"Seeketh so to do"

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When there was a controversy in the early Church regarding who was entitled to heaven’s blessings and who wasn’t, the Lord declared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Verily I say unto you, [the gifts of God] are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep … my commandments, and [for them] that seeketh so to do.” Boy, aren’t we all thankful for that added provision “and … seeketh so to do”! That has been a lifesaver because sometimes that is all we can offer! We take some solace in the fact that if God were to reward only the perfectly faithful, He wouldn’t have much of a distribution list. 

Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, “O Jesus, … have mercy on me.” He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek. ("Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You", Jeffrey R. Holland, Apr 2016)

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An Effectual Struggle

There are times in my life when I discover another layer of work to be done. I have been working on a certain aspect of my character. I get to the point where I feel like I am getting it mastered.

Then I see the layer underneath. I see more work to be done. At times, I have felt discouraged, thinking I have already done the hardest thing I felt like I could do.

I was reflecting on this today and the following passage came to my mind.

17 And now, it came to pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather themselves together to the temple, to hear the words which he should speak unto them. 

18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he spake unto them in this wise, saying: O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings, which have been in vain; yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made. 

19 Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.
(Mosiah 7:17-19, emphasis added)

The phrase "I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made" had not stood out to me before. My friend Melanie Price Wellman, mentioned this in one of her podcasts. She said that, for her, it stood out in contrast to the previous struggles she had had. Struggles that had not been effective in getting her the results she wanted.

This phrase,"I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made" can mean that we can have hope in Jesus Christ. Hope that even though any previous struggles we may have had. Ones that did not get us out of the mud. We continue to hope for an effectual struggle. We will be victorious as we stay tethered to Jesus Christ. As we stay in relationship to him by the renewal of our covenants.