The Pure Gospel of Christ

Once upon a time, I sat in my high school French class, waiting for the instruction to officially begin. I was conversing with classmates about life and the trials of teenage-hood. Our discussion turned in such a way that I felt to point out a lesson in life I had recently learned.

“Too much of any one thing is bad, I pointed out, "and any good thing can become excessive and bad."

A nearby classmate took exception to my remark and, knowing that I was Christian and religious, tried to cross me in my words.

“That can’t be true,” he responded with indigence, “You wouldn’t say you can pray too much, would you?”

I was caught off guard at his reaction. I hadn’t meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. I merely wanted to point out something I felt was pertinent and helpful to the current conversation. Feeling sincere in my motivation for putting in my two cents, I wasn’t angered by my classmate’s reaction and simply pondered his question briefly.

“I get what you’re saying,” I replied after a few seconds, “and I understand that from one perspective, you can’t pray too much. But, there is a time and a place for everything, even prayer, and insincere prayer is never a good thing.”

I don’t remember if my classmate gave a rebuttal for me at the time or if he was satisfied with my response or wasn’t interested enough to carry the conversation further. I do remember that at this moment a question entered my mind which I’ve been asking myself ever since: How do I know if I am doing too much of good things in my life?

Years have gone by since this simple, but profound moment in high school. The only question I find just as pervasive as my daughter’s constant and difficult ‘why’ is the ever-daunting question how. The problem with the how in excessive ‘good’ness is balance. All good things are on a spectrum of extremes. I can do too little of a good thing or too much and either way it ends up being bad.

It’s truly as the scripture in Matthew 7:14 teaches, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Goodness is where the path towards Christ leads; not to either side of its gutters. Christ’s example to us is one of purity and focus. He never defiled himself by going to one extreme or another. And the doctrine that Christ taught was simple and pure:

D&C 10:67 – Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.

Another scripture points out the purity of Christ’s doctrine in this way: Mosiah 25:22 – And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church, yea, even the church of God; for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God.

Christ says His doctrine is repentance. He doesn’t feel the need to elaborate further. The church of God, as recorded in the above scripture, made sure everything that was taught related back to faith and repentance.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty I have with answering the how’s in life is that I either under-appreciate the basics or try too hard to add to what is already pure and simplified. The reality is that every answer to how is as simple as moving forward with trust in God (faith) and putting in effort to become better individuals (repentance).

Alma 16:21 – And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people…

Amazing things happen when we balance our lives with pure simplicity.