Welcome to closer to Christ through general conference
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent general
conference talks This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it Today's talk is Humble Souls at
Altar's Kneel. This was done by Elder Jeremy
R. Yagy of the Seventy. The new sacrament hymn
called Bread of Life, Living Water contains this
line, Now I come before the altar offering him
my broken heart. Elder Yagy tells us of when
he served a mission as the leader in Utah. He
was invited to chapel. Hill Air Force Base. He
toured the place where they did their worship
services and not just specific to one denomination,
multiple faiths would gather in the same place.
So he asks the chaplain how each member was made
to fill at home, you know, in their different
denominations when they would come to worship,
pray, meditate and ponder. So the Catholics and
the Protestants had a cross and for the Jewish
brothers and sisters, we had a star of David.
Then he says, what would you do for members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints?
And he said, they prepare and bless the bread
and water on the altar. Elder Yagi asked if the
large, seemingly fixed altar was removed before
the services of the Jewish, Muslim, Catholic,
or Protestant brothers and sisters. And he was
told that the altar stays in place for several
of those faiths, which also utilize the altar
in some way. In this talk, we're going to take
a deeper look at the idea that we all have a
need to come to the altar as we continue on the
covenant path with our Savior Jesus Christ and
with our Heavenly Father. I love that, how he
started that and said, just, you know, it kind
of brought us all together with the altar. That
was the whole point of it. Yes, Muslim, Jewish.
We can appreciate our brothers and sisters about
other faiths, but that there's a unifying theme,
that altar can be a unifying theme. In the Old
Testament, Father Abraham built an altar to sacrifice
Isaac. In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of an
altar at the Sermon on the Mount, when he was
asking how we approach the altar with our gifts,
and he reminded us to sanctify our heart. before
we come to God. And then the Book of Mormon,
Lehi built an altar. And going way back, our
first parents, Adam and Eve built and worshiped
at altars. After they were cast out of the Garden
of Eden and they worshiped for many days, an
angel visited and asked a very poignant question
that could be asked to each of us. Why do you
offer sacrifices unto the Lord? Adam answered,
I know not. And here the angels response to Adam.
to his humble admission is pretty stunning. This
is a similitude, this meaning the altar, is a
similitude to the sacrifice of the only begotten
of the Father, wherefore thou shalt do all that
thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt
repent and call upon God in the name of the Son
forevermore. So the sacrament table and also
the temple altar symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ and his infinite atonement. I love the
visual reminder that we have here, because when
we see an altar, At the temple or at the church
or the temple, it's an invitation to think of
Jesus Christ. As we receive the ordinances of
the sacrament at church and the endowment and
the ceiling in the temple, at this point, we
bind ourselves to the Savior gaining greater
access to His mercy, protection, sanctification,
healing and rest. Don't you think, I mean, is
it just me or do you feel like all parents like
raise their kids if you're in the church outside
of like a Sunday? And for taking up the sacrament,
you still treat that sacrament room with like
a different level of respect. You don't just
wander in there. Right. And it's not that the
emolents of the sacrament are sitting on that
altar, but in reference of that room, because
it is the most important thing that we're doing,
that altar does stay in place. Absolutely. And
it does, for me, has always granted like a different
level of respect for that space. I love that.
Yes. I was thinking if the Savior is the great
connector, then what will we consider the Satan,
the adversary? He could be considered the great
separator of things. He tempts us to separate
ourselves from these consecrated places of worship
and from the protection of Jesus Christ. Now,
sometimes he does that under the guise of thinking
that you can find Jesus, you know, outside of
his walls. Can you have those moments, that connection?
Yes, but he has you do it frequently enough that
you're like, He didn't even need that Church
and the Connection. So that's pretty crafty because
he's good at being crafty. podcasters that I
love. It was Taylor and Tyler. He was on that's
the ribs thing, doing a little snippet on the
endowment and curiosity people have that surround
it. But he's a big language guy and he talks
about like shrouding yourself and Dow had some
connotation. The root word was like to cover,
not like the Atomic cover, but like in shroud
you. like, envelop you, hold you. Love that.
I'm like, that's exactly what the endowment was
meant to do. Absolutely. How hard is it to forget
that endowment if you're not feeling, I mean,
how easy is it to remember the endowment if you're
feeling surrounded by it? Yes. I like that visual.
Thank you for that. Also, building an understanding
of the Savior's eternal atonement line upon line,
precept upon precept, provides each of us with
spiritual inoculation against the wiles of the
adversary. Meaning, as we age in the gospel,
we make and live covenants. equal to our understanding.
