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Hear thoughts, scriptures and quotes about the fifth element of the doctrine of Christ, enduring to the end, and learn why enduring will allow Christ to be the "author and finisher" of our faith.
There's more than one way to be a spiritually minded woman who wants to make and keep covenants, know her Savior and make it back home. Yes, there are essential CHECKPOINTS on the covenant path, but there are NO CHECKLISTS with a million checkboxes you must check off.
Each week on the Spiritually Minded Women podcast I’ll be sharing insights about how to embrace YOUR journey on the covenant path with CHECKPOINTS instead of CHECKLISTS.
Welcome to the Spiritually Minded Women Podcast. I'm your host, Darla Trendler. You're listening to episode five in a five part series on the Doctrine of Christ. Endure to the end. Let's dive.
I can hardly believe that this is the last episode in this series on the doctrine of Christ. I have loved doing this, and in the previous episodes I've shared some of my thoughts regarding faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Every day. More things I wanna share with you pop up. Like I'm sitting in a young woman's class on Sunday and I hear a really cool insight on faith. Or when I'm listening to another podcast and I gain more insights on how repentance can bring you closer to Christ, I just have continually been finding more things I wanna share with you. But I know that I can't share everything, and that's okay because these episodes are only meant to be a jumping off point.
My hope in putting this series together was that it would spark in you the desire to learn more about the doctrine of Christ on your own. I hope you'll follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, that you'll dive into the scriptures, you'll research conference talks, and BYU devotionals and other materials, and I really hope that you will talk to people you know in real life about the doctrine of Christ.
So very soon I will be sharing discussion guides for this whole podcast series, and as soon as I do, I'll put a link in the episode description. So if you're listening to this episode a few weeks after it's released, the link is probably already there. Um, it's not there yet if you're listening to this on the first few days that it after this episode has come out.
But be sure to check there or subscribe to my email list via the link in the episode description or on my website to be the first to know about the discussion guides. So what are discussion guides? I've talked about these throughout the whole series. What, what they're gonna be is questions that you can use, uh, for each episode and each element of the doctrine of Christ to help you start a discussion with someone else about the doctrine of Christ.
I have a dream of women teaching their friends, their family, their neighbors and their children about the doctrine of Christ, and that when they come together, that everybody's learning together. And so I hope this series will inspire you to gather with others in a way that feels right for you.
It might be a text thread or an Instagram message, or a post. Or you might be on Zoom or Marco Polo or Voxer or in your home around the kitchen table or in the car on a road trip, or on a walk around the block, at the park while your kids play gathered on the couch with your family or in any other way that you feel prompted.
I hope you'll learn about the doctrine of Christ, pray to know how to apply the elements to your own life and your own covenant path journey, and then share your insights on the doctrine of Christ with someone else. That's my whole goal with this series is to inspire you to do that.
President Nelson has exhorted us many times to know, apply and teach the doctrine of Christ. And that is why I've created this series and the guides to help you do that. Back in 2011, President Nelson, who was not the prophet then, but he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he addressed new mission presidents at their yearly seminar and he, this is what he said to them.
"I hope that you may learn, teach and live the doctrine of Christ. The scriptures refer to the doctrine of Christ only as singular. They do not refer to the doctrines of Christ. His doctrine has many facets from which we derive many principles. Learn the doctrine of Christ on your mission and expect the same from your missionaries. Good Gospel scholarship comes from daily scripture study and by teaching what has been learned. This mission is a great time to learn the doctrine of Christ, to explain it and live it well." End. So you may not be on a mission currently. Chances are probably pretty good that you aren't, but there is still a need for you to do what President Nelson asked mission presidents to do, learn, teach, and live the doctrine of Christ.
How can you do it? He said to have "good gospel scholarship." So start in the scriptures. For each of the episodes in this series, I've listed the scriptures that I've used in my own preparation. So if you need a place to start, start with those scriptures. If you need to, and then expand out from there with your own study.
Why does this counsel that was to mission presidents, why does it apply to you? Well, just a few years later, so that original quote was in 2011 to mission presidents, and then in 2015, President Nelson addressed us, Latter-day day Saint women directly, and he said, "Attacks against the church, its doctrine and our way of life are going to increase. Because of this, we need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ and who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin resistant generation. We need women who can detect deception in all its forms. We need women who know how to access the power that God makes available to covenant keepers and who express their beliefs with confidence and charity. We need women who have the courage and vision of our Mother Eve." End quote.
So look around. Do you see attacks against the church, doctrine and even our way of life increasing? I know that I do.
Um, this morning I was listening to the Magnify podcast. It's a newish podcast that's put out by LDS Living, and I love it.
