Lay Hold Upon Every Good Thing

This is the talk I gave in stake conference.  I wanted to share it with you.  I hope it brings you an added measure of the Spirit and a feeling of God's incredible and infinite love for you.  Enjoy! :)

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​Lay Hold Upon Every Good Thing

Stake Conference Talk - November 6, 2021

Brothers and sisters, it’s a privilege to be with you tonight.  I pray that the Spirit will touch all of our hearts and bring us the inspiration we seek.  I have been asked to speak about coming unto Christ and how we can​​ strengthen our faith in Him.

Jesus Christ is my rock.  Throughout my life, He truly has been my strength.  He has carried me through many storms, and when He hasn’t calmed the seas, He has safely navigated me through to shore.  I have found when I am in my deepest trials and heartache, that is when I have drawn closest to the Savior.  I have come to know Him through my suffering, and I have come to know that He will not let me suffer without cause.

My senior year of high school, I began to suffer from severe anxiety and depression, and one verse became a great strength to me.  In Mosiah 4:9, King Benjamin teaches,

“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things… believe that he has all wisdom, and all power… believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.”

Although it is unbelievably hard at times, I would not trade these storms for calm waters, for my trials have brought me closer to Christ.  When it is hard, I turn to Christ and trust in Him to abate my fears and bring me peace.  I know He lives and is aware of me and each of you.  I believe Him when He says He can calm the storm.  I have seen His calming power in my own life, and I can say as Isaiah did in Isaiah 12:2:

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”

Belief in Christ is central to having faith in Him.  Belief that He is the Son of God, and that in Him, we find our salvation.  I know as we trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding, our faith can move mountains.  For as “Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33).

In Moroni 7, we read, “Search diligently in the light of Christ… [and] lay hold upon every good thing.”  Tonight, I would like to share six good things that will bring us closer to Christ and strengthen our faith in Him.

The first good thing is music.  Uplifting, wholesome music invites the Spirit and has a way of touching the heart like nothing else.  I would encourage you to fill your homes with music such as this, for it will provide an atmosphere of peace and holiness.   

Second, reading the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, is another way we can come closer to Christ.  In my darkest times, the scriptures have brought me light and understanding, and the Book of Mormon has brought about wondrous miracles in my family’s home.  In quoting President Marion G. Romney, President Ezra Taft Benson shared:

“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 67).”

President Benson continues, “These promises… are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God.”

A third way we can draw closer to Christ is through making and keeping sacred covenants.  Beginning with baptism, we take the first step to come unto Christ by becoming a member of His Church.  Then, as we prepare ourselves for further sacred covenants, we may choose to receive our own temple endowment, a gift and treasure from God, and to be sealed eternally in marriage.  These sacred covenants are the divinely inspired steps Heavenly Father has set forth to bring us unto His Son, Jesus Christ.  The beauty of the gospel is that these covenants are available to every son and daughter of God.  All are invited to partake of the goodness of God and His gospel.  It is never too late to begin to walk the covenant path.

The fourth way we can draw nearer to Christ is through temple attendance.  I have had the great blessing of being an ordinance worker in the temple these past few months.  There is nothing that brings me such an abundance of joy as serving in the house of the Lord.  In the temple, I feel empowered and sanctified.  If you do not have a current temple recommend, I would strongly encourage you to not delay in taking the steps to receive one.  Do whatever it takes to be in the house of the Lord.  I promise you the peace and holiness you find in the temple will be worth every effort it takes to enter therein.  And if you feel unworthy, remember, there is nothing too great for Christ’s Atonement to make right.  As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said:

“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made… I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.”  End quote.

Brothers and sisters, please be in the house of the Lord, for therein we come to know Him more fully.  Even being the imperfect and flawed mortal beings that we are, He wants us to come and belong, to come and stay, to come and be in His house.  Besides our own homes, I can think of no greater place to draw nearer to Christ than in the temple.

A fifth way to come unto Christ is to live with the Spirit.  As our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson said in the April 2018 General Conference: “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”  End quote.

The Lord is eager to bless us with His Spirit, but we must choose to actively invite the Spirit into our lives each day.  Each of us must decide what that looks like for ourselves.  For me, it means being virtuous in my heart, mind, and actions.  It means only taking in music, books, movies, and other media that uplift and strengthen my spirit.  It means worthily preparing myself to partake of the sacrament each week and utilizing Christ’s infinite Atonement to become more than I am on my own.  It means following the prophet, in whatever he says.  For when he speaks, it is the word of the Lord.

The sixth good thing is service.  Some of you know my brother who has disabilities and will not be able to serve a mission in this life.  For the last several years, he has been tying blankets and making beaded geckos for children in hospitals and homeless shelters.  His service is pure and selfless and seen by the Lord.  Our service need not be grand to be acceptable before the Lord.  We need only do what we can, wherever we can.  There are so many everyday stories of service like my brother’s, and through these “small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).  Your service and sacrifices are seen and accepted by the Lord.  You do so much good, brothers and sisters, and how greatly the Lord loves you for it.  For all you do, you will be blessed now and into the eternities.

In conclusion, I would invite each of us to take time to be still and reflect on our lives.  As I have done so in the past, with a humble heart, the spirit has enlightened my mind and gently encouraged me to try a little harder to be a little better.  Being the mortal beings that we are, we all have room for improvement.  But I would caution, do not become discouraged if you are not where you want to be in this very moment.  Our continued growth and progression will take a lifetime, even spanning into the eternities, and that is okay.  For even Christ grew “grace for grace” (D&C 93:12-14).

Our Father’s plan is one of small, consistent things.  In your quest to come unto Christ, pray for and seek divine help, and then act, trusting that Our Father in Heaven and His Son will help you become more like Them.

When we take the steps to come unto Christ, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, the blessings we receive in return are immeasurable.  Foremost in my mind are peace beyond all understanding, hope and courage in trials, and learning to see this life through His eternal perspective.  You will also be enabled to live with confidence knowing where you stand before the Lord, and you can trust that His divine power will enter your life to bless you, in His timing, with what you need most.

I bear my witness that as you lay hold upon every good thing, you will draw nearer to Christ and you will feel an outpouring of His incredible love for you.  I would like to end with the words of the prophet, Joseph Smith, found in Doctrine and Covenants 128:22.  It reads: “Brethren [and sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, and on, on to the victory!”  I bear my witness that Jesus Christ lives, that He loves us, and that as we draw nearer unto Him, our lives will be forever changed.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.