Here is part two of the three part series of President Nelson’s talk Overcome the World and Find Rest. I hope you enjoy it. Link to Part 1.
President Nelson does not leave it there. He poses three questions and then sets about answering them. Thus showing us how we can accomplish overcoming the world and what it will bring us as we do.
The first quest he poses is – what does it mean to overcome the world?
“It means overcoming the temptation to care more about the things of this world than the things of God. It means trusting the doctrine of Christ more than the philosophies of men. It means delighting in truth, denouncing deception, and becoming “humble followers of Christ.” It means choosing to refrain from anything that drives the Spirit away. It means being willing to “give away” even our favorite sins.
Now overcoming the world certainly does not mean becoming perfect in this life, nor does it mean that your problems will magically evaporate – because they won’t. And it does not mean that you won’t still make mistakes. But overcoming the world does mean that your resistance to sin will increase. Your heart will soften as your faith in Jesus Christ increases. Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else.”
This tells me that overcoming the world is in the choices and decisions large and small that we each make every day. It is in the daily habits and routines that shape who we are and who we choose to become. Overcoming the world is most importantly attainable. The Savior made it so that it is within our reach. It is not some lofty unattainable goal that always remains beyond our grasp. Overcoming the world is achievable. It is something that as president Nelson says, “..is not an event that happens in a day or two. It happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ.”
This leads us to the next question that President Nelson poses – How do we do it?
What are the steps, habits and choices we must make in order to overcome the world? President Nelson quotes King Benjamin, “..the natural man is an enemy to God and remains so forever unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” “Each time you seek for and follow the promptings of the Spirit, each time you do anything good – things that the natural man would not do – you are overcoming the world.”
The closer we draw to our Heavenly Parents and our Savior Jesus Christ. The more we strive to become like them. The more effort we put into doing the things They have asked us to do through personal revelation. The more we do each of these things, the more “We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping our covenants that endow us with power. We stay on the covenant path and are blessed with spiritual strength, personal revelation, increasing faith, and the ministering of angels. Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.” This is how we overcome the world.
President Nelson states, “As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace and rest.”
In that marvelous list that we are blessed with as “the Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world”, we find happiness and joy. This I am sure is what Nephi meant when he stated in 2 Nephi 5:27 that they lived after the manner of happiness. This is what they did. This is how they lived. They did not seek to satisfy mortal appetites and desires. They fed and nourished their souls.
President Nelson states, “The truth is that it is much more exhausting to seek happiness where you can never find it! However, when you yoke yourself to Jesus Christ and do the spiritual work required to overcome the world, He and He alone, does have the power to lift you above the pull of the world.”
The final question that President Nelson poses is – how does overcoming the world bless our lives?
He answers, “ ..entering into a covenant relationship with God binds us to Him in a way that makes everything about life easier. Please do not misunderstand me: I did not say that making covenants makes life easy. In fact, expect opposition, because the adversary does not want you to discover the power of Jesus Christ. But yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.
I reaffirm a profound teaching of President Ezra Taft Benson: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds,…lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. These incomparable privileges follow those who seek the support of heaven to help them overcome the world.
President Nelson then instructs us specifically as to what the Lord through him is asking us to do on a daily basis and what blessings will follow. President Nelson says, “To this end, I extend to the members of the entire Church the same charge I gave to our young adults last May. I urged them then – and I plead with you now – to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.
My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.”
In Summary…
President Nelson gives us three things we can do right now in our lives to overcome the world. The first is to find rest through your covenants. Our covenants connect us to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. With them we yolk ourselves to them and because of that yolk we are able to access the power of Jesus Christ’s atonement through our covenants. With that power we can have the strength to do things we thought we couldn’t do and endure things we thought we couldn’t endure. We can forgive those who have hurt us and we can learn to love all as children of God.
The second us an invitation to “ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Then each day record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently.” This is an invitation that I took and it changed how I pray and how I live my life. I wrote the invitation at the top of the sheet in my journal and I would ask Him to enlighten my mind and tell me what He would have me know. I would ask for the help he knows I need and express gratitude for help he has already sent.
The revelation and direction that I have received has brought direction and peace into my life. It has shown me the path that He would have me take and the choices I need to make to become the person I am meant to become. I know this can happen in your life as well. Please take the invitation to invite revelation into your daily prayers and you will begin to see what it is to overcome the world and live after the manner of happiness.
The third thing President Nelson asks us to do is to “spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.” I love going to the temple because I always receive something good and needed in my life when I go. Sometimes I learn something new or see something from a different perspective and at other times I receive the peace and strength to face whatever challenge or difficulty that I am facing. The temple is a place where we can learn and receive the strength, peace, revelation, and understanding we need to go back out into a fallen world and face the challenges that life and the adversary bring us. It is a place to rest for a bit and polish up our armor before going back into battle. We give service to the dead and we gain the strength and the ministering of the dead we serve to deal with what we face in our lives.
I testify that as you take President Nelson’s invitations that you will draw closer to your Savior Jesus Christ. You will feel His power flow into your lives. You will be able to wear the armor of God with strength and endure and do the things that you are challenged with and called upon to do.