The host is Kathryn Davis, and in the interview I was listening to this morning, she was interviewing Lizzy Jensen, who is the founder of The Small Seed, and Lizzy shared how she was at the BYU versus Notre Dame football game a while back. And she described the atmosphere. There were tons of Notre Dame fans who were, you know, generally gonna be Catholic.
And then there was lots of BYU fans who are generally going to be Latter-day Saints. Right? And they were all gonna be in one place and she said that she thought, oh, it's gonna be really cool to see all these people of faith coming together in a huge stadium to watch football. Right? Well, I happened to be at that game too, so when Lizzy's describing this, I'm like, I totally perk up cuz I'm like, yeah, I was there and it was really cool and I was really excited.
I planned for a whole year to be at that game. The minute I heard that it was announced, I was super excited. I told my husband, we are going to that game. So while I'm listening to Lizzy share her story, I knew exactly what she was describing, except in my family we were calling it the Holy War, which, you know, it was just kind of just a fun, fun thing.
And, um, but my family really, we really did have some really good interactions with some of the Notre Dame fans because BYU fans are mixed in with the Notre Dame fans. But Lizzy shared how. She was sharing on the Magnify podcast how she and her husband were sitting by another husband and wife, and they were Notre Dame fans and the husband over some time he started to say some derogatory things about the church.
And Lizzy had the prompting to show the wife of this man, a picture of her family. She has five beautiful kids. And so she showed this picture to this woman and she told her who they really are and what they believe. And when I heard Lizzy say that I thought she's living what President Nelson taught.
She has the bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ, and she is expressing her beliefs with confidence. I would even go so far as to say that Lizzy has the courage of Eve. Definitely. Right? And you know, that might not be the situation that you're placed in, but you can do those same things in your life.
We don't just need to know what the doctrine of Christ is. We need to apply it to our lives, and as we make it part of us, we gain access to Christ's atonement and we come to know him more fully.
As Elder Neal A. Maxwell so beautifully said, "By taking Jesus's yoke upon us and enduring, we learn most deeply of him and especially how to be like him. Even though our experiences are micro compared to his, the process is the same." End quote. This is where the final element of the doctrine of Christ comes into play.
We must endure to the end. I've referenced Nephi's final teaching on the doctrine of Christ many times in this series, and I'm gonna do it again. Nephi explains that once we exercise faith in Jesus, we repent. We're baptized, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, then we are on our way. We have entered the gate, and we are now traveling the path that leads to eternal life.
Then Nephi asks this question, and this is in second Nephi 31 19, he says, and I'm gonna paraphrase here, but he says, after you've done all these things, are you done, right? That's his, that's his question. And Nephi's answer is so simple. Nope, we are not done. Our journey here is not about just doing those things and getting on the path and then skipping merrily back home to our Heavenly Parents.
Right? It's not that easy. I know we wish that it was sometimes because life can be hard, but that's where Christ comes in. Nephi says that we need to be, quote, "relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." End Moroni says something similar at the very end of the Book of Mormon about anyone who has exercised faith in Christ and repented and been baptized and joined the church.
So if you've done those things, Moroni is talking to you. He says, quote, "Relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith." End quote. So we've got the first prophet and the last prophet in the Book of Mormon telling us basically the same thing. We need Christ because he is the only one who can get us where we want to be living eternally with our Heavenly Parents.
I love how Moroni describes Jesus as "author and finisher of our faith." Paul in the New Testament also described Christ in a similar way. He said he's the author and finisher of our faith. So listen to this amazing thought from an apostle, Elder Neal A. Maxwell. I'm gonna be quoting him a little bit. There's a really great talk that he gave that I'll put in the episode notes that you can go and read.
That's all about enduring, but. Um, this is what Elder Maxwell said," Jesus' few dozen words describing the agonies of the atonement revealed that he was determined that he not drink the bitter cup and shrink or pull back. Instead, submissive Christ reminded us that he both partook and finished. Each act was so essential. No wonder Paul called Jesus the finisher of our faith." End. In the verse, Elder Maxwell referenced Paul, and in that same verse that Paul says that he's the author and finisher of our faith. Then he goes on to say this, "who for the joy that was set before, endured the cross," and that's in Hebrews chapter 12 verse two.
So why did Nephi say it's not enough to simply do the first four elements of the doctrine of Christ and be done? It's because we need to rely on Christ. And to do that we must become like him and Christ endured. As Elder Maxwell articulated so well, Christ not only partook, but he also finished. So we have to do the same thing.
