President and Sister Clark, members of the administration, faculty, staff, and student body of this wonderful university, how appreciative Sister Hilbig and I are for the opportunity to be in your midst! I am grateful for the thoughtful invocation and for the lovely music, both of which have drawn the Spirit and brought us focus.
You are a bright and youthful group, engaged in gaining a rigorous education, and developing your skills so as to be prepared to fulfill your future roles in the world and in the Lord’s kingdom.
Last week I celebrated my 65th birthday. Looking into your faces now, I suddenly feel “old”! Please do not mention that to President Hinckley. This coming June he will celebrate his 97th birthday and begin his 98th year in mortality. Recently he said to a gathering, “I sometimes wonder why I am still here. Every morning I wake up and wiggle my toes. If I’m alive, I get up and go to work!”
That is not a bad policy for every one of us! So I now invite you to wiggle your toes, and if you are alive, let’s begin!
I have entitled my remarks in the form of a question: “For the Moment or for the Eternities?”
One day you will be 65, as old as I now am—or perhaps you may even reach 97, as President Hinckley will shortly be. But today you are young adults, setting the priorities and patterns of your lives, making decisions, shaping behaviors, all of which will impact the course of your individual lives, during your mortal experience and into the eternities.
How different and difficult is your world as young adults (married or single) when compared to the young adult world of two or three generations ago.
Many of your challenges today did not even exist, or were much less intense, than when I was in college. But you are here now, in this moment. You are pressing forward, as your elders are already passing into the eternities.
You are here, at this time, in this place, not by chance, but as part of an eternal plan, designed, agreed upon, and implemented before this planet was ever created.
How fortunate you are to be aware of the Restoration of the gospel!
You know there was a premortal existence in the presence of God and Jesus Christ for an infinite period of time. You were on probation. You were being schooled and tested and examined. You learned of the laws which would allow you to progress and advance. You followed those laws, and thus you were entitled to come to earth, placing you on a course leading to exaltation, dominion, and godhood.
You understand the purposes of mortality on this earth.
And you have been taught concerning postmortal opportunities.
In short, you have the “perspective of the eternities”; you can look back, and you can gaze forward.
The majority of your young adult peers, and the world in general, know little of these realities! They live in a “box,” defined by two events, “birth” and “death.” They make decisions and engage in behaviors, circumscribed by such a limited perspective. Essentially, they live “for the moment,” namely, the length of time between their births and their deaths, which is a mere nanosecond in the scheme of eternity. They know nothing of their premortal existence, nothing of eternity.
But you are familiar with the writings of Abraham found in the Pearl of Great Price:
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.[1]
The nature of our beings, before we received a spirit body, born of celestial parents, was simply described as “intelligences,” many of which were “noble and great,” destined for responsibilities upon this earth.
We read further in verse 23:
And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
Thus we know that, by foreordination, Abraham would become a great prophet in mortality. Abraham did not live for the moment; rather, he sought and ultimately obtained the blessings of eternity.
In Doctrine and Covenants 132:29 we read of his current postmortal status:
Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.
In other words, Abraham has already become a god in eternity! There are numerous other “noble and great ones” who were foreordained or “foredesignated” for mortal responsibilities. This principle extends to both male and female spirit beings.
Jeremiah did hear the voice of the Lord, saying in Jeremiah 1:5:
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
We may safely assume that the prophets and apostles of this dispensation, beginning with Joseph Smith, were also foreordained. So also were Eve and Esther in the Old Testament, Mary in the New Testament, and Emma in our time; each of these remarkable women were “foredesignated” to be noble and great in their mortal existences and responsibilities.
And all of you, as you remain righteous and faithful to the Savior, can consider yourselves to be among the “noble and great ones,” as mentioned in the Pearl of Great Price.
Each of you present here, I assume, intends to be sealed one day to your spouse in the House of the Lord. Let me share with you what the Lord promises to each of you, who will be sealed in the temple. Reading in Doctrine and Covenants 132:19–21, we hear the following requirements and blessings concerning temple marriage:
And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—[namely, the couple kneeling at the altar of the temple and being sealed]…
Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; … and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths … and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
What a powerful description and promise of your personal potential in the eternities!! I plead with you, during your mortal life, to frequently visualize your future existence in eternity, a status we cannot yet fully comprehend.
However, what we may be absolutely certain of is that each of you kept your first estate, each of you passed all of the tests of premortal life, each of you exercised great faith repeatedly, and thus, each of you received the privilege to obtain a mortal body and come to this mortal sphere.
