all right so in this episode we are
talking about Elder Kieran in his own
words there's almost this you've seen
things online from a as a response to
him being called as the Apostle and then
giving his talk in general conferen it's
almost like there's
this movement of like this Grace
movement
that is like all hooray and everything
for Elder Kier and I just want to
address this and and talk about this and
say exactly show exactly what he said in
his talk on this before we get into this
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which is frequently quoted in mosiah 14
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elder Kieran in his general conference
talk just a few weeks back uh talk was
called God's intent is to bring you home
now in response to this talk I I had
many people send me information or or I
saw things online and social media that
different things that were kind of like
this it was like a a radical new
reframing of Grace by Elder Kieran or a
new repositioning of Grace by Elder
Kieran and and it's almost like there's
there's this movement of like okay we
want Grace now I want to put some
context into this what I see is helping
to understand why there is that movement
and that is the church has has often
times focused too much on just on the
works and Merit side of
things right and therefore what that
does is it without the proper walking
the edge of the sword that opens up the
door to
judgment and oh so we're up here and you
haven't done this and therefore I judge
you because you're not reaching the same
potential that you should be and that's
not always the best response right and
so now the pendulum and you've heard me
say this before has kind of swung all
the way to the other end we are like a
Grace driven church right now among the
membership to the point that we are
forgetting what the restored gospel is
all
about right I I've gone to several
Evangelical events I see kind of where
they stop with Redemption what that
means to them as compared to what the
restored gospel is
and that's what we're moving toward it's
very obvious to me right when when when
an Evangelical for example saysi am
redeemed it is about their belief and
acceptance of Jesus Christ and letting
him into your heart and change you and
being born again right for us that's not
enough and and it's it's there is an
expectation there because there's a
hope and the hope is added on to that it
is is not just a matter of being
healed and your wounds being uh you know
being healed which is very important
it's very important but when we simply
focus in that
realm then all we look at ourselves as
is
victims that is not what our purpose is
as human beings as Sons and Daughters of
God we cannot bathe in this
this uh world view of victimhood and and
our our civilization our our culture is
moving very quickly into that area right
when you when you put it into Book of
Mormon terms the lonit were always the
victims in their minds which is always
why they looked at the Nephites as the
problem and yet they're the ones
attacking the Nephites all the time
right because the lamanites saw
themselves is the
victims and they went after the Nephites
this is critical theory that's all it is
of course they didn't call it critical
theory back then but it's the same human
nature that exists and it is a
pernicious human nature it is Cain and
Abel there is no difference Cain wants
to kill Abel for his gain Layman and
lemel want to kill Lehi and Nephi and
then are
upset because Nephi
became the heir and the king and took
the objects of The laan Sword and the
brass plates and the liahona right and
from then on the traditions of the
fathers of the
lamanites is about being a
victim and what the Nephites stole from
them so we have to move Beyond just
healing the gospel isn't just about
healing that is part of it but it's half
the message
and you know what it's half it's half
the
medicine the restored gospel gives us
the full dose of medicine which is the
doctrine of
exaltation the doctrine of the most
immense purpose anyone could possibly
have it is our society loses its grasp
on purpose in life and meaning in life
the restored God El is what can help
with that so when we diminish the
doctrine of exaltation when we
diminish the sacred doctrines of the
restored
gospel then we are not fully offering
the remedy for those that are in pain
and are hurting and are On The Fringe
and marginalized Etc and so I think this
movement comes up this gracef filled
movement which obviously Grace is
essential it is everything
because without it we are nothing and
our works can never achieve salvation
but when that's all we look at we are
only looking at one side of the coin so
I want to bring up Elder kieran's words
exactly because I believe that he put
this into context very well and by the
way what a great talk and what what a
great demeanor he has right you sit
there and you watch him and you're like
oh this is I mean honestly this this is
kind of refreshing
you've got a different
accent uh from many of the Brethren
there and then and then just his
demeanor is very refreshing I would say
toward the beginning of his talk he says
my friends my fellow disciples on the
road of mortal life our father's
beautiful plan even his fabulous plan is
designed to bring you home not to keep
you up that's a very important thing to
understand right some people feel at
times that they they're they're
overwhelmed with what is going on they
feel they're not worthy they make
mistakes we make mistakes and we're held
back and we can't bathe in guilt we
can't bathe in a sense of unworthiness
and lack of worth those things are all
true so the Plan of Salvation is to
offer a saving plan for
everyone in fact salvation has a similar
root to Healing which would be like you
know a Sav right you put a Sav On s lve
