Things Which Are Sacred

Alma 37:14-16

14 "And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.

15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.

16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words."

I know Alma is talking about the scriptures in these versus, but I think the principles can be applied to other 'things which are sacred'. A few things come to mind... First, I think of the Priesthood. 'God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred'. If we transgress the commandments of God and give into temptations then His Priesthood will be taken away from us and we will be delivered up unto Satan. BUT, if we work hard to honor the Priesthood and to live worthily, according to that which the Lord doth command, for we must appeal to Him for ALL things whatsoever we must do with the Priesthood, then NO POWER OF EARTH OR HELL CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM US! Can you imagine the power and goodness that would come about if, as holders of the Holy Priesthood of God, we all stood a little taller and worked a little harder to honor that Priesthood and to stay clean and close to the Spirit!

Second, I think of our Marriage Covenants. Again, 'God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.' This is an ETERNAL issue! The message is the same, if we transgress the commandments and set aside our covenants, even for just a moment, to indulge in sin or to allow the world to come between us, 'these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.' BUT, the promise is also the same... if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words." Third, I think of our children. Once again, 'God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred'. In this case I really like the teaching of 'appealing unto the Lord for ALL things whatsoever ye must do with them'. These children are not ours. We are not the all-mighty parents who dictate and decide. In fact, they are our brothers and sisters. Who's to say that they are not our OLDER brothers and sister, spiritually. We know that we have been together in the pre-mortal world for a long time. We know that, though we were all good and we all chose to follow Jesus Christ, some were more valiant than others in that pre-mortal life. I have a hunch that Kaciann, Alexis, Colton and little Tegan were my spiritual superiors before we came here. I have a feeling that I looked to them for leadership and testimony, as they were more spiritually advanced than me prior to coming here. Maybe I dreamed of being like them someday. Maybe they were my heroes. Maybe they sat down with me and gave me a pep talk before coming here, encouraging me to find the light and hold on to it with all I have. Pumping me up to live close to the Lord and to teach them the important things, even the things which are sacred. I am so thankful to be able to appeal to the Lord and receive direction and guidance in raising His children. I am grateful for the promise that, through the making and keeping of sacred temple covenants, 'no power of earth or hell can take them away from me'.

I love you all.

Gunnar C.