That He might save all things

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Numbers 21: 8-9

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:14-15

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:22

“…On a hill called Calvary, while helpless followers looked on, His wounded body was nailed to a cross. Mercilessly He was mocked and cursed and derided. And yet He cried out, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ The agonizing hours passed as His life ebbed. From His parched lips came the words, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.’ As the serenity and solace of a merciful death freed Him from the sorrows of mortality, He returned to the presence of His Father. At the last moment, the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things.”

Thomas S. Monson

 “The Lord said, ‘Look unto me in every thought’. Looking unto the
Lord in every thought is the only possible way we can be the manner of men
and women we ought to be.”

Ezra Taft Benson

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.’ Doubt, fear, and worry indicate we have taken all of life’s burdens and anxieties on ourselves. When plagued by thoughts that you are inadequate, confidently say, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ Then as you ‘cheerfully do all things that lie in your power,’ you can rest assured that the Lord will do the remainder and things will work out all right.”

Anthony D. Perkins

“Enter not into the path of the wicked. . . . Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.”  The wisdom of Solomon in this passage is to be discovered in the word avoid. Solomon had discovered, as all wise people do, one of life’s most helpful guiding principles: It is easier to avoid temptation than it is to resist temptation.

Avoiding temptation should be our first line of defense. However, we live in a world in which the wheat is growing together with the tares and in which it is impossible to completely avoid temptation. But it would be wise to minimize it to the extent possible.

When we are faced with temptation, we should resist it with an avoidance mentality. “Get thee behind me” was the Savior’s example of resisting with an avoidance mentality. “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.” When we are faced with temptation, it would be wise to follow the Savior’s example by dismissing Satan without any further argument or discussion immediately and swiftly.

“Jesus Christ . . . knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.”

Lynn G. Robbins

“Lucifer . . . will use his logic to confuse and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black.”  The key is to not leave the door cracked open. Satan cannot open the door from the outside.

Spencer W. Kimball

“temptation is not a gate that can be opened by force of arms; it opens only inward,

as moved by the arm within, for each man is the gatekeeper of his soul.”

Neal A. Maxwell

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by His atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality…This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul…. because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible.