Eternal Life: A Treasure in Heaven

In the Bible, Jesus taught, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-20). Jesus visited the people on the ancient American continent and taught this same concept (see 3 Nephi 13:19-20).

What treasure is Jesus referring to?

A verse in the Book of Mormon explains more about this treasure. "Lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yeah, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life" (Helaman 5:8). We are all on Earth so that we can try to obtain eternal life. We do this by keeping the commandments and following the example of Jesus Christ. Doing so, we become worthy of eternal life.

What is eternal life?

In John 17:3, Jesus explained what eternal life is. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Jesus also said, "In my Father's house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Thus, when we obtain eternal life, we will be able to know God and Jesus Christ because we will live with them. Jesus has prepared a place for us in His Father's house, but we must remember that "no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Him]" (John 14:6). We need to follow Jesus in order to live in our Father's house.

I know that we can obtain eternal life if we follow Jesus Christ. I have had experiences where I have felt the Spirit of the Lord, and the joy that accompanied those feelings were more joyous than anything else I had ever experienced. I want to have that feeling all the time by obtaining eternal life.

Fasting and Prayer

Fasting means to voluntarily go without food or drink for a set amount of time. It is a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ for developing spiritual strength (see Bible Dictionary-Fasts).

During Jesus' ministry, a man came to Jesus and asked that he cure his son, who was a lunatick. The man had first taken his boy to Jesus' disciples, but they were unable to cure him. After Jesus rebuked the devil and the boy was cured, Jesus' disciples asked Jesus why they were unable to cast out the devil. His answer was very simple. "This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (see Matthew 17:14-21). Jesus had already fasted for forty days (see Matthew 4:1-11). His faith was strengthened so that He was ready to heal the boy.

My 13-year-old brother, Cameron, shared with me an experience about fasting that he had. These are his words:

"On one day, I came home from school finding my grandpa was in intensive care. This was a shock for me because he was fine the day before. Me and my family prayed and prayed for him to get back on his feet. One day we decided to kneel down and pray to start our fast. This was hard for me but the thought of my grandpa getting better was my motivation for my fast. The next day we had a call from my aunt telling us that my grandpa was in a regular hospital room getting to feel better. This was a real strengthening to my testimony. He was blessed for our sacrifice."

Fasting truly can cause miracles. With fasting, the faith of my brother was stregthened such that my grandpa was healed. By Jesus' fast for forty days in the wilderness, He was able to heal the lunatick boy. The Lord will also help each one of us when we fast and pray.

What special experiences have you had when fasting? Leave a comment and tell us about it.