Doctrine of Calling and Election

The doctrine of “Calling and Election” is mentioned by Peter in the New Testament:

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, you shall never fall. (2 Peter 1:10)

Calling and Election is a pre-mortal doctrine that has already taken place. “Making it (one’s calling and election) sure” takes place on earth as we follow through with the promises we made in our pre-mortal state. As adult spirit children of our Heavenly Father we attended a Grand Council in Heaven wherein assignments were made to come to this earth. The Prophet Joseph Smith in a poem published in the Times and Seasons, in February 1843, indicated that the Grand Council was held on the planet Kolob: “From the Council in Kolob, to time on the earth.” (Times and Seasons 4:82)

The doctrine of a pre-mortal “Calling” is best understood as a divine invitation to serve. These were calls of a voluntary nature which respected the agency of the one being invited. The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that

The pre-mortal callings were extended as a part of a great Plan of Salvation and Happiness which had as its stated purpose “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) The Prophet Isaiah saw in heavenly vision his own pre-mortal calling. He reported that

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will Go for us?” Then said I, “Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

In that Grand Council our Heavenly Father extended a call for the most important and sacred assignment of them all. The call was to be the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of all mankind and to be the “Anointed One.” It would be the responsibility of the Anointed One to fulfill the requirements of a Priesthood assignment referred to as the Atonement. Messiah in Hebrew and Christos or Christ in Greek means the “Anointed One.” The magnitude and eternal significance of this greatest and supernal assignment involve the overcoming of physical and spiritual death. It was by any measure the most important call.

As with all of the pre-mortal callings it was not enough to volunteer for the extended call. Each calling had to be supported by those in attendance and those affected by the various callings. This is the doctrine of “Election” or the sustaining vote. To be called was one issue and to be sustained and elected was quite another matter. The Scriptures indicate that more than one person might volunteer to fulfill a calling.

And the Lord said: “Whom shall I send?” And one answered like into the Son. of Man: “Here am I, send me.” And another answered and said: “Here am I, send me.” And the Lord said: “I will send the first. And the second was angry, and . . .At that day, many followed after him [Lucifer].

(Abraham 3:27)

Lucifer became known as the devil. John, on the Aisle of Patmos, saw this event in vision and recorded that

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. (Revelation 12:7-9)

The decision as to whom would become the Messiah was put to a sustaining vote. Joseph Smith observed that

The contention in heaven was–Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the Grand Council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who had put up their heads for him. (Teachings 357)[1]

Again it was Peter that reminded the early members of the Church that they were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” (1 Peter 1:2)  Additional scriptures on election include Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20; 2 Timothy 2:10; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 45:4; Isaiah 65:9, 22; Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12; Titus 1:1; 2 John 1:1; Abraham 3:23; D&C 138:55-56.

God’s foreknowledge of all things, including the choices that we make on earth, does not impact on our agency. Let me illustrate this point which involved my three-year-old son, John. Shortly after his mother had topped off a German chocolate cake she left the kitchen. John entered the kitchen just after she left. His eyes fixated on that cake. I was observing this drama from my position on the couch. I knew that he was going to go over and put his fingers into that cake, which he did to the great dismay of his mother. My foreknowledge of his behavior had no impact on his choice to put his fingers into that cake.

Consistent with the doctrine of Calling and Election is the principle of “Foreordination.” After one has been called and elected they would have been ordained or authorized by Jehovah to carry out their assigned responsibilities on earth. Peter pointed out that Christ “was foreordained or “ordained before” the foundations of the world but was manifest in these last times for you.” (1 Peter 1:20) After a person had been “Called and Elected” by the pre-mortal General Assembly to serve here upon the earth in various offices and callings they were preauthorized or foreordained for an earthly mission. Just as members of the church sit in a chair and are ordained to different callings in the Church, so also we were foreordained in our pre-mortal life. In April 1844, at the General Conference of the Church, Joseph spoke to the Saints and informed them that

Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council. (Teachings 365)

Abraham was told by the Lord, “Thou wast chosen before thou wast born.”

(Abraham 3:23) The Prophet Jeremiah was given a similar message:

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

President Joseph F. Smith saw in vision the pre-mortal callings that were extended in the Grand Council in heaven.  Among them were regular members of the Church in this dispensation. (D&C 138:57) It was given to President Smith to understand that many of the callings that were extended and to which people where foreordained included a mission to the spirit world after we departed this mortal life where we would continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. By this we understand that Callings and Elections to which we were foreordained included not only this mortal life but also our experience in the Spirit World and undoubtedly during the Millennium.

