Elder Evan A. Schmutz, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered Tuesday's devotional address. He urged the audience to consider the importance of their mortal lives.
"God wants us to be deliberate with our time on Earth," he emphasized. "Remember, to be spiritually minded is life eternal."
Sharing a personal anecdote, Elder Schmutz recalled a heartwarming film he and his wife watched called "I Can Only Imagine." The movie was inspired by the life of a young man who wrote a beautiful song that anticipated the moment he would be with Jesus at the end of his life.
According to Elder Schmutz, imagining the culminating moment of meeting the Savior isn't new. He referred to Alma 5, in which the prophet delivered a timeless sermon with insightful questions. He encouraged the congregation to consider and evaluate these questions for themselves.
Elder Schmutz explained that while celestial belonging is freely offered to everyone, the gift of eternal life is reserved for those who accept it by keeping covenants made in the house of the Lord.
“Our ability to visualize God’s reward for the faithful will diminish or increase in direct proportion to our obedience and covenant keeping and our willingness to keep Jesus Christ at the center of our lives.”
In urging the audience not to be discouraged, Elder Schmutz reminded them not to compare themselves negatively with others. He highlighted that even senior leaders of the Church and ancient prophets were refined by their struggles and mistakes because of their unwavering faith in Christ.
“No matter the current condition of our spiritual lives, Jesus invites us to come to Him in faith, repent, receive the ordinances of the priesthood and the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and covenant to continue in His way. This is the doctrine of Christ.
Each individual is in their own season of life, with unique experiences within the Lord’s plan. However, the plan of happiness is rooted in the invitation to come to Christ.
Elder Schmutz then encouraged the audience to consider three personal habits and practices to help them prepare for their heavenly home.
Make time to be in the house of the Lord
Keeping sacred covenants in the temple invites God's power, aiding in revelation and spiritual insight, said Elder Schmutz. Going to the temple frequently strengthens our ability to embrace President Russell M. Nelson's call to "think celestial."
“Through repetition, eternal truths taught in the house of the Lord become embedded in our spiritual minds,” Elder Schmutz said. “It may be said that doctrine learned in the temple awakens our spiritual minds to things learned before coming to this Earth, including mysteries not understood by the natural mind.”
Take your experience in the house of the Lord home with you
In the house of the Lord, individuals are taught true doctrine and eternal principles through sacred symbols, Elder Schmutz taught. Upon departure, they are privileged to carry a symbol of the temple with them — the garment of the holy priesthood, bestowed upon them during their endowment.
“Receive the garment with joy and wear it with reverence. Satan delights when a child of the covenant disregards the sacred symbolism of the garment. If you are looking for the times and activities when you can justify removing the garment, rather than looking for ways to keep it on, you risk setting at naught the symbolic purpose and meaning of the garment.”
Look for the city of the living God
Elder Schmtuz said that God invites individuals to focus on the promises and rewards of righteousness. Intentionally visualizing the rewards awaiting the faithful in heavenly places, and adopting habits that help imagine that eternal reward as one's destination, diminishes the influence of life's difficulties and temptations.
"God knows that we cannot imagine a celestial home that we have not seen, or about which we have not heard," Elder Schmutz explained. "In the scriptures, we can study for ourselves the description of the glory that God has prepared for his faithful children because He has shown it to prophets, who have eyes to see."
