Holding On and Letting Go ~ Part One

    Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 
this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a BYU (Brigham Young University) Hawaii Devotional from September 2019, and it is called "Holding On and Letting Go" by Elder L. Todd Budge. This post is part one, and I would like to share with you some highlights whilst I was reading the Devotional. Elder Budge has mentioned the following; "... I bring the greetings of our dear prophet, the other members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. 

I am sure they would rather be here today, but I am very grateful that they assigned me to come and represent them. I hope you had the opportunity to hear or read President Russell M. Nelson’s remarks to the young adults
of the church given last week. He expressed his profound love for you. He also testified of the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for you, and of their desire for you to be happy.”

The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob taught: “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” Do you believe it? Do you really believe that our purpose is to have joy? Now I will add one word to this verse, and see if you still believe it. “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy now.”

Do you believe that God and Jesus Christ want us to be happy now, in this life? ... In other words, we will not be restored from a state of unhappiness to a state of happiness. This implies that the gospel is designed to make us happy now, and to prepare us for even greater joy in the eternities.

... President Nelson has taught that it really is possible to have joy in a fallen world. He boldly proclaimed that, “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation…and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him.

"IT HURTS TO LET GO, but sometimes it
hurts more to hold on."

He is the source of all joy.” President Nelson makes it clear that joy has less to do with the circumstances of our lives and more to do with what we choose to be the focus of our lives. ... Apostle Elder Gerrit W. Gong declared, “Together, our covenants and our Savior’s Atonement enable and ennoble.

Together, they help us hold on and let go. Together they sweeten, bless, sanctify, and redeem.” As I listened to his words, the phrase “hold on and let go” caught my attention. I began to ponder in my mind what we need to hold on to and what we need to let go of to experience the joy God desires for us in this life. 

So, let’s consider together some of the things I learned as I studied what prophets and apostles have admonished us to hold on to and let go of in order to have joy. First let’s consider four things we have been admonished to let go. ...

First, let go of sin. 

This sounds quite obvious but how many of us are still holding tightly to our favorite sins? ... To give away all of our sins we must give up the idea that following our way is better than following God’s commandments. Wickedness never was happiness. Which sins are you holding on to, or which sins have ahold of you? 

.. Resolve today to turn to Christ. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and want you to be happy. Last week President Nelson said, “They will do anything within Their power that does not violate your agency or Their laws to help you…” Through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement we can become free of the chains of sin both large and small. Let go of the sins which rob you of the joy He and our Heavenly Father desire for you!

Second, once repentance has taken place, let go of any remaining guilt. 

The purpose of physical pain is to alert us to injury or disease. Likewise, the purpose of guilt is to cause spiritual pain or disease which alerts us to the need for repentance. Without guilt we would all be spiritual lepers oblivious to the sting of sin. However, once we have repented of our sins, we need to trust that the Lord has forgiven us and then forgive ourselves. 

Lingering guilt can turn to shame and rob us of joy. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive as well as perhaps the one who is most in need of our forgiveness is the person looking back at us in the mirror.”

... My dear friends, let us repent of failing to trust in God’s power and willingness to forgive us of our sins. ... If you have repented with full purpose of heart and real intent and continue to struggle with guilt, let go so that your guilt will not interfere with your joy."

Stay Tuned next time.