2.37 Continue as You Commenced

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends.

Great to have you with me. Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. A message today, perhaps more directly aimed for me than it is for you, but a message nonetheless that I hope all of us can use to fill the spirit and see what it means inside of our lives.

This week, we're reading in Doctrine and Covenants sections six through nine, as well as 1 Nephi chapter one, verse one, verse two, verse three, verse four, verse five, verse six, and verse seven. And today is one of those learning lessons as we dive into Doctrine and Covenants section 9, verse 5. Now, this is the Lord talking to Oliver Cowdery.

We don't necessarily have like super specific details about his attempts to translate. We know that he was given the gift of translation as Joseph had, and that he attempted it, right? And then we find out in Doctrine and Covenants, part of the Lord explaining why it was not right for Oliver Cowdery.

And I think there's a piece inside of here that's worth digging in for us. Doctrine and Covenants, section 9, verse 5 says this: "And behold, it is because that you did not continue as you commenced, when you began to translate, that I have taken away this privilege from you." Now, I love the phrasing here, and perhaps it's a little bit of dated phrasing, but I love the phrasing inside of here. "You did not continue as you commenced." This is such a great lesson for, as I mentioned, for me, and I hope it's a lesson for you as well in that path to savory salt. But, my friends, as we have spiritual experiences, the Lord expects effort.

He loves effort from us. It's not just going to fall in our laps. And so as we have spiritual experiences, we need to continue as we commenced in this.

This got me thinking about a lot of times what happens when I'm working with businesses and people in a coaching scenario. People will go through the coaching process and they begin to see real change in their lives. They begin to have different results in their lives, whether it's physical results, whether it's tangible results, whether it's money results, whatever it is, they start to see these results in their lives.

And then they kind of slide. We lean on the Lord for His help. Continue as you commenced.

Remember the things you've done in your life to lean on the Lord and do that regularly. Remember the ways that praying daily has influenced your life. Remember the ways that reading the scriptures has influenced your life.

Remember the ways that following the commandments of the Lord and living your covenants has impacted your life. Continue as you commenced, and you will continue to receive the blessings and gifts from the Lord. I love that Oliver recorded this inside of here as we have these records from Doctrine and Covenants.

I mentioned this with Joseph Smith. I mentioned it with Martin Harris. But I love that we have these stumbling blocks and mistakes in these great men's lives.

Because it's a reminder that as we're fumbling through life, the Lord's going to say, "Hey, stop for a second." But he's also going to say, "Hey, it's time to get back to work." And whether it's you or whether it's me, I want the Lord to come and say, "Allen, you made a mistake here, but that's not the end for you. You got another chance. So step back up to the plate and swing again." I love that the Lord does that.

I love repentance in our lives. And I hope that you and I can continue as we have commenced inside of our personal, spiritual journeys. That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made, and together we will be savory salt. We'll see you next week.