February 10, 2025 • 42 mins
We are living in a day where the power of Jesus Christ is essential yet Satan is very clever in deceiving people into diminishing this power in their lives. In this episode we discuss profound insights on the power of Christ's name and how to bring it more abundantly into our lives.
Follow me @amberdawnpearce
Go to www.amber.thrivelife.com and set up a delivery for 15% off Thrive Food and free shipping on orders over $100. All proceeds benefit the Hope Smiling Brightly Charity
References:
Spiritual Treasures Oct 2019 GC. Pres. Russell M Nelson
Accessing God’s Power Through Covenants, April 2023 GC, Elder Dale G. Renlund
Live Up to Your Privileges Oct 2024 GC, Pres. Emily Belle Freeman
Rejoice in the gift of Priesthood Keys April 2024 GC, Pres. Russell M Nelson
00:00 Understanding the Adversary's Tactics
00:37 Introduction and Overcoming Opposition
02:13 Life Without Electrical Power
08:36 The Power of Jesus Christ's Name
11:55 The Importance of Covenants and Temple Worship
21:06 The Role of Prophets and Spiritual Warfare
33:22 The Power of Positive Words and Temple Garments
37:22 Conclusion and Call to Action
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amber (00:01):
President Nelson said, the adversary does not want you
to understand the covenant youmade at baptism.
Or the profound endowment ofknowledge and power you have
received or will receive in thetemple, the house of the Lord.
And Satan certainly does notwant you to understand that
(00:22):
every time you worthily serveand worship in the temple, you
leave armed with God's power andwith his angels having charge
over you.
Close quote.
Welcome to the Hope SmilingBrightly podcast.
I am Amber Pearce, your host.
(00:43):
And I am so grateful that youhave taken the time to be here
with me today.
If you are looking forconsistent, inspiring thoughts
and insights in between mypodcast episodes, be sure to
join me on social media@amberdawnpearce.
We have a great community overon Instagram So this is the
(01:05):
fourth time I have sat down torecord this podcast due to
technical difficulties.
And I was already a littlenervous in the first place
because I feel a greatresponsibility to relay to you
something that was taught to mein a very powerful way.
(01:29):
And I feel a little inadequate.
But I am just going to pushthrough this opposition, knowing
that this must be a good thing Ineed to share for the amount of
pushback I've received from theadversary and other things.
And I will just trust and praythat the Spirit will communicate
(01:50):
to you what you need to hear andwill help me speak the words I
need to say today.
You are listening to episode 12of the Hope Smiling Brightly
podcast, bringing the power ofJesus Christ into your life.
(02:13):
I grew up in a home without anypower.
No, I'm not talking aboutpriesthood power.
I'm talking about.
Electrical power, the kind ofpower we enjoy every day the
power we use to turn on a lightor charge our phones or sit back
(02:35):
and relax and watch a good TVshow.
And, No.
I am not 150 years old.
I'm only 47.
I grew up in a day where therewas plenty of power available.
My parents just chose to live alittle bit different of a
lifestyle.
With all the electronics thatare at the core of our lives
(02:58):
right now, could you imaginewhat it would be like to be
without a source of power in ourday?
Back then, not having power, allwe were concerned about were the
things that were necessary tosustain life, we needed a source
of heat.
We needed a way to store andcook food.
We needed light when it was toodark to see.
(03:21):
Warm water to wash ourselveswith.
Unfortunately, that wasoptional.
So at night, we would turn ongas lanterns, similar to the
ones that you would take on acamping trip.
Except they sat on top of thesetall, skinny propane tanks, so
the fuel wouldn't run out asquickly.
We were always careful to have agood supply of matches, so that
(03:43):
we could actually light thoselanterns.
We also had backup flashlightsjust in case, but we're lucky if
the batteries were not dead.
For heat, we had an efficientfireplace, but that heat rarely
reached my bedroom.
That was okay, because it wasfun to scrape my name into the
(04:04):
frost that had formed on theinside of my window every winter
morning.
We used a gas poweredrefrigerator to store our food
and a wood stove that waseventually replaced by a gas
stove to cook our food.
We would go to the laundromatonce a week to wash our clothes,
but we would usually bring wetclothes home and dry them on the
(04:25):
line, just to save a little moremoney.
To clean ourselves, we wouldsponge bathe from a basin that
we would heat up the water in ontop of the wood stove.
Or if it was summer, a goodspray down with the hose was
more fun and good enough.
Sometimes on Saturdays, we wouldtake the 40 minute drive to the
(04:46):
nearest K O A campground and payto use their showers so that we
could be nice and clean forSunday.
That was Probably as luxuriousas it got at my house.
Things like a dishwasher,microwave, TV, VCR, vacuum,
hairdryer, things that we useevery day now, they just weren't
necessities useless anyhowwithout power.
(05:10):
Honestly, life was good.
We were making do and as achild, I didn't really know what
I was missing anyway.
Now my father was an electricianby trade.
I know, ironic, right?
But because of this skill, heeventually wired our house and
purchased a small generator.
(05:31):
We were only allowed to use thisgenerator at night and it could
not handle large appliances.
It was really just there so thatwe could flip a switch to turn
on a light, But really goingfrom a gas lantern to having a
generator was so exciting and wecould tell a marked difference
in our lives.
(05:52):
Still, the generator was turnedoff every night at bedtime.
So I was always sure to have myflashlight by my bed just in
case I had to get up at themiddle of the night to go to the
bathroom, which at first meanttrekking outside to our
outhouse.
But when my dad wired the house,he also thankfully put in
(06:12):
plumbing.
So we finally had an indoortoilet and shower.
As I got older, it became my jobto go and turn on the generator
at 5 a.
m.
every morning.
Well, let's be real.
I made it my job because therewas 15 of us and I wanted the
first shower before all the hotwater ran out.
(06:34):
After that shower, I just let myhair dry naturally because the
generator couldn't handle theenergy of a hairdryer, but I
definitely couldn't go without acurling iron because it was the
90s, the age of the huge clawbangs and Aquanet hairspray., I
may have been a hippie child,but I knew how to keep up on the
(06:56):
hairstyles, no matter howterrible they were.
We eventually got a TV, but thatwas usually only watched on the
weekends for T.
G.
I.
F.
or Saturday morning cartoons.
It was always a treat when mymom would go and rent a VCR so
we could watch the occasionalmovie.
When I was about 15 years old,Someone moved into our quiet
(07:20):
area and built a beautifulhouse.
But most importantly, they hadthe money to bring electricity
into our valley for the firsttime.
I distinctly remember standingoutside and watching the
electrical poles go up and theelectrical lines being hung.
(07:43):
I knew this was going to changeour lives.
Once again, I was used to thepower that was available to us.
We had survived just fine, butthere was so much we couldn't
do.
Because we just didn't have theright kind of power.
Do you know what my favorite twothings were about getting
(08:03):
electricity?
Being able to turn on a light ifI needed to go to the bathroom
at night and getting to blow drymy hair.
Of course, it didn't end there.
We got a washer and dryer, acomputer, VCR, vacuum cleaner.
Try sweeping carpet.
