BACKGROUND
We do not know when or where it was written.
Paul is most likely the author, but some scholars doubt.
Written to Jewish converts to Christianity.
Major purpose was to convince Jewish converts to maintain their faith in Christ, and not return to their previous life and traditions.
ICEBREAKER
Have you ever done a “Bigger and Better” scavenger hunt?
Explain how it works: You divide into teams and each starts with something relatively small and cheap, like a paperclip, rubber band, or even a penny. Then you go through your neighborhood knocking on doors, and whoever answers you ask, “Do you have anything bigger and better than this that you would be willing to trade? So then you would get something a little better. Then you take that object to the next house and ask the same question. Do you have anything Bigger and better than this? And on and on you go house after house until at a set time, all the teams meet back together to show what they were able to get. Whoever had the biggest and best thing, won.
TRANSITION
Well, if I were to choose one word to sum up the entire book of Hebrews, that word would be BETTER. Paul is going to show us how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is BETTER than anything else out there we can choose. Specifically, he’s writing to the Jewish converts that are struggling under persecution and the difficulties of discipleship. They are contemplating returning to Judaism. Like any convert to the church, many of the Jewish converts were struggling to let go of their former ways and traditions. It’s not easy to change, and the temptation to return to what is familiar and customary becomes very real. When people join the church and then discover that living the gospel is not easy, or they start to face opposition in their new found faith, they sometimes retreat back into their previous life. Well, that is what Paul is dealing with here. Hebrews is Paul’s attempt to show them that Christ’s gospel is “better” than or superior to the Old Mosaic law. That the Christlike life is “better” than their former life. Not that the old law was useless or wrong, just that the new law was better. So why not choose the better?
SEARCH
Key words to look for: BETTER, MORE EXCELLENT, MORE
See if you can find the “better” in these chapters. And we’ll make a list as we go along. If you’re teaching youth, maybe you could play what I call “Crack at a Snack” and throw out a small treat, like a tootsie roll or a starburst as a reward for finding it first.
Hebrews 1
Can you find the “better” in Chapter 1? Christ is better than what?
VS 4 Christ is better than the angels. And we could add another phrase from that verse, a “more excellent name” than the angels.
He’s saying that in the past, God only communicated with man through the prophets and with angels, but now he’s sent his son, who is a “better” messenger.
Then you read the rest of the chapter with that idea in mind looking for all the ways Christ is better than angels? I won’t do all of them, but let me give you one example
Christ is a BETTER messenger than the angels.
Hebrews 2
We’ll come back to chapter 2 which is a continuation of the thought from chapter 1
Hebrews 3
Can you find the 2 “MORE’s” in Hebrews 3?
They’re both found in vs. 3
More glory, more honor
So Moses was the servant in building up the house of God’s church. But Christ is the owner of the house, he created everything that the house was made of to begin with. Therefore, he is even greater than Moses. Not that Moses is nothing or isn’t important, it’s just that Christ is better.
Christ is a “BETTER” lawgiver than Moses
Hebrews 4
What is the key repeated word in Hebrews 4:1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11?
Rest.
Christ offers a better rest than the children of Israel.
Their rest, was the promised land, but the better rest, is heaven.
So if the promised land was the greatest rest you could obtain, than why would Joshua have continued to teach the people to obey and continue their works, because there was still a better rest beyond that.
Hebrews 5
The better of chapter 5 actually starts in chapter 4. See if you can figure it out. Finish the sentence. Christ is a better____________.
4:14-15
5:1-3
Christ is a BETTER High Priest.
Paul tells us that a regular high priest made offerings on behalf of the people, but he himself is also compassed with infirmity. The high priest wasn’t perfect. So he not only had to make an offering for the sins of the people, but for himself as well. But not Christ, he’s a better high priest, because even though he was tempted just like we are, he was without sin. He didn’t have to make an offering for himself. He was perfect.
Hebrews 6
We’re going to skip chapter 6 for now. It does have a “better” in it, but thematically we’ll come back to it. It’s a different kind of better.
Hebrews 7
There are three betters in this chapter. Can you find them?
:7 The less is blessed by the better
:19 a better hope
:22 a better testament
Now the thrust of this chapter is pointing to a larger better than those individual ones, and it’s where the hope and testament come from. I bet you could figure it out on your own. A better _______________.
Read :11-17 and if that doesn’t help, just look at the chapter heading.