We can't only step on the path. We have to keep going. We have to endure to the end. As the current Apostle Elder Dale G. Renlund put it, "Enduring to the end is not a separate step in the doctrine of Christ as though we complete the first four steps and then we hunker down, grit our teeth and wait to die. No, enduring to the end is actively and intentionally repeating the steps in the doctrine of Christ."
End. And then in the October, 2022 general conference, President Nelson talked about overcoming the world, which in my mind is similar to enduring to the end, right? In that talk, President Nelson said this, "Overcoming the world is not an event that happens in a day or two. It happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ. We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping 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." End.
Both Elder Renlund and President Nelson talked about how the doctrine of Christ is something we repeat. They both said that word or a form of that word, and we do it throughout our lives.
We don't just do it once. We do it over and over. Enduring to the end is more than just white knuckling it to the second coming or until we die. Enduring to the end is remaining true to the covenants you have made no matter what you face or what circumstances life throws at you. Enduring to the end is loyalty to Christ.
It is allowing him to live inside of you. We've talked about that before, um, in this, in this series, but let Christ come inside of you and let him dictate everything that you do and to rule your appetites and your desires. Enduring to the end is letting go of the natural man and doing as King Benjamin said, to yield to the Holy Ghost and become a saint through Jesus Christ.
Atonement. So I've talked a lot about King Benjamin too, right? I've talked about Nephi. I've talked about King Benjamin throughout this whole series, and just in the past few days, I have personally faced situations where I have needed to remember this. I have been really frustrated by some circumstances that I'm currently facing, and I have felt like cursing God.
But I believe that as a direct result of studying the doctrine of Christ, I have experienced the Holy Ghost prompting me with specific application about how I can endure these circumstances that I'm facing right now. So remember back in the episode about baptism and the sacrament. If you haven't listened to that, go back and listen to it.
But I talked about how I learned about the quote "natural Darla," and that it's not really who I am. Well, I just found myself with "natural Darla" thoughts creeping in. I mean, this basically just happened like last night and I was thinking things like, when is this circumstance going to change? Why doesn't God do something about this?
This is too hard and I don't want to do it anymore. So that's the thought process I was in, right? The "natural Darla." And then the spirit reminded me of the very words that I shared just a few episodes ago, and I thought of Benjamin's words, and instead of giving into the "natural Darla" tendencies, the spirit told me I could wallow there or I could yield "to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man, become at the Saint through the atonement of Christ, the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child to submit to his father."
So remember I shared the story about how I found that scripture as a missionary, and it changed everything and helped me to know who I am. Well, I still struggle sometimes, right? We all do. And I'm letting that "natural Darla" come in and the spirit helped me to see what I needed to change so I could get out of being a victim and into being able to endure with Christ's help.
I needed his redeeming power to help me repent, and I needed his enabling power to face a circumstance that is less than ideal. I thought about the qualities of a saint that king Benjamin mentioned in that verse. Submissive, meek, patient, humble, full of love, and willing to submit.
Those are all qualities that we need to endure, and I can testify to you that learning about Christ's doctrine and seeking to apply it in my in my life has worked. The Holy Ghost can help you know how to do it. I know this is true because I have seen it in my own life and now I have another experience to help me in my journey because that's another thing that enduring to the end, is it is just gaining experience.
My son is currently serving a mission. He's been out for 18 months and so he's got six months left and as his mother, I can look back on his letters and his phone calls, and I see tremendous growth. He didn't enter the mission field knowing all that he knows now, and his early letters reflected that. He wasn't totally focused and .He was still learning to be a missionary.
His inexperience was apparent to anyone who had already completed a mission or who had lived longer than 19 years of age, but he had to start somewhere. And now, 18 months later, he's a different person. And I fully believe that six months from now when he comes home, he's gonna be an even different person.
He's not a perfect person or perfect missionary, but he has matured. He has made mistakes that gave him experience, and he has learned from that. He has learned this mission is not about him, but it's about serving others. He's figured out that he's not on a mission to check a box, but to follow Jesus, and it's the same for us.
No matter where you are on your covenant path journey, you are still gaining experience. That's why you can't just stand there. You have to keep moving, and you have to keep enduring.
I shared this in the episode on baptism and sacrament, and I've already quoted Elder Renlund's talk once in this episode, but I'm just gonna give you another plug to go and read this talk.
I'll put the link again in the, in the episode, um, description. But Elder Renlund gave a BYU devotional talk called Lifelong Conversion, where he talked a lot about enduring, and it is, so good. But listen to what he said about applying the doctrine of Christ and how it helps us grow. I just, I love the visual that Elder Renlund gives us of what this growth actually looks like in our lives.
