The Scope Of The Gospel

The original meaning of sin was to aim or go beyond the mark. We can imagine that trying to aim at happiness and fulfillment without the divine guidance of the Holy Ghost is like shooting from the hip, blindfolded. We may occasionally hit the target, but only by accident. But if we faithfully seek to live the fullness of the Gospel, including obeying all of the Lord's commandments and keeping and honoring all of our covenants and worthily partaking of the Sacrament every week that we may have the Spirit to be with us as our constant companion, then it is like we are aiming through a high-powered scope. When we have our eye single to the glory of God and are aiming through the scope of the Gospel, it is almost impossible to miss or sin by going beyond the mark. The more we immerse ourselves in the gospel, the more we will learn about how to stand tall, with our feet squared, to be still and know that God is watching over us and will not let our aim go astray if we put our trust in Him. We will not allow ourselves to be shaken or pushed aside by the recoil. We will not let the world distract us from hitting our target. By focusing on Christ, everything that does not help us to fulfill the measure of our creation will be blocked out. I know that the scope of the Gospel can help us aim at and hit happiness and peace and prosperity again and again, and the more we rely on that scope, the less and less we will miss and go beyond the mark in sin.