I observed that there were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others,[YOU and I], received their first lessons in the world of spirits [pre-mortal existence] and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men. I beheld that faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption. (D&C 138:55-57)

Many biblical references are made to the doctrine of “Foreordination” which is a part of the greater doctrine of “Calling and Election.” Consistent with our agency and our willingness we were assigned by our Heavenly Father to come to this earth at a specific time that we might fulfill the assignments we were given in the pre-mortal world. Paul alluded to this when he taught that

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth . . .Hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and have determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. (Acts 17:24-26)

Job proclaimed that “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble . . . Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with you, [God] thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. (Job 14:1-5) Moses declared, “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the Sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” (Deut. 32:8) Referring to our time on this earth the Prophet Joseph Smith was told to “Hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their [Joseph’s enemies] bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years will not be numbered less; therefore fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you for ever and ever.” (D&C 122:9)

President David O McKay explained the assignments of coming to this earth were made in accordance with our agency and willingness as well as our worthiness and preparation.

By the operation of some eternal law with which man is yet unfamiliar, spirits come through parentages for which they are worthy—some as Bushmen of Australia, some as Solomon Islanders, some as Americans, as Europeans, as Asiatics, etc. etc., with all the varying degrees of mentality and spirituality manifest in parents of the different races  that inhabit the earth.

Of this we may be sure, each was satisfied and happy to come through the lineage to which he or she was attracted and for which, and only which, he or she was prepared.[2]

What does all of this mean as it relates to your life and my life? It means that our spirits were held back from the foundations of the world to come forth in this day and age to fulfill the missions that we agreed to in the pre-mortal existence. We agreed to proclaim the gospel, help redeem the dead and to help one another become our highest and best selves. Not only were we called to come to the earth at this time but we were sustained [Elected] by millions of our kindred brother and sister spirits who raised their hands and sustained us one by one. President John Taylor said to a woman’s meeting in regards to the pre-mortal existence that

As thy spirit beheld the scenes transpiring there [pre-mortal existence], thou grewest in intelligence, thou sawest worlds upon worlds organized and peopled with thy kindred spirits who took upon them Tabernacles, died, were resurrected, and receive their exaltation on the redeemed  worlds they once dwelt upon. Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them, waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and an exaltation also . . . Thou longed, thou sighed and thou prayed to thy Father in Heaven for the time to arrive when thou couldst come to this earth . . . At length the time arrived, and thou heard the voice of thy Father saying, go daughter to yonder lower world, and take upon thee a tabernacle, and work out thy probation with fear and trembling and rise to exaltation. But daughter, remember you go on this condition, that is, you are to forget all things you ever saw, or knew be transacted in the [pre-mortal] spirit world . . . But you must go and become one of the most helpless of all beings that I have created, while in your infancy, subject to sickness, pain, tears, mourning, sorrow and death. But when truth shall touch the cords of your heart they will vibrate; then intelligence will illuminate your mind, and shed its luster in your soul, and you shall begin to understand the things you once knew . . . You shall then begin to understand and know the object of your creation. Daughter, go, and be faithful as thou has been in thy first estate.[3]

It is of interest to note that when President Joseph Fielding Smith was asked if everyone chose their parents in the pre-mortal world he responded, “Yes for those for whom it was necessary.”[4] President John Taylor told the sisters in his discourse about women that they had chosen their parents. It is difficult to imagine that anyone would agree to be born in a dysfunctional family or even to be born in abject poverty or with a mental or physical disability. However with an eternal perspective motivated by love there were many who great and noble souls who agreed to difficult assignments on earth. Jesus was among them.

None of us will descend to the level of suffering experienced by Jesus Christ. When Joseph Smith pleaded with the Lord about his adversities, tribulations, perils among false brethren, robbers, false accusations, being separated from his wife and children and cast into prison with his enemies prowling around him like wolves for the blood of a lamb, he was told

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers and the sentence of death passed upon the; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness and all the elements combined to hedge up the way; and above all if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man has descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? (D&C 122:7-8)

Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another. (D&C 90:24)

Agency and Love are two of the governing principles in eternity. Like Jesus our motivation to accept a difficult life was based on our ability to love. Regardless of dysfunctional parents, we may have chosen to be born to their lineage that perhaps our love might have a positive impact on them.

