One of my hobbies is wood carving. It is a great way for me to clear my mind of stress and worry and create something beautiful from simple pieces of wood. Some years back my family was gathering together to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. I wanted to create something special for the occasion and spent weeks and months considering what I could do. One morning while coming out of sleep it came to me, almost like a vision. The words of the scripture came to my mind from the 15th chapter of John, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (verse 5).
I had a pole from a cedar tree and started to see a pattern form in my mind. Cedar is one of my favorite types of woods to work with. Once the bark is removed it has a smooth rim of white wood that surrounds a deep red core. It came to me that I could carve a vine from that outer rim leaving intact the center core. I marked my branch and drew out spaces for 27 leaves, each one representing a member of my family. Those leaves were all connected to each other through vines and each leaf was centered on a knot, tying it to that center core, a representation of the Savior Jesus Christ.
This staff became a symbol of not just our family, but of our eternal family. It is a reminder that we all depend on each other, but more importantly we are strong as we are centered on the Savior. Since it was completed, our vine has expanded. We have added a leaf for our first grandchild, another for a son in law. Another leaf was added when we “adopted” into our family an exchange student last year, Hiro from Japan and next February a new daughter-in-law as well. Ultimately my vine connects with your vine and together as a family of God, we all can individually access the atonement of Christ and yet be linked together.
Tonight we will be talking about how the Savior wants us to add to the vine of the family of God. Our theme in this meeting is “Sharing the Gospel in the Savior’s Way.”
The way that we center our knot on the core of Jesus Christ is through the laws and ordinances of his gospel. The instructions on how to do this is found in the scriptures in what is called “the doctrine of Christ.”
After the Savior was resurrected he appeared on this continent to a group of faithful followers called Nephites. To them he taught, “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock” or as applied to my analogy, “tieth into my core” (3 Nephi 11:38). Once we are tied to him, he asks us to immediately look outward, like tendrils of a sprouting vine. Just three verses later comes the command, “go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth” (3 Nephi 11:41).
The doctrine of Christ was not introduced to the family of God beginning when Jesus came to earth but was set from the foundations of the world, before it was even created. It was put in place and taught to Father Adam and Mother Eve as they left the garden beginning their journey back home. There have been times when that plan has been lost but when there have been prophets on the earth, the plan has once again been revealed. As I have pondered and prayed as to what I should speak about tonight, I felt impressed that to fully understand our place in the Father’s plan, we need to understand the covenants He made with Father Abraham.
Abraham was born in a time when the covenants of the fathers was being lost. As a young man he learned of them and in his own words said, “And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same...and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers. It was conferred upon me from the fathers... even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam...through the fathers unto me” (Abraham 1:2). As he sought righteousness, his own father was offended and sent his own son, Abraham, to be offered up as sacrifice to false gods.
An angel came that day to stay the executor’s hand, miraculously saving his life. His father repented but only for a short time and the Lord had Abraham leave with his wife Sarah and his brother’s son, Lot to seek another land. Though he had no offspring, he became a great and righteous leader. Because of his faithfulness, Jehovah, the premortal Christ, appeared to and covenanted with him, foreshadowing as well the role we would play in the last days.
From the second chapter of Abraham we read, “My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee and in thy seed, for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:8-11).
Many years passed and Abraham and his wife were well beyond what one would consider normal child bearing years. There was a miraculous conception of Isaac, foreshadowing the one of the Christ child who would come through Abraham’s lineage 2000 years later. Abraham’s willingness to obey is central to his character. As a supreme test, Jehovah asked the impossible of him, to sacrifice the miracle child, God’s gift from heaven. An angel once again intervened and the child was spared. The altar built on Mount Moriah would forever symbolize the sacrifice of the Son of God in our behalf. Upon that spot the temple in Jerusalem was built, a constant reminder of the covenant made with the seed of Abraham. The animal sacrifices from the law of Moses, pointing to the ultimate great and last sacrifice of the Son of God.
The Book of Mormon prophet, Jacob wrote some 400 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, “for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.”
In Christ’s day the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant had been so ingrained in the people they lost track of the purpose of the law of Moses. Due to their genealogy they assumed all of the blessings of Abraham without fulfilling the responsibilities. They felt that God had chosen them for salvation. John the Baptist who was crying repentance and baptism to the people, preparing them to receive the Messiah of the world declared, “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). In other words, he was telling them that to truly be the seed of Abraham, they must live as Abraham lived and do the works that Abraham performed, they must participate in the doctrine of Christ.
