Memo #10
March 1, 2001 (blog May 1, 2013)
From: Grandpa Pratt
To: All Pratt family adults and selected others
Re: The Great Plan Explained
It is a thrilling thing for me to
address and stuff the envelopes. For all too brief a time I think of you and
yours, and bask in loving you and your love returned to me.
When the construction of this earth
was announced in Heaven, the prophet Job, of the Old Testament, says that we
all shouted for joy. Even though we knew that it was going to be an extremely
dangerous place to come, we also knew that it was the only way that we could
get a house (body of flesh) for our spirit to live in, so that we might become
like our Heavenly Parents.
The two greatest dangers in life
are called “DEATH”. The Bible dictionary says that death means SEPARATION. When we were born here, we died SPIRITUALLY,
for we left our heavenly parents, never to return, UNLESS a Savior was provided
for us. The second death, of course, is when our spirit leaves this body. This
is called physical death, and the body returns to the ground from whence it
came. The spirit DOES NOT RETURN HOME (then) but it goes to a world of spirits,
where we must wait for the great miracle of a Savior to restore us to our
physical bodies. He makes it possible for us to become alive spiritually and
physically, and to return to our heavenly home. But there is a “hitch”,
which I’ll try to explain.
The physical death is no problem.
Jesus solved that by rising from the grave, triumphant, after only three days
of separation from His body. ALL OF US WILL BE RESURRECTED.
Resurrection is a free gift, regardless of whether we’ve done good or evil.
Read Alma 11:42-45.
Jesus also solved spiritual death,
for all of us who will accept His plan. This wonderful plan is called many
things in the scriptures but the name I like best is: THE GREAT PLAN OF
HAPPINESS.
This plan is so simple that even an
eight year old child can begin to understand it, and accept or reject it, for
we all have our agency to do that. But we must take certain steps to show that
we accept or reject HIM (Jesus Christ). We call these steps the First
Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel. There are four steps. 1. Faith 2. Repentance
3. Baptism and
4. The Gift fo the Holy Ghost.
To have faith in Christ, a
sure belief, is the beginning. How can we expect anything from a person that we
do not believe in? When we have faith in Christ, we LOVE Him. We accept His
atonement (suffering) and His teachings. We do all that He has asked us to do.
We follow His example and we trust in Him. There are many wonderful scriptures
on faith. Look in your Bible or Book of Mormon index under, “Faith”.
The second principle, Repentance,
is a natural reaction to faith. If we love someone, we try to please them;
therefore, if we are doing something that makes our loved one unhappy, we
repent of it. To do this, we admit to God that we have done wrong. We feel
sorrow for our sins and we ask Him for forgiveness. We do all that we can to
correct the problems we may have caused. We turn away from our sins. Repentance
is an on-going thing. Daily, we all make mistakes and we need to be earnest in
our efforts to bring ourselves into the Savior’s Prefect Pattern of life.
However, we must not
procrastinate the day of our repentance, for this life is the time to
prepare to meet God, because we have no idea at what moment our life will end.
Christ does not redeem people in their sins, but from their sins. He redeems
them because of their repentance. Other wise, the first death (spiritual)
becomes the second death, and those who suffer this extreme penalty will never
be reunited with their heavenly family.
Sin is breaking God’s law.
All laws have a penalty. Justice decrees that all broken laws must be paid for.
Jesus paid for all sin in His terrific suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane,
where He literally sweat blood, and on that awful cross, the most diabolical
and painful method ever devised by evil men to take the life of a human. Jesus
has promised that those who do not accept His payment must suffer just as He
did, because He cannot redeem the sinner who refuses to accept the payment
which He made for them.
The third step of the great plan of
happiness is to show God and those around us that we have accepted Jesus’s
payment, or suffering, for our sins. He has asked us to do this by baptism
in water by immersion, by an authorized servant of God. Babies do not need
baptism, for it is not possible for them to repent. They have not sinned.
Through baptism, we enter into a
covenant or agreement with God. We promise to accept Jesus Christ, to become
His followers, and to keep His commandments. In return, our Heavenly Father
promises us that our sins will be forgiven, if we keep our part of the
covenant.
Baptism by immersion is literally a
symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior. It represents the
end of our old life and the beginning of a new life, as a disciple and follower
of Christ. To be valid, baptism must be preformed by a man who is authorized of
God to do so. This authorization is call Priesthood. Jesus was baptized by John
the Baptist who held such priesthood. Matthew 3:13-17 portrays the baptism of
Christ so thrillingly. If you were here, I would quote it to you, for I
memorized it about 75 years ago. It still thrills me to recite it.
With baptism, one is then ready to
be spiritually reborn. Hands are laid on the head of the newly baptized person,
by priesthood holders, and they bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
Receiving the Holy Ghost has a sanctifying, cleansing effect upon us. We are
purified, as if by fire. Our sins are forgiven. This ordinance is called
Confirmation. As a confirmed member fo the Church of Jesus Christ, we
can enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, as long as we are
worthy of it. That is to say that we can go on to eventual perfection by
practicing our faith and repentance, and with guidance of the great member of
the Godhead called the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost testifies to us of Jesus
Christ and leads us into all truth. It is one of the most precious gifts given
to us from our Heavenly Father.
By the power of the Holy
Ghost, in me vested, I can assure you that I know that this very brief outline
is indeed the Great Plan of Happiness. My next memo: the Restoration,
or how this all came about.
I love you all,
From Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa,
Brother and Friend
Richard Marden Pratt
More scriptures to look up if you want to: John
3:16-17, Alma 11:42-45, Alma 34:8-9,
2nd Nephi 9:6
The testimony of Adaline Kearl Pratt given in a talk
in Wenatchee, Washington about 1950.
“Consider the prophets and reformers. Think of the faith
engendered in us by the lives of Abraham, Moses, Nephi, John the Baptist, and
Jesus Christ. Jesus is the greatest of all prophets and reformers which the
world has ever known or will ever know. He performed many miracles to heal the
sick, the lame, and the blind. Then he gave His life for all mankind.
Second to him, the one that has
benefitted the world the most, is the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through him, the
heavens were opened and Christ’s Church was established upon the earth. He too
gave his life as a martyr. I know that these things are true. I say this in the
name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Dad wrote many fiction stories may I suggest you that saved
them, may want to get them out and re enjoy them and share them with the kids
who may not remember them. Or were too young when they were first printed. They are a lot of fun.