Being at church, so that we can, oh, then he
talks about different things. So one of them,
there was a story about being at church so that
we can take the sacrament and renew that covenant.
He asked his dad, hey, can I, I want to see this.
He said an important game. Important game in
America. Yes. And his dad just said, If you know,
when you decide to skip the sacrament, it becomes
easier to do so, you know, later. And but he
did also as a good father, he gave him the opportunity
to like, think about it for himself and make
that decision. Let him have his his agency. Elder
David A Bednar taught that the ordinance of the
sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to
repent sincerely. and to be renewed spiritually.
The act of partaking of the sacrament in and
of itself does not remit the sins, but as we
prepare conscientiously and then also participate
in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and
a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we
may always have the spirit of the Lord to be
with us. And by the sanctifying power of the
Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can
always retain our mission of our sins. He also
talked about newly graduated from high school,
If we receive our endowment, we're more likely
to be sealed in the temple to our eternal companion,
right? The point that he's making here is that
we don't likely jump from one path to another.
It's a gradual step -by -step process along the
covenant path. Are we on the path to be sealed
in the temple if we have no desire to receive
our endowment or attend regularly? No, we aren't
on that path. Can it happen still? Absolutely.
Repentance is real. A change of heart is real
and mercy is real. In the endowment, members
are invited to live, obey and keep five laws.
which fill their lives with power and protection.
So again, as we live them, right? As we make
the covenant with the Lord, a reciprocal relationship
forms. So again, this visual of this, right?
We demonstrate our loyalty and love to him and
then our strength and our power grow with each
promise made and kept. So it's almost like he's,
yes, like Abby's doing this, like putting a warm,
you know, hug around us. It's almost like he's
saying, You know, someone could have the question,
am I on the covenant path if I don't have a,
you know, desire to do this at this point? It's
not really about that. He's saying that as we
continue to act on invitations that were given
to make covenants, to keep covenants, with that,
our strength and power grow. So we're growing
in these covenants. We're growing along the covenant
path. And that's why it is a slow line up online
growth. When we humbly and symbolically kneel
at the altars of the Lord, it is an opportunity
for reflection, checked as to the pride of our
hearts, humbling ourselves before God, like we
learned in Alma 1517. I love that periodic check
-in. Where am I at on the covenant path? Do I
have a desire to stay here? Am I looking for
a path off of it? And if it's not like your goal
or desire to enter the temple, like what's the
next step for you? what does, what does draw
your attention? Where would you like to be? Yeah.
Like I think that's what you were trying to say
in your own way. It was like, not that it's bad
that we're not making that next step, like that
we're not just jumping into the temple, but is
there the next move? Like they said, when we
invite our friends and in the missionary effort,
when we invite our friends, if they accept our
invitation to come to church within a week of
medium encountering them, their show, their He
didn't say it in this way, but what he's what
what I feel like he was saying what the spirit
what told me he was saying is that That person
is identifying they're using their agency to
give it a world to test it out once they get
there There's so many opportunities as other
members and friends come into their path. Maybe
they say something Maybe they get a glimpse of
the spirit that they hadn't felt before whatever
the reason but you know you if you Stop by this
friend's house and you teach the series of lessons
for multiple times for three years And they're
kind of waiting for that you know spark or nudge
to Attend church with you. That's a it's not
not not doable. Yeah, but those stories of conversion
happen When they finally decide to come to church,
right? You know, the three -year thing can totally
be a thing But that's why our missionaries are
inviting them to church quickly because all things
aside all the things you don't understand if
you have a personal experience with With the
Lord with the spirit in in a church setting it'll
cause a desire for you to attend more frequently.
And then the scriptures open up to you and the
desire opens up to you. And I guess that's my
thing with my own children. I would love to see,
we've got Adam and I teach that graduating seniors
class, when they use their agency, it's not mandatory.
It's temple prep, life skills, mission prep.
Some aren't even thinking about a mission. Great.
We don't care. We're hoping that their eyes are
set on the temple. when they participate in the
classes, they are highly likely to enter the
temple really soon after graduation. A lot of
our young men age to do the mission paperwork
pretty immediately, so you start having them
come back to you with the calls and stuff. We
even have a handful of sisters that age to that.
What's even cooler is when before five seconds
ago, when they said 18 year olds could go, when
they had that year to wait, they were still making
the next step to they wanted to be in the temple.
