The Rest of the Lord

[let’s roll]

The Savior invited each of us to “come unto” Him and promised that if we did so He would give us “rest.”

If you feel you’re experiencing the rest of the Lord, what do you believe you did to come unto Him and how does His rest manifest itself in your life?

If you don’t feel you’re experiencing His rest, do you have any thoughts on what might be preventing you from doing so?

Thanks In advance for your thoughts.  Godspeed.

[rpn]

I think rest is the comfort of knowing that when we do our personal best and quickly repent, we are then and forever perfect in Christ (I use "square with God") which means I don't have to do anything except doing my personal best (which gets better as I do it in most areas naturally) and quickly repenting and keep doing what I'm doing, and trusting Him.

I recommend "Believing Christ" by Stephen Robinson

"Bonds that Make us Free" by C. Terry Warner

"When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered" by Wilcox

and the lyrics to How Firm a Foundation

Edited August 4, 2019 by rpn

[SettingDogStar]

4 hours ago, let’s roll said:

The Savior invited each of us to “come unto” Him and promised that if we did so He would give us “rest.”

If you feel you’re experiencing the rest of the Lord, what do you believe you did to come unto Him and how does His rest manifest itself in your life?

If you don’t feel you’re experiencing His rest, do you have any thoughts on what might be preventing you from doing so?

Thanks In advance for your thoughts.  Godspeed.

The best explanation is found in Lectures on Faith.

[CV75]

4 hours ago, let’s roll said:

The Savior invited each of us to “come unto” Him and promised that if we did so He would give us “rest.”

If you feel you’re experiencing the rest of the Lord, what do you believe you did to come unto Him and how does His rest manifest itself in your life?

If you don’t feel you’re experiencing His rest, do you have any thoughts on what might be preventing you from doing so?

Thanks In advance for your thoughts.  Godspeed.

I think praying for charity is key, even though we may not fully comprehend what it is we are praying for. It will certainly dawn upon us.

Alma 13:

28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and ^awatch and pray continually, that ye may not be ^btempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be ^cled by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, ^dmeek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;

29 ^aHaving faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the ^blove of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his ^crest.

30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be ^abound down by the chains of ^bhell, that ye may not suffer the second ^cdeath.

[Maidservant]

9 hours ago, let’s roll said:

The Savior invited each of us to “come unto” Him and promised that if we did so He would give us “rest.”

If you feel you’re experiencing the rest of the Lord, what do you believe you did to come unto Him and how does His rest manifest itself in your life?

If you don’t feel you’re experiencing His rest, do you have any thoughts on what might be preventing you from doing so?

Thanks In advance for your thoughts.  Godspeed.

I have been studying and pondering the "come unto thee" in 1 Ne 1:14, and there Nephi (really, Lehi) terms the difference between 'perishing' and 'not perishing', and 'perishing' is associated with (if not strictly defined by) abominations (undefined), the sword, and captivity.  The Lord God Almighty is described as having mercy, power, and goodness--and I can see that (in this passage) mercy is the antidote for captivity, power is the antidote for the sword, and goodness is the antidote for abomination.  Not even sure if I'm going to conclude what it all means yet, but it has been a powerful exploration for me.

I don't know if I've thought enough about either 'come unto me' or 'rest' to know whether I have entered, but I do think it is a real time experience, and not based in the afterlife per se.  I do know that I am a much more peaceful person now and more comfortable in my own body, the older I get while applying life's principles I've learned.  I love myself instead of hating myself (most of the time).  Any time I would do the latter, I leave rest.  Anytime I am willing to do the former, I enter a sense of peace and safety.  Any time I follow the Savior's pattern for meeting the challenges and threats of the world, and meeting my own weakness, is when I am more at peace.

[Robert F. Smith]

For me "the rest of the Lord" has been a lifelong knowing that I was always safe from harm, real harm, and that any evanescent harm had no significance in the long-term.  In my ignorance and youth, the Lord always protected me.  Sometimes it was my mother's fervent prayers, and my name on the prayer roll in the temple, while I was far, far away.  More recently it has been living in safety among the Saints, constantly warmed by their genuine smiles and friendship.  The "rest of the Lord" is deeply communal and familial, and seems to be in collusion with the Holy Spirit at every turn.

Just the other day, I was in the temple outside my temple district, in a sealing room, when the temple president and matron came into the room to (as he said) imbibe the Spirit.  When we left the room, I mentioned to the temple president that I had once been in his stake when he was stake president years ago.  We exchanged pleasantries, but I left thinking how well he fit the role of temple president -- such a kind, spiritual man.  Then I went to the Celestial Room with a friend to pray for awhile, in the "rest of the Lord."

[RevTestament]

12 hours ago, let’s roll said:

The Savior invited each of us to “come unto” Him and promised that if we did so He would give us “rest.”

If you feel you’re experiencing the rest of the Lord, what do you believe you did to come unto Him and how does His rest manifest itself in your life?

If you don’t feel you’re experiencing His rest, do you have any thoughts on what might be preventing you from doing so?

Thanks In advance for your thoughts.  Godspeed.

I don't view rest as being in a temporal sense. Will Yeshua give us temporal rest? I believe He does and can, but I have not experienced that on a permanent basis. The gospel teaches where much is given, much is required. That doesn't sound like it's going to be paradise to me just yet...just sayin'.

[Ahab]

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2012/02/enter-into-the-rest-of-the-lord?lang=eng

For those who don't like clicking on links, I will highlight this part of the talk:

"Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–1985) taught: “The rest of the Lord, where mortals are concerned, is to gain a perfect knowledge of the divinity of the great latter-day work. [President Joseph F. Smith said,] ‘It means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and in his plan, to such an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something else; we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive.’ It is ‘rest from the religious turmoil of the world; from the cry that is going forth, here and there—lo, here is Christ; lo, there is Christ.’ … The rest of the Lord, in eternity, is to inherit eternal life, to gain the fulness of the Lord’s glory.”²

From this we understand that in this life “the rest of the Lord” comes as we increase our knowledge of, and faith in, the reality of Jesus Christ, even to the assurance that He lives and loves us. “The rest of the Lord” in eternity is entering into the presence of the Lord."

[let’s roll]

My experience has been that I .most effectively “come unto” Christ using a loaves/fishes approach.  I marshal my faith, determination, gratitude and charity and figuratively present it to Jesus and ask that he both multiply it and point me in the direction where each can be applied with the greatest impact.

The definition/explanation I use for the “rest of the Lord” is freedom from fear and doubt, as that resonated with me when I first heard it and also is an apt description of how I’ve felt when I’ve been successful in coming unto Christ.