It doesn't really work well.
Could run a ceiling fan at nightwhen it was hot or turn on the
(08:26):
baseboard heat when it was cold.
It is amazing how much your lifechanges when it is connected to
power.
Now, I want to shift gears herefor a second and talk about a
different kind of power, thepower of the name of our savior,
Jesus Christ.
(08:48):
The best place I can go in thescriptures to drive home how
powerful his name is, is inMoses Ch 1 This is where Moses
has had the most amazingspiritual experience with God,
and what usually happens afterpowerful spiritual experiences,
(09:09):
Satan always tends to arrive onthe scene.
Moses isn't fooled.
He doesn't want to hear anythingfrom Satan, and so he asks him
to leave.
The first time he asks is inverse 16.
He says, get thee hence, Satan,deceive me not.
(09:30):
And does Satan leave?
No, he doesn't.
The second time he asks again isin verse 18.
I can judge between him andthee.
Depart hence, Satan.
Still, Satan will not leave.
And then he asks for a thirdtime in verse 20.
(09:51):
Depart from me, still, no luck.
It seems like Satan was there tostay.
Finally, Moses realized the kindof power he was in need of, and
I want you to recognize thedifference in these words
compared to all the other wordshe spoke.
In verse 21, And Moses receivedstrength and called upon God,
(10:16):
saying, In the name of the onlybegotten, Depart hence, Satan.
And what did Satan do?
First he cried with a loudvoice, with weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
And he departed hence.
It didn't matter how angry thatmade him, the fit that he was
(10:39):
gonna throw.
See the difference there, Satanhad no choice, but to leave
because of the power of the nameof Jesus Christ here, the
greatest source of evil in allof creation.
And all you have to do ismention the savior's name and he
has to obey and flee.
(11:02):
That is how powerful.
The name of Jesus Christ is.
So here's something to thinkabout.
If the name of Christ canovercome the greatest source of
evil in all of creation, and wehave access to that power, what
(11:23):
kind of power do we have toinvite the opposite into our
lives?
And if just speaking the name ofJesus Christ can bring such
incredible power, imagine thepower that can come into our
lives when we do more than justspeak his name.
(11:44):
What will happen when wefaithfully and intentionally
pray in his name, act in hisname, and take his name upon us?
This leads me to what I feel isincredibly important to make
clear in the next severalminutes we have together.
(12:05):
The adversary is trying todiminish the sacred ways we
bring the power of Jesus Christinto our lives.
This is part of the reason whyso many love to mock and
criticize things like thetemple, covenants, and the
wearing of the garments of theholy priesthood.
(12:28):
but from the creation of theworld, we see that the Lord did
not send us to a fallen worldwithout the power to overcome
it.
Adam and Eve made a really goodeffort to cover and protect
themselves by taking fig leavesand making aprons out of them.
(12:48):
That may have been sufficientfor the Garden of Eden, but that
would not protect them in thefallen world.
In mercy, Heavenly Father wouldnot, could not allow them to
leave without more protection.
So he, the Lord God, made coatsof skins and clothed them.
(13:09):
This was not just a physicalprotection, but symbolic of the
kind of spiritual protection andpower that can only come through
the name of the Lord JesusChrist.
So did God love Adam and Evemore than he loves us?
No, he loves all his children.
So does he offer us the samepower and protection?
(13:31):
Yes, he does.
Knowing this, would we not wantto do everything we can to bring
more of his power into ourlives?
When we had just the propanetank to light our home at night
We made do with it.
But when we were able to connectto a generator just a little
(13:54):
more power, even if it wasn'tavailable to us 24 hours a day,
man, the light a light bulbcould provide compared to that
gas lantern.
It was so much brighter.
I had no idea what I was missinguntil I had it.
We incrementally brought powerinto our home, and it opened new
(14:19):
possibilities for us each time.
This is how God's power works.
Elder Renlund explained, Webecome his disciples and
represent him well when weintentionally and incrementally
take on ourselves the name ofJesus Christ through covenants.
Close quote.
(14:39):
Access to the power of his namestarts small and grows.
Maybe it started for you thesame way it started for me.
Then I also started for mychildren when they were little.
As soon as they could talk,teaching them how to pray.
Not just to pray, but to pray inthe name of Jesus Christ.
(15:03):
I recognized that this was a bitunique when I would go to church
with my friends.
One of the first thing I noticeis that their prayers didn't
always end in the same way oursdid.
Sometimes they did, but in ourfaith, we end every single talk,
prayer in the name of JesusChrist.
(15:27):
What happens next from thisstart of learning to communicate
to our Heavenly Father in Hisname?
A belief within us starts togrow.
And typically the next thing wedo, as soon as we can walk up
and be tall enough to reach themicrophone at a pulpit, we
(15:48):
testify.
Another very unique thing aboutour faith.
I haven't been to any otherchurch where any child who wants
to can bear testimony of theirSavior.
And from this testimony grows adesire to make covenants with
(16:10):
God, to be baptized and receivethe gift of the Holy Ghost in
His name.
Not only in His name, butthrough His priesthood power.
And with that baptism, theweekly partaking of the
sacrament becomes all the moresignificant.
When we take the sacrament, wenot only take his name upon us,
(16:33):
but symbolically take his nameinside us.
We eat the bread.
We drink the water.
Taking his name internally.
And how important this weeklyreminder is.
I could feel it as young as whenI was a teenager, where if I
(16:53):
missed one or two Sundays, Inoticed something different in
my life.
As we continue to grow in thegospel, we make more covenants,
when we go to the temple, anopportunity not only to be
washed again, but to beanointed.
A great bestowal of power andcommitment in his name, his name
(17:16):
upon us from head to toe.
And then we are endowed withpower in his name, his name upon
our actions as we keep ourcovenants.
Now, we not only have thatweekly reminder of the
sacrament, but we have a dailyreminder wearing the temple
(17:37):
garment or the garment of theholy priesthood.
In his name, symbolic of hisname, literally upon us.
Do you see all this beautifulsymbolism, the name of our
savior, Jesus Christ, inside,outside, all around us, Because
as we make these covenants, weneed that extra power to keep
(18:00):
them.
And finally, families sealed inhis name.
husband and wife aren't justsealed to each other.
They are sealed together withJesus Christ.
We truly are given every avenueto always remember him.
(18:20):
So much of this is unique to theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints, but it's not uniqueto God's people.
In second Kings chapter 21,verse four, and he built altars
in the house of the Lord ofwhich the Lord said.
In Jerusalem, will I put myname.
(18:42):
so taking his name upon us as astart, but as president Emily
Bell Freeman said, what theordinance and our covenant
promise unlock also deserves thefocus of our attention.
Priesthood ordinances andcovenant promises allow God to
sanctify us and then workwonders in our lives.
(19:02):
Close quote.
As we make covenants with JesusChrist and keep them, the power
of his name can become so greatin our lives that the very image
of Jesus Christ is engraven uponour countenances.
And when this is the case, Satanhas zero power over us.
(19:26):
In Numbers 626, it says, TheLord lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put my name uponthe children of Israel, and I
will bless them.