So here's the quote. I. "We endure to the end by repeatedly and iteratively relying wholly upon the doctrine and merits of Christ. Repeatedly means that we cycle through the elements of the doctrine of Christ throughout our lives. Iteratively means that we change and improve with each cycle. Even though we cycle repeatedly, we are not spinning in circles like on a merry-go-round with upward motion. If that were the case, the experience would be dizzying and unproductive. Instead, as we cycle through the elements of the doctrine of Christ, we arrive at a higher plane each time. This ascent provides new vistas and perspectives and brings us closer to the Savior, and we eventually return to the presence of our Heavenly Father as an heir to all that he has."
The experience we gain is productive. It helps us move upward. When we use the principles of the doctrine of Christ over and over, throughout our lives, we aren't going around in circles. We are progressing each time because we have new experiences and perspectives, and we continue to draw closer to Christ.
In the introductory episode to this series, I shared Elder Bednar's teachings about doctrine, principles and applications. Doctrine is unchanging, but learning and implementing doctrine and principles in your life can be powerful. When you apply the elements of the doctrine of Christ in your life, you access the gift of the Holy Ghost, which can help you to know specific applications for the doctrine and principles.
Your applications will be unique to you and may not look like anyone else's. It's up to you to do what the prophet invited the mission presidents to do, and to study the scriptures and learn what those personal applications are. With that said, I do want to give you one place you can go in the scriptures to get some idea of what the application of enduring to the end could look like.
I've shared a lot about the beautiful example of learning and then applying the doctrine of Christ that King Benjamin's people are in the Book of Mormon. And you can read all about this in Mosiah 2:6, and I'll link that up in the episode notes.
But in preparing for this episode, I reread those chapters looking only for applications to the doctrine of Christ. And specifically, I wanted to know what the end result of applying the principle of enduring to the end could look like. What are the blessings? So here are a few blessings I saw from King Benjamin's people. They're, they're probably more so I'm just right now gonna invite you to read for yourself and let the Holy Ghost guide you.
But here's what I saw. You can dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness. You can receive salvation. You'll remember the greatness of God. You'll grow in knowledge of God's glory. You'll know how to help the poor both spiritually and temporally. You'll win the prize of eternal life. You will be a child of Christ.
You'll have everlasting salvation, and you'll also have wisdom, power, justice, and mercy. And your name will be written down and you will be remembered. So those are just a few that I saw in there. So go and read that and find, find the rest of 'em. There's, I'm sure there's many more. Enduring to the end is not easy, but we are also not doing it alone.
Remember Paul's words quote, "My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me." And that's in second Corinthians 12, nine. That's the whole point of the process that Elder Renlund described about in the quotes that I shared earlier.
We don't repeatedly and iteratively go through the steps of the doctrine in Christ and then endure to the end because it's a good program or it's a nice way to live our lives. No, we do it so that we can come to know our brother, Jesus. I don't know what you are being called to endure in your life. Cancer, legal troubles, financial strain, people who don't understand you.
Loneliness, divorce, family members who don't believe, enemies who fight against you. I don't know what you face or what you will face, but I do know that Jesus knows. As Joseph Smith learned, "The son of man hath ascended below them all, art thou greater than he?" Elder Maxwell summed up Christ's mission for you when he said "Jesus plumbed the depths and scaled the heights in order to comprehend all things. Jesus therefore is not only a fully atoning, but he is also a fully comprehending Savior."
And I just wanna point out that Elder Maxwell ended that with an exclamation point. He not only atoned, but he fully comprehends everything that you're going through. I am so grateful for the opportunity that this podcast series has given me to study the doctrine of Christ and the scriptures and the words of living prophets.
I can't even tell you how much it has blessed my life. I can't even articulate it. It has been a huge blessing, and I hope that this series will bless you and your family and that it will be just one small way that you can gain the bedrock understanding you need in your life, and I especially hope you will use the discussion guides to share what you've learned and then to learn from others and then go out and apply it all. Wherever you currently are, I'm cheering you on.
If you have questions about anything I've shared, please feel free to reach out to me. I would love to talk to you. And then to wrap up this series, I wanna leave you with the Savior's own words. This is what he told the Nephites, but he's also telling it to us. And this is in 3 Nephi 15:9.
"Look unto me and endure to the end and ye shall live. For unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life."
If you enjoyed the podcast, please share it with a friend. I would love it if you would leave a review and rate it on Apple Podcasts. This actually helps more women find the podcast and learn how to use Christ atonement and doctrine to co-create the life they want with God by their side. To find out more about discussion guides, coaching, and more ways to be part of the spiritually minded women community, head over to spiritually minded women.com.
Have an amazing day. I'm cheering you on.