I appreciate the opportunity to share some ideas with you and would like to invite you to explore with me some ways of applying gospel truth. I prefer to define this process as exploring avenues of application rather than as a mere erudite academic inquiry. The kingdom of God is not a spectator sport. It is an action process requiring learning, commitment, and a special kind of understanding in order to translate truth into action. So I ask you to engage in that process—exploring ways of applying gospel truths.
As a focus for our discussion, I would like to emphasize one important area of gospel truth. Of the many ways to define the purpose of the gospel, let me suggest one for your consideration—the idea of the gospel as a mechanism that (1) defines the meaning of certain organizations, and (2) establishes a set of criteria for quality relationships within those organizations. Now, if this sounds suspiciously close to my academic field, it is. But after all, what else is there besides people behaving, relating, making mistakes, learning, changing, growing?
We have many scriptures and pronouncements from prophets that emphasize the significance of a series of organizations: the family, the neighborhood, the community, the state, the occupational world, the Church, and, ultimately, the kingdom of heaven. The value of the individual is defined and worth is measured in terms of the quality of the relationships we develop in each of these organizational settings: husband and wife, parent and child, individual and neighbor, individual and community, individual and state, individual and occupational setting, individual and the Church, and, finally, individual and God. The principle and ordinances of the gospel are geared not indirectly, but directly, to teaching us what it takes to develop quality relationships in each of these settings. The degree to which we attain those quality relationships is a determinant of our place in the kingdom of God.