I have in my heart a desire to emphasize the importance of
doing the will of God now while today lasts. Perhaps more hangs upon what a man
does during the short period of his mortal probation than upon his performance
in any other period of equal duration since the spirit hosts took sides in the
great war in heaven.
Amulek, Alma's missionary companion, speaks to this subject
as follows:
. . .now is the time and the day of your salvation; . .
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet
God; yea, behold, the day of this life is the day for men to per-form their
labors.
... therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate
the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is
given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while
in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor
performed. (Alma 34:31-33.)
Nephi taught this same doctrine and went one step farther. He
declared that we must not only labor in this life, but that we must also
continue that labor until the end of life. He pointed out that the gate by
which one enters upon the straight and narrow path is repentance and baptism by
water and of fire and the Holy Ghost, and then continued:
And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this
straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you,
Nay; ...
. . . ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,
having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.
Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and
endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
(2 Nephi 31:19-20.)
And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a
man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the on of the living
God, he cannot be saved. (Ibid., 31:16.)
Mormon's performance, along with his counsel to his son
Moroni, is an heroic example of one's continuing unto the end under the most
trying circumstances. You will recall that it was Mormon who led the degenerate
Nephites in their final struggle against the Lamanites. And a discouraging and
thankless job it was! As he approached the inevitable end, he wrote to his
beloved son Moroni, advising that he had just fought an important battle in
which he I not conquer, and in which three of his most valiant leaders and a
great number of his choice men had been killed. He continued,
And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall
destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up
continually to anger one with another.
Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak
the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when! use
no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the
Spirit of the lord hath ceased striving with them.
For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they
have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and
they thirst after blood and revenge continually. (Moroni 9:3-5.)
Then, notwithstanding these discouraging circumstances, he
declares his intention to continue to labor and encourages his son Moroni to do
likewise. Listen to his plea and take courage therefrom:
And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let
us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought
under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of
clay, bat we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in
the kingdom of God. (Ibid., 9:6.)
In the light of these teachings, it would seem to be most
unwise to rely upon the doctrine of the so-called second chance and wait until
after death to perform our good works. I am acquainted with the doctrine that
those who have had no opportunity to hear and receive the gospel in this life
will have that opportunity in the world to come, and I rejoice in it. I rejoice
in the vision and the revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith on the
21st day of January 1836, which teaches this doctrine. The Prophet reported
that vision and that revelation in part as follows:
The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial
kingdom of God, and the glory thereof . . . I saw the transcendent beauty of
the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like
unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne of God, whereon was
seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom,
which had the appearance of being paved with gold. I saw Fathers Adam and
Abraham, and my father and mother, my brother, Alvin, that has long since
slept, and marvelled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that
kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the lord had set His hand
to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission
of sins.
Thus came the voice of the lord unto me, saying--
"All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel,
who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs
of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a
knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be
heirs of that kingdom, for I, the lord, will judge all men according to their
works, according to the desire of their hearts." (D. H. C. 2:380.)
All this I accept with joy. However, it does not teach, and I
have never found anything in the scriptures nor in the teachings of the
prophets which encourages me to believe, that those who have the gospel taught
to them here will be able to make up their loss if they choose to wait for the
next life to obey it. I would not advise anyone to take that chance. As I
understand the scriptures, taking such a hazard would be fatal.
Amulek, after speaking of "the night of darkness wherein
there can be no labor performed," added:
Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that
I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that
same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this
life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal
world.
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your
repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of
the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath
withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over
you; and this is the final state of the wicked. (Alma 34:34-35.)
On this point of deferring obedience to the gospel, we might
with profit consider the Savior's parable of the ten virgins. I do not remember
any provision being made in that parable for the five foolish virgins to enter
into the marriage at a later time. I do remember, however, that after the door
was shut they, having in the meantime filled their lamps with oil, came saying,
"Lord, Lord, open to us," and that his answer was, Verily I say unto
you, I know you not." (See Matt. 25:1-13.)
In 1831 the Lord continued with the lesson he had in mind to
teach with this parable. Speaking to the Prophet Joseph, he specified some of
the blessings to be received by the five wise virgins. Said he:
And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the
parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have
taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived--verily I say
unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide
the day.
And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance;
and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up
without sin unto salvation.
For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be
upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver. (D. & C.
45:56-59.)
No mention is made in this revelation of the whereabouts of
the foolish virgins. Said the Prophet Joseph,
If men would acquire salvation they have got to be subject,
before they leave this world, to certain rules and principles, which were fixed
by an unalterable decree before the world was.
[Otherwise] the disappointment of hopes and expectations at
the resurrection would be indescribably dreadful. (D. H. 6. 6:50-51.)
In view of these teachings and the many others which carry
the message that today is the day for us to perform our labors, it would seem
to be wisdom on the part of every soul who has been taught the gospel, to here
and now make a daily conscious and sincere effort to live it. And this effort
should continue to the end of mortal life. Failing to make such an effort, a person
identifies himself as one who does not believe the Lord, for, said he, " .
. . if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today.
That we may, by laboring today, inherit the great blessings
we have heard so much about in this conference, I humbly pray in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen. (Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1954,
pp. 133-35)