And the savior has promised uswhen he said in that famous
scripture in the world, ye shallhave tribulation, but be of good
(19:51):
cheer.
I have overcome the world.
The term the world is anotherway of referring to Satan's
dominion.
So let me rephrase this verse tomake it a little more clear in
Satan's dominion.
You shall have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
(20:12):
I have overcome Satan.
And if Christ has overcomeSatan, that is who we want with
us all the time.
If he is with us, his spiritalways to be with us, Satan
cannot be in his presence.
Do you see why Satan is sodesperate to disarm us of this
(20:38):
power?
When we think of what has beenprophesied concerning the last
days, we all know aboutArmageddon, but forget about
Armageddon.
We are already in the greatestbattle in history.
Satan is on for attack, but.
(20:59):
Covenant keepers are at anastronomically unfair advantage.
Now another part of thisadvantage is because he has
called a prophet to speak in hisname and lead us in the name of
Christ, the only one on earthwho has authority to do so.
(21:24):
I love this example of theimportance of prophets during
battle in the scriptures.
In Alma chapter 48, CaptainMoroni has been through a lot of
war, but he's been promisedsomething.
If they are faithful in keepingthe commandments of God that He
(21:44):
would prosper them in the land,yea, warn them to flee, to
prepare for war according totheir danger, and also that God
would make it known unto themwhether they should go to defend
themselves against theirenemies, and by so doing the
Lord would deliver them.
(22:06):
So how did Captain Moroni knowwhere to go and what to do?
Well, he turned to the prophetAlma, gave him invaluable
information that helped them towin the war.
So what is our prophet tellingus?
Where do we need to go to defendourselves?
(22:29):
I don't know if he couldpossibly make this more clear.
Every single general conferencesince he has been prophet, he
has talked about the importanceof being in the temple.
He said, my dear brothers andsisters, the assaults of the
(22:49):
adversary are increasingexponentially in intensity and
in variety.
Our need to be in the temple ona regular basis has never been
greater.
And another time, he said, Hereis my promise.
Nothing will help you more tohold fast to the iron rod than
(23:11):
worshipping in the temple asregularly as your circumstances
permit.
Nothing will protect you more asyou encounter the world's mists
of darkness.
Nothing will bolster yourtestimony of the Lord Jesus
Christ and his atonement or helpyou understand God's magnificent
plan.
Nothing soothe your spirit moreduring times of pain.
(23:37):
Nothing will open the heavensmore.
Nothing.
If it isn't clear what thebattle plan is to overcome Satan
by the prophet's words, itshould be clear by the number of
temples that have been announcedall over the world.
(23:57):
The second coming of the Lord issoon.
We've been told to prepare forit, which means Satan's
desperation is at an all timehigh.
We have got to be prepared.
But as we make and keepcovenants in the temple, we
don't need to worry.
(24:17):
We will always be at an unfairadvantage.
Going back to Moroni, it remindsme of the unfair advantage
Moroni had against Zarahemnabecause of his covenants and
because of a prophet of God.
Listen to how Moroni's army wasarmed compared to Zarahemna's.
(24:41):
Had prepared his people withbreastplates and with arm
shields, yea, and also shieldsto fend their heads, and also
they were dressed with thickclothing.
Now, army of Zarahemna was notprepared with any such thing.
They had only their swords andtheir scimitars, and their bows
(25:02):
and their arrows, their stonesand their slings, and they were
naked, save it were a skin whichwas girded about their loins.
Can you imagine Zarahemna'sarmy's reaction when they met
for a battle and saw what theywere up against?
Zarahemna's army only hadweapons.
(25:22):
Zero armor.
But what if Zarahemna had said,Okay, hold up.
Time out.
This isn't fair.
Would you mind taking your armoroff first?
Um, no brainer.
I don't think there's any cleverwords he could have come up with
to get them to take off theirarmor.
But do we see what's happeningright now in this spiritual
(25:44):
battle?
Satan and his angels have noarmor.
Plenty of weapons, but still hispathetic power is nothing
against God's armor.
And we know his game planbecause of a prophet of God.
Satan is very aware of thatunfair advantage and he wants
(26:06):
that armor off.
It is his only chance.
we have been promised that thepower of the Lamb of God will
descend upon the covenant peopleof the Lord, and we will be
armed with righteousness andwith the power of God in great
glory.
Sadly, Satan is convincing someof God's people in such subtle
(26:29):
ways to take off the armor ofGod and hand it right over to
him.
He does not want the name ofChrist upon us.
He tries to remove it fromeverywhere he can.
He has even tried to remove thename of Christ from his church.
(26:49):
Can you see why this is suchimportant revelation that the
prophet received and howimportant it is for us to follow
that?
And how clever, Satan's littledeceptions.
He will slowly work backwards ateverything we've done in
Christ's name until little bylittle we are completely
(27:12):
stripped of it.
That is the only chance he has,because he is powerless if he
does not.
He wants the name of JesusChrist out of our families, out
of our marriages, so that he candestroy them.
And he'll do that by convincingus to turn away from the
covenants we've made.
Anything he can do to get us toattend the temple less, take the
(27:36):
sacrament less.
Pray less.
Wear our garments less.
Until the daily reminders,weekly reminders are gone.
He will stop at nothing untilthere is no belief, no power of
Christ's name left in your lifeso that you are his.
(28:00):
I've heard people try todiminish the power of these
things by saying, I don't haveto go into a building to
remember Christ.
I don't have to wear specialunderwear to have a relationship
with my savior.
I don't have to drink.
A little water, eat a littlebread to have Christ's power in
my life.
(28:20):
I'm sorry, but yes, you dobecause these things are done in
his power, priesthood power tohelp you overcome Satan.
To try to remember Christ andbring his power into your life
of your own abilities, is theequivalent of Adam and Eve
deciding to go out into thefallen world with only the
(28:41):
aprons they created and leavingGod's protection behind.
Sorry.
That's okay, Heavenly Father.
We've got enough right here.
God accepted their efforts, buttheir aprons were not created
with priesthood power, but theirown power.
What God creates is created inHis power and authority.
(29:05):
The coverings He made and putupon Adam and Eve were created
in His power and authority.
Now, God does not limit hispower to only members of the
church of Jesus Christ, butWithout priesthood ordinances,
anyone's full potential of poweris limited.
(29:28):
Yes, faith in Jesus Christ isstill powerful.
But just like the power that thegenerator provided my home
growing up was great and, andfit our basic needs.
It was still limited.
There were certain things wesimply could not do, even if we
wanted to.
In Matthew chapter seven, verses21 through 23, it says, not
(29:52):
everyone that say offend to meLord, Lord shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven, but he thatdoth the will of my father,
which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, and inthy name have cast out devils,
thy name done many wonderfulworks?
(30:13):
And then I will profess untothem, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that workiniquity.
And from the Joseph Smithtranslation, we know that he
actually said, you never knewme.
When I first studied theseverses, I thought, man, that's
kind of harsh.
These people are doing goodthings.
(30:34):
Why is the Lord rejecting them?
Then I started to understandthere are a lot of good meaning
people that use the name ofChrist to build up their own
churches.