If Christ is a better high priest, than what does he possess? He also had a higher priesthood. The high priest acted by authority of the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood. But Christ had the Melchizedek priesthood.
A BETTER Priesthood
I also think the word used in the chapter heading is interesting, the Superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood.
Hebrews 8
Can you find the one “more excellent” and the two “betters”?
Yep, all in vs. 6.
A more excellent ministry
The mediator of a BETTER covenant
Which was established on BETTER promises.
Hebrews 9
Can you find the two “MORE” phrases, and the one Better
What are they?
Vs. 11 Remember the most holy place for Jews was the tabernacle or the temple. And everything in the tabernacle was symbolic. Even things symbolizing Jesus himself. But Paul says there is a better tabernacle now. What is that tabernacle? Jesus body. Remember how Jesus referred to his body as a temple? That he would tear it down and raise it up in three days. He was speaking of the temple of his body. Jesus is a better tabernacle because he is the real thing, not just the symbol of it.
vs. 14 So we have a BETTER blood, than the blood of the animal sacrifices that they used to do. Why? Because Christ’s blood can purge our conscience, redeem us from our transgressions, and bring us the promise of eternal inheritance. It’s a better blood, than the blood of goats and calves.
Then our BETTER is in vs. 23
So, Christ’s sacrifice is a BETTER sacrifice than those done of old.
Hebrews 10
What is the better in vs. 1?
A BETTER LAW
The law was just a shadow of better things to come, a higher law. What would you rather have? A shadow of a candy bar, or the candy bar itself. A shadow of a new car, or a new car itself, to stand in the shadow of the temple, or be in the temple itself. The real thing is always better than the shadow.
Now there is a BETTER in this chapter, can you find it?
:34 a BETTER substance, but I would change that word to something in vs. 35
The point Paul is making here, under Christ, you have a BETTER reward or recompense, that’s what he means by substance.
We may give up a lot of things in this life, we make sacrifices, our goods get spoiled at times. But what we receive in heaven is always far greater than what I give. In that sense, I sometimes like to say that there really is no such thing as sacrifice, because whatever we give, we are always paid back and more. Better sacrifices bring better rewards
Hebrews 11
What are the 3 Betters?
:16 a BETTER country, or a BETTER city.
If you start back in vs 8 you’ll see that he is referring to Abraham who left his hometown in the area of Babylon to seek for a better city. A city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, like it says in vs. 10. I love that word “foundations” God’s city has foundations, unlike Babylon and Satan. Remember the great and spacious building had no foundation, it was floating in the air.
All the great patriarchs including Abraham sought something better than this earth. They felt like strangers here. I suggest that that is a good thing. If you feel like you weren’t quite made for the things of this world, if you feel uncomfortable in Babylon, that’s good. A pilgrim is someone who leaves behind his native country to seek for a better place. We all are like Abraham, we’re seeking a BETTER CITY AND COUNTRY, What’s the name of that city? Zion, or the New Jerusalem.
:35 A BETTER resurrection
:40 BETTER things for us
Hebrews 12
I’m going to give you another challenging one. You aren’t looking for the word BETTER or MORE here, but a person. A person whose story illustrates the whole principle that Hebrews is trying to teach us. Who is that person?
You’ll find him vs. 16 Esau
Esau is an example of somebody who gave up something better, his birthright for something of much less value. For a morsel of meat. Paul’s message, don’t make the same mistake! Jews! Hebrews! Don’t give up these promises and blessings you’ve been given for a morsel of meat. Christ is a BETTER birthright. These eternal rewards are BETTER than temporarily filling your stomach. And you know, people make Esau’s mistake today. Unfortunately, I see it more particularly in young people. They begin to despise their birthright and sell it. What is their birthright? The priesthood, serving a mission, a temple marriage, the words and counsel of living prophets. How do they treat those things? These incredible opportunities and blessings that have just been handed to them? Eh, it just doesn’t mean much too them. They’d rather fill their bellies with the things of this world. Sadly, many times they do come back seeking the blessings of their birthright carefully with tears. And we help them of course, but some things are impossible to restore. Later in life they wish they had the blessings of a temple marriage, or the testimony and experience that would have come from serving a mission, or they would not have to endure the consequences of overcoming an addiction, or sexual immorality. So youth, don’t make Esau’s mistake. You are BETTER than that.
Hebrews 13
Again, you are not going to find the word BETTER or MORE, but the idea is in there. I’ll help you out.
