Saturday, October 8, 2011

Hope

There has been a wide array of opinions within Mormon thought on the size/extent of people who will be saved/exalted. I find myself more and more on the universalist end of the spectrum. In that vein, here is a portion of a talk from President Lorenzo Snow given in General Conference, the morning of October 6th, 1893.
God has fulfilled His promises to us, and our prospects are grand and glorious. Yes, in the next life we will have our wives, and our sons and daughters. If we do not get them all at once, we will have them some time, for every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ. 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. God will have His own way in His own time, and He will accomplish His purposes in the salvation of His sons and daughters. 
So to those of you who feel you're not doing enough, you're not good enough, or you're losing hope, I'll close with the words of William Clayton:
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
    Our God will never us forsake;
And soon well have this tale to tell-
    All is well! All is well!

2 comments:

Mrs N said...

My husband and I have had a few conversations on this subject recently. Our ponderings have led us to be more and more universalist also. I will be sure to share this quote with him. Thanks.

(By the way, I am your wife's friend. I found your blog via her FB wall. She will vouch for my awesomeness.)

geoffsn said...

She did say you were pretty awesome and that we could be friends. Glad you enjoyed the post. I hope you check out the old posts too (when you have time) and give me feedback.