Stumbling Blocks vs. Stepping Stones

 About a week and a half ago I was involved in a lesson where we felt impressed to read and discuss 1 Nephi 14:1.  Here Nephi is being taught by an angel in a vision.  The angel tells Nephi about the Gentiles and how the Lord will manifest himself to the Gentiles in many ways.  One of them being "taking away their stumbling blocks".  We discussed this idea of the Lord taking away our stumbling blocks and how we access this gift.

The spirit taught us it is our decision in any circumstance to make that circumstance a stumbling block or a stepping stone.  The decision is either to go towards or away from Christ.  Christ is the difference. 

Eternities greatest stumbling blocks can be stepping stones only through Christ.

Sin is one of those stumbling blocks that will impede and stop our progression if Christ is not present.  In the scriptures we read, "there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God."(1 Nephi 15:34)  Without Christ we would never be able to enter the kingdom of heaven because of our sins.  Another obstacle is death.  Romans 8:2 tells us,"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."  Christ has eliminated the stumbling block of life after death and if we choose He will make it possible for us to overcome the obstacle of sin.  The difference is Christ. 

Let us all have hope and faith in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  For, "there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." (Mosiah 3:17).