Earnestly Contend For the Faith

To my daughter, 

                This week in our Come, Follow Me study we read in the short book of Jude. Jude is thought to be a half-brother of the Savior, meaning that (like James) he was a son of Mary and Joseph and was in the same house as Jesus growing up. We have just one chapter of 25 verses from him and we don’t know much about his life, but his words are of particular importance for us today. He gave us this invitation, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (v3). Though this was written to the Saints of his day nearly two millennia ago, the injunction is very applicable for us: we need to “earnestly contend for the faith” in our words and actions. This doesn’t mean that we should have contention but that we should advocate for the cause of the Savior Jesus Christ in all that we do. It means that we stand up for right when others choose wrong; it means that we personally strive to live pure lives even when others around us do not; it means that we diligently study His words each day as we strive to develop our faith in Him. Jude continued, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (v4). There are indeed many today who deny the Lord and who would turn us away from the faith, seeking to get us to excuse wicked actions because of the grace of God. These we must avoid, and we can instead stand firm in the faith and be diligent in keeping the commandments. Many in the world today violate the commandments of the Savior, but we can reject their ideas and hold fast to our faith in Him no matter what others do.

                Jude continued to describe the “ungodly” and their deeds, a description which feels like he was talking directly about our day: “These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage” (v16). This describes well the kind of contention we see in our society of the 21^st century with people speaking “great swelling words” against each other and doing deeds that are unholy and based on the admiration of men. But Jude gave us these encouraging words for how we could stand firm despite the ungodly of the world around us: “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;… But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference” (v17, 20-22). Our greatest defense is in remembering the words of the Savior and focusing on our faith in Him. We must earnestly pray and seek the Holy Spirit to be our guide and feel the love of God which He has for us. We can seek the mercy of the Savior which will indeed lead us to eternal life as we repent and turn constantly to Him. I hope that no matter what others do around us, you and I can learn to focus on the Savior Jesus Christ and remember our covenants with Him. We promise each week as we partake of the Sacrament to “always remember Him,” and I know that as we do that we will be protected from the evils of the world because He will in return give us His Spirit to guide us. I urge you to remember Him more often, especially at this Christmas season, and seek diligently to keep His commandments and “earnestly contend for the faith.” Then He will “keep you from falling” and eventually “present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” 

Love,

Dad