Sabin - Stand Up Inside and Be All In - April 2017

Elder Sabin shares that we need to be fully committed to living the gospel by using the term "all in."  He says that when we are only partially committed, we miss many of the blessings that the Savior has for us.

• When we are fully committed and “all in,” heaven shakes for our good. When we are lukewarm or only partially committed, we lose out on some of heaven’s choicest blessings.

He says that we need keep our covenants and work to honor those commitments that we have made.  When we do not, there are consequences that will follow.

• When we are complacent with our covenants, we are complicit with the consequences.

He speaks about a term from the Star Wars movies that makes his point of what happens when we are not living our lives the way we should.

• When we are partially in or not in at all, there is, in the Star Wars vernacular, “a disturbance in the force.” We are out of sync with God’s will and therefore out of sync with the nature of happiness.

Those that find themselves out of sync with God's plan, can turn to the Savior for help.  We are never too far from the Saviors reach.

• No matter where we are or where we have been, we are not beyond the reach of the Savior.

I was speaking to a gentleman yesterday that had made some mistakes in his life but has viewed his mistakes as character builders.  His mistakes have taught him the good and the bad in life and he has tried to learn from those experiences.  We talked about our purpose in life in to gain wisdom and learning from those decisions and become something more.  Elder Sabin talks about this concept.

• As we continually repent and rely upon the Lord, we gain strength as we come full circle in possessing the humility and faith of a little child, enriched with the wisdom borne from a life of experience.

Elder Sabin shares a personal story about his son who passed away.

• Our son Justin passed away at age 19 after fighting a lifelong disease. In a sacrament meeting talk he gave not long before he left us, he shared a story that must have resonated with him about a father and his young son who went into a toy store where there was an inflatable punching bag in the shape of a man. The boy punched the inflatable man, who tipped over and immediately bounced back after every punch. The father asked his young son why the man kept bouncing back up. The boy thought for a minute and then said, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because he’s standing up on the inside.” In order to be “all in,” we need to “stand up inside,” “come what may.”
• We stand up inside when we wait patiently upon the Lord to remove or give us strength to endure our thorns in the flesh. Such thorns may be disease, disability, mental illness, death of a loved one, and so many other issues.
• We stand up inside when we lift up the hands that hang down. We stand up inside when we defend the truth against a wicked and secular world that is becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with light, calling evil good and good evil and “condemning the righteous because of their righteousness.”

Elder Sabin reminds us that in the premortal life, we made a decision to be "all in" with our Heavenly Father's plan for our lives.  We need to remember we agreed to this life and the trials and experiences that it would bring to us.  He encourages us to live our lives as we lived in the premortal world, "all in."

• Standing up inside in spite of difficulties is possible because of a clear conscience, the strengthening and comforting assurance from the Holy Ghost, and an eternal perspective which surpasses mortal understanding. In our premortal life we shouted for joy at the opportunity to experience mortality. We were “all in” as we excitedly made the decision to be valiant defenders of our Heavenly Father’s plan. It is time to stand up and defend His plan again!

To be "all in" we might need to make adjustments to our lives.

• If we are not able to be “all in” the way we are presently walking, then maybe we need to run; maybe we need to recalculate our route. We might even need to make a U-turn. We might need to study more intently, pray more earnestly, or just let some things go so we can hang on to those things that really matter. We may need to let go of the world so we can hang on to eternity.

The world will not agree with us following the Savior and our Heavenly Father's plan.  But we can have confidence that blessings from Heaven will outnumber the worldly things that could come our way.  Elder Sabin closes reminding us to follow God's plan for our lives and not the world.

• It is far better to follow the Creator than the crowd.

There are certain areas of my life that I could readjust to be "all in."  I need to make changes so I can reflect the Light of Christ that I have been blessed with.  This takes courage and effort but I know I have a soul within me that has the courage to "stand up on the inside," I just need to get the natural man on the outside to go along.  That is the challenge for all of us.  I hope we can all find a way to get the outside to follow what the inside so greatly desires.