Paul talks about the priests who offered sacrifices in the temple. The meat from those sacrifices was sometimes eaten by the priests to help sustain them since they were always working in the temple. Well, where were those sacrifices offered?
See if you can find what would complete our sentence here: A BETTER ____________.
Look for it in vs. 9-11
The answer is A BETTER ALTAR
We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
What is he referring to here? What meat do we eat? Is there an altar where we eat and drink something that represents a sacrifice blessed by priests? Yeah, It’s the sacrament. So Paul’s final Better, we worship at a better altar.
THE LIST
Do you see what Paul has done? He has just built and built and added and added to that list. 13 chapters of BETTERS. He’s a very persuasive teacher isn’t he. He’s almost overwhelming them to make his point. And his point? Hebrews, Just look at all of this! Look at all the betters! How can you reject THIS! It just doesn’t make sense. He’s certainly put together a very compelling and convincing case for following Christ
THE MOST IMPORTANT BETTER
Now there is much more to Hebrews than just this. There is another equally compelling message running throughout the book as well. So we are going to go back through Hebrews and look for the second half of the message. There is a THEREFORE in this message. There is one BETTER that I deliberately left out. Perhaps the most important BETTER of all. And it’s the one in Chapter 6. Can you find it?
6:9
The message is pretty straightforward. Because you have been given something so much better, THEREFORE what? Therefore you should be better. God asked for Better behavior from them.
CROSS REFERENCE
D&C 82:3
If what the people of the New Testament received was that much BETTER than what they had in the OLD, and if that meant that God required more of them because of it, what does that mean for us in the Latter-days?
Don’t water down the message of D&C 82:3. The word is REQUIRED not EXPECTED.
"LET US's" OF HEBREWS
Q: “What does a salad and the Book of Hebrews have in common?”
A: It’s full of “Let Us”
2 REQUESTS
Mark them
Be sensitive to the Spirit prompting you to change. What Let Us message is most important for you right now?
4:1
Remember that the theme of chapter 4 was rest, a better rest in God’s kingdom. Fear is a strong word, probably better translated as Let us act carefully so that we don’t miss out on HIS rest.
4:11
So let’s work hard to do what we need to do to inherit that rest. The time for rest will come, but right now is the time to work.
4:14
We need to hold fast to the faith we profess or declare to believe in. Those are the words Lehi used to describe the people that eventually obtained the fruit of the tree of life. They continually held fast to the iron rod. Are you holding on tight to God’s word?
4:16
How should and can we come to our Father in heaven asking for forgiveness. With self loathing, trepidation, timidity? No boldly. With great trust and gratitude in Christ’s mercy. I think that’s something that’s missing from the church sometimes, that rejoicing and confidence in the grace of Christ. Maybe the evangelicals have it right in that aspect. They clap, and shout Amen, and Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus, your grace is good. I’m not saying we need to do the same, but maybe it would be good if we had a little more of that Spirit in our hearts. Come boldly to the throne of grace. It’s there for you in time of need. Don’t hesitate to ask for it or believe that you aren’t worthy to receive it. He loves to forgive, he loves to offer second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances. His grace truly is amazing.
6:1
What he means here is lets move on to higher things. He asks, Do I need to keep laying the foundation for you. Teaching the fundamentals over and over because you won’t master them. God can’t move us higher if we don’t value and apply what he has already given us. Paul doesn’t want to have to give them the same milk over and over, he wants give them meat, but they just aren’t ready for it yet. They refuse to grow up in the gospel.
10:22
A similar message to approaching the throne of grace with boldness, just a different way of saying it. Draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Again, the message being, don’t be ashamed or timid about coming to God to be purified and washed clean. He will forgive and purify you!
10:23
A repeat of an earlier one. Hold fast to your faith and God will be faithful to his promises also. I like the winky face at the end of that one. It’s totally coincidental but I think it fits the message. It reminds of D&C 82:10 I the Lord am bound when ye do it what I say. But when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
10:24
If you’re going to provoke somebody, provoke them unto love and good works. Prod them into doing good things, not provoking to anger. And then that great caution in vs. 25, no forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. In other words, don’t go inactive, there is great value in assembling ourselves together in our church meetings. The Lord requires this of us. Church attendance is not just for our benefit, but so that you can bless others as well. So get to church and start provoking each other! Unto love and good works though.