But the name of Christ can onlybe fully taken on or put upon
someone through priesthoodauthority.
(30:57):
In D& C 6362, it says, Forbehold, verily I say, that many
there be who are under thiscondemnation, who use the name
of the Lord, and use it in vain,having not authority.
It's like all that wiring my dadput in our house, the outlets,
the appliances, were only asgood as the power source that
(31:20):
was connected to it.
This authority from God, allthat his priesthood power
brings, is just like thatconnection to the power line.
But even though I vividlyremember the excitement and the
novelty of being able to flip aswitch whenever I wanted and
(31:41):
light coming on and howelectricity changed my life,
now, I don't even think aboutelectricity.
I totally take it for granted.
This can easily happen with thepower of Christ in our lives.
We have done all the things sooften, we are just going through
(32:02):
the motions and forget howsignificant and life changing
The power that we have access toreally is.
We can have this power and nottake full advantage of it.
When we first got electricity,my parents went out and
purchased a dishwasher.
(32:23):
But guess what?
It never got hooked up.
And we continued washing dishesin the same way we always had.
We had a microwave, but I feltthe buttons were kind of
confusing, and so I just didn'tbother using it.
President Emily Bell Freemansaid, Learn how priesthood
ordinances and covenant promiseswill allow God's power to flow
(32:47):
into your life with greaterefficacy, working in and through
you, empowering and equippingyou to reach your full purpose
and potential.
So, it's good to ask ourselves,is there a power we aren't
taking advantage of because ithas become routine, or it feels
confusing, or we just want tostick with our old and
(33:08):
comfortable ways?
If we have the desire tounderstand and use the power
we've been endowed with, Godwill answer.
I could record a zillionpodcasts on this topic, but
here's just one example.
This complacency happened to mewith my temple garments.
I put them on every day, but Irarely stopped to think about
(33:32):
their significance.
Until the Spirit taught mesomething that helps me better
understand their power.
This happened at a time where Iwas experiencing a lot of
depression and I was trying tolearn how to be more positive.
I came across several differentstudies on the effects of
(33:52):
positive versus negative words.
And then I found the mostfascinating video.
It was of an experiment thatthey put on in a high school
where they took two identicalplants and placed them in the
high school hallways.
(34:13):
These plants both had the exactsame amount of light and water,
but there was one difference intheir care.
On one plant was a sign thatinstructed the students to
criticize and insult and speakunkind words to that plant.
(34:33):
The other plant had a sign thatinstructed the students to only
give that plant praise and kindwords.
The result was mind blowing.
The plant that was gettingcriticism turned brown and
started to wither away and die.
(34:55):
The plant that received thepositive words thrived and grew
and stood tall.
Learning about that experiencereally taught me the
significance of positive versusnegative thoughts and how they
can truly affect us.
It made me think of the negativesuggestions from the adversary I
(35:16):
was fighting on what felt like aconstant basis compared to the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit.
I joked with myself that maybe Ishould just get a Sharpie and
write a bunch of powerfulthoughts all over my body.
Honestly, I found myself wishingand praying for something simple
(35:39):
like that to help strengthen andprotect me from Satan's negative
influence.
And as I pondered it, the wordscame into my mind.
What do you think your garmentsare for?
Really, is there any morepowerful and positive word or
name you could place on yourbody?
(36:00):
I think wearing my garments hadbecome so habitual that I didn't
even recognize its power andeffect.
This indifference is warned ofin the scriptures as the
Israelites were given a symbolof Jesus Christ, the brass
serpent, and he had prepared away that they might be healed,
and the labor which they had toperform was to look, and because
(36:21):
of the simpleness of the way, orthe easiness of it, there were
many who perished what a gift Ihad been given in putting
something on my body to bring tomy mind the power of my covenant
relationship with my SaviorJesus Christ the very definition
of positivity light life powerand to be able to start every
(36:44):
single day of my life for thelast 27 years with a positive
action of faith like putting onmy temple garments it was a huge
mindset shift to me how thissimple diligent action
cultivates faith and positivityand in effect brings miracles
(37:06):
and protection that I may noteven be completely aware of.
There are simple things thatSpirit can teach us in this
journey that will help us accessmore power in the name of
Christ.
One more thing I want to sharein conclusion.
We all effectually partook ofthe fruit for the same reason
(37:30):
Adam and Eve did.
We desire knowledge.
Satan has played on that desirefor knowledge from the beginning
of time and has offeredknowledge that is so calculated
that it can be incredibly hardto discern truth from error.
So hard to discern that God weptat the number of children that
(37:52):
fell for Satan's lies.
His children are still fallingfor Satan's lies, lies that are
pulling people away from therestored gospel of Jesus Christ.
One of those gifts, when we takethe name of Christ upon us is
the gift to discern.
But if we remove his name fromus, we also remove that gift.
(38:14):
Just give it time.
And over years of smalldeceptions You can end up in a
place that you would have nevergone, had you only known where
it would end from the beginning.
One thing that is true aboutSatan is that he is always
lying.
Lying about something.
(38:35):
So think about this.
Either Satan is leading all thenaysayers of the church and
creating lies to help you leaveyour covenants and all you do in
the name of Christ, or Satan isleading this church and lying to
you to try and get you to alwaysremember Christ through prayer,
(38:56):
baptism, sacrament, templecovenants that help us love,
serve, and increase in faith.
Can you tell me why in the worldSatan would try to get you to do
the latter?
You can't, because he wouldn't.
It's absolutely ludicrous, andactually impossible, because
it's against his very nature hecannot endure things that bring
(39:21):
the light of Christ.
When we just had a generator forpower, we didn't turn it on at a
certain time each day.
We would just go through ourday, keep doing our work until
someone recognized that it wastoo dark.
And even then, there were timesthat we would turn it on and It
(39:42):
wouldn't work.
It wasn't always reliable.
So that is why we took advantageof the more reliable power when
we had the opportunity.
As this world gets darker anddarker, before the second
coming, More and more peoplewill wake up and start realizing
that we need more light and willseek and do whatever they can to
(40:06):
access it and share it.
And more and more people willhave this promise in Doctrine
and Covenants section 190.
Thy servants may go forth fromthis house armed with thy power,
and that thy name may be uponthem, thy glory be round about
them, and thine angels havecharge over them.
That no weapon formed againstthem shall prosper, and he who
(40:31):
diggeth a pit for them shallfall into the same himself.
That no combination ofwickedness shall have power to
rise up and prevail over thypeople, upon whom thy name shall
be put in this house.
So let me reiterate.
In Doctrine and Covenants 1823,it says, Behold, Jesus Christ is
(40:52):
the name which is given of theFather, and there is none other
name given whereby man can besaved.
If it is His name that is theonly one that saves, would we
not want to take advantage ofany and everything that brings
His name into our lives in moreabundance?
(41:16):
Now, can I give you a fewsuggestions if you would like to
study the power of the name ofChrist yourself?
First, there is a topic in thetopical guide called Name of the
Lord.
It's a great study.
