Faithfulness, as in consistency

Today's topics seemed to center somewhat on the theme of faithfulness, as it relates to consistency, day in and day out.


During the third hour, in Elders Quorum, we covered the following General Conference talks:

• A Matter of a Few Degrees
• We Will Not Yield, We Cannot Yield
  

The first talk appeared to have two distinct topics. The first told of how a very small margin of error in course heading will lead to a large error in our final destination. Related to the gospel, our heading is the course that our lives are taking day after day, their pattern pattern if you will. Are we headed in the right direction? Are we doing the little things every day that will guide to where we want to be? All the Primary answers apply here (prayer, scripture study, family home evening, attending Church). The second topic related to correcting our course, once we realize we are in error. Minor course correction must be taken every day, for we are all imperfect. Major sin requires major course correction, and requires guidance from the control tower since we've gotten ourselves all turned around and our instruments aren't working right. The control tower would be the proper priesthood leader, be it Bishop or Stake President, etc.

The second talk dealt with our standards, the expectations we try to live by. As the world lowers its standards of honesty, morality, and personal responsibility, we must not yield. We must not lower our standards. However, as we grit our teeth and hold fast, we must not let any degree of self righteousness cloud our eyes--they must be single to the light of Christ.

Will the day come that we will have to fight the unpopular fight to uphold our standards? I think that it is happening in a more conspicuous way every year. This year, we see that fight in California regarding the sanctity of marriage between man and woman.

One of the doctrinal arguments I've often heard levied against the Church is that it teaches that we must save ourselves through our works. This is the fallacy of the grace versus works debate. Any serious reader of the Book of Mormon will know that we believe that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only in and through the atonement of Christ (Helaman 5:9). However, it is also often taught that we must do all that we can, that we must remove all ungodliness from our lives, in short, that we must strive to be perfect. Trying to be perfect in all aspects of life--having perfect patience with our disobedient children, having a perfect understanding of the scriptures, having a perfect food storage, etc., etc., etc.--inflicts an enormous amount of pressure on the individual, and subsequently, on the individual's family. Will we be perfect in this life? Of course not. But that is not the point. We are commanded to strive to be perfect, to be willing to keep all the commandments. The Good News of the Gospel of Christ is that he will make up the difference--AS LONG AS WE ARE FAITHFUL, as long as we are consistent in making our course corrections. It is when we give up, when we are unwilling to keep trying, only then are we really in trouble, for the atonement of Christ can have no claim upon such.