12:1
I love this one particularly because I can relate to it easily. I’m a runner and a backpacker, and Paul is going to give us some really good advice on how to run more effectively. There is a direct correlation between the weight you are carrying and how fast you can travel. When I was younger and first went backpacking, my pack must have weighed between 30-40 pounds. It was so heavy and hard to carry. But I didn’t consider the weight of each individual piece of gear. I would throw things into my pack that I never really used, I brought extra clothes I didn’t need, heavy items that could have been replaced with lighter options, and I just kept thinking that one more thing wasn’t really going to make that big of a difference. Then I discovered the world of ultralight backpacking and everything changed! I started paring down my gear, buying lighter equipment, and discarding items that I didn’t really need. And wow did the ever make a difference. I discovered I could travel much farther and much more comfortably than I ever thought possible. Well, don’t make that same mistake spiritually! Paul encourages us to leave the weight behind. The more weight you carry running, the slower and more painful it will be. What is the weight he’s telling us to drop? Sin. Don’t let your sins hold you back! Drop that weight! No wonder Paul tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace. And then run your race with patience. The race of life is a marathon, not a sprint. We must endure to the end. And the person you probably need to be most patient with is yourself. Every step is progress. And you will for sure have setbacks. You’ll get spiritual side cramps, you may slow down sometimes and speed up others, you may even get a little lost and end up bushwacking through the trees for awhile. But be patient, keep running towards the finish line. Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. I love that title. He’s the one that has made it to the finish line, and he will get you there if you keep following him. Confucious once said something very profound about learning that I’m going to parapharase and apply in this instance. He said "“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; Hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.” I would put it like this “follow the Savior as you would following someone you have no hopes of catching, but were afraid of losing sight of.” So keep your eye on the Savior, the author and finisher of your faith. Truthfully, you will never catch up with Him, at least not in this life, but don’t lose sight of him.
12:28
In this sense, grace means gratitude. Let us be grateful people, because our God is so good and so gracious and has given us so much, despite our hardships. To me, gratitude is one of the most important principles of happy living. Ungrateful people will never be happy. They are always focused on what they lack, rather than what they have. Switch that equation, and happiness will be yours.
13:13
It’s some really nice parallel imagery here. He’s saying that the priests in the ancient days of the tabernacle, would burn the sacrifices outside the camp. In a similar way, when Christ was crucified, he was let outside of the city gates to Golgotha, beyond the walls of Jerusalem.
So the implication is, let us go with him, lets get out of the camp and the city and follow Christ. The camp and the city representing the world. If we want to follow Christ, we need to separate ourselves from the world. Get away from their influence, and values, and behaviors. We too, need to go forth and get out. And bear his reproach with Him.
13:15
Fairly self explanatory. One of the greatest sacrifices we can give is our praise and thanks to God. Have you shown him your gratitude in private in your sincere daily prayers? Have you offered your thanks to Him publicly in testimony or example. Let us be thankful receivers.
MORE LET US IDEAS
2:1-3
Let us give more earnest heed. And not let his words slip. I’d have you ask yourself, have you ever let his words slip. When you study your scriptures, do you just race through to get it done, or do you feast, and ponder, and study. At church do you listen attentively, or are you sleeping, or playing on your phone. When General Conference comes around, do you listen to the talks that one time and then never consider them again? Or do you go back, and study them, and apply their counsels.
I find the word neglect interesting here. I don’t think that there are a lot of people out their that are willfully wicked. Or throngs of members of the church that don’t care or don’t believe. I think a lot of people simply neglect their salvation. They get to caught up in other things. They don’t invest the time and effort needed to keep their faith strong. Little by little, over time, their spiritual garden gets overgrown with weeds, not on purpose, but through neglect.
3:8-11
What he talking about? The children of Israel when they were freed from Egypt, and saw all the power and miracles of God, and when it finally came to the point where they were going to inherit the promised land, do you remember what happened? They sent in the 12 spies, and ten of them said, oh, we can never take it, the people are giants, and they have big walls around the cities, we can’t do it, we can’t overcome it. Two of the spies, though, Caleb and Joshua, said, no, we can do it, because we have God on our side. And the people listened to the 10 and not the two. So what was the consequence. Moses said, OK, if after all the miracles you’ve seen, including walking through the Red Sea on dry ground, you still don’t have trust in God’s power to inherit the promised land? Ok, I guess you won’t. So that is why they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years. Why? Jump down to vs. 17-19
They wandered around in the wilderness, waiting for all the unfaithful people to die. That’s why he very unceremoniously says, their carcases fell in the wilderness. It wasn’t until they had died that the rest of the children of Israel could inherit the promised land. And only 2 of those original spies got to go into the promised land. I bet you can guess which ones, yep, Caleb and Joshua. And do you recall what happened to the very first city they came to with a giant wall the others were so concerned about. That first city was Jericho. And what happened to that wall. It came a tumbling down.