(41:37):
And as you ponder things to askHeavenly Father as you pray,
perhaps ask him to help yourecognize what you have in your
life because you have taken thename of Christ upon you.
and ask, how can I bring more ofthe power of Jesus Christ, of
(41:57):
his name, into my life?
Christ is power and protection.
Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
it's just as important to bephysically prepared as it is to
(42:18):
be spiritually prepared.
And Thrive Life is the easiestand most delicious way to help
you do that.
It is food with a 25 year shelflife and all you do is set up a
delivery with a budget thatworks for you and you are slowly
able to build up a supply offood for whatever may come.
(42:39):
So go to amber.thrivelife.command set up a delivery to get 15
percent off retail and freeshipping on orders of a hundred
dollars or more.
President Nelson said, the adversary does not want you
to understand the covenant youmade at baptism.
Or the profound endowment ofknowledge and power you have
received or will receive in thetemple, the house of the Lord.
And Satan certainly does notwant you to understand that
(00:22):
every time you worthily serveand worship in the temple, you
leave armed with God's power andwith his angels having charge
over you.
Close quote.
Welcome to the Hope SmilingBrightly podcast.
I am Amber Pearce, your host.
(00:43):
And I am so grateful that youhave taken the time to be here
with me today.
If you are looking forconsistent, inspiring thoughts
and insights in between mypodcast episodes, be sure to
join me on social media@amberdawnpearce.
We have a great community overon Instagram So this is the
(01:05):
fourth time I have sat down torecord this podcast due to
technical difficulties.
And I was already a littlenervous in the first place
because I feel a greatresponsibility to relay to you
something that was taught to mein a very powerful way.
(01:29):
And I feel a little inadequate.
But I am just going to pushthrough this opposition, knowing
that this must be a good thing Ineed to share for the amount of
pushback I've received from theadversary and other things.
And I will just trust and praythat the Spirit will communicate
(01:50):
to you what you need to hear andwill help me speak the words I
need to say today.
You are listening to episode 12of the Hope Smiling Brightly
podcast, bringing the power ofJesus Christ into your life.
(02:13):
I grew up in a home without anypower.
No, I'm not talking aboutpriesthood power.
I'm talking about.
Electrical power, the kind ofpower we enjoy every day the
power we use to turn on a lightor charge our phones or sit back
(02:35):
and relax and watch a good TVshow.
And, No.
I am not 150 years old.
I'm only 47.
I grew up in a day where therewas plenty of power available.
My parents just chose to live alittle bit different of a
lifestyle.
With all the electronics thatare at the core of our lives
(02:58):
right now, could you imaginewhat it would be like to be
without a source of power in ourday?
Back then, not having power, allwe were concerned about were the
things that were necessary tosustain life, we needed a source
of heat.
We needed a way to store andcook food.
We needed light when it was toodark to see.
(03:21):
Warm water to wash ourselveswith.
Unfortunately, that wasoptional.
So at night, we would turn ongas lanterns, similar to the
ones that you would take on acamping trip.
Except they sat on top of thesetall, skinny propane tanks, so
the fuel wouldn't run out asquickly.
We were always careful to have agood supply of matches, so that
(03:43):
we could actually light thoselanterns.
We also had backup flashlightsjust in case, but we're lucky if
the batteries were not dead.
For heat, we had an efficientfireplace, but that heat rarely
reached my bedroom.
That was okay, because it wasfun to scrape my name into the
(04:04):
frost that had formed on theinside of my window every winter
morning.
We used a gas poweredrefrigerator to store our food
and a wood stove that waseventually replaced by a gas
stove to cook our food.
We would go to the laundromatonce a week to wash our clothes,
but we would usually bring wetclothes home and dry them on the
(04:25):
line, just to save a little moremoney.
To clean ourselves, we wouldsponge bathe from a basin that
we would heat up the water in ontop of the wood stove.
Or if it was summer, a goodspray down with the hose was
more fun and good enough.
Sometimes on Saturdays, we wouldtake the 40 minute drive to the
(04:46):
nearest K O A campground and payto use their showers so that we
could be nice and clean forSunday.
That was Probably as luxuriousas it got at my house.
Things like a dishwasher,microwave, TV, VCR, vacuum,
hairdryer, things that we useevery day now, they just weren't
necessities useless anyhowwithout power.
(05:10):
Honestly, life was good.
We were making do and as achild, I didn't really know what
I was missing anyway.
Now my father was an electricianby trade.
I know, ironic, right?
But because of this skill, heeventually wired our house and
purchased a small generator.
(05:31):
We were only allowed to use thisgenerator at night and it could
not handle large appliances.
It was really just there so thatwe could flip a switch to turn
on a light, But really goingfrom a gas lantern to having a
generator was so exciting and wecould tell a marked difference
in our lives.
(05:52):
Still, the generator was turnedoff every night at bedtime.
So I was always sure to have myflashlight by my bed just in
case I had to get up at themiddle of the night to go to the
bathroom, which at first meanttrekking outside to our
outhouse.
But when my dad wired the house,he also thankfully put in
(06:12):
plumbing.
So we finally had an indoortoilet and shower.
As I got older, it became my jobto go and turn on the generator
at 5 a.
m.
every morning.
Well, let's be real.
I made it my job because therewas 15 of us and I wanted the
first shower before all the hotwater ran out.
(06:34):
After that shower, I just let myhair dry naturally because the
generator couldn't handle theenergy of a hairdryer, but I
definitely couldn't go without acurling iron because it was the
90s, the age of the huge clawbangs and Aquanet hairspray., I
may have been a hippie child,but I knew how to keep up on the
(06:56):
hairstyles, no matter howterrible they were.
We eventually got a TV, but thatwas usually only watched on the
weekends for T.
G.
I.
F.
or Saturday morning cartoons.
It was always a treat when mymom would go and rent a VCR so
we could watch the occasionalmovie.
When I was about 15 years old,Someone moved into our quiet
(07:20):
area and built a beautifulhouse.
But most importantly, they hadthe money to bring electricity
into our valley for the firsttime.
I distinctly remember standingoutside and watching the
electrical poles go up and theelectrical lines being hung.
(07:43):
I knew this was going to changeour lives.
Once again, I was used to thepower that was available to us.
We had survived just fine, butthere was so much we couldn't
do.
Because we just didn't have theright kind of power.
Do you know what my favorite twothings were about getting
(08:03):
electricity?
Being able to turn on a light ifI needed to go to the bathroom
at night and getting to blow drymy hair.
Of course, it didn't end there.
We got a washer and dryer, acomputer, VCR, vacuum cleaner.
Try sweeping carpet.
It doesn't really work well.
Could run a ceiling fan at nightwhen it was hot or turn on the
(08:26):
baseboard heat when it was cold.
It is amazing how much your lifechanges when it is connected to
power.
Now, I want to shift gears herefor a second and talk about a
different kind of power, thepower of the name of our savior,
Jesus Christ.
(08:48):
The best place I can go in thescriptures to drive home how
powerful his name is, is inMoses Ch 1 This is where Moses
has had the most amazingspiritual experience with God,
and what usually happens afterpowerful spiritual experiences,
(09:09):
Satan always tends to arrive onthe scene.
Moses isn't fooled.
