I Believe That We Will Win

Saturday was another fun exciting day of college football. Here in the U.S. College students are very passionate about their teams in every season but especially football and basketball. The rivalry games are always exciting and fun to watch. Some of the games that I was watching closely include our hometown Aggies of Utah State University as they went up against Arkansas State (USU loses a close one in overtime), my alma mater Brigham Young University as they hosted Virginia (BYU 41 Virginia 33), The University of Utah as they take on Michigan (Utah 26 Michigan 10) and the Oregon Ducks as they defeated Washington State (Oregon 38 Washington State 31). If you are not a sports fan, stay with me I will be making my point soon.

Every team going into a sports contest believes that they can win. Some may be a long shot but they all have a hope of victory. Most teams have their chants and cheers that attempt to excite the fans and encourage their teams on to victory. My favorites include Maryland students doing their “Flash Mob and Harlem Shake”, the Clemson football team’s traditional entry into their football stadium, the Wisconsin Jump Around, and of course there is the famous Utah State University “I Believe That We Will Win” chant before every game.

Without the hope of wining teams would seldom agree to play another team. Even if it is a David vs Goliath contest (which the underdog won) teams that are the underdog relies on the memories of the ones that beat their goliath opponent and know they have a chance.

We are all in a similar situation everyday. We are either on the Lord’s team or are opposing the Lord. This is more than a sporting contest, it is a war and our eternal souls are the center of the battle. Elder Ezra Taft Benson in 1979 spoke about this when he spoke to the students at Brigham Young University:

“Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good pick up new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions that show where our support will go. The final outcome is certain—the forces of righteousness will finally win. What remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this fight—and how tall we will stand. Will we be true to our last-days, foreordained mission?

“My beloved brothers and sisters, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” and so can you. You are a royal generation. The heavenly grandstands are cheering you on. We are fast coming to the close of this game. The opposition is real and is scoring. But we have scored, we are scoring, and we will score in the future. The Lord is our coach and manager. His team will win, and we can be a valiant part of it if we so desire. Rise up, O youth of Zion! You hardly realize the great divine potential that lies within you. May you all follow your leader, Jesus Christ, and increase mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially, I pray for all of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.” (“In His Steps”, Ezra Taft Benson, BYU Devotional, March 4, 1979)

One of the differences in this war that is different than any other contest is that we can switch sides depending on whom we are following. If we are obedient to the Lord and his commandments we are on his team. Everyone that has been born here in mortality lived in heaven with God and Christ before coming here. We were on the Lord’s team there and helped defeat Lucifer and his followers and earned the right to be born and receive a body. Here in this life if we are not keeping the commandments or following the prophet, we are on Satan’s team and oppose the Lord and this team. But because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can repent and change sides back to the Lord’s team again. Elder Holland spoke of this in a general conference address in 2011. He said:

“I especially ask the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood to sit up and take notice. For you, let me mix in an athletic analogy. This is a life-and-death contest we are in, young men, so I am going to get in your face a little, nose to nose, with just enough fire in my voice to singe your eyebrows a little—the way coaches do when the game is close and victory means everything. And with the game on the line, what this coach is telling you is that to play in this match, some of you have to be more morally clean than you now are. In this battle between good and evil, you cannot play for the adversary whenever temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple and mission time as if nothing has happened. That, my young friends, you cannot do. God will not be mocked.

“So we have a dilemma tonight, you and I. It is that there are thousands of Aaronic Priesthood–age young men already on the records of this Church who constitute our pool of candidates for future missionary service. But the challenge is to have those deacons, teachers, and priests stay active enough and worthy enough to be ordained elders and serve as missionaries. So we need young men already on the team to stay on it and stop dribbling out of bounds just when we need you to get in the game and play your hearts out! In almost all athletic contests of which I know, there are lines drawn on the floor or the field within which every participant must stay in order to compete. Well, the Lord has drawn lines of worthiness for those called to labor with Him in this work. No missionary can be unrepentant of sexual transgression or profane language or pornographic indulgence and then expect to challenge others to repent of those very things! You can’t do that. The Spirit will not be with you, and the words will choke in your throat as you speak them. You cannot travel down what Lehi called “forbidden paths”⁵ and expect to guide others to the “strait and narrow”⁶ one—it can’t be done.” (“We Are All Enlisted”, Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference, October 2011)

Choosing to be on the Lord’s side is a decision we need to make everyday. Choosing to obey the Lord’s commandments keeps us on the Lord’s side and out of the reach of Satan. We cannot give in to those on Satan’s team that are trying to convince us to change our moral standards, to convince us it is ok to stray just a little or to question those who are leading the Lord’s team here. We need to be worthy to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion to warn us when we are straying from the Lord’s side and changing the color of our jersey.