To a similar group of Jews, Jesus, the very Jehovah, he who made the covenant with Abraham taught, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:56-59).
He in truth taught that he was the promised Messiah. His message was not that he was there to replace the covenant made to Abraham but to fulfill it and perpetuate it to all those who would live upon the earth. The family of Abraham was, like my family, a symbol of an eternal family. It was always intended to show how all of God’s children could be grafted together through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord. It was never meant to be exclusionary. His last words given to the apostles prior to his ascension into heaven mirrored those given to the Nephite nation, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
Christ’s early church as led by Peter was intensely missionary minded. The early apostles took the gospel well beyond the house of Israel. The doctrine of Christ was taught, his gospel was applied and the church flourished, but just for a time. Another apostasy settled on the earth. Prophetic power was lost, the ordinances of baptism by immersion, the laying on of hands and the sealing power he had given Peter could no longer be found. The promises given to Abraham many years ago seemed very far away.
From the darkness of apostasy came the light of the restoration. In the early 1800’s a young man, Joseph Smith, had similar yearnings as had the young Abraham, and sought to know the Lord’s will. To him appeared the Father and the Son ushering in the long awaited dispensation of the fullness of times. To him were restored the covenants of the fathers, the ordinances of the gospel and the blessings of eternity.
John the Baptist, now a resurrected being, returned to give the power to baptize. Peter, James and John likewise were sent to bestow the authority to establish Christ’s church on the earth once again and reestablish the Lord’s covenant. Six years after the restoration of the church, the gospel covenants of the fathers were restored when the saints built a temple to the Lord in Kirtland, OH. As he did to the prophets of old, Jesus himself appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This was followed by the appearance of Moses who conferred the priesthood keys of the gathering of Israel. As on the mount of transfiguration, Moses’ appearance was followed by Elias who “committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed” (Doctrine & Covenants 110:12).
When we “received the priesthood” by being baptized and through the ordinances of the temple are “sanctified by the Spirit,” we “become the seed of Abraham,” regardless of our genetic makeup. It is by participating in the doctrine of Christ that the promises made to Abraham become ours as well. The Book of Mormon prophet, Nephi, explained, “that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord;...for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 30:2).
Our days were seen and prophesied by Isaiah saying, “For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (2 Nephi 24:1, 2 Nephi 21:12). We are in the last days. This is the time prophesied by Zenos in the allegory of the Olive tree when the Lord said, “this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come” (Jacob 5:71).
May it be said of us that we “did go and labor with [our] mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with [us]; and [we] did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things” (verse 72).
The Lord is calling, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? May we each respond: “Here am I; send me” (2 Nephi 16:8). As we actively participate in the doctrine of Christ and center our lives on him, we are grafted into him like the branches of a vine to the life giving core. As his strength becomes ours, we are then able to reach out like the tendrils of a vine and bring in others, taking in their leaves and branches as we are all knit unitedly together.
Speaking of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant, one of our modern day apostles, Elder Stevenson, promised that “As you do these things, the Lord will make much more out of your life than you can by yourself. He will increase your opportunities, expand your vision, and strengthen you. He will give you the help you need to meet your trials and challenges. You will gain a stronger testimony and find true joy as you come to know your Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, and feel Their love for you” (April Conf 2016).
We now will learn how to reach out to those around us. Sister Rose Moss of the Pagedale Branch will talk of the essential role that love plays in receiving and sharing the gospel. President and Sister Slezak of the St. Louis Mission will talk to us of how we live and teach the doctrine of Christ in our day to day lives. Sister Virginia Bradley of the YSA Ward will teach how to listen and act on the Holy Spirit in our efforts to invite others to come unto Christ and lastly, President Bunderson will show how to invite as the Savior does.
To those of you here tonight that are not of our faith. Thank you for coming. We love you and invite you to “come and see” for yourselves. Partake of the fruit of the Lord’s vine and taste of the joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring to your life. In times of trouble he will give peace. In the face of turmoil and tribulation, you will find calm. I testify that he lives. I testify that his plan for the eternal destiny of his children has been in place whenever prophets have been on the earth. We are now fulfilling promises given to Abraham thousands of years ago. What a blessing it is to work side by side with the Lord to prepare the earth for his majestic return once again. May we each rise to the potential that the Lord sees within us I pray, in his holy name, the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
