The Thirteenth Article of Faith states: “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.”
Now, being given this as a topic for a talk can be a little intimidating since there is so much in there that you can give a talk on. But the one thing I want to point out and emphasize (and thus make it the subject of my talk) would be the last line, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this is the gospel of action. Certainly, we can’t be “casual Christians” and expect to receive many of the blessings that the Lord has to offer; we have to go after them. I love the admonition to “seek”. It definitely doesn’t say: “We might seek after these things” or “We seek after these things….if it’s convenient or popular, or else others might think we not cool”. No…more is expected and required.
Here are a few examples of those that sought after righteous things:
NEPHI: Put yourself in Nephi’s place: Your father is the prophet and has just prophesied that Jerusalem will soon be taken captive by Babylon. Despite the wealth and goods his family had, they chose to leave anyway. Your family is turning somewhat dysfunctional with two of your older brothers rebelling and causing lots of trouble. Certainly for Nephi it would have been pretty easy to side with his brothers and join in on the troublemaking. But Nephi believed his father and had faith in God. In 1 Nephi 2:16 it reads, “And it came to pass that I Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord: and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.” Nephi sought to learn more about the Lord, and we can see by further reading the kind of person he became.
JOSEPH SMITH: Joseph sought of God which of all the churches was true, and simply put, 13 million+ members and numerous temples across the Earth are all evidence of Joseph seeking out truth.
JESUS CHRIST: Obviously, Christ is the perfect example for all good things. With everything that Christ did in His life; the miracles, the teachings, and the Atonement, theres a scripture that can sum it up. In Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Christ went about doing good because of His love for all.
Soooo….what should we seek out???
1.) Seek the Kingdom of God before riches: In Jacob 2:18-19, the prophet Jacob counsels, “But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good--to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” Sometimes we may get caught up in the desire for money, that we could start to neglect going to church or paying our tithing or serving a mission. When we put God first, then other things will fall into place.
2.) Seek learning: D&C 88:118, “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Going to school and seeking higher education help us with our future. Also studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets and apostles can be great in increasing our knowledge of the Gospel.
3.) Seek gifts of the Spirit: D&C 46: 9, “For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon our lusts.” We are all given gifts of the Spirit from God. Want to know what they are? Pray for them and find out how you can develop and strengthen them.
4.) Seek good friends: In October 2000 General Conference, Neal A. Maxwell said, “Whether young or old, we need to be good friends, but also to pick our friends carefully. By choosing the Lord first, choosing one's friends becomes easier and much safer. Consider the contrasting friendships in the city of Enoch compared to peers in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah! The citizens of the city of Enoch chose Jesus and a way of life, then became everlasting friends. So much depends on whom and what we seek first.” The friends we chose to surround ourselves with can have a big impact on us now and later on in our lives. We ourselves can be good friends to others, too.
5.) Seek the Temple: Elder Gary E. Stevenson said, “You are never lost when you can see the Temple.” President Monson followed, “As we touch the Temple, the Temple will touch us.” When we seek to go to the Temple or keep the Temple a big part of our lives, we can learn more about our Heavenly Father and cultivate the blessing of families being together forever.
My testimony is similar to that of Moroni, “Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.” (Moroni 7:19) As we “seek out these things”, we will be blessed. We will certainly know the importance of “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
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