The Admonition of Paul

The thirteenth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul gave the new Saints words of comfort as well as direction as to some of the hallmarks that ought to typify the behavior of a follower of Christ not only for their own betterment but also for the improvement of the society in which they lived. “Don’t be unduly concerned about anything; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9). This would have been wise counsel for a Saint living in any of the dispensations.

Quite obviously, we do not literally “believe all things.” If such were even possible, that condition would illustrate the height of foolishness and be more than contradictory. The statement has reference to truth. As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek after those things that have been made manifest by His Spirit, the light of Christ. For this is the source of all truth whether in this world or in the universe. The opposing spirit that makes possible the exercise of agency for the purposes of making choices of eternal importance, the spirit of untruth, emanates from the father of lies, Lucifer. Consistent with God’s plan, all advancements in the fields of discovery, enlightenment, and beauty, with reference to the arts, for example, that are intended for the benefit of His spirit children are made known through the light of Christ. As lovers of truth, we should seek truth wherever it is to be found and embrace it whenever we do.

Our hope ought not to be ultimately concerned with things of this world. The hope of the Saints is rooted in the power and knowledge by means of which we may obtain eternal life. However, our reality is that while in mortality, we must concern ourselves also with earthly temptations and obstacles that have the potential to deflect us from our intended path and goal. The persecutions levied against God’s work in all generations were in reality persecutions levied against individual believers. As such, we hope and prepare ourselves in order that we may be able to endure all that we individually will be called upon to bear whether at the hands of our fellowmen or as a result of the vicissitudes of life being able to maintain our individual worthiness. The ultimate test we face is to determine whether each of us “will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command” of us (Abraham 3:25). Simply stated that means entering into all of the covenants God holds out to each of us and then living worthy of the promised blessings.