It has been said that the gospel is simply beautiful and beautifully simple.
Although the restored gospel of Jesus Christ provides many revealed truths of saving power that answer the important questions of the soul, we sometimes make things more complicated in our own minds and in our explanations to others than may be needed.
God is real, he is our Father, and he loves us with a perfect love. He has told us this very clearly.
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).
Once we understand that the God of all creation is our Father and that every soul is precious to him, we can better understand Him, his Son, and ourselves. It is profoundly true that
…God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Another great gift of often unappreciated value that our Heavenly Father has given to all of us is a family. Interestingly, no one can be born on this earth without having had at some point a father and a mother. Pres. Boyd K. Packer has often said,
The ultimate purpose of every teaching, every activity in the Church is that parents and their children are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, and linked to their generations (Packer, Boyd K., “The Father and the Family,” General Conference April 1994).
Our first and foremost responsibility in this life is the salvation of ourselves and our family.
Unfortunately, many of us do not live in an ideal family setting with a mother and a father who love each other and their children and who live together in righteousness, as described in “The Family—A Proclamation to the World.” Elder Richard G. Scott has wisely counseled,
Throughout your life on earth, seek diligently to fulfill the fundamental purposes of this life through the ideal family. While you may not have yet reached that ideal, do all you can through obedience and faith in the Lord to consistently draw as close to it as you are able….Do the best you can. We cannot say whether that blessing will be obtained on this side of the veil or beyond it, but the Lord will keep His promises. In His infinite wisdom, He will make possible all you qualify in worthiness to receive. Do not be discouraged. Living a pattern of life as close as possible to the ideal will provide much happiness, great satisfaction, and impressive growth while here on earth regardless of your current life circumstances. (Scott, Richard G., “First Things First,” Ensign, May 2001).
Our second responsibility is to try to help other individuals and families to receive those same blessings we desire, that they also may enjoy eternal life. We often talk about the resources the Lord has provided to assist us in this effort such as missionary work, our retention and rescue efforts, our ward and branch councils (including all the programs and people in our priesthood and auxiliary organizations), temple and family history work (because many of those we can help are now deceased), and so forth. But let us not unduly complicate the matter. Said simply, every Latter-day Saint should be really trying to bring the same blessings of the gospel that we enjoy into the lives of other individuals and families.
Ultimately, the way this is done is also very simple: doctrine and covenants. All the joys we desire in this life and the next may be had by understanding and believing the doctrine of Christ and by making and keeping the covenants associated with the saving ordinances.
The end of these efforts will be as sure as the rising of the sun. We will present ourselves and our families before the Lord redeemed and sealed. And He will say,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.… (Matthew 25:34).
Our beloved brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is simply beautiful and beautifully simple. Each of us must strive for our own salvation and to save our families. Each individual and family must do all we can to foster the salvation of other individuals and families. This is done through believing the doctrine and keeping our covenants and will result in our being embraced by the Lord, redeemed of our sins and sealed in our families.