to
remove the effects of the sin through faith
in the Lord's Atonement.
Now consider another
circumstance much more serious.
Suppose a young man and a young woman rob each other of
their virtue through fornication.
The loss of light is greater than in the
theft of the wallet.
Can these young people return to the celestial path?
Yes, it is possible.
But how is it done?
How do they become clean again?
The young man cannot return virtue to the young woman.
Nor can the woman return virtue to the man.
The only person who can renew their virtue is the Lord.
He's the only one with the capacity to restore virtue and
cleanse the young people.
What are the conditions?
Obviously, it is not enough for the young people to
forgive each other and refrain in the future.
They must build a relationship with the Lord, beginning with
a confession to the bishop.
Then they must seek the Lord's forgiveness
and earn His trust.
It will take time and faith and effort on their part to be
whole again.
Thankfully, the Holy Spirit will return and lead them back
to the higher road as they partake of the fruits of the
Atonement through their faith and diligence in keeping the
commandments.
Brothers and sisters, it is important to stay on the
celestial path.
Respect your bodies.
Refrain from sin.
And the added light you receive through mortality will
stay with you and will be yours in the world to come.
The third great purpose of mortality is to marry and
initiate one's own eternal family.
President Hinckley has stated there is nothing more precious
than one's family.
In the recent worldwide satellite broadcast on the
family, Elder L Tom Perry quoted from a booklet known as
the Family Guidebook, which states, quote, "The family is
the basic unit of the Church and the most important social
unit in time and eternity."
Joseph Smith taught, except a man and his wife enter into an
everlasting covenant and be married for eternity while in
this probation, by the power and authority of the holy
priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die.
That is, they will not have children after the
Resurrection.
The family proclamation states that, quote, "Marriage between
a man and a woman is ordained of God.
And the family is central to the Creator's plan for the
eternal destiny of His children." Why is marriage and
family so important?
Elder Bednar, in the recent worldwide satellite broadcast,
gave two doctrinal reasons.
The first is the nature of male and female spirits
complete and perfect each other.
And therefore, men and women are intended to progress
together toward exaltation.
That's why Peter said the man and the woman are heirs
together of eternal life.
And Paul said that neither is the man without the woman, nor
the woman without the man, in the Lord.
By divine design, both a man and a woman are needed to
bring children into mortality and provide the best setting
for the rearing and nurturing of children.
Men and women complement each other physically, spiritually,
emotionally, and mentally.
We have different strengths.
And a righteous marriage is a partnership in which spiritual
growth is enhanced because of the differences between the
man and the woman.
The family is the ideal setting for teaching children.
Father and mother are important role models.
Children's self-respect and identity are shaped by the
love their father and mother have for each
other and for them.
The home and family are where children experience
the bonds of love,
where they learn virtue, honesty, and good citizenship.
The home is where children learn
respect for other people.
In other words, the family is the ideal organization for the
spiritual growth of both parents and the children.
The world's view of marriage and family is
different from ours.
Generally, they see marriage as a temporal association, a
short-term relationship.
For some, the purpose is mostly individual pleasure and
satisfaction.
When difficult times occur, the incentives to maintain the
association diminish and the relationship is often
terminated.
More and more adults are choosing not even to marry,
but just live together without a formal relationship.
Needless to say, their associations are
the shortest of all.
The next set of charts illustrate the differences
between no marriage, a civil marriage, and a marriage for
time and eternity.
Figure A illustrates the association between a man and
a woman when there is no contract.
The two individuals live together but stand apart.
The promises shared are limited.
There's no formal connection between them.
Nothing but personal satisfaction
seems to be their goal.
Because a contract does not exist, children born in this
circumstance have little security.
The relationship is fragile, and duration is
almost always short.
Figure B illustrates a civil marriage.
The line and arrows illustrate the promises made between the
man and the woman as a result of the marriage contract.
They promise to care for each other until death parts them.
The contract is recognized by civil authority.
The children have some security because of the intent
of the parents and the promises made.
Unfortunately, more and more civil marriages are falling by
the wayside as people break those promises.
In many circumstances, broken promises leave men, women, and
children destitute.
Figure C illustrates a marriage
for time and eternity.
This relationship is established by a sacred
covenant between the man, the woman, and the Lord.
The woman covenants with the man, and the man covenants
with the woman, and the two together
covenant with the Lord.
The arrows illustrate the covenant promises made.
The man promises the woman that he will honor
and care for her,
that there will be no one come between them.
No one includes father, mother, friends, and certainly
not another woman.
He also promises the Lord that he will live the gospel and
treat the woman with the respect she deserves.
Similar promises are made by the woman to the man and then
to the Lord.
Finally, the Lord extends marvelous promises to the man
and the woman and their posterity, based on their
faithfulness.
The triangular relationship is much more stable
than a simple line.
When understood, these potentially infinite
relationships increase confidence, deepen
commitments, and give greater strength to the marriage.
Notice that the closer the man and the woman come to the
Lord, the closer they come to each other.
The secret in marriage is to live the gospel and turn the
triangle into an eternal circle.
The eternal family is one of the three
great gifts of mortality.
Your stage in life, both physically and spiritually, is
designed for you to initiate it.
You have the Holy Ghost to guide you in these important
decisions, but you must make the choice.
The Holy Ghost will not make it for you.
That is not His responsibility, nor will He
rob you of your agency.
However, the Holy Ghost will bring peace to your soul when
you make a good decision.
Brothers and sisters, remember the great gifts of mortality--
the physical body, additional light, and the eternal family.
These gifts are sacred.
May the Lord bless you during this wonderful phase of life
that is yours to live so that you may receive all three of
these great promises in their fulness.
It is my prayer that the Lord will bless you to this end, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
amen.