 A major reason for coming to this earth was obtaining a mortal body that would eventually resurrect as a glorified perfect and eternal immortal body. The importance of obtaining a mortal body surpasses our mortal understanding because everyone that we know has a mortal body. The Prophet Joseph taught, “We came to this earth that we might have a body… The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body and herein is his punishment.” (Teachings 181). Cain, who became a son of perdition, will rule over Lucifer precisely because Cain received a mortal body and will resurrect whereas Lucifer will remain as a spirit throughout all eternity. (Moses 5:23) Of this we may be assured: that our kind and loving Heavenly Father has the eternal best interest of each of his children and has provided a way for each of them to become their highest and best selves. A child who dies under horrific circumstances may very well have chosen to do so knowing the importance of obtaining a mortal body. It is also true that the same child understood that in God’s Plan of Salvation and Happiness they would have the opportunity to learn all that they needed to learn in the Spirit World after death and if need be during the Millennium and receive every blessing of the New and Everlasting Covenant including marriage that would allow them to reach their highest potential.

Because of our mortal limitations and our lack of appreciation for God’s love and motivation to bring to pass the immortality and eternal lives of his children, many have falsely assumed that God’s toleration of man’s inhumanity to man means that God doesn’t care. They are wrong, profoundly wrong. It was never intended that this mortal life was God’s whole plan. This inability to see the big picture from God’s point of view is the reason Paul declared, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)  He also said, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face-to-face: now I know in part: but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) Eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that God is a God of love, justice and mercy and that “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world . . . Wherefore, he commanded none that they shall not partake of his salvation.” (2 Nephi 26:24)

God’s plan to help each of his children become their highest and best self, included a pre-mortal Calling and Election wherein we were assigned a time to come to this earth and we were foreordained to specific missions during our sojourn on earth and in the Spirit World and in a Millennial Time. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints our mission and foreordination was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, to help in all aspects of redeeming our kindred dead by completing necessary research and temple work in their behalf, and in service one to another through various callings in the Church and through service to our fellowman.

If the veil, between ourselves and those of our ancestors in the Spirit World as well as those yet to be born and who are waiting to come to the earth through our lineage, could be parted and you could see them praying for you and me would it make a difference? What if that same veil were uncovered and you could see millions of spirits raising their hands to elect and sustain you in proclaiming the Gospel, redeeming the dead, and helping one another to become our best selves? It is my personal testimony that these things are true. You may not feel that you are that important and that your weaknesses prohibit others depending upon you. Despite our feelings of inadequacy, our shortcomings and even our poor choices and sins, there is one redeeming characteristic that you possess which inspired others to sustain you. It is your ability to love. It was acknowledged by the Lord that we are the “weak things of the world.” We as the weak, “shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong . . . that the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.” (D&C 1:19-23) In God’s plan it was never about status in the world, it was about loving one another even as Christ has loved us. God and the thousands of souls that continue to sustain our mortal mission are looking for you and me to be a person of love to those in our sphere of influence, however great or small that may be. Paul’s declaration to the Ephesians pointed out that “some are given to be apostles and some [home or visiting ministers] teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Our Calling and Election is a pre-mortal doctrine that has already taken place. Now is the time for Making our Calling and Election Sure, here in mortality. This is the context in which we can understand Peter’s statement, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, you shall never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)  Calling and Election has already happened. The “Calls” were extended and accepted in the pre-mortal councils in heaven. The “Election” or sustaining votes have been counted and those of us on earth have already been elected. We have all been foreordained.

Recommitting oneself to one’s pre-mortal and foreordained mission here on earth can happen at eighteen or eighty as long as the breath of life remains. Obviously, the sooner the better. Most of us can look back with regrets of wasted time and lost opportunities. However it is not too late to follow the admonition of Jesus in defense of Mary who washed the Savior’s feet with her tears, and dried them with the hairs of her head and anointed him with spikenard. Jesus said of her, “Her sins which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much, (Luke 7:47) and she hath done what she could.” (Mark 14:8) There is not a soul who will read this that lacks the capacity to love and do what they can do, even under adverse circumstances.

Some may have to wait to have their Calling and Election made Sure in the Spirit World or during the Millennium. There is a way however to have your Calling and Election made sure in this life. Faithfully fulfilling one’s pre-mortal and foreordained mission here on earth through valiant service in this life is one way to qualify a person to have their Calling and Election made sure. There are three known ways the Lord has authorized for a person to be “Sealed up unto Eternal Life”:

#1: Direct Communication from the Lord. The Prophet Joseph taught that

When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his Calling and Election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter [Jesus as found in John 14:18], which the Lord promised the Saints.  (Teachings 150, see also Teachings 298, 305) God hath not revealed anything to Joseph but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them. (Teachings 149).

