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 we get to talk about They
Are Their Own Judges by Elder David A. Bednar,
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This is a reference
to Alma 41 -7. We want to say welcome. Thanks
for joining us again. We're so happy that you're
tuning in today. We're moving right along with
these conference talk and I think, is it right?
This one kicks off, this is the first talk of
the last session of conference. Elder Bednar
begins his talk with the concluding... conclusion
of the Book of Mormon, where Moroni invites us
to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him,
deny ourselves of all ungodliness, and love God
with all our might, mind, and strength. And his
next sentence is referring to both the resurrection
and final judgment. So keep in mind, this is
the very last sentence of the Book of Mormon.
He says, I soon go to rest in the paradise of
God until my spirit and body shall again reunite,
and I am brought forth triumphant through the
air to meet you before the pleasing bar of the
great Jehovah, the eternal judge of both quick
and dead. So as the title in verse, this talk
is about the final judgment and what Elder Bednar
observed was the word pleasing. We've heard other
words or phrases referring to the final judgment,
shame and awful guilt, dread and fear and this
misery. But from these final words, he was not
scared to die. He knew he'd be in the paradise
of God. He would again be resurrected. and he
would be at the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah.
Yeah, I liked his view. He definitely had a confidence
that is, it still is a confidence in yourself,
right? You're like, okay, that's a different
view on this. Which came by much proving and
strengthening. Absolutely, and learning and just
all these things. So Elder Bednar is really going
to lay out what we have. why he has this confidence.
Yeah, and why we can all have confidence for
ourselves. Absolutely, that's it. So how is he
able to look forward to this final judgment?
Here's the million dollar question posed by Elder
Bednar. He says, what did Moroni understand that
you and I need to learn? So quick overview or
the overarching purpose of the Father's plan
is to provide his spirit children with opportunities
to receive a physical body. Check. Learn good
from evil through mortal experience. grow spiritually,
progress eternally. So, those are the reasons
why each of us have come to earth. Every person
who was, is, or will yet come have those same
purposes. The central point of the plan is agency,
or what the Doctrine and Covenants refers to
as moral agency. And I love that you've discussed
it on the top. Moral agency. It makes all the
difference. Not pre -agency, moral agency. It's
also referred to the ability to choose and act.
Yes. So like you said, Abby, we're going to dive
a little bit deeper into this phrase, moral agency.
So moral, good, honest, virtuous, agency, action,
activity, work. Put them together and moral agency
can be understood as the ability and privilege
to choose and act for ourselves in ways that
are good, honest, virtuous, and true. He's so
good, right? such clear explanation. power of
independent action that empowers us as God's
children to become agents to act and not simply
objects to be acted upon. So we built upon this.
This is everything. As soon as each of us remembers
that we are agents to act, we're taking responsibility
for our own actions. We remember it's a God -given
right to act, and we're acting in the way that
God intended. This entire world was made for
this purpose, a place where on Heavenly Father's
children could be proved to see if they would
do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall
command them. like we read in Abraham 3 .25.
Something I liked was that a primary purpose
of the creation and our mortal existence is to
provide us the opportunity to act and become
what the Lord invites us to become. It feels
like a fervent invitation. Yeah. Yeah. And, you
know, when he was speaking, that's a really good
way to put it, a fervent invitation. When he
was speaking, when God was speaking to Enoch,
he said unto the... Unto thy brethren have I
said, and also given a commandment." So yes,
a fervent invitation, another word could be commandment,
that they should love one another and that they
should choose me, their father. So the fundamental
purposes for the exercise of agency are one,
to love one another, and two, to choose God.
These two purposes actually align really, really
well with the first and second great commandments.
Doesn't it sound just the same? To love God with
all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our
neighbors ourselves. So this talk is very instructive
about how to use our agency, how we've been taught
by a loving Heavenly Father and even commanded
to do. So I appreciate Elder Bednar's clear teaching
on this God -given gift of agency and how to
be directed to best use it. Consider that we're
commanded, not just admonished or counseled,
but commanded to use agency to love one another
and choose God. May I suggest that in the scriptures,
the modifying word moral is not merely an adjective,
but perhaps also a divine directive about how
our agency should be used? So good, right? He's
so good at directing this conversation. You can
definitely tell that Satan wants to remove the
word moral out of agency. He wants you to think
you came and you're allowed to do whatever you
want and then like try to twist it that it's
like, well, do make any choice that you want
and there's a savior and you could get it back
to some. That's this ploy and to others, you
know, eat, drink and be merry, you know, that
kind of style versus You come to earth and you
have all these options that you can make, but
what if you choose me? What if you choose to
choose me again? You did it once before, shouldn't
be that hard again. We already thwarted Satan's
plan to get us into scraps then. Right, to remove
agency completely. Now it's just the moral part.
