I would like to tell you another story I was told at EFY by Ben Bernards. I'm going to tell it in the first person like it was told like I remember hearing it. I would like to tell you about my Great Uncle Benjamin. My uncle’s father was extremely rich. He owned a multibillion dollar company. One day he told my Uncle Ben that if he would go to Terra Firma Academy, like all of his family have done for generations, and receive a 4.0 gpa all throughout his schooling he would give him his company. So using common sense my uncle agreed and went to The Terra Firma Academy. When he arrived at the school he was directed into the infirmary where they did some basic check ups on his health. Then they gave him a shot. Within a minute he was feeling dizzy and so the nurse lead him to his room where he layed down and fell asleep. He woke up two hours later not knowing where he was, what he was doing, or who he was. He looked on his nightstand and found a letter with the name Benjamin on it. Figuring that was his name he opened the letter. Inside he found a letter from two people who said they were his parents. They told him about their deal and the company. They also told him he had lost all of his memory of his past life that way he wouldn’t feel homesick and could focus on his studies. The memory loss shot would wear off shortly after he graduated from the academy, which would give him his memory back of his past life. The school had left him a “Survival Guide” ,to help him get used to the school and its rule on his nightstand. It suggested he ask some older, more experienced students to help him with getting around. Some students were very cold to him and wouldn’t help. On the other hand some students were very helpful to him they told him six things to do:
1.Discover why you are here
2. Trust the rules
3. Remember it’s supposed to be hard
4. Make-up work is available, but on one condition
5. Give it a shot
6. When all else fails remember your parents love you
The make-up work would be easier the sooner you did it. However the longer you waited the more difficult the make-up work would be. So my uncle got a 4.0 gpa all year and then on one test he got a 3.9 gpa so he went into do make-up work and his teacher was talking to a student, who had waited to the last minute to do his make up work, telling him that it is easier to get your gpa up the sooner you did it. The student just complained about how difficult it was and how unfair it was.
Well you might know by now that there is no such place as Terra Firma Academy. I don’t have a Great Uncle Benjamin. This was all an analogy. Terra Firma is Latin for Earth. This was about the Plan of Salvation. Our father in heaven promised us all that he has, which is so much more than we could possibly appreciate in this earthly state. Like my uncle when we arrived here we received the memory loss shot or better known as the veil. We cannot remember heaven or our heavenly father because I’m sure if we did not we would go through life miserable that we were unable to be with our father in heaven. We are celestial beings having a short term physical experience. Through the Survival guide and letters, or the scriptures, we begin to scratch the surface of three most important questions in life:
1. Where did we come from?
2. Why are we here?
3. Where are we going?
Life is meant to be difficult, but like my uncle if we do make-up work, or repentance, we can return to our Heavenly Father.One quote by Neil A. Maxwell:
“no one ever promised us it would be a picnic in the park”
Sometimes we may feel like the lord is not watching or does not care. You may feel like D&C 121:1-3:
2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?
3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?
However I know that the lord is watching; he does care. He does not hide. His hand is constantly outstretched to you. All you have to do is reach out to him as well.Jesus has felt every temptation and every pain we have ever or ever will feel.
I would like to bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I know it is true. I know that I will be able to live with my Heavenly Father again. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
What do you think?
Sources:
Want to learn more about the plan of salvation go to:
http://mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvationSpecial thank you to Ben Bernards who taught me this lesson at Especially For Youth (EFY)
Check out his website http://benbernards.com/ He is a very inspirational man.
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