Christ Leads All to Do Good

Ether 4:11-12 reads "But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good. And whatsoever persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me -- that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world."

And in Galatians 5:6-7 we read: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

I think that as we come unto Christ and seek to know His will for us, we are led to incorporate the fruits of the Spirit into our lives because Christ persuades all men to do good, and the fruits of the Spirit are the outward manifestations of that good.

If we are true followers of Christ we will have love for others, be at peace within ourselves and with those around us, be gentle, meek, and long-suffering. There are just as many ways to be good as there are ways to be bad, and thankfully Jesus has enumerated them in His word.

I am thankful for the Bible and the Book of Mormon in my life. I have learned that good is not just an outward show of behavior, but is a manifestation of my deeply held inner beliefs. I love that the scriptures give us plenty of warnings against what we shouldn't do, but also give us counsel on what we should do. After all, who wants to focus entirely on the negative in life? And how would that really help us to develop the positive? Just another proof that God is good, that He is all-knowing, and that He loves us and wants us to be not just a "good" people, but also a happy people.