He doesn't want to hear anythingfrom Satan, and so he asks him
to leave.
The first time he asks is inverse 16.
He says, get thee hence, Satan,deceive me not.
(09:30):
And does Satan leave?
No, he doesn't.
The second time he asks again isin verse 18.
I can judge between him andthee.
Depart hence, Satan.
Still, Satan will not leave.
And then he asks for a thirdtime in verse 20.
(09:51):
Depart from me, still, no luck.
It seems like Satan was there tostay.
Finally, Moses realized the kindof power he was in need of, and
I want you to recognize thedifference in these words
compared to all the other wordshe spoke.
In verse 21, And Moses receivedstrength and called upon God,
(10:16):
saying, In the name of the onlybegotten, Depart hence, Satan.
And what did Satan do?
First he cried with a loudvoice, with weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
And he departed hence.
It didn't matter how angry thatmade him, the fit that he was
(10:39):
gonna throw.
See the difference there, Satanhad no choice, but to leave
because of the power of the nameof Jesus Christ here, the
greatest source of evil in allof creation.
And all you have to do ismention the savior's name and he
has to obey and flee.
(11:02):
That is how powerful.
The name of Jesus Christ is.
So here's something to thinkabout.
If the name of Christ canovercome the greatest source of
evil in all of creation, and wehave access to that power, what
(11:23):
kind of power do we have toinvite the opposite into our
lives?
And if just speaking the name ofJesus Christ can bring such
incredible power, imagine thepower that can come into our
lives when we do more than justspeak his name.
(11:44):
What will happen when wefaithfully and intentionally
pray in his name, act in hisname, and take his name upon us?
This leads me to what I feel isincredibly important to make
clear in the next severalminutes we have together.
(12:05):
The adversary is trying todiminish the sacred ways we
bring the power of Jesus Christinto our lives.
This is part of the reason whyso many love to mock and
criticize things like thetemple, covenants, and the
wearing of the garments of theholy priesthood.
(12:28):
but from the creation of theworld, we see that the Lord did
not send us to a fallen worldwithout the power to overcome
it.
Adam and Eve made a really goodeffort to cover and protect
themselves by taking fig leavesand making aprons out of them.
(12:48):
That may have been sufficientfor the Garden of Eden, but that
would not protect them in thefallen world.
In mercy, Heavenly Father wouldnot, could not allow them to
leave without more protection.
So he, the Lord God, made coatsof skins and clothed them.
(13:09):
This was not just a physicalprotection, but symbolic of the
kind of spiritual protection andpower that can only come through
the name of the Lord JesusChrist.
So did God love Adam and Evemore than he loves us?
No, he loves all his children.
So does he offer us the samepower and protection?
(13:31):
Yes, he does.
Knowing this, would we not wantto do everything we can to bring
more of his power into ourlives?
When we had just the propanetank to light our home at night
We made do with it.
But when we were able to connectto a generator just a little
(13:54):
more power, even if it wasn'tavailable to us 24 hours a day,
man, the light a light bulbcould provide compared to that
gas lantern.
It was so much brighter.
I had no idea what I was missinguntil I had it.
We incrementally brought powerinto our home, and it opened new
(14:19):
possibilities for us each time.
This is how God's power works.
Elder Renlund explained, Webecome his disciples and
represent him well when weintentionally and incrementally
take on ourselves the name ofJesus Christ through covenants.
Close quote.
(14:39):
Access to the power of his namestarts small and grows.
Maybe it started for you thesame way it started for me.
Then I also started for mychildren when they were little.
As soon as they could talk,teaching them how to pray.
Not just to pray, but to pray inthe name of Jesus Christ.
(15:03):
I recognized that this was a bitunique when I would go to church
with my friends.
One of the first thing I noticeis that their prayers didn't
always end in the same way oursdid.
Sometimes they did, but in ourfaith, we end every single talk,
prayer in the name of JesusChrist.
(15:27):
What happens next from thisstart of learning to communicate
to our Heavenly Father in Hisname?
A belief within us starts togrow.
And typically the next thing wedo, as soon as we can walk up
and be tall enough to reach themicrophone at a pulpit, we
(15:48):
testify.
Another very unique thing aboutour faith.
I haven't been to any otherchurch where any child who wants
to can bear testimony of theirSavior.
And from this testimony grows adesire to make covenants with
(16:10):
God, to be baptized and receivethe gift of the Holy Ghost in
His name.
Not only in His name, butthrough His priesthood power.
And with that baptism, theweekly partaking of the
sacrament becomes all the moresignificant.
When we take the sacrament, wenot only take his name upon us,
(16:33):
but symbolically take his nameinside us.
We eat the bread.
We drink the water.
Taking his name internally.
And how important this weeklyreminder is.
I could feel it as young as whenI was a teenager, where if I
(16:53):
missed one or two Sundays, Inoticed something different in
my life.
As we continue to grow in thegospel, we make more covenants,
when we go to the temple, anopportunity not only to be
washed again, but to beanointed.
A great bestowal of power andcommitment in his name, his name
(17:16):
upon us from head to toe.
And then we are endowed withpower in his name, his name upon
our actions as we keep ourcovenants.
Now, we not only have thatweekly reminder of the
sacrament, but we have a dailyreminder wearing the temple
(17:37):
garment or the garment of theholy priesthood.
In his name, symbolic of hisname, literally upon us.
Do you see all this beautifulsymbolism, the name of our
savior, Jesus Christ, inside,outside, all around us, Because
as we make these covenants, weneed that extra power to keep
(18:00):
them.
And finally, families sealed inhis name.
husband and wife aren't justsealed to each other.
They are sealed together withJesus Christ.
We truly are given every avenueto always remember him.
(18:20):
So much of this is unique to theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints, but it's not uniqueto God's people.
In second Kings chapter 21,verse four, and he built altars
in the house of the Lord ofwhich the Lord said.
In Jerusalem, will I put myname.
(18:42):
so taking his name upon us as astart, but as president Emily
Bell Freeman said, what theordinance and our covenant
promise unlock also deserves thefocus of our attention.
Priesthood ordinances andcovenant promises allow God to
sanctify us and then workwonders in our lives.
(19:02):
Close quote.
As we make covenants with JesusChrist and keep them, the power
of his name can become so greatin our lives that the very image
of Jesus Christ is engraven uponour countenances.
And when this is the case, Satanhas zero power over us.
(19:26):
In Numbers 626, it says, TheLord lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put my name uponthe children of Israel, and I
will bless them.
And the savior has promised uswhen he said in that famous
scripture in the world, ye shallhave tribulation, but be of good
(19:51):
cheer.
I have overcome the world.
The term the world is anotherway of referring to Satan's
dominion.
So let me rephrase this verse tomake it a little more clear in
Satan's dominion.
You shall have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
(20:12):
I have overcome Satan.
And if Christ has overcomeSatan, that is who we want with
us all the time.
If he is with us, his spiritalways to be with us, Satan
cannot be in his presence.
Do you see why Satan is sodesperate to disarm us of this
(20:38):
power?
When we think of what has beenprophesied concerning the last
days, we all know aboutArmageddon, but forget about
Armageddon.