So, Paul’s message: Don’t let your carcass fall in the wilderness of life. God has a better rest for you, a promised land. But if you don’t believe you can make it, or that God is able to get you there through your faith in him, than you won’t enter it, because of your unbelief. So have trust and faith in your Father in Heaven and Christ.
6:18-19
So let us have hope. I love the metaphor. Our hope is an anchor. What does an anchor do? It fastens us to the rock, it keeps our boat steady in the midst of the storms, waves, and winds of life. And what do we hope for? Something BETTER. The theme of the whole book. I would ask you to pause and consider what truths or blessings are like an anchor of hope for you? One of mine? A better world. This world is a fairly evil and miserable place in a lot of ways. I can’t wait until all that evil and miser, and death are washed away, leaving only the good and beautiful behind. My hope for that kind of world, keeps me going in this one.
12:12-14
This one is all about the way we treat others. Let us serve others. Look for the hanging hands and the feeble knees and give them strength and peace. Remember that the gospel is so much more than what we believe, but what we do, and how we treat others.
APPLY
Q: “Which is your favorite LET US of Hebrews”, And Why?
Q: Has the Spirit prompted you to make any changes? I invite you to listen to that Spirit
CONCLUSION
There has never been a time in the History of the World where God’s people have been given so much. What we have received is BETTER than anything that has been given to previous dispensations. THEREFORE, let us be BETTER. Let us give more earnest heed always keeping in mind that where much is given, much is REQUIRED.
HEBREWS SCRIPTURAL GEMS
REMEMBER YOUR SINS NO MORE 8:12
Isn’t it amazing how merciful Jesus Christ is. Not only is he the type of being that can forgive, but the kind that can forget. Not we mere mortals, we may be able to forgive but it’s really hard for us to forget. But If we are repentant, if we have the proper attitude towards God’s commandments, that blessing will come to us.
The best thing that’s helped me to understand this truth is a little imaginary scenario my father once shared with me. I’d like to have you imagine this as well, and I’ll just share it as if he were sharing it. Imagine the judgment, now I don’t imagine the judgment like a courtroom, but more like the way our worthiness is judged here on earth. How is it done here? You have an interview with your bishop, just you in him, two chairs in a comfortable room. So I imagine myself walking into a room, and in the middle are two beautiful wing back chairs facing each other. I sit down in one of them, when a door opens and none other than Jesus Christ himself enters in and takes the other chair. He looks at me and says, this is your judgment, I would like to ask you some questions about your worthiness to enter my kingdom. Did you obey my commandments? And what would you say to that question? I know what I would say, I would squeak out an I tried. To which he says, well let's see and then between you and him a little screen pops up and starts to play scenes from my life. and what does he show me. all the times that i'd been obedient, all the times I told the truth, all the times reached out to serve somebody, all the times I resisted temptation, all the times I turned off the inappropriate music or movie. And then the screen disappears, and he looks at me again and says, well, did you obey my commandments, and after seeing all that I say, YES, and he’s just about to move on to the next question when I can’t help but interrupt and say, but wait a second, you only showed me the good things, what about all my failures, what about all the times I didn’t choose the right, all the times I didn’t tell he truth, or turn off the movie, or help the person in need, you didn’t show me any of those, and with that he looks back at me with great love and says, “Oh, I don’t remember that”. Then he asks a second question. Did you preach my gospel. And again I would say, I tried? To which he responds, well lets see, the screen pops up and scenes begin to play, he shows me friends I invited to church in my youth, scenes from my two year mission in Brazil, my efforts to share the gospel with my neighbors, and the visits I made as a home teacher or minister to reactivate less active families. And then the screen disappears, and he asks the question again, so did you preach my gospel, and I say Yes, but what about my failures. What about all the times I didn’t share the gospel, I’ll the times I kept to myself on the airplane, all the times I could’ve made more efforts to share and invite my neighbors but didn’t. Again, he looks at me with great love and says, Oh, I don’t remember that. And the questions just continue on and on like that, Did you redeem the dead, were you good father, were you a loving husband, did you serve faithfully in your church callings, on and on like that, and each time, my failures are forgotten. Do you feel the power in that verse, the miracle of that promise. How would that make you feel towards your Savior in that moment. Could you feel anything other than unutterable love for a being that can forget. Now that mercy can only be offered to the repentant, but it is offered. He will remember yours sins no more. One of my favorite principles in all scripture.
