4 Reasons I'm Thankful For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Note: I gave a talk in church recently and I'm sharing it here, in case anyone is interested. 

Today I want to talk about 4 reasons I'm grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: the sacrament, the Book of Mormon, the Prophet, and temples.

First, I’m grateful to take the sacrament every week, administered by youth who carry the power of God. The sacrament is a way to remember Jesus. During the last supper, Jesus, like other jews, celebrated the passover meal. This is a Jewish custom that went back to the Jews who were in bondage to Pharaoh of Egypt. During the last plague, each family sacrificed their best lamb and painted its blood over their door so that the destroying angel would pass by their home. Inside their home they dined on bread and wine. Since that time, Jewish people have celebrated the liberation of their people with the passover meal. When Jesus celebrated this meal for the last time and passed the bread and wine to his closest friends, he knew that night He would become The Lamb.

In Remembrance of Me, by Walter Rane

Now we take the sacrament to remember His last supper. The symbolism here is rich: I like to think that taking the sacrament is like painting the blood of The Lamb of God over my door so that the destroying angel will pass by my home
Second, I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon. 

My daughter reading the Book of Mormon

Because of the Book of Mormon we have more teachings of Jesus Christ than any other Christian church. I have always loved the Book of Mormon and I’ve loved studying it this year. It tells epic stories of ancient civilizations with adventure, mystery, and miracles. For instance, imagine being a Nephite and coming upon an ancient ghost city covered in bones. You also find mysterious treasure: golden plates written in an unfamiliar language and you are beyond desirous to know what they say. Fortunately, your king is a seer and can translate the plates. He does and tells of millions of people over a 2000 year period. These people eventually divided and their people ended in self-extermination until there was one man left. Eerily, the heartbreaking fate of this civilization (Jaredites) foreshadows the fate of your own people, the Nephites. This story gets even more sobering when we realize that the fate of the Nephites foreshadows the fate of our own civilization, unless we follow the Prophet. Which brings me to the next thing I’m grateful for:
I’m grateful for the Prophet.

Can you believe he is 100 years old and still mentally and physically healthy?

Since Adam, prophets have said what Jesus Christ would say if He were on earth. Today it can be hard to know which way is up and which way is down. It seems like each group of people lives in their own alternate reality. It is truly dizzying. I’m so grateful for the prophet to tell me which way is north. Some people say that we blindly follow the prophet. I disagree. I follow the prophet because I see. I see the pattern in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon of what happens to civilizations when we don’t follow the prophet. So what does the prophet say today? He says what Jesus would say. To be a peacemaker. This doesn't mean to be a pushover or even to just be nice. It means to actively and lovingly work through conflicts with our brothers and sisters. This is not for the faint of heart. I have said and I hear others say, “When Jesus comes, He will come and fix all these problems.” In a way that’s true, but I think it’s too passive. Once, President Eyring was speaking about Zion and said “We know that the Savior will come to a people who have been gathered and prepared to live as the people did in the city of Enoch.” Another way to say this is “If we build it, He will come.” Building Zion will require A LOT of peacemaking. A peacemaker is not someone who waits for peace or hopes for peace. It’s someone who makes peace. It is being uncomfortable, listening, and speaking our point of view with respect, negotiating, generating solutions, and having a good attitude. I want to work hard to be a peacemaker and gather as many of God's children to the safety of Jesus Christ. In addition to emphasizing peacemaking, our prophet has emphasized temples. Which brings me to the next thing I'm grateful for.

The fourth thing I'm grateful for is the Temple because it helps me to draw closer to Jesus Christ.

Our wedding day at the Temple

When I go through the promises I make in the temple, I ask myself which one should I focus on right now. If you haven’t been for a while, it’s much easier to understand than it used to be. I’m going to talk about the laws we promise to keep. I double checked to make sure it’s ok to say the names of the laws. Here they are and I’ll explain what they mean in my own words.

1. Obedience. When I think of obedience, I think of obeying the 10 commandments. I am one of those people who likes rules. I like the safety and peace of following them. So obedience is a law that I love.
2. Gospel: The Gospel is simply faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end. I want to focus on repentance. I know how crippling guilt can be. Sometimes it takes all the courage I have to admit when I’m wrong and apologize, but the joy I feel afterward feels like sunshine streaming through a window. I feel so free and happy. Repentance is one of the happiest things I do. 
3. Sacrifice. In the Old Testament, people sacrificed their best lambs to show their love for God. The sacrifice of The Lamb of God ended the sacrifice of animals. We are asked instead to offer at the altar our broken heart and contrite spirit as our sacrifice. Recently, there was some tension in my family. I went through each of the laws in my mind to see which one would help me draw closer to Jesus Christ to help ease the tension. I came upon the law of sacrifice. I needed to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. I knew that if I worked on that, the tensions would decrease.
4. Chastity. If single, be abstinent, if married, be faithful to your spouse. I made the decision to keep the law of chastity when I was young. Then I didn’t get married until I was 32. I’m grateful for this law because it has helped me avoid unnecessary heartache and worry. Make this decision when you are young. And if you mess up, remember what I said about the joy of repentance.
5. Consecration. We promise to give everything we have: our time, abilities, and substance to serve God. I don’t know anyone who gives ALL of their substance, but that’s what we promise to do. Knowing that makes it easier to say yes to callings, to pay tithing, and to give a generous fast offering.

I’m so grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ because of the Sacrament, the Book of Mormon, the prophet, and temples. All of these things help me to draw closer to Jesus Christ.