We are already in the greatestbattle in history.
Satan is on for attack, but.
(20:59):
Covenant keepers are at anastronomically unfair advantage.
Now another part of thisadvantage is because he has
called a prophet to speak in hisname and lead us in the name of
Christ, the only one on earthwho has authority to do so.
(21:24):
I love this example of theimportance of prophets during
battle in the scriptures.
In Alma chapter 48, CaptainMoroni has been through a lot of
war, but he's been promisedsomething.
If they are faithful in keepingthe commandments of God that He
(21:44):
would prosper them in the land,yea, warn them to flee, to
prepare for war according totheir danger, and also that God
would make it known unto themwhether they should go to defend
themselves against theirenemies, and by so doing the
Lord would deliver them.
(22:06):
So how did Captain Moroni knowwhere to go and what to do?
Well, he turned to the prophetAlma, gave him invaluable
information that helped them towin the war.
So what is our prophet tellingus?
Where do we need to go to defendourselves?
(22:29):
I don't know if he couldpossibly make this more clear.
Every single general conferencesince he has been prophet, he
has talked about the importanceof being in the temple.
He said, my dear brothers andsisters, the assaults of the
(22:49):
adversary are increasingexponentially in intensity and
in variety.
Our need to be in the temple ona regular basis has never been
greater.
And another time, he said, Hereis my promise.
Nothing will help you more tohold fast to the iron rod than
(23:11):
worshipping in the temple asregularly as your circumstances
permit.
Nothing will protect you more asyou encounter the world's mists
of darkness.
Nothing will bolster yourtestimony of the Lord Jesus
Christ and his atonement or helpyou understand God's magnificent
plan.
Nothing soothe your spirit moreduring times of pain.
(23:37):
Nothing will open the heavensmore.
Nothing.
If it isn't clear what thebattle plan is to overcome Satan
by the prophet's words, itshould be clear by the number of
temples that have been announcedall over the world.
(23:57):
The second coming of the Lord issoon.
We've been told to prepare forit, which means Satan's
desperation is at an all timehigh.
We have got to be prepared.
But as we make and keepcovenants in the temple, we
don't need to worry.
(24:17):
We will always be at an unfairadvantage.
Going back to Moroni, it remindsme of the unfair advantage
Moroni had against Zarahemnabecause of his covenants and
because of a prophet of God.
Listen to how Moroni's army wasarmed compared to Zarahemna's.
(24:41):
Had prepared his people withbreastplates and with arm
shields, yea, and also shieldsto fend their heads, and also
they were dressed with thickclothing.
Now, army of Zarahemna was notprepared with any such thing.
They had only their swords andtheir scimitars, and their bows
(25:02):
and their arrows, their stonesand their slings, and they were
naked, save it were a skin whichwas girded about their loins.
Can you imagine Zarahemna'sarmy's reaction when they met
for a battle and saw what theywere up against?
Zarahemna's army only hadweapons.
(25:22):
Zero armor.
But what if Zarahemna had said,Okay, hold up.
Time out.
This isn't fair.
Would you mind taking your armoroff first?
Um, no brainer.
I don't think there's any cleverwords he could have come up with
to get them to take off theirarmor.
But do we see what's happeningright now in this spiritual
(25:44):
battle?
Satan and his angels have noarmor.
Plenty of weapons, but still hispathetic power is nothing
against God's armor.
And we know his game planbecause of a prophet of God.
Satan is very aware of thatunfair advantage and he wants
(26:06):
that armor off.
It is his only chance.
we have been promised that thepower of the Lamb of God will
descend upon the covenant peopleof the Lord, and we will be
armed with righteousness andwith the power of God in great
glory.
Sadly, Satan is convincing someof God's people in such subtle
(26:29):
ways to take off the armor ofGod and hand it right over to
him.
He does not want the name ofChrist upon us.
He tries to remove it fromeverywhere he can.
He has even tried to remove thename of Christ from his church.
(26:49):
Can you see why this is suchimportant revelation that the
prophet received and howimportant it is for us to follow
that?
And how clever, Satan's littledeceptions.
He will slowly work backwards ateverything we've done in
Christ's name until little bylittle we are completely
(27:12):
stripped of it.
That is the only chance he has,because he is powerless if he
does not.
He wants the name of JesusChrist out of our families, out
of our marriages, so that he candestroy them.
And he'll do that by convincingus to turn away from the
covenants we've made.
Anything he can do to get us toattend the temple less, take the
(27:36):
sacrament less.
Pray less.
Wear our garments less.
Until the daily reminders,weekly reminders are gone.
He will stop at nothing untilthere is no belief, no power of
Christ's name left in your lifeso that you are his.
(28:00):
I've heard people try todiminish the power of these
things by saying, I don't haveto go into a building to
remember Christ.
I don't have to wear specialunderwear to have a relationship
with my savior.
I don't have to drink.
A little water, eat a littlebread to have Christ's power in
my life.
(28:20):
I'm sorry, but yes, you dobecause these things are done in
his power, priesthood power tohelp you overcome Satan.
To try to remember Christ andbring his power into your life
of your own abilities, is theequivalent of Adam and Eve
deciding to go out into thefallen world with only the
(28:41):
aprons they created and leavingGod's protection behind.
Sorry.
That's okay, Heavenly Father.
We've got enough right here.
God accepted their efforts, buttheir aprons were not created
with priesthood power, but theirown power.
What God creates is created inHis power and authority.
(29:05):
The coverings He made and putupon Adam and Eve were created
in His power and authority.
Now, God does not limit hispower to only members of the
church of Jesus Christ, butWithout priesthood ordinances,
anyone's full potential of poweris limited.
(29:28):
Yes, faith in Jesus Christ isstill powerful.
But just like the power that thegenerator provided my home
growing up was great and, andfit our basic needs.
It was still limited.
There were certain things wesimply could not do, even if we
wanted to.
In Matthew chapter seven, verses21 through 23, it says, not
(29:52):
everyone that say offend to meLord, Lord shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven, but he thatdoth the will of my father,
which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, and inthy name have cast out devils,
thy name done many wonderfulworks?
(30:13):
And then I will profess untothem, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that workiniquity.
And from the Joseph Smithtranslation, we know that he
actually said, you never knewme.
When I first studied theseverses, I thought, man, that's
kind of harsh.
These people are doing goodthings.
(30:34):
Why is the Lord rejecting them?
Then I started to understandthere are a lot of good meaning
people that use the name ofChrist to build up their own
churches.
But the name of Christ can onlybe fully taken on or put upon
someone through priesthoodauthority.
(30:57):
In D& C 6362, it says, Forbehold, verily I say, that many
there be who are under thiscondemnation, who use the name
of the Lord, and use it in vain,having not authority.
It's like all that wiring my dadput in our house, the outlets,
the appliances, were only asgood as the power source that
(31:20):
was connected to it.
This authority from God, allthat his priesthood power
brings, is just like thatconnection to the power line.
But even though I vividlyremember the excitement and the
novelty of being able to flip aswitch whenever I wanted and
(31:41):
light coming on and howelectricity changed my life,
now, I don't even think aboutelectricity.