So then they're going off to college or their
next adventure, endowed with temple power. It's
amazing. It's such an amazing change. And I love
the way that he articulates it in here. We know
statistics, we're not numbers, but you can make
a lot of inferences with the numbers that we're
seeing. And clearly it's showing You've been
baptized, you've been attending church, you're
working in that direction. The next obvious step
is the temple. What's the benefit to having that
gap of time and waiting? If the mission's not
on your mind, what was the benefit there? And
they just didn't see one. Why would the Lord
want to withhold those blessings from any individual
that wanted to take that next step and make covenants
with Him and live by those five laws and have
that as an integral part of their day? For us,
they said there was absolutely no benefit, but
instead a really positive benefit to letting
you and the spirit decide when is the right time
and making that next step. It's going to have
an impact. I don't even think we can see what
the impact is just yet, but it's going to change
the world. Well, it kind of already is because
- You mean the age of 18? No. becoming endowed
when the time's right, when it feels right post
-graduation here. I think that's probably just
a general rule around the world. I don't think
we want 16 year olds in the temple. I'm not sure
where he found that, but if it's a worldwide
statistic or what it is, you know, there wasn't
a little footnote by that, but I'm sure that
that's what the finding is if he's sharing that
at, you know, at conference. But I do. That's
really good to have just different outlooks on
that. How can we overcome stairs of judgment,
anxiety, depression, cancer, diabetes, online
bullying, stolen identity? You know, really quick,
as he was saying this, I can tell that each one
of these things he's sharing is personal from
his own family. So lost pregnancy is a loss of
a child, a brother and a father because Jesus
took of the bitter cup of trembling, the cup
of fury for me, for my family, for all of us.
And then he says, the bitter cup he drank in
the garden of Gethsemane and his suffering intensified
on the cross at Calvary, allow us to lay the
hard, the insolent, the violent, the furious
and the trembling upon the altars of the Lord
and to be sanctified by the reception of the
Holy Ghost always. So I just had a question.
What can we lay upon the altar this week? What
are each one of us ready to give? to God so that
we have room for something better. Disease for
gratitude or joy, anger for healing, sin for
reconciliation. Those sound like good trade -offs.
I love that because it was in this part that
he was talking about. You could be focused on
anger, infertility or loss of a child that could
make you angry your whole life. But he said that
we get the choice to say, this is a terrible
thing. But because I'm enshrouded by the promises
that I've been given, I'm going to lay that grief
at the altar. And when you lay that grief at
the altar, he has the chance to fill it with
gifts of the spirit. The way that I'm saying
that makes it sound like I think it's an easy
thing. I would just be so angry. I pick the one
that I'm like, oof. Right. No, this is a real
thing. It's the one you're struggling with, the
thorn in your side, right? These aren't... light
things They're very heavy, but I have watched
people go through pretty much every one of those
things Probably have a case of both sides people
that want to hang on to that and make that what
their world revolves around Or turn it into something
positive and good and you can see huge growth
from the people that that put that on the altar.
That's a good way to say that. He said, when
we come to the altar, we aren't earning a reward.
We are learning about the gift giver. I love
that because it's not like you know what gift
he's going to give you to make right the thing
that your heart is burdened with. In that learning
and covenant binding comes healing. Nephi said
he has filled me with love even unto the consuming
of my flesh. I mean, we know example after example
of Nephi being persecuted by his brothers for
doing nothing but following the Lord. And it's
not like in every instance, the Lord gives him
the ability to like brush off Laman and Lemuel.
He usually had to endure the persecution for
at least a time, right? Yeah, for a season. And
he's filled with love. Yeah. Our loving Savior
invited, will ye now return unto me and repent
of your sins and be converted that I may heal
you? I find it interesting that Jesus Christ
asks many times, are you willing or not to return,
repent, be converted, and allow him to heal?
He reminds us that we have our agency and I think
that's the biggest part. It's like at what point,
you know, sometimes we just want to hold on to
that. We want to sit in the sadness and the anger
and we can do that for a time. But when we're
ready to give it to the gift giver, the healer,
the master healer, see what he can do with it.
Things change. We can hand over a disbelief or
a hard heart be reconciled to him. It may not
be the full physical healing we desire in this
life, but spiritual healing is equally important.
