Joseph Smith has taught us “happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it. And this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” Throughout the scriptures, Christ has said, “Come follow me,” “Follow me,” or “Follow thou me,” and Nephi has asked of us, “can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father” (2 Ne 31:10).
It is this following of Christ that makes one a disciple. It is our desire to do as He did, that qualifies us as Christians. But “seek[ing] . . . first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (3 Ne 13:33; see also Matt 6:33) is not a position of mediocrity, convenience, nor compromise. In the Sermon on the Mount, we find that “no man can serve two masters…” (Matt 6:24; see also 3 Ne. 13:24); suggesting that there is a definite line between the will of God and the will of Satan. We have been given two
strict and basic commandments to “have no other Gods before [Our Eternal Father]” and to “not make unto [ourselves] any graven image.”
Dennis Largey, an associate professor of ancient scripture at BYU, has counseled us in the February 1994 Ensign that “when anything wastefully dominates our time, compromises our loyalty, or confuses our priorities so that God and his work become second, we are flirting with idolatry” (p. 9).
It is our determination to serve God first in our lives that permits us to have the Holy Spirit with us, and it is the Holy Spirit that compels us to be righteous.
It is the Holy Spirit that testifies to us that the Book of Mormon is the word of God solely on our faith. The Holy Spirit testifies to us that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s only true church upon the face of this earth because it is the only one with the proper authority and revelation from God. The Holy Spirit prompts us to pay our tithing first above every other financial obligation. The Holy Spirit encourages us to fulfill our responsibilities as outlined by the Church – husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, home teachers, visiting teachers, priesthood holders, and Church members.
The Holy Spirit guides us to only watch entertainment free from all vulgarity, obscenity, promiscuity, and inappropriate content; to only listen to radio programmes and music that are in complete correlation with the teachings of Christ; to view only pure and wholesome material on the Internet; and to read uplifting books centered around gospel principles.
The Holy Spirit teaches us that God is our Father, and that He loves each of us. The Holy Spirit testifies of the divinity of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit testifies that this Church is centered around Jesus Christ – not around Joseph Smith or Gordon B. Hinckley.
Without the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t stand a chance. The entire plan of salvation that has existed from before the foundations of this world would be for naught, and the only way we are going to be exalted is if we exercise our own free agency and make a determination in our hearts to follow the commandments of the Father, the example of the Son, and the prompting of the Spirit.