I totally take it for granted.
This can easily happen with thepower of Christ in our lives.
We have done all the things sooften, we are just going through
(32:02):
the motions and forget howsignificant and life changing
The power that we have access toreally is.
We can have this power and nottake full advantage of it.
When we first got electricity,my parents went out and
purchased a dishwasher.
(32:23):
But guess what?
It never got hooked up.
And we continued washing dishesin the same way we always had.
We had a microwave, but I feltthe buttons were kind of
confusing, and so I just didn'tbother using it.
President Emily Bell Freemansaid, Learn how priesthood
ordinances and covenant promiseswill allow God's power to flow
(32:47):
into your life with greaterefficacy, working in and through
you, empowering and equippingyou to reach your full purpose
and potential.
So, it's good to ask ourselves,is there a power we aren't
taking advantage of because ithas become routine, or it feels
confusing, or we just want tostick with our old and
(33:08):
comfortable ways?
If we have the desire tounderstand and use the power
we've been endowed with, Godwill answer.
I could record a zillionpodcasts on this topic, but
here's just one example.
This complacency happened to mewith my temple garments.
I put them on every day, but Irarely stopped to think about
(33:32):
their significance.
Until the Spirit taught mesomething that helps me better
understand their power.
This happened at a time where Iwas experiencing a lot of
depression and I was trying tolearn how to be more positive.
I came across several differentstudies on the effects of
(33:52):
positive versus negative words.
And then I found the mostfascinating video.
It was of an experiment thatthey put on in a high school
where they took two identicalplants and placed them in the
high school hallways.
(34:13):
These plants both had the exactsame amount of light and water,
but there was one difference intheir care.
On one plant was a sign thatinstructed the students to
criticize and insult and speakunkind words to that plant.
(34:33):
The other plant had a sign thatinstructed the students to only
give that plant praise and kindwords.
The result was mind blowing.
The plant that was gettingcriticism turned brown and
started to wither away and die.
(34:55):
The plant that received thepositive words thrived and grew
and stood tall.
Learning about that experiencereally taught me the
significance of positive versusnegative thoughts and how they
can truly affect us.
It made me think of the negativesuggestions from the adversary I
(35:16):
was fighting on what felt like aconstant basis compared to the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit.
I joked with myself that maybe Ishould just get a Sharpie and
write a bunch of powerfulthoughts all over my body.
Honestly, I found myself wishingand praying for something simple
(35:39):
like that to help strengthen andprotect me from Satan's negative
influence.
And as I pondered it, the wordscame into my mind.
What do you think your garmentsare for?
Really, is there any morepowerful and positive word or
name you could place on yourbody?
(36:00):
I think wearing my garments hadbecome so habitual that I didn't
even recognize its power andeffect.
This indifference is warned ofin the scriptures as the
Israelites were given a symbolof Jesus Christ, the brass
serpent, and he had prepared away that they might be healed,
and the labor which they had toperform was to look, and because
(36:21):
of the simpleness of the way, orthe easiness of it, there were
many who perished what a gift Ihad been given in putting
something on my body to bring tomy mind the power of my covenant
relationship with my SaviorJesus Christ the very definition
of positivity light life powerand to be able to start every
(36:44):
single day of my life for thelast 27 years with a positive
action of faith like putting onmy temple garments it was a huge
mindset shift to me how thissimple diligent action
cultivates faith and positivityand in effect brings miracles
(37:06):
and protection that I may noteven be completely aware of.
There are simple things thatSpirit can teach us in this
journey that will help us accessmore power in the name of
Christ.
One more thing I want to sharein conclusion.
We all effectually partook ofthe fruit for the same reason
(37:30):
Adam and Eve did.
We desire knowledge.
Satan has played on that desirefor knowledge from the beginning
of time and has offeredknowledge that is so calculated
that it can be incredibly hardto discern truth from error.
So hard to discern that God weptat the number of children that
(37:52):
fell for Satan's lies.
His children are still fallingfor Satan's lies, lies that are
pulling people away from therestored gospel of Jesus Christ.
One of those gifts, when we takethe name of Christ upon us is
the gift to discern.
But if we remove his name fromus, we also remove that gift.
(38:14):
Just give it time.
And over years of smalldeceptions You can end up in a
place that you would have nevergone, had you only known where
it would end from the beginning.
One thing that is true aboutSatan is that he is always
lying.
Lying about something.
(38:35):
So think about this.
Either Satan is leading all thenaysayers of the church and
creating lies to help you leaveyour covenants and all you do in
the name of Christ, or Satan isleading this church and lying to
you to try and get you to alwaysremember Christ through prayer,
(38:56):
baptism, sacrament, templecovenants that help us love,
serve, and increase in faith.
Can you tell me why in the worldSatan would try to get you to do
the latter?
You can't, because he wouldn't.
It's absolutely ludicrous, andactually impossible, because
it's against his very nature hecannot endure things that bring
(39:21):
the light of Christ.
When we just had a generator forpower, we didn't turn it on at a
certain time each day.
We would just go through ourday, keep doing our work until
someone recognized that it wastoo dark.
And even then, there were timesthat we would turn it on and It
(39:42):
wouldn't work.
It wasn't always reliable.
So that is why we took advantageof the more reliable power when
we had the opportunity.
As this world gets darker anddarker, before the second
coming, More and more peoplewill wake up and start realizing
that we need more light and willseek and do whatever they can to
(40:06):
access it and share it.
And more and more people willhave this promise in Doctrine
and Covenants section 190.
Thy servants may go forth fromthis house armed with thy power,
and that thy name may be uponthem, thy glory be round about
them, and thine angels havecharge over them.
That no weapon formed againstthem shall prosper, and he who
(40:31):
diggeth a pit for them shallfall into the same himself.
That no combination ofwickedness shall have power to
rise up and prevail over thypeople, upon whom thy name shall
be put in this house.
So let me reiterate.
In Doctrine and Covenants 1823,it says, Behold, Jesus Christ is
(40:52):
the name which is given of theFather, and there is none other
name given whereby man can besaved.
If it is His name that is theonly one that saves, would we
not want to take advantage ofany and everything that brings
His name into our lives in moreabundance?
(41:16):
Now, can I give you a fewsuggestions if you would like to
study the power of the name ofChrist yourself?
First, there is a topic in thetopical guide called Name of the
Lord.
It's a great study.
(41:37):
And as you ponder things to askHeavenly Father as you pray,
perhaps ask him to help yourecognize what you have in your
life because you have taken thename of Christ upon you.
and ask, how can I bring more ofthe power of Jesus Christ, of
(41:57):
his name, into my life?
Christ is power and protection.
Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
it's just as important to bephysically prepared as it is to
(42:18):
be spiritually prepared.
And Thrive Life is the easiestand most delicious way to help
you do that.
It is food with a 25 year shelflife and all you do is set up a
delivery with a budget thatworks for you and you are slowly
able to build up a supply offood for whatever may come.
(42:39):
So go to amber.thrivelife.command set up a delivery to get 15
percent off retail and freeshipping on orders of a hundred
dollars or more.
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.