And we've talked a lot of times, it's amazing
when that spiritual healing can come a bit faster,
like especially for hoping and praying for a
physical blessing. And it just seems like it
can take years, decades. It's a really good point
that spiritual healing can happen. It can happen
more immediately. I have a loved one that was
dealing with some conflict and she just kind
of confronted it head on. It's been kind of brewing
for a decade, but she just kind of hit it head
on and she just talked about the peace that she's
feeling. The situation, the relationship is no
different, but the way that she's approaching
the relationship, trying to create peace and
to not let that drag her down. means that she
brought it to the altar. And he's made her feel
content and peaceful with things, even though
they haven't changed on the other end. You and
I have both had our own, you know, issues with
that. And I can testify like that. I know that
that blessing is true. When you're asked to make
peace, it does not mean that the relationship
is reconciled. It means that you can find peace
by forgiving. And that you have that in your
heart. If you look at the situation, you think,
Oh, this is me. I had something to do about this.
You know, you have some apologies to make, but
if you're like, I've done everything that I can
in this side of the relationship and it's not
reciprocated, it doesn't matter that it's reciprocated.
You can still move on with your life. Absolutely.
So I'd like the way that he's saying this. It
reminded me like that's what it looks like. Visually
can think about laying those things at the altar.
Yeah. I do too, Abby. The main thing I'm trying
to say is our focus and efforts to get that healing
can be attained in this life. Now, if we were
looking for physical healing and it doesn't seem
like physical healing came, but we sit and reflect
upon it and we show our gratitude, I think we'll
be able to see where he spiritually healed us
and helped us. When he said, I can't go on another
day like this, but you go on the next day and
you can look back and say, gave me the strength
to go on. I agree. It's much easier to see it
in this spiritual realm rather than physically.
I'm saying it to you, but I'm like, really just
witnessed this with you going through your things.
Not really something that I've had to deal with
myself physically. I've watched my own children,
they have their own health issues and we work
tirelessly to make sure that they can have the
best quality of life. And it's something I've
said, like, I wish that I could take that. I
wish that I could have the burdens that they
have on the physical realm of things. But even
though I can't, he's, he's given me, he definitely
has given me peace about that, or else I wouldn't
have had baby number two, three, four and five.
Right. Right. That's how I know to be grateful
for the blessings he's given me in relation to
that, you know, physical piece that we can't
heal in this life. Yes. Jesus Christ does heal.
We choose to be healed through his merits. Just
another component of the atonement. It's just
so amazing and fascinating. Agreed. And the resurrection,
which is the culminating of all of it, right?
I love this quote from the talk as well. He says,
Jesus Christ heals all wounds. Jesus Christ makes
it possible to live again. Is there anything
else you want to add, Abby? No, I can't tell
you the number of times that I've loved that
phrase. We mostly quoted it, but when... when
Adam is asked, you know, why do you do these
things? I know not save the Lord commanded me.
Yes. And he was waiting for further light and
knowledge for the Lord, but he was doing the
thing, the piece of the pie, the piece of the
equation that he was given and just doing that
faithfully without knowing all of the reasons
why. I think I relate to that because we, you
know, I've been given challenges to do things
and I'm like, why did he ask me to do that? You
don't really know. And you can proceed one step
at a time, one day at a time in that thing. And
then, you know, enough time goes on and you're
like, did he really ask me to do that thing?
And you have to hold on to the fact that he asked
you, even though he didn't give you the why.
And you proceed and it's great acknowledge that
you say you've given me an impossible task and
I don't see the beginning from the end. I trust
you. You've earned my trust. I'm going to go
with that. My instinct is to crawl in a hole
and not do this thing. It seems overwhelming
and hard. But I think when we acknowledge that
it's above our abilities and we do it anyway,
that's the miracle is what we're going, we're
headed towards miracle. Because we can look back
and say, wow, I thought we were never going to
get through that and look where I am today. I
love that Abby. I think I want to remember that
part of what Adam said when the angel asked him,
why are you doing this? I know not safe. I think
like, cause it also, it frees up a lot of energy
for us trying to figure out the, why do I do
this? President Nelson told her the story where
he was in an open house and there was a boy,
you know, they went through the whole, it was
for the temple. So they went through the whole
thing. And at the end, a little boy said, Oh,
that's so nice. There's a place to rest while
you're in the temple. And president Nelson said
he likely had that little boy likely had no idea
about the direct connection between making a
covenant with God. in the temple and the Savior's
stunning promise, which is in scripture, come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me and you shall find rest unto
your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. We encourage you to look and also ourselves
at what we are putting on the altar this week.
I hope you have a great week. Have a great one.