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke about this war. He said it started in heaven and was described by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

“And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:7–9).

President Hinckley then said:

“That war, so bitter, so intense, has gone on, and it has never ceased. It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him. His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict. They’ve indulged in lying and deceit. They’ve employed money and wealth. They’ve tricked the minds of men. They’ve murdered and destroyed and engaged in every other unholy and impure practice to thwart the work of Christ…

“The war goes on. It is waged across the world over the issues of agency and compulsion. It is waged by an army of missionaries over the issues of truth and error. It is waged in our own lives, day in and day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of obedience and integrity. We are all involved in it—men and boys, each of us. We are winning, and the future never looked brighter.” (“The War We Are Winning”, Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1986)

There is a hymn that we often sing about this war between good and evil:

Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
We wage no common war,
Cope with no common foe.
The enemy's awake;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

[Chorus]
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who's on the Lord's side? Who? (LDS Hymnbook, Hymn #260)

As the Apostle Paul counseled the Ephesians we need to put on the “whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11-18) if we are to stand against the devil. That armor includes the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit and other things that Paul describes. This armor will help protect us and remind us what we are fighting for. In the end we know who the winning team will be, it will be the Lord Jesus Christ and all those that are on his team. That future has been determined and will not change. The only thing we need to do is decide whose side we are on and fight each day to stay on the Lord’s side. There will be times when we lose our way and switch sides, but when that happens all is not lost. No matter what we have done while on Satan’s team we can always trade in our jerseys of sin and disobedience and be forgiven through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our Savior stands waiting for us to return to him and he has designed the winning play that will end the game in victory for him and all those that where his jersey.

As long as I stay on the Lord's Team, not only do I believe that we will win. I know we will win.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Our Hearts Did Burn

After Christ was crucified and rose the third day. He appeared to two disciples as they walked on the road to Emmaus. They had been talking about what had happened over the last few days. They described what had happened and that they thought Jesus was the one that would redeem Israel, but he had been dead for three days and now some were saying he was no longer dead. When Christ taught them the scriptures related to his death and resurrection they wanted to know more and invited Jesus to dine with them. It wasn’t until he broke the bread and blessed it and gave it to them, that they recognized the Lord. The scripture said:

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:32)

Today I had one of those experiences where my heart did burn as I listened to an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I attended a Priesthood Leadership Conference for the Stake Presidencies, Bishops and Elders Quorum Presidents of all the student stakes here in Logan, Utah.  Here in Logan we have eight young single adult stakes and two married student stakes. I serve as one of the bishops in a married student stake. I was one of about 130 leaders in attendance. We had the opportunity to be taught by Elder Jeffery R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Craig C. Christensen, a member of the presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Dean M. Davies, 2^nd Counselor in the Presiding Bishop and Elder Bryan R. Larsen our Area Seventy. It was a spiritual experience that I will never forget and I can say as the disciples did while Christ taught them, my heart did burn as the Holy Ghost bore testimony to me that these brethren were there representing the Lord Jesus Christ whom we all serve.

Elder Holland talked about the growth of the church and how it is getting difficult for the twelve to get around to stake conferences as much as they did in years past.  He said that if there was no more growth in the church, with the number of stakes in the church, it would take 30 years for them to get to all the stakes so it is in Priesthood Leadership Conferences like this one that they get to meet with the leaders. He expressed his appreciation and the Lord’s love for the brethren that lead the stakes and wards in the church. Based on a revelation to a teenage boy (Joseph Smith) the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a church of volunteer leadership. Each of the leaders has families and professional lives that are busy and yet they willingly give many hours in service to God’s Kingdom and the members of the church. Some of the counsel he gave was:

“Brethren, you are not called to be administrators, we are called to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to get to the hearts of the people. You are not called to be managers, you are called to be shepherds, you are called to be disciples, and you are called to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. After every meeting, after every interview and contact ask yourself did I build faith. If not, you need to ask why did we do it? If it doesn’t build faith, if it doesn’t point them to Jesus Christ and enhance salvation, then why are we doing it? There may be some things we need to do that doesn’t build faith, but I cannot think of many things so be a shepherd. In all that we do we must cultivate faith and build people’s conviction of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“There is going to come a time of sifting, a wheat and tares thing. The wheat and the tares have been allowed to grow together, but the closer we get to apocalyptic hours there is going to be a sifting. What it is going to take any man, women, or child is to have a burning conviction in our souls, deep in the marrow of our bones, that this is God’s truth. There is not a lot of discussion about that, there are things to sort out, there are things to learn, things to do and things to improve, but THIS IS GOD’s TRUTH. Until we know that and we can declare that we will be at risk. This is war, we have an enemy and it is real. This is not dress rehearsal time, the play is on and we are in the second act already. We have got to strengthen each other in the only way we can and that is to have the burning conviction of the truth of Jesus Christ and his divinity and all that goes with that.

“I do not know when the second coming of Jesus Christ will be, but it is coming. We are 24 hours closer than we were yesterday. It started in the spring of 1820 and it is coming. Whenever that final time will come, we need to get to a place of security in our testimony and then turn around and help the next generation to get there.

“How do we build faith, how do we get conversion, how do we get the fire in our bones? That is the only way it will work and we need to do it with as many as we can.” (Priesthood Leadership Conference, Logan Utah Student Stakes, September 13, 2014)

Elder Christensen spoke about how the Lord is hastening his work in our time. He told of how his son and daughter-in-law met and married. They both had attended BYU and were in the same singles ward together. They did not have much to do with each other at that time. They both went to the same graduate school in Virginia and he was called as a counselor in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency and she was called as the Relief Society President. It was there that they saw each other as they were serving and ministering to others. It was in that environment that they saw each other in a more spiritual experience and they fell in love and married. We need to provide opportunities for our members to serve in callings and grow.

He quoted from Doctrine and Covenants section 88:73 “Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.” He asked who was the person that was doing the hastening? It is the Lord. We sometimes think we need to get to work and do it, but it is the Lord that is hastening his work and we assist in that process. Hastening is a matter of velocity and magnitude and it includes both. The Lord is preparing his children to be receptive of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He testified that this work has everlasting consequences and it is up to us to take it to other people.

Bishop Davies spoke of when he was called along with Bishop Stevenson and Bishop Causse to be in the presiding bishopric. He and Bishop Causse had never served as s bishop. They both had served as a stake president but never a bishop. When they were set apart as a member of the presiding bishopric they were first ordained to the office of a bishop and then as a member of the presiding bishopric.

He spoke about how at the time of King Benjamin’s address to the people they had young children that grew up not believing the things he taught and they were not members of the church. He talked about what we need to do teach our families so the rising generation will believe. We need to teach our families to have faith in God the Eternal Father, in his Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. We also need to teach the doctrines of Christ and his atonement and faith in the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. These are the things we need to concentrate on.

At the end of the meeting Elder Holland again expressed his love for those that were in the meeting. He also said that because he is called by the Lord and represents him he also expresses the love that our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have for us. God also called us to our callings and we represent him in our stakes and wards and we need to tell the members how much God loves them.

To hear that testimony from an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and the other brethren, it did cause my heart to burn. What a blessing it was to be there and be instructed in our duty as members and leaders in the Lord’s church.

I know these men as well as all those that serve with them are called of God by prophecy from him. I also know that the calling I have as one of the bishops in this student stake has come from God. I know he lives and that His Son Jesus Christ lives, that he died and rose again the third day. I know that there is more to this life and after we die we will live again. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored again in these days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God and that it is another testament that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I know we have a prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.

I also know anyone can know the truth of all things and that God will cause your heart to burn if you will seek him in prayer and obey his commandments.

Your comments and questions are welcome. 

I Love to See the Temple

One of the songs that LDS Children love to sing in Primary is “I Love to See the Temple”. The words are:

1. I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

2. I love to see the temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll cov'nant with my Father;
I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A fam'ly is forever. (Children’s Songbook, #95)

Yesterday my wife and two grandsons went to the Ogden, Utah Temple Open House. It was a beautiful day and we were blessed to be able to go right in. There were no long lines as there had been on other days. We were told by one of the guides that yesterday there were 13,000 visitors that went through after 5pm. People had to wait four hours to get to go in the temple. When a temple is first built or remodeled an open house is held and anyone, members and non-members are welcome to tour the temple. If you ever have the opportunity to go to an open house I encourage you to go.