Returning again to the Pearl of Great Price, we read about you in Abraham 3:25–26:
And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
You, dear youth, dare not live “for the moment,” but, rather you must seek to live “for the eternities.” Remember always, if you are obedient, you shall have glory added upon your head “for ever and ever.”[2]
If you are faithful in keeping the commandments of God, His promises will be fulfilled to the very letter. The trouble is, the adversary of men’s souls blinds their minds. Satan throws dust, so to speak, in their eyes, and they are blinded with and by the things of the world. And the world is blind, indeed.
The theologians and scholars of the Christian world do not know what you know about the things of eternity!
BUT SATAN KNOWS!!!
He knows of your premortal preparation, your purpose on earth, and your eternal potential. The Hebrew translation for our word “devil” is the word “spoiler.” The devil seeks to spoil your journey into the eternities.
He will attempt to interfere with your potential here and hereafter. He will seek to have you exercise your agency unwisely. Many young people, anxious to assert their new independence, often feel that their “independence” is best exemplified by choosing to do something wrong. Any fool can do that. Any crowd can do that.
In fact, independence, real freedom, is best exhibited and experienced by always choosing the right. Few in the world have such strength, but you do.
God has not only given you the right to choose between good and evil; he has given you the power to choose good over evil! I want to emphasize that thereby God has given you greater power than Satan and his hosts. You ultimately decide, not Satan.
Please remember that the Lord does not tempt or try us. He does, however, allow Satan to do so for an important purpose, namely that you might overcome evil and prove yourselves worthy, having paid the price of eternal life.
Satan cunningly offers you the temptation to be accepted, to go with the crowd, to enjoy the thrill of the moment, perhaps in the form of movies or video games or moral indiscretions or inappropriate language or apparel or perhaps the temptation is to lie or engage in an act of dishonesty.
If, for the moment, you thoughtlessly accept Lucifer’s invitation, he can rob you of the blessings of eternity (blessings which he himself can never obtain).
Satan has no personal prospect for eternity. Remember, Satan lost the war in heaven, a war fought by testimony,[3] a war when the faithful followers of Christ (which included you) defeated Satan and his supporters. The casualties were high; all of Satan’s followers (which constituted one third of the host of heaven) were cast out. They will never receive a physical body; they will have no opportunity for eternal life, ever!
Reading in 2 Nephi 2:17–18, Lehi speaks to his son Jacob, saying:
And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.
And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.
Satan is a sore loser. He is now and will forever be miserable. His followers are miserable! And they similarly seek the misery of all men and women, by encouraging the unrighteous misuse of agency.
We read further in 2 Nephi 2:27, where Lehi teaches:
Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
Satan does not ultimately sustain his supporters, nor does he support his victims.
In Alma 34:8–38, Amulek testifies of Christ, and then at verse 39, he warns the people against Satan:
Yea, and I also exhort you, my brethren, that ye be watchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the temptations of the devil, that he may not overpower you, that ye may not become his subjects at the last day; for behold, he rewardeth you no good thing.
Following the destruction of the wicked in the western hemisphere, namely those who had “lived for the moment” and who had rejected the eternities, the voice of the Savior was heard (as recorded in 3 Nephi 9:2), saying:
Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!
How sobering are those words. “The devil laugheth” at the death of so many “fair sons and daughters” of God.
In our time, the drug dealers, the distributors of pornography, the promoters of evil entertainment, the supporters of lies, the advertisers of inappropriate apparel, and the enticers of immorality all laugheth at the spiritual diminishment and even spiritual death of so many “fair sons and daughters” of God.
Bear in mind, Satan laughs at the misfortune of those who have been duped by his enticements. Satan’s methods are varied, but they have a common objective: Disobedience and the associated loss of blessings. You are doubtless familiar with the plain statement of truth found in D&C 130:20–21:
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Obedience permits blessings and brings peace. You know that. For a moment, dear brothers and sisters, reflect upon a particular conscious decision you made to do what is right, even though the temptation to do wrong was very strong.
Perhaps it was the decision to crush and eliminate inappropriate thoughts or to tell the truth, when a lie would have been easier. Perhaps it was the decision to get up and walk out of a movie (or any other unholy place) which was advertised as acceptable, but, in fact, was inappropriate.
As you look back upon your proper decision, what were your feelings? Exhilaration? A sense of self mastery or empowerment? Increased confidence before the Lord? Expanded capacity to stare evil down? That is power; that is freedom!
If you consistently resist temptation, it becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the task has changed, but your power to do has increased. I seek to bolster your confidence. You can overcome any temptation confronting you. Paul explained to the Corinthians:
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.[4]
About 2,585 years ago, Nephi warned his people (and, so also, each of us today) when he described three subtleties employed by Satan. His timeless counsel is found in 2 Nephi 28:7–8:
No. 1) “Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.”
