Thursday, April 24, 2014

Life Will Be a Success in the End

You that are mourning about your children straying away will have your sons and your daughters. If you succeed in passing through these trials and afflictions and receive a resurrection, you will, by the power of the Priesthood, work and labor, as the Son of God has, until you get all your sons and daughters in the path of exaltation and glory. This is just as sure as that the sun rose this morning over yonder mountains. Therefore, mourn not because all your sons and daughters do not follow in the path that you have marked out to them, or give heed to your counsels. Inasmuch as we succeed in securing eternal glory, and stand as saviors, and as kings and priests to our God, we will save our posterity. When Jesus went through that terrible torture on the cross, He saw what would be accomplished by it; He saw that His brethren and sisters the sons and daughters of God would be gathered in, with but few exceptions those who committed the unpardonable sin. That sacrifice of the divine Being was effectual to destroy the powers of Satan. I believe that every man and woman who comes into this life and passes through it, that life will be a success in the end. It may not be in this life. It was not with the antedeluvians. They passed through troubles and afflictions; 2,500 years after that, when Jesus went to preach to them, the dead heard the voice of the Son of God and they lived. They found after all that it was a very good thing that they had conformed to the will of God in leaving the spiritual life and passing through this world. (Lorenzo Snow, MS 56:49-53; Collected Discourses 3:364-65.)

3 comments:

Denton Romans said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
nonrandom set said...

I've read lots of discussion about this, and it's not without controversy, but this is one of those doctrines that simply resonates with me.

Some think that teaching this will make people think they can do whatever they want and they'll still ultimately be saved. There may very well be some like that. But there are also those of us who, having made mistakes (and not a few), would assume we were too far gone and give up hope without the belief that God intends to work miracles with us, too.

Doctrinal or not, I just can't imagine a Father who isn't going to do whatever it takes to save all his children, at least all who want it.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful, encouraging, facilitating quote. Such a shame we do not teach this more explicitly, so many hearts that ate broken would be healed. From the pulpit, please.