Three of these events where the Lord directly sealed someone up are recorded in the Scriptures:

1. Joseph Smith: “For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with the even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my father, with Abraham your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.” (D&C 132:49-50)

1. Alma: “Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shall serve me and go forth in my name, and shall gather together my sheep.” (Mosiah 26:20).

1. Nephi, son of Helaman: “Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and has not sought thy own life, but has sought my will, and to keep my commandments and now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold I will bless thee forever.” (Helaman 10:4-5)

All of this is consistent with the Scriptures. (See D&C 93:1, D&C 88:68, D&C 67:10, D&C 76:116-117, D&C 101:38, D&C 110:1-2)

#2. The second way is to be “Sealed Up” by the Prophet, also known as the “More Sure Word of Prophecy.”

When the Lord took Peter, James and John to Caesarea Philippi, the Lord informed Peter that he would be given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and that

“Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)  That authority was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith: Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands.(D&C 110:16) The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by the power of the Holy Priesthood.(D&C 130:5)

Similar to a Patriarchal Blessing recommend, the early Latter-day Saints were interviewed by their Stake President and recommended to the Prophet of the Lord to receive what is called, “The Second Anointing or Endowment” or the “More Sure Word of Prophecy” which is tantamount to having one’s Calling and Election made sure. The recommend process for receiving one’s Second Anointing was changed by President Joseph F. Smith around 1902-1904. The responsibility for recommending people for their Second Anointing has been transferred to a responsible few. It is very important to understand that one does not contact the General Authorities for the experience of the “Second Anointing.” One is recommended. Generally the invitation to meet for the “Second Anointing” is extended after a lifetime of devoted service to building up the kingdom of God. The most important factor is that a revelation is given to the Prophet in each individual circumstance. It would be inappropriate to ever approach the Prophet or any of the Brethren of the General Authorities and even ask them about the “Second Anointing.” It is sacred and the process of them approaching you by revelation needs to be respected, instead of you approaching them.

I have not received the “Second Anointing” nor have I been invited to do so. What I have stated here is the result of research. For example, while I was serving in a stake presidency in Logan, Utah, the Logan Temple was under reconstruction. A worker, who was in my stake, discovered a stack of “Second Anointing” recommends dated in the late 1890s. They were lodged between the inner and outer wall of the Temple. When they were brought to me, and I recognize them, I turned them over immediately to the office of the First Presidency. Journals of some of the early Saints also disclosed some of this information. However, the most important point is the sacred nature of this ordinance and the foolishness of anyone inquiring about it to the General Authorities of the Church.

#3. The third way to have one’s Calling and Election made Sure is to endure to the end of one’s mortal life Temple Recommend worthy or actively seeking to become so. This is the doctrine of Enduring to the End. There are numerous scriptures that relate to this promise as well as teachings of living and past prophets.

King Benjamin stated,

I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body-I say this is the man who receive that salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind which ever were since the fall of Adam or who are or whoever shall be, even unto the end of the world. (Mosiah 4:6)

Nephi bore his testimony:

And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved. (2 Nephi 31:15-16)

In a discourse about the salvation of children Elder McConkie made clear that in the scriptures, to be “Exalted” and to be “Saved” were synonymous terms:

Eternal Life is life in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is exaltation; it is the same kind of life God lives. It consists of a continuation of the family unit in eternity. We have quoted scripture saying that children will be saved in the celestial kingdom, but now face the further query as to whether this includes the greatest of all the gifts of God–the gift of Eternal Life. And in the providence of Him who is infinitely wise the answer is in the affirmative.  Salvation means eternal life; the two terms are synonymous; they mean exactly the same thing. Joseph Smith said, “Salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah possesses and in nothing else.” (Lectures on Faith pp. 63-67)  We have come to speak of this salvation as exaltation–which it is–but all of the scriptures in all of the standard works call it salvation. I know of only three passages in all our scriptures which use salvation to mean something other and less than exaltation. (“The Salvation of Little Children,” Ensign, April 1977.)