That is Satan’s false doctrine! It most certainly will not be well with us, for God is bound by eternal law to mete out justice.
No. 2) “And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die;”
That is Satan’s false doctrine! Our Heavenly Father does not “justify a little sin.”
No. 3) “and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”
That is Satan’s false doctrine! If we are guilty of sin and do not repent, the Lord informed Joseph of the consequences.[5] And we shall not be saved in the celestial kingdom.
Nephi further warns us in 2 Nephi 28:20–21 of a day when Satan shall “rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.”
That day is upon us! There is in our society anger against that which is good, not just indifference or deprecation or chuckling or discounting, but anger, the source of which is Satan.
In verse 21, Nephi concludes his warning:
And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
That day is also upon us, and Latter-day Saints must remain alert.
Are you, perchance, acquainted with someone who, sadly, has believed and accepted the false doctrines and assertions of Satan, someone who has engaged in immorality or become addicted to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or pornography, or is currently following a path of disobedience?
Do you envy their present circumstance? Of course not! What a high price they have paid “for a moment” of foolish behavior—or a series of foolish moments. What a loss is theirs, unless and until they promptly and sincerely repent.
Satan opposes repentance. One of his most spiritually damaging lies, intended to undermine your sense of self-worth and hope, is that you cannot be forgiven of our sins. Once an individual has transgressed, Satan labors long to discourage that individual, to take away his or her hope of ever being completely freed from that sin. His lie can be overcome by truth. The truth is that our Heavenly Father loves every one of His spirit children. By that love, coupled with the Atonement of the Savior, your personal sins can and will be forgiven. They can be completely wiped away, if the sin is forsaken, and if obedience does not again yield to the temptation of the moment.
The teachings and commandments of the Savior are not barriers to our happiness or burdens upon our agency. Rather, they are precursors to blessings. I testify as to the precious blessings which Heavenly Father showers upon the obedient, here and hereafter. They bring joy throughout the eternities.
By now, you may be asking yourselves, “Why is Elder Hilbig spending so much time on the devil?” I agree, Satan is not an appealing subject. But he is real, and he is relentless. He has many who have served and supported him over the centuries.
In Mark 5:1–9 we read of the Savior commanding an unclean (or evil) spirit to come out of the man who was being tormented by that evil spirit. Christ then asked the spirit’s name. The evil spirit answered, saying “My name is Legion, for we are many.”[6]
In our own dispensation, specifically on July 30, 1837, the efforts to establish the Church in Preston, England, were met with vociferous opposition by Satan. Elders Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde (both members of the Quorum of the Twelve), along with Elders Willard Richards and Isaac Russell, had arrived in Preston as missionaries, but eight days earlier. They had already prepared nine souls for baptism on that Sunday morning, July 30, 1837.
Prior to the baptisms, Elder Russell became ill and sought a blessing under the hands of the two Apostles, Elders Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde. Elder Kimball was acting as voice. He later described the event as follows:
While thus engaged, I was struck with great force by some invisible power, and fell senseless to the floor. … Elder Hyde and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed. … I … sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half. … we saw the devils coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of us. … They appeared to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye. … I cannot even look back on the scene without feelings of horror; yet by it I learned of the power of the adversary, his enmity against the servants of God, and got some understanding of the invisible world. We distinctly heard those spirits talk and express their wrath and hellish designs against us. However, the Lord delivered us from them, and blessed us exceedingly that day.[7]
Despite the opposition of Satan, the nine baptisms did occur as planned on that Sunday morning some 170 years ago. When Heber C. Kimball returned to America, he narrated the experience with Satan’s legions to the Prophet Joseph. Heber asked what it meant and whether there was something wrong with Heber that he should have such a manifestation. Joseph’s reply was:
No, Brother Heber, at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and [Christ], but you could not see Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the work of God had taken root in that land. It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you.[8]
In our time, the supporters of Satan are rarely as dramatic as those encountered by Heber C. Kimball, but they are just as real and destructive! I have shared with you this horrific story to assure you that Satan is real. He and his supporters are bent upon denying the blessings of exaltation to those who are faithful.
Satan’s numerous supporters are those who belittle the standards and counsel articulated by the Savior and the living prophets. They are those who, by virtue of their creation and distribution of degrading films, music, and apparel, promote destructive behaviors, create addictions, and flaunt their deprecation and rejection of gospel-centered values. From the efforts of Satan, you must flee.
Sadly, many people in our society today do not believe in God; many more do not believe there is a literal devil, an actual being. Thus, many, driven by ego or by money, wittingly or unwittingly, aid Satan. His legions exist today; make no mistake about that reality.