is that what it is I think and it's the
word for Jesus right Jesus is
essentially A A variation on the word
the Hebrew word salvation right Yeshua
Elder Kieran goes on and says God is in
Relentless pursuit of you he wants all
of his children to choose to return to
him now here again is a key he wants all
of his children to choose to return to
him now we can't just make a choice and
say okay I made the choice right we have
to
do we have to do in order to return to
the father there is the Salvation of the
Three Kingdoms which is we are redeemed
from any kind of eternal hell in other
words we're not in outer Darkness but
then there is the Salvation of
exaltation that goes well beyond that we
have to choose
this we must take on the character of
God in order to obtain
exaltation that's what the Commandments
offer for us it's a manual of the
character of God it's so interesting to
me that we look you know you you hear
now more and more today this idea again
of of this oppressor and victim and it's
like we have to throw off the shackles
of The Commandments the law of Chastity
let's just throw off these shackles well
this is what's been taught for the with
the philosophies of men
for decades centuries Millennia
right but they're not
shackles they are
instructions they're a
howto on putting on the character of
God okay and let's move on he says our
loving father oversaw the creation of
this very Earth for the express purpose
of providing an opportunity
for you and for me to have the
stretching and refining the stretching
and refining
experiences right we've got to go
through that the stretching and refining
experiences of mortality the chance to
use our god-given moral agency to choose
him this is not some repositioning of
Grace he can't reposition
Grace the doctrine is already in the
scriptures and he's not talking just
about a feel good everything will be
fine without your effort you know don't
worry about judgment you'll get a slap
on the hand and everything will be fine
that we get in the therapeutic teddy
bear Jesus gospel he says the chance to
use our god-given moral agency to choose
him to learn and grow to make mistakes
to
repent again repentance is simply moving
more toward the character of God to love
God and our neighbor and to one day
return home to him he says Christ's
great atoning gift removes every
roadblock of physical and spiritual
death that would separate us from our
Eternal home okay again what is he
notice what he's saying
here it removes the roadblocks but we
still have to make we still have to go
down the path we need to go through the
Covenant path so he what is Grace really
about
Grace is
opportunity he paid the price to give us
the opportunity at
exaltation but that exaltation is then
up to us and I hope you can see the
difference between being saved by grace
and and being and those that say that
Latter-Day Saints are think that they're
saved by works we're not because we can
never ever ever repay the debt
fill the well so to speak that was given
to us by Jesus Christ but it is
opportunity that he has given us and
everything that goes along with that
prayer and the spirit and the
Commandments and Prophets and scriptures
and family and the
Earth so again he States everything
about the father's plan for his beloved
children is designed to bring everyone
home but you can't take take away
agency agency always means disparity and
some people cannot handle that that is
what happened in the war in
heaven personally I believe that Lucifer
in the war in heaven began righteously
as a son of the morning but seeing the
disparity that we would have in the end
after
mortality wanted
fairness and his malevolent
compassion seeing that there would be
disparity turned to evil and then to
power and why do I think that because
that's what happens over and over and
over again with human nature and with
tyranny some more great remarks from
Elder Kieran he says the intent of the
father's great plan of
Happiness not my favorite term is your
happiness right here right now and in
the eternities it is not to prevent your
happiness and cause you instead worry
and fear in my mind there is a real um
tight RPP there on that it shouldn't
cause worry and fear if you're dedicated
to your
covenants but you know what if you're
not following the gospel there probably
should be a little worry there a little
guilt there
why because those are natural responses
to help you put yourself back on track
it's not that you want to be filled with
shame you
don't it's not that God is disappointed
in
you those are feelings of damnation
right those are feelings that hold you
back and that is not what God
wants our heavenly father wants you to
progress but sometimes you need a little
poke he uses another example the intent
of the father's Plan of Redemption is in
fact your Redemption that is his intent
but he's not going to force it and I
like what he says here at the end he
says that plan is not to leave you as
you are so there's this phrase that is
used a lot uh throughout Christianity
that that latterday Saints have really
adopted which is come as you
are and that's true
right God is not a respector of persons
as we learned in the Book of Mormon come
as you are but don't stay as you are
that is the
gospel the gospel is about change the
gospel is about
growth the gospel is about fulfillment
and joy and those only come through
adversity and repentance and
overcoming another plan given here the
intent of the father's Plan of Salvation
is in fact your salvation
okay now he's going to clarify this this
is important the intent of the father's
Plan of Salvation is in fact your
salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of
Glory as you receive the testimony of
Jesus and offer your whole soul to him
it is not to keep you
out right so it certainly isn't to keep
you out he doesn't do anything to push
