My talk 2 Nephi 31:20

I have to give a talk. I hate getting up in front of people and speaking, it makes me shiver. But here is my 5 minutes of time to espouse my knowledge of 2 Nephi 31:20. Pray that I'll get through it will ya.

Good morning brothers and sisters, I am incredibly grateful for the topic I have been given to talk about. It’s actually something that is dear to my heart, so I just hope that I can get through the talk without turning into a blubbering mess.

O My Father, thou that dwellest, in the high and glorious place, when shall I regain thy presence and again behold thy face? In thy holy habitation did my spirit once reside. In my first primeval childhood was I nurtured near thy side.

When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you in your royal courts on high? Then at length when I've completed all you sent me forth to do, with your mutual approbation let me come and dwell with you.

Several years ago my father passed away. One of the hardest things I have had to endure was to watch his physical body deteriorate. Yet it was also a time where his spiritual body grew from strength to strength, as his testimony of the Saviour flourished and he drew strength from and love from the Lord, to help in his state of physical unwellness. It was a blessing to be able to draw from that spiritual strength for myself as well.

When he was confined to hospital, every Sunday without fail, two of the young men in the ward served him the sacrament. My testimony of the sacrament was strengthened not only because of their wonderful examples, but also because of the great humbleness and joy in which my father received it. My testimony of eternal life and the Plan of Salvation was also strengthened, as my father knew the importance of the sacrament and the wonderful blessing it was for us to partake of it, not only to renew our covenants but to remember our Saviour and the eternal blessings we are able to receive because of Him.

Those who knew my father knew he was very talented in the arts, he could draw, he could sing, he could paint, he could write. As he got sicker he wrote more and more poetry, the themes of his poems started centring on the eternities. One poem that he wrote made an impact on me and strengthened my hope in seeing Him again. It is called.

Portions of Eternity

As I partake of emblems blessed
My portion small,
I see a woman of Samaria
Replenishing from Jacob’s well.
He who observes, requests to drink.
She to this stranger hesitates.
“Art thou greater than he who
Pledged this well?”
With godly tones of eternity
The Nazarene replies,
“Whosoever drinketh of this water
Shall thirst again,
But whosoever drinketh of the water
I shall give him shall never thirst.”

I close my eyes to remember why
He bled for me.
Boldly is my mind impressed
With the conversation at the well.
The stranger’s gift have tasted I,
The sweetness of eternal life
Supping in portions small.

What a wonderful blessing of knowledge we as members of the church have of eternal life. After my father died, the hospital in good faith, sent us many handouts about dealing with grief and sent many pamphlets about support groups. We respectfully declined them all. One of the nuns spoke to me about her amazement how we were handling my fathers death, as she was used to seeing loved ones despair and become distraught beyond consolation as their loved ones passed away. Don’t get me wrong we shed many tears when my Dad died. But after explaining to her our belief and our knowledge of eternal life, she understood that that was the difference. We have a hope and a belief that we will be with him again. There are many people in the world who do not have this hope or belief.

Nephi tells us what we must do after we are baptised, to obtain this gift.

2 Nephi 31:20 reads.
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. How do we accomplish that? The footnotes guide us to “commitment” “dedication” “perseverance” “walk with God”. How committed are we as we daily go about our lives to make right choices, How dedicated are we in living the commandments to our best ability, How long are we willing to persevere in our trials and tribulations, How many times throughout the day do we think of the Saviour and live our lives so that His spirit can abide with us.

A perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. Are we able to have a perfect brightness of hope without a love of God and of all men. Remember the story of the rich young man who came to Christ.

From Matthew 19:16 We read.
16 ¶ And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 aHonour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

So after attaining a perfection in keeping all of the commandments the young man still lacked in something.

The Saviour went on to say.

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: [most importantly] and come and efollow me.

How important is it for us to lay our treasures aside and to follow the Saviour and his teachings. We cannot let ourselves be caught up so readily in worldly pursuits and possessions that we forget our fellow man, our neighbours, our family or our eternal goals.

press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end.
The scriptures are filled with stories of righteous men and women who have endured. Most notably would be Job who endured many physical tests and endured them well. The scriptures describe him as a one who was perfect and upright and who feared God and eschewed evil. If ever we feel our burdens becoming heavy, we should be reminded of Job and the example he set as he endured through his trials, and yet not once did he speak against God, even as those around him questioned his faith, he was steadfast in his testimony of God and of the eternal reward available to him.

Job 19
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:


Henry B. Eyring, spoke about endurance, he said:
But the test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us. And to endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation, and whatever the tumult around us. We have that clear understanding because the restored gospel makes the plan of happiness so plain.

That clarity lets us see what help we need. We need strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. For some it may be poverty, but for others it may be prosperity. It may be the ravages of age or the exuberance of youth. The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Heavenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us?

Knowing why we are tested and what the test is tells us how to get help. We have to go to God. He gives us the commandments. And we will need more than our own strength to keep them.


Brothers and Sisters I have a strong testimony of the Plan of Salvation and of Eternal Life, it keeps me grounded and it helps me to try to stay strong as I face my daily challenges. I’m so grateful for the Plan that has been laid before us and especially grateful that Heavenly Father is there to help guide us, lift us up and carry us along as we try too accomplish our eternal goals. I look forward to the time that I can once again meet my loved ones. Especially my father, the reward will be great.
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.