To be saved in the following scripture, means to be exalted in the Celestial Kingdom of God. This is underscored in Nephi’s discourse:

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

Eternal life is the kind of life that God the Father lives. It should bring great peace to the mind of every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to know that their pre-mortal Calling and Election can be assured by faithfully serving to build up the kingdom of God on earth and doing so until they die. If God seals them up directly or if they are called in by the Prophet of God during their mortality and receive the Second Anointing it is to their advantage in their personal progression. (D&C 130:19) However, it is far more likely that the vast majority of faithful members of the Church will have their Calling and Election made sure by enduring to the end of their mortal life. For all practical purposes one who dies while living the gospel to the best of their ability will find their calling and election made sure. If they receive this knowledge before they die so much the better.

Regardless of when one’s Calling and Election is made sure there is a special promise extended to those who do so. The Prophet Joseph testified that every soul who has their Calling and Election made sure binds the Lord to a promise and a covenant. “When a seal (Calling and Election Made Sure or More Sure Word of Prophesy) is put upon the father and mother, it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by virtue of the covenant of the father and mother.” (Teachings 321).

Orson F Whitney quoted Joseph as follows:

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared–and he never taught a more comforting doctrine–that the eternal sealing of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the cause of truth, would save not only themselves but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold onto them with your faith. Hope on, trust on till you see the salvation of God. Who are these straying sheep—these wayward sons and daughters? They are the children of the Covenant, heirs to a promise and have received, if baptized, the gift of the Holy Ghost which makes manifest the things of God. Could all that go for not? (General Conference, April 1929)

In conclusion, the doctrine of “Calling and Election” has already happened and “Making it Sure,” here in mortality is within the grasp of every soul. (D&C 93:1, D&C 130:19, Teachings 149) At a stake conference in Logan, Utah, on March 14, 1982, Elder McConkie said that too many Latter-day Saints form a standard of perfection for themselves greater than that which the Lord requires. The Lord’s standard is a Temple Recommend and to be worthy of it or to be on the pathway thereto and to endure to the end of our mortal life worthy of that recommend. Early in June 1980, Elder McConkie gave a discourse at BYU on “The Seven Deadly Heresies” in which he stated that the seventh deadly heresy was perfectionism in this life. In that same discourse he said,

Good and faithful members of the church will be saved, even though they are far from perfect in this life . . . If men had to be perfect and live all of the law strictly, wholly, and completely, there would be only one saved person in eternity [Jesus Christ]. The Prophet [Joseph] taught that there are many things to be done, even beyond the grave, in working out our salvation.

In an address given at the University of Utah on January 10, 1982, Elder McConkie spoke in the plainest terms:

This is a true gospel verity–that everyone in the Church who is on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling and desiring to do what is right, though is far from perfect in this life; if he passes out of this life while he is on the straight and narrow, he is going to go on to eternal reward in his Father’s kingdom. We don’t need to get a complex or get a feeling that you have to be perfect to be saved. You don’t . . . You don’t have to do what Jacob said, “Go beyond the mark.” You don’t have to live a life that’s truer than true, you don’t have to have an excessive zeal that becomes fanatical and becomes unbalanced. What you have to do is stay in the mainstream of the Church and live as upright and decent people live in the Church–keeping the commandments, paying your tithing, serving in the organizations of the Church, loving the Lord, staying on the straight and narrow path. If you are on that path when death comes–because this is the time and the day appointed, this probationary estate–you’ll never fall off from it, and for all practical purposes, your calling and election is made sure.[5]

Two other talks given in the general conferences of the Church, one by the Prophet Russel M. Nelson on “Perfection Pending” in October 1995, and another discourse by Elder Jeffery R. Holland in October 2017, titled “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” deal with this issue of members of the Church feeling inadequate and not good enough. If we can repent and love and be on the “Covenant Path” to developing a Christ-like character, then we can trust a kind and loving Father in Heaven to give us the experiences we will need to return to Him.

So may we all strive to make our pre-mortal Callings and Elections sure in this mortal life is my sincere and fervent prayer for each of us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[1] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, hereafter referred to as Teachings.

[2] Llewelyn R. McKay, Home Memories of President David O McKay, pp. 226-231.

[3] John Taylor, “Origin and Destiny of Woman,” The Vision, N. B. Lundwall, p. 146.

[4] While teaching with the grandson of Joseph Fielding Smith at the Seattle Institute of religion, his grandson, Joseph Fielding McConkie shared selected truths taught to him by his grandfather. This was one of them.

[5] Bruce R. McConkie, “The Probationary Test of Mortality,” p.11.