The Ogden Temple was originally dedicated in 1972 and was the 5^th temple in Utah and 14^th in the Church. The rededication will be Sunday, September, 21^st. It is located in downtown Ogden, Utah and is very different than the original design.

Original Design

Ogden Temple Today

“From the days of the Old Testament, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples-sacred structures where He could teach, guide, and bless them. For example, the Lord told the Israelites to build a portable tabernacle that would be their temple while they traveled in the wilderness (see Exodus 26-27; 40:35). Additional Old Testament references to temples are found in 2 Chronicles 5:1-14; 7:1-2 (Temple of Solomon) and Ezra 3:1-13; 6:3 (Temple of Zerubbabel).” (“Why Latter-day Saints Built Temples”)

The first temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in Kirtland, Ohio (dedicated in 1836). After the Saints were driven from Ohio and Missouri they settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. There they built the Nauvoo Temple and it was dedicated in 1846 as the Saints were driven out of Illinois to go West to Salt Lake City. A few days after the Saint arrived in Salt Lake a temple spot was dedicated. It took 40 years to build that temple. While they were building the Salt Lake Temple three others were completed first the one in St. George (1877), then the one in Logan (1884) and then Manti (1888). The Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893.

Unlike meeting houses where anyone, regardless of religion, are welcome temples are sacred and are considered the House of the Lord and only LDS members that are in good standing are allowed to enter.

“Latter-day Saint temples are considered houses of God, places of holiness and peace separate from the preoccupations of the world. They provide a place where Church members make formal promises and commitments to God. They are also the place where the highest sacraments of the faith occur — the marriage of couples and the "sealing" of families for eternity. Temples serve as the only place where ceremonies such as baptism and eternal marriage can be performed in behalf of those who have died — a practice that Latter-day Saints believe was followed in New Testament times but that later was lost (1 Corinthians 15:29).

“Temples point Latter-day Saints to Jesus Christ and their eventual life with Him, their Heavenly Father and their family members on the condition of faithfulness to Christ’s teachings.” (“More Information aboutTemples”)

In the temple members of the LDS Church are instructed in how to better follow Jesus Christ. We make covenants to live the law of obedience, sacrifice, to live chaste lives and to live the law of consecration. Couples are married in the temple for time and all eternity, not just until death separates them. Families that were not married in the temple can be sealed and have their children sealed to them as well.

Ogden Temple Sealing Room

After members receive instruction and make covenants they enter the celestial room. The celestial room is one of the most beautiful rooms in the temple and symbolizes the peace and joy found in the kingdom of God.

Ogden Temple Celestial Room

In the temple, baptisms and other ordinances are performed by the living on behalf of those who have died. These ordinances extend the saving grace of Jesus Christ to all. This service is a gift offered in love – and those who have passed on are free to accept or refuse it.

Ogden Temple Baptismal Font

A Female Episcopal Priest described her feelings as she toured the Liberty, Missouri temple:

“Mormons go to temples to be close to God. Much like the ancient Jewish people believed God lived at the heart of the temple in Jerusalem, Mormons believe that followers can meet God most intimately in the temple.

“(the Celestial Room) was a simple room yet ornate at the same time, all white with sparkling crystal chandeliers, large mirrors, and plump sofas and chairs reminiscent of those that must have existed in Joseph Smith's day. Our guide asked us to be silent and said we were welcome to sit wherever we liked and take a moment to pray. So I sat down on a sofa that seemed to envelop me, folded my hands on my lap and closed my eyes.

“Like Dante, who saw God face to face but had no words to describe the encounter, I have few words to describe what I felt in that moment. But I can say this: While it did not convert me, nor did it make me want to be a Mormon, the silence and peace I felt reminded me of the many other times I've felt close to God, whether in an Episcopal cathedral, in a clear, warm ocean or in my ratty old car. And because of that, I came to understand why temples exist and why they are so important to Mormons across the world.” (“A Female Episcopal Priest Visits a Mormon Temple”, Huffington Post, March 22, 2012).

No matter what temple we go to , I love to see the temple. I love feeling close to my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I love to sit in the celestial room and seek answers to the questions I I have and listen for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I know that the temples are the House of the Lord and that they are sacred and holy.