back to keep you away his
invitation through the opportunity that
he has given you is always there his
arms are always
outstretched but I love what he says
there right the intent of the father's
Plan of Salvation is in fact your
salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of
Glory as you receive the testimony of
Jesus and offer your whole soul to him
so you can't just come as you are that's
the first step then you need to put on
the character of God which is not easy
something I certainly struggle with over
and over again then he puts in this
whole paragraph here that is really the
clarifier that kind of gets by this
movement right this Grace movement kind
of gets pushed to the side he says here
does this mean anything goes with regard
to how we live our lives that the way we
choose to use our agency doesn't matter
that we can take or leave God's
Commandments no of course not and you
notice we don't talk that much about
Commandments anymore as my friend Bruce
Porter says you know we've kind of moved
to a principle-based
teaching in in our Wards and Stakes it's
much more pleasant than talking about
the Commandments and eternal laws
Eternal truths he says no of course not
right we don't take these things he says
of course not we have to the the
Commandments do matter surely one of
Jesus's most consistent invitation and
pleas during his mortal Ministry was
that that we change and repent and come
unto him fundamentally implicit in all
of his teachings to live on a higher
plane of moral conduct is a call to
personal
progression to transformative faith in
Christ to a mighty change of
heart we cannot lose that you cannot
just have a therapy gospel teddy bear
Jesus is not is a very beginning heart
for people who are wounded as we all are
but it must
mature otherwise the full dose of
medicine for all of us is not
there he says God wants for us a radical
reorientation of our selfish and
prideful impulses the eviction of the
natural man for us to go and sin no more
as we get in John chapter 8 and for
those that struggle which means all of
us
he adds this part in here he says if you
are prone to worry that you will never
measure up I mean how many of us have
felt that at times or that the loving
reach of Christ's infinite atonement
mercifully covers everyone else but not
you I have spoken to people who feel
that
way then you
misunderstand infinite means
infinite infinite covers you and those
you love so in this case this is saying
if you feel
unworthy right and and maybe some of
your decisions have led to that or or
maybe the way you were brought up or
things you've been told by family
members or others about who you
are have put you in a position of not
feeling worthy or of value to the point
of God being able to point his finger to
you and call you by name and call you
his son or daughter that obviously you
need to know that this is coover this
that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus
Christ covers everyone in all
circumstances or just about all
circumstances and because of that Grace
that
opportunity we can become we can
exercise that moral agency and then he
uses certain verbiage that we find often
in the scriptures he says he quoting the
scriptures here and he says talking
about the Lord mine arm of Mercy is
extended toward you and whosoever will
come him will I receive okay will we
come to him I love the phrase come
follow
me
because it's you know to come to follow
him doesn't mean just to do what he said
it's to be as he is it's to do as he
does the primary thing thing he does is
sacrifice the primary thing he does is
serve in his condescension below all
mankind he shows the love that is
necessary to be like
him do as he
does so he clarifies here again no he
does not put up a roadblock in a barrier
I know people feel that
way there are no road blocks blocks and
barriers except for up here
right or ourselves holding ourselves
back or or others that we think have the
power to hold us back and they really
don't right he removes them he does not
keep you out he welcomes you in his
entire Ministry was a living Declaration
of this intent so these stumbling blocks
that are in the way right which I would
call The Way of the
king the Covenant path the way back to
the throne of God The Stumbling blocks
are are really our sins and the
adversity and opposition that we face
and we can clear those out that's what
repentance is about that's what
overcoming is about he concludes with
this in other words the father's plan is
not about roadblocks it never was it
never will be are there things we need
to do Commandments to keep aspects of
our nature to change yes but with his
grace that's the opportunity and the
strength that he can give us those are
within our reach not beyond our
grasp this is the good news he says
right and that's what gospel even means
the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes from
the old English God spell which means
good news or even Glad
Tidings what is the good news the good
news is the grace
right the good news is the clearing of
the way the good news is the
opportunity that we can exercise our
agency
repent and put on the character of God
so I'll put a link to his talk again in
the description box so you can go back
and and read that if you haven't done
that already or to read it again but I
loved his talk I thought his talk was
very balanced I thought it had both
sides of the coin so to speak both grace
and works or Merit or Grace and
Commandments we are moving very quickly
in our culture and online especially
into a gospel of therapy and a teddy
bear Jesus look we need healing a lot of
people have a lot of problems and they
need help and they need
charity but the greatest message the
good news is the fullness of the
message and I believe that is also the
medicine thanks for listening
[Music]