He'll just, like you said, scrapping. He's a
scrappy fighter. That was his first strategy.
Just say, I want you all to come back. And so
then you won't have any choices to make and I'll
save you all and I'll do this thing." And a third
of the people believed that that was the better
way. So they went with that plan. So he already
knew he's going to have to like step it up and
he's going to have to remove the word moral out
of agency. And we've seen that in this day and
age, right? Which is why I appreciate the words
of prophets that make it so clear. Remind us
what scripture has said, what God has taught
us from our very first parents with Adam and
Eve. This right here tells me just how important
agency is and how much weight our Heavenly Father
puts on this gift and principle. Just like he
said in these scriptures, Lucifer rebelled against
the Father's plan for his children and sought
to destroy the power of independent action. Very
significantly, the devil's defiance was focused
directly on the principle of moral agency, like
we just said. Now here we are. God explained.
This is what he said about it. Wherefore, because
Satan rebelled against me and sought to destroy
the agency of man, I caused that he should be
cast down. So, the adversary's selfish scheme
was to strip away from God's children the capacity
to become agents unto themselves, like you were
saying, Abbey, who could act in righteousness.
His intent was to consign Heavenly Father's children
to be objects that could only be acted upon.
If we've ever had one of those times where we
feel like we're objects that can only be acted
upon. It is a very stifling feeling and one that
I would say for me conjures up feelings of resentment
and feeling like you're stuck. It's not a good
feeling. It's not a feeling from God, right?
Does it feel true to you if I say that probably
as advanced spirit children as we possibly could
be there was a lot of of just like listening,
listening to the words and being like, yeah,
that's right. But like never knowing we couldn't
test it for ourselves there. I mean, I feel like
that's, that's what we're taught. Like we had
progressed to a certain point. You have to take
those words and then put it into action. The
only real way to do that is to pair that with
a body and have some turmoil, some challenges,
some, uh, wins. What do they call? Wins of adversary.
I don't know. Absolutely. Yeah. A mortal experience
for sure. So, he goes into the principle of doing
and becoming. Our prophet, President Oaks, said
in a recent conference address, many Bible and
modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at
which all persons will be rewarded according
to their deeds or works or the desires of their
hearts, but other scriptures enlarge upon this
by referring to our being judged by the condition
we have achieved. I appreciate the way he interprets
and expands upon scripture. He shows us more
full view of what's being said on the subject,
drawing from multiple accounts. By profession,
he's a lawyer and a judge. He interprets and
expounds upon the law. And I see his gift applied
so beautifully when he's looking at God's work
and God's law as written in the Holy Scriptures.
Absolutely. So one of the ones he draws upon,
he says, the prophet Nephi describes the final
judgment in terms of what we have become. He
says, and if their works have been filthiness,
they must needs be filthy. And if they be filthy,
it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the
kingdom of God. This is in 1 Nephi 1533. Moroni
declares, he that is filthy shall be filthy still,
and he that is righteous shall be righteous still.
So then President Oaks continues, from such teachings
we conclude, so he's put it all before us and
now he kind of brings it in, that the final judgment
is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good
and evil acts, what we've done. It is an acknowledgement
of the final effects of our acts and thoughts,
what we have become. Can I just point out the
heavy reference to President Oaks and the way
that he perceives things? Yes, President Nelson
has passed at this point, but addresses weren't
changed and lineups weren't changed. He was impressed
to heavily quote President Oaks and the way that
he perceives God's law. Yeah, and interprets
that, encouraging us to do the same. Appreciate
that. Elder Bednar reminds us about works and
grace. Our works and desires alone do not and
cannot save us. After all we can do, we are reconciled
with God only through the mercy and grace available
through the Savior's infinite and eternal atoning
sacrifice. Such a great reminder, right? We don't
have to do so many works to then be worthy of
the atonement of Jesus Christ. It's always there.
It's always something that we have privilege
to because of a covenant that was made in the
pre -existence. acceptance of it here using moral
agency on earth. People like to sit and like
other religions like to think that we're trying
to earn our salvation. It's like, no, I'm trying
to say because I know that you are my savior,
I'm going to try my hardest to become like you.
Absolutely. Imitation is the most sincere form
of flattery. I'm not going to come even close
to it, but in my efforts to try what we become,
right? She's like, thanks for trying. He's never
going to be like, yeah, you screwed that up.
He's just going to be like, that was great that
you tried. Good efforts. So we talk about godly
fear. Much teaching has brought us to the title
of this talk now, right? Many of us, I love this,
many of us may expect that our appearance before
the bar of the eternal judge will be similar
to a proceeding in a worldly court of law. I
used to think of it like that. I totally used
to. I'm glad he said that. I'm like, I'm glad
that you say that because I had had that thought.