To learn more about LDS temples and take a video tour, click on the link below.

Your comments and questions are welcome. To leave a comment click on the no comments link below.

I Have Value

Recently I have been thinking of why God would care enough to know me or hear and answer my prayers. There are so many more important things going on in the world that he has to deal with, does he really care about me? Moses when he was shown the creation of this earth said: “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing..” (Moses 1:10) William Lund spoke to the students at BYU about the number of galaxies that the Hubble telescope has captured:

“The Pinwheel Galaxy, which is 25 million light years from us, contains 100 billion stars, smaller than the 300 billion of our own galaxy. Pointing Hubble Telescope to what seemed to be a minuscule vacant region of the sky it captured 5,500 galaxies that are about 3.2 billion light years from us. We imagine that these images are similar to what we can see from any other view of the universe, the number of galaxies and the number of stars in those galaxies. I feel very small.  How is it that a planet as small as ours orbiting a single star orbiting among billions of galaxies that seem endless can attract the attention of the creator?” (“For God So Loved You”, William B. Lund, BYU Devotional, August 05, 2014)

In the vision Moses saw of the creation the Lord said to him:

And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:33, 38-39)

Back to Bro. Lund’s question: “How is it that a planet as small as ours orbiting a single star orbiting among billions of galaxies that seem endless can attract the attention of the creator?” We lean in the last verse of the scripture above that our Heavenly Father’s work is to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. The world we live on and the entire universe was created for us.  President Uchtdorf speaking in a General Conference address talked about how much we matter to our creator:

“But even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

“And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind.⁸ In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.

“This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.” (“You Matter to Him”, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Conference, October 2011)

Former President of the Logan Utah Married Student 1^st Stake, Ray Reutzel, shared his thoughts about how God is involved in the intimate details of our lives:

“How is it that the God of Heaven who is without sin has set his heart on something as menial as us. He has graven our image on the palm of his hand and weeps for us. What does that tell us of our God? Does he live in a realm that is untouched and unblemished to our suffering and pain? Is his willingness to weep for us evidence of his love and the nature of being a God?

He is involved in the intimate details of our lives and he makes himself vulnerable to those things that hurt us and make themselves vulnerable to pain because they love us.” (President D. Ray Reutzel to Logan Utah Married 1^st Stake Council, November 28, 2012)

I have had many experiences that have taught me that my Heavenly Father knows me and is there to help me when needed.  I shared one example at the beginning of this blog on July 7^th, 2013. It was titled “TheTender Mercies of the Lord”. I related how I was struck with pancreatitis and was very ill for some time. I was given a blessing by my bishop at the time and was told that it was not my time to depart this life that the Lord had other things for me to do.  That bishop is now the stake president of the student stake that I serve in and he is the one that called me to be the bishop. I asked him when he extended the call to me if he knew when he gave me that blessing 10 years ago that serving as a bishop to the students of Utah State University was what the Lord had in mind. He said: “Not only did I not know that, but that I would be the person to call you to be a bishop”.  I know that call came from God and that he extended my life to be able to serve at this time. There have been many other reasons that I was not taken at the time of my illness, but serving as a bishop has been a great blessing to my family and me.

In another one of our stake council meetings, President Reutzel spoke about the how the Savior’s Atonement though infinite and eternal is also a personal atonement. He taught that somehow the Savior was able to step out of time and space and have each one of us personally come to him and allow him to take all of our sins from us and free us from those sins. What a wonderful concept; the Savior was able to make the atonement a personal thing for each one of us and we are all able to be clean before our Heavenly Father because of the love that our Savior has for each one of us.

Bro. Lund shared with the BYU students that one the members of his ward speaking in sacrament meeting said that we all know that we call 911 when we need help in an emergency. She said that we should remember the number 991 as it relates to service. The Savior spoke of leaving the 99 to go rescue the one lost. In those parables, the Savior has extended the challenge to us to leave the 99 and go in search of those who are lost.

Sometimes as we wander in the chaos and storms that rage around us, we get lost and think we have little or no value. Even though Moses said that “man was nothing” he also learned that to God we mean everything. The Apostle John wrote:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

God loves me (and you) enough to send his only begotten Son so that I (and you) could have everlasting life. That is the greatest of all the gift of God and that is worth giving up all my sins for.

Your comments and questions are welcome.