SUBSTANCE AND EVIDENCE 11:1
Two words stand out to me. I love them in relation to the topic of faith. You usually wouldn’t associate these words with faith, and yet, there they are. What are they? Substance, and evidence. Faith is based on substance and evidence.
For many years I thought my testimony was based on feelings. I know the church is true because I feel it. Now feelings are important in faith, I’m not discounting them. I know the church is true because I have felt powerful feelings as I’ve read the scriptures, listened to the prophets, or heeded the promptings of the Holy Ghost. But I don’t think you can base your entire testimony solely on feelings. Feelings are not the strongest foundation. So what substance and evidence do we have. Lots! And let me share just three of those things with you. One, experience. I know the truth based on real life experiences I’ve had. Answered prayers, miracles, priesthood declarations that manifested themselves, and the real life blessings that have come into my life through obedience to the commandments. That’s not just feelings. And I could probably ask each of you my listeners of experiences that you have had that helped you to know God was real and the church was true. We could compile all those stories into one book, which would be huge, a giant volume filled with thousands of stories, we could plop that book down in front of a skeptic and say, EVIDENCE, SUBSTANCE, how can you explain away all this experienced. All mere coincidences? I don’t think so. I also base my faith on reason. My sense of reason tells me the church is true, I look at the world around me and look up at the stars at night, and I consider the order and the majesty, and the beauty of all this creation, and my reason tells me, there is something behind all this order, this cannot be one giant cosmic accident. There is a God, my reason tells me so. I flip through the pages of the Book of Mormon, and read it’s contents with all its literary, historical, and spiritual complexity, and I know it exists, it’s real, it’s sitting there in my hands. My reason tells me, a 20 something year old farm boy with at third grade education couldn’t have written this. My reason tells me so. Evidence, substance. One more example. I believe the church is true based on authority. I may not have ever seen God and Jesus but I trust in the authority of those that say they have based on what I know about their character. I don’t receive revelation to govern the church but I believe in the authority of the 15 men that say they do. I look at their character, I listen to their words, if the church isn’t true, they would know it. But do I get the sense that they are trying to deceive me? Do I get the sense that they are motivated by greed or power? No, they are good and sincere, and righteous, self sacrificing men. I trust in their authority. Evidence, substance. So no, my faith is not base solely on my feelings. We people of faith, do have strong legs to stand on. Yes, they are still things that are based on hope and not seen, but there is a lot of evidence and substance to back them up.
JUST HAVE TO BE JUST 12:23
And I’ll introduce it with a question. Do you have to be perfect to go to heaven? Surprising answer. Yes, you do have to be perfect to go to heaven. No unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. So when Jesus says Be ye therefore perfect, in one interpretation of that verse, he really meant it. Now I could ask that question a little differently and say. Do you have to be perfect in this life to go to heaven? And the answer to that question is no, in fact, that is impossible.Only one person lived a perfect life, and that was Christ. So, if I’m not perfect here, but I have to be perfect to go there, how does that happen?
Do you see the word perfect there? He is speaking about the inhabitants of the Celestial Kingdom. These are the spirit of just men made perfect. Just meaning righteous men and women. So how do we become perfect. WE are made perfect. This is very similar to D&C 76:69 which says
69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.
It’s not us that are perfect. It’s Christ’s atonement that was perfect, and we are made perfect through its power. And who gets that blessing? Just or righteous people. So if I want to go to heaven, I just have to be just. Now that’s a little more attainable than perfection. Isn’t it. So, go out and be just, and Christ’s atonement will one day, make you perfect and worthy of the presence of God.
Today our "Senior" men and women's study group of 13 completed Hebrews 7-13. The spirit was particularly strong and edifying. Your personal remunerations about Faith were especially inspiring to our group, as was your perspective about a personal interview with the Savior. There were many thoughtful compliments on the presentation. Thank you for your efforts in our behalf. ---D'Ann Jones