Yeah, funny you should say that. Back in the
olden days, I thought that. A judge will preside,
evidence will be presented, a verdict will be
rendered, and we likely will be uncertain and
fearful until we learn the eventual outcome.
But I believe such a characterization is inaccurate.
Bless him for that. We've all heard that godly
fear. We've heard that phrase. Unlike worldly
fear that... Causes alarm and anxiety godly fear
is meant to do something completely different
godly fear invites us to Live with peace and
assurance and confidence. Mm -hmm, which is what
maroon I had Absolutely and think about the crap
that was going on around him Yeah, the absolute
slaughter of his people that he loved and brethren.
I mean fight, you know civil war godly fear is
where righteousness encompasses a deep feeling
of reverence and awe for the Lord Jesus Christ.
obedience to his commandments and anticipation
of the final judgment, anticipation, good anticipation,
and justice at his hands. Godly fear grows out
of a correct understanding of the divine nature
and mission of the Redeemer, a willingness to
submit our will to his will, and a knowledge
that every man and woman will be accountable
for his or her own mortal desires, thoughts,
words, and acts in the day of judgment. So good.
So good. It is so clear. It is so concise. I
love that he lays out. each of these principles.
So Abby, as I studied this talk, I realized the
Elder Bednar put into words something that I
experienced about 10 years ago. Up until then,
any time that we were ever having a conversation,
you know, friends, family, whoever, about the
final judgment or the celestial kingdom, I would
always just say, I hope I make it as if it were
a far off hope or desire. And one day I had a
conversation with a dear friend and she said,
I'm going to be there. And I felt a shift in
me. I will never go back. At that moment, the
Holy Ghost tutored me in a very personal way.
Up until that moment, I felt almost sheepish
saying that I would be there as if I was presumptuous
to know the will of God. The Spirit helped me
understand that I get to choose to receive all
that the Father has. Today. It's a choice in
this moment. Yes. It's a choice that I make.
Not someone else. They don't make it for me.
It was President Nelson from his conference address
Think Celestial that helped me understand that
I choose a celestial kingdom every day as I live
celestial law. It was President Oakes in his
2023 conference address, Kingdoms of Glory, that
taught me which laws belong to which kingdom.
He taught me that laws I choose to obey that
day or maybe in that moment tell me. right then
which kingdom i choose that day and which kingdom
i abide meaning where i am most comfortable with
this teaching elder bednar reference today president
oaks taught me that the laws i choose each day
as i use my moral agency shape me and I become
that person. So what I'm saying is that with
the prophet's teachings, I've started to understand
over the past few years that this is not a far
-off one -time judgment. Both Jesus and I will
be looking back at the sum of my choices and
how I use my agency to choose him and to repent
every day leading up to this final judgment.
And I think it'll be clear to both of us what
it is that I've chosen. And I think that would
be true for every person, absolutely. I really
appreciate you sharing that experience because
Elder Benner puts it in this way. He says, the
fear of the Lord is not a reluctant apprehension
about coming into His presence to be judged.
Rather, it's the prospect of ultimately acknowledging
about ourselves. things as they really are and
as they really will be. Like you said, we all
have a bright recollection of our deeds and actions
and ultimately then we're all our own judges.
No one will need to tell us where to go. In the
Lord's presence, he will acknowledge that we
have chosen to become immortality and know for
ourselves where we should be in the eternity.
That's heavy stuff. And it's so clear. So in
closing, understanding that the final judgment
can be pleasing. is not a blessing that is reserved
only for Moroni. Like we said, right? Why is
it shared as those final passages, as final words,
it's to say you can each be experiencing some
of the hardest, most difficult, most challenging,
most lonely pieces of your life and still be
So excited and grateful and know, you know What
the next thing is to come even with not having
perfect knowledge of what that's going to look
like have that peace and assurance That it's
going to be well worth it And I love that that
was his final word and testimony like that is
impactful loved it The meaning of the word restoration
is to bring back again evil for evil, carnal
for carnal, devilish for devilish, good for that
which is good, righteous for that which is righteous,
just for that which is just, merciful for that
which is merciful. Deal justly, judge righteously,
and do good continually. And if you do all these
things, you shall receive your reward. Yea, you
shall receive mercy and have it restored unto
you again. You shall have justice restored unto
you again. You shall have a righteous judgment
restored unto you again. And ye shall have good
reward unto you again. So good. Amen to that,
Abby. Thank you so much for sharing this with
us. And we hope that you do go back and listen
to this talk. There is just so much in it that
is directive. It's divine. It is instructive.
And I loved every minute. Thanks for being with
us. Catch you next time.