Elder Spencer W. Kimball's address continued from here...And in the Hebrews we learn that through the things which he suffered Jesus became perfect. [1] In my opinion Jesus was not perfect when he entered into the world, neither was he perfect when he went into the temple to preach to the great leaders, intellectual thinkers. And neither was he perfect when he fulfilled his ministry nor when he went to Calvary, but as his spirit left Calvary he had become holy, burdent [sic] by the things which he had suffered, and he had overcome all things and therefore had become perfect. And then he says for us to be holy as he is holy. [2] And to those of us his children upon the earth who live the commandments he has promised everything, the earth and the fullness thereof, the world beyond, the joys and the blessings. Here he is speaking to those who hold the priesthood and he says, "For who so is faithful unto the obtaining of these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and magnifying of their calling are sanctified, overcome, holy, perfected by the spirit unto the renewing of their bodies." They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and of the seed of Abraham and the church and the kingdom and the elect of God. And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me sayeth the Lord, "for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth my father, and he that receiveth my father receiveth my father's kingdom." Therefore, all that my father has shall be given unto him and this is according to the oath and the covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. [3] Nothing that the Lord has, of honor, of power, of glory, of exaltation, nothing will be withheld from the man and the woman who have [wholly] measured up, who have become perfected, who have become sanctified, who have become holy through the overcoming of the weaknesses of the flesh.
When I come to funerals like this I go away feeling that I will try infinitely harder than I have ever done before to overcome everything so I may receive these blessings that are promised. In the 76th Section the Lord makes the same promises, time and time again. He holds them up here to us, a great reward for our faithfulness. He's telling who will enter in the celestial kingdom, and he says all those who overcome by faith. It's all a matter of overcoming. It's why we came to this world, it's why Brother Glade was given his body so that through those 58 years he could perfect it, he could control his bodily functions and urges and desires to the point where they would be harnessed and bridled, and so that he could go back to the eternities God-like, ready for the growth, the blessings, the glories that could come to him. Be they are they of the church of the first born, they are they into whose hands the Father hath given all things. [4] It's a little like a Doctors Degree note, not much because it's so much grander. But a student goes to Grade School and then to High School and then he goes to College and he is taught by men with Doctors Degrees. He finally goes forward and gets his Masters Degree, and finally gets his Doctors, and then he has everything that his Professor has in the way of honors. Everything, the only difference could be in accomplishments, but he has the whole thing, there are no higher degrees in the world of letters. And so we reach that point in the kingdom, not that we will ever catch up with our Heavenly Father in his graciousness and his goodness and his power, but we will receive all that the Father has if we are worthy. To be continued...
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[1] Hebrews 5:8. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered..." Interesting quotation of the scripture and worthy of a longer footnote than this.
[2] 1 Peter 1:16.
[3] Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-39. Ignore the transcriber's quote marks in this passage, since it's all a quote from "For whoso is faithful" to "oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood."
[4] Doctrine and Covenants 76:54-55.
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