But Jesus Christ also has His legions! And they are greater than Lucifer’s forces. At the time of His betrayal, Christ counseled Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane to put up his sword, saying in Matthew 26:53:
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
In addition, the Savior also relies upon us here in mortality to combat evil.
We have knowledge of Lucifer, his past, and his purposes. We understand that the battle between good and evil commenced before the world was, and that it continues through mortality, and that it will not cease until the Millennium commences. But more importantly, we know of Christ. His kingdom will triumph! Satan will be bound!
You wonderful young adults, you future leaders in the kingdom and the society must not become a casualty in this ageless battle. You survived the war in heaven. You can win the war on earth. Do not live for the moment, but rather for the eternities.
I conclude my warning with a promise and with counsel to empower you to reach your goal of eternal life. Be assured, it is worth your efforts to heed the commandments, for your reward is to return to the presence of God in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:22 the Lord taught Joseph Smith:
For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.[9]
It is on earth that we learn how to abide the law of the celestial kingdom. We must be willing to abide those laws in order to be able to keep those laws. We learn as we resist temptations. Our challenge is to overcome temptations. That is the challenge which even the Savior had to confront during his mortal experience. In Alma 7:11 we read of Christ:
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.
And in Doctrine and Covenants 20:22, we learn, speaking of Christ:
He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.
Christ resisted Satan successfully. He consistently chose good over evil. And so may you! Yes, God sent you here to be tested, but He also intended for you to triumph over evil!
How can you approach that level of absolute obedience in your personal behavior? The gospel, the power of God unto salvation, provides the perfect plan for you. I therefore share with you the following counsel:
- Love Heavenly Father. Value His judgment above that of all other mortal influences.
- Develop increasing faith in Jesus Christ. This is accomplished by deepening your personal understanding and your constant application of the Savior’s teachings, thereby strengthening your testimony and your capacity to resist evil.
- Deepen your sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and act upon them, for He will guide you and give you discernment between good and evil and the power to choose goodover evil.
- Watch and pray continually so as not to be overcome by temptation.
- Do not reprocess the same temptation, again and again. Decide once to obey and then follow that commandment forever. Repentance does not need to take forever.
- Engage in meaningful fasting opportunities to receive divine guidance and spiritual strength.
- Participate in temple service as often as possible. There you receive protection from evil. There you can reflect upon the promises of eternity.
Consider the experience of King Benjamin’s people, following his great address found at Mosiah, chapters 1–4. After his remarks, he asked the people if they believed his words. They responded in Mosiah 5:2 as follows:
And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
And they reinforced their commitment in verse 5:
And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days.
Each of us has already entered into a covenant with our Heavenly Father, namely to always remember His Son and to keep His commandments. This covenant, which we renew at each sacrament meeting, is not limited in scope or in length of time. Ponder and recommit each time you partake.
Is it really possible to have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”? Yes! You are already doing it in your life with respect to certain of the commandments. You did not wake up this morning, wondering whether today you would be able to keep the Word of Wisdom or whether you would be able to resist robbing a bank or cheating upon an exam. Those temptations are gone for you! They are no longer an issue for you. Yet, others may yet be struggling with those very same commandments today.
Having demonstrated your strict obedience in certain areas, you are now engaged in the task of adding further commandments to your personal list of commandments where obedience is now consistent and temptation has been fully overcome.
The Prophet Joseph Smith encourages us with this observation: “The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin.”[10]
What a marvelous outcome! Yes, it is good to resist temptation, but it is even better to have lost every desire for sin.
You have knowledge of your divine origin. You have full awareness of your divine destiny. I add my voice to that of President Hinckley when he challenged us with these stirring words: “Rise to the divinity within you!”[11]
I invite you to live, not for the moment, but rather for the eternities.
In preparation for this gathering and also during this presentation, I have sought the power of the Holy Ghost. As Nephi recorded in 1 Nephi 33:1, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.”
I pray that such has occurred this hour.
I share with you my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that He lives, that He presides over this restored Church, the only Church which offers both a fullness of gospel teachings and the priesthood authority required for the ordinances of eternity.
However, only you will determine whether that which has come unto your hearts will now also come into your hearts and be acted upon.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Abraham 3:22–23
[2] Abraham 3:26
[3] Revelation 12:11
[4] 1 Corinthians 10:13
[5] Doctrine and Covenants 19:17–18
[6] Mark 5:9
[7] The Life of Heber C. Kimball, Orson F. Whitney, Deseret Book [2001], 130–31
[8] The Life of Heber C. Kimball, 131
[9] D&C 88:22
[10] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 51
[11] Ensign, Nov 2002, 99