Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“The true gospel consists of two things: The Word, and The Power. Anyone can have the word; the books in which it is written are universally available. But the power must come from God; it is and must be dispensed according to his mind and his will to those who abide the law entitling them to receive it. The word of the gospel is the spoken or written account of what men must do to be saved. …
“But actual salvation comes only when the power of God is received and used; and this power is the power of the priesthood and the power of the Holy Ghost. These must operate in the lives of men; otherwise their souls cannot be cleansed; they cannot be born again; they cannot become new creatures of the Holy Ghost; they cannot put off the natural man and become saints; they cannot be sanctified by the Spirit” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 3:42–43).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell(1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he stated that “discipleship is to be lived in crescendo” (“Premortality, a Glorious Reality,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 15). President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency spoke about the increased need for continuous spiritual growth in the latter days: “As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril” (“Always,” Ensign, Oct. 1999, 9).
Concerning the Lord’s standard of sexual purity, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies” (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 42).
The Doctrine and Covenants adds its voice to that of other scriptures in making this distinction: It is not repentance per se that saves us. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. Repentance, however, is the condition required so that the Atonement can be applied in our behalf. If we could save ourself by a sincere and honest change of behavior, then it could be said that we save ourself by our own works, but the scriptures clearly teach that such is not the case. As Nephi wrote, “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). Using the imagery of the courtroom, Jesus describes Himself as an advocate, or one who pleads the cause of another (see D&C 45:3). Usually when one pleads another’s case, one does so on the basis that the client is not guilty of the charges. No such plea is entered in this case. All are guilty of sin, all have transgressed. (See Romans 3:23.) Who could plead for any soul on the basis of absence of guilt? The Advocate does not call the attention of the Judge to our perfection, but to His own. He notes the blood shed in the atoning sacrifice and then pleads that the repentant person be spared, for such a person has met Christ’s conditions and become His brother (see D&C 45:3–5).
The Doctrine and Covenants, together with other scriptures, teaches the need for the blessings of sanctification: “Sanctify yourselves before me,” said the Lord (D&C 43:11). “Sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be endowed with power” (D&C 43:16).
Sanctification is purification from sin. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “To be sanctified is to become clean, pure, and spotless; to be free from the blood and sins of the world; to become a new creature of the Holy Ghost, one whose body has been renewed by the rebirth of the Spirit. Sanctification is a state of saintliness, a state attained only by conformity to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The plan of salvation is the system and means provided whereby men may sanctify their souls and thereby become worthy of a celestial inheritance.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 675.)
It was as Charles Dickens described in the opening lines of his A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, … it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Notwithstanding the great evil of these times, what a glorious season it has been and now is. A new day has come in the work of the Almighty. That work has grown and strengthened and moved across the earth. It has now touched for good the lives of millions, and this is only the beginning.
President Hinckley: May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past.
Elder Chistofferson: He is the Lord of the vinyard, and we are His servants. He bids us labor in the vineyard with our might this last time and He labors with us. It would probably be more accurate to say He permits us to labor with Him..... Employing our admittedly imperfect efforts-our small means, the Lord brings about great things.
