Spend Time With Jesus Christ

 

And They Sought to See Jesus Who He Was

By Elder James W. McConkie III

Of the Seventy

As our family entered the mission field, something Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught went with us. In a talk titled “The Great Commandment,” Elder Wirthlin asked, “Do you love the Lord?” His counsel to those of us who would answer yes was simple and profound: “Spend time with Him. Meditate on His words. Take His yoke upon you. Seek to understand and obey.”² Elder Wirthlin then promised transformative blessings to those willing to give time and place to Jesus Christ...

For me, for Laurel, and for our missionaries, spending time with Jesus in the scriptures changed everything. We gained a deeper appreciation for who He was and what was important to Him. Together we considered how He taught, what He taught, the ways He showed love, what He did to bless and serve, His miracles, how He responded to betrayal, what He did with difficult human emotions, His titles and names, how He listened, how He resolved conflict, the world He lived in, His parables, how He encouraged unity and kindness, His capacity to forgive and to heal, His sermons, His prayers, His atoning sacrifice, His Resurrection, His gospel...

With that telling of Mark 2 in mind, several important truths become clear about Jesus as the Christ. First, when we try to help someone we love come unto Christ, we can do so with confidence that He has the capacity to lift the burden of sin and to forgive. Second, when we bring physical, emotional, or other illnesses to Christ, we can do so knowing He has the power to heal and comfort. Third, when we make effort like the four to bring others to Christ, we can do so with certainty that He sees our true intentions and will appropriately honor them...

Brothers and sisters, let me close with two additional observations. Whether as missionaries, ministers, Relief Society presidents, bishops, teachers, parents, siblings, or friends, we are all engaged as Latter-day Saint disciples in the work of bringing others to Christ. Thus, the qualities exhibited by the four friends are worth considering and emulating.²⁷ They are bold, adaptive, resilient, creative, versatile, hopeful, determined, faithful, optimistic, humble, and enduring.

Forgiving Others Who Have Hurt You

 

Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness

By Sister Kristin M. Yee

Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

President Russell M. Nelson has taught that the Savior offers us the ability to forgive:

“Through His infinite Atonement, you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility for their cruelty to you.

“It is usually easy to forgive one who sincerely and humbly seeks your forgiveness. But the Savior will grant you the ability to forgive anyone who has mistreated you in any way. Then their hurtful acts can no longer canker your soul.”...

The Lord has said, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.”⁸ The Lord requires us to forgive for our own good.⁹ But He does not ask us to do it without His help, His love, His understanding. Through our covenants with the Lord, we can each receive the strengthening power, guidance, and the help we need to both forgive and to be forgiven.

Please know that forgiving someone does not mean that you put yourself in a position where you will continue to be hurt. “We can work toward forgiving someone and still feel prompted by the Spirit to stay away from them.”...

As my love for the Savior has grown, so has my desire to replace hurt and anger with His healing balm. It has been a process of many years, requiring courage, vulnerability, perseverance, and learning to trust in the Savior’s divine power to save and heal. I still have work to do, but my heart is no longer on a warpath. I have been given “a new heart”¹³—one that has felt the deep and abiding love of a personal Savior, who stayed beside me, who gently and patiently led me to a better place, who wept with me, who knew my sorrow....

Forgiveness heals terrible, tragic wounds, for it allows the love of God to purge your heart and mind of the poison of hate. It cleanses your consciousness of the desire for revenge. It makes place for the purifying, healing, restoring love of the Lord.”...

On the path of forgiveness and healing lies a choice not to perpetuate unhealthy patterns or relationships in our families or elsewhere. To all within our influence, we can offer kindness for cruelty, love for hate, gentleness for abrasiveness, safety for distress, and peace for contention.

Take Every Opportunity to Help Your Neighbor

 

The Eternal Principle of Love

By Elder Hugo Montoya

Of the Seventy

It is not enough to avoid being a stumbling block for others; it is not enough to notice the needy on the road and pass by. Let us take advantage of every opportunity to help our neighbor, even if it is the first and only time we meet him or her in this life....

Even when we do what is right, the circumstances in our life can change from good to bad, from happiness to sadness. God answers our prayers according to His infinite mercy and love and in His own time.

• The brook where Elijah drank water dried up.⁴

• Nephi’s fine steel bow was broken.⁵

• A young boy was discriminated against and expelled from school.

• A long-awaited-for child died within days of being born.

Circumstances change.

When circumstances change from good and positive to bad and negative, we can still be happy because happiness does not depend on the circumstances but on our attitude toward the circumstances. President Nelson said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”⁶

We can sit back and wait for circumstances to change on their own, or we can look for and bring about new circumstances.

• Elijah walked to Zarephath, where a widow gave him food and drink.⁷

• Nephi made a wooden bow and hunted animals to eat.⁸

• The young boy sat listening and taking notes by the window, and today he is an elementary school teacher.

• The couple have developed a great faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and trust in the plan of salvation. Their love for the long-awaited child who died suddenly is greater than their grief.

The Saints of Luputa - "We Don't have Problems... We Have Jesus Christ."

 

Faith in Christ amid the Fire of Affliction

By Elder Carl B. Cook

Of the Presidency of the Seventy

We Have the Gospel

When I served in the Africa Southeast Area, I was inspired by the history of a group of Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were faithful members, living where the Church was strong. Then, due to political unrest, in 1993 they were forced to move more than 625 miles (1,000 km) away. They arrived in Luputa, a remote area with no organized Church units. But that small group of families chose to live the gospel.

They studied the scriptures and worshipped in their homes. Each Sunday, they met as a group in a small house. They paid to use it by working in the owner’s field. Although they weren’t authorized to bless the sacrament, they faithfully donated tithes and offerings. They kept this money in a safe place for three years until two brethren journeyed 625 miles to give it to the proper priesthood leader.

Finally, after four long years, a branch was organized in Luputa. The Church grew fast. Soon a district was formed. Then, in 2011, a stake was organized. All this growth came through the work of members and branch missionaries. No full-time missionaries had been assigned to Luputa, yet more than 100 full-time missionaries had been called from Luputa to serve in other places.

In 2012, Sister Cook and I visited Luputa. We drove for two days in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to get there. As soon as we arrived, we joined the Saints for fast and testimony meeting. After the sacrament, it was time for testimonies. Many people rushed to the front of the chapel. The brother conducting the meeting asked some of the members to return to their seats and wait for next time.

About 40 Saints bore brief, heartfelt testimonies about Jesus Christ. They focused on the blessings of the gospel rather than their trials. We felt deep love for them.

After the meeting, I asked the stake president, “Is it always like this?”

“Yes,” he said. “Is that OK?” It was very OK.

“How did your stake grow and progress without missionaries?”

“We had branch missionaries, good ones, just like it says in the handbook.”

“How do you handle welfare concerns amid so much poverty?”

“Everyone here has family.” He referred to the principles in the handbook. “We should care for our own welfare and then ask family members to help. Only after doing this should we ask for help from the Church.”

“You meet in simple, crowded buildings. Are they good enough?”

“We are working on it.”

“What problems do you have?”

He sounded surprised. “We don’t have problems,” he said. “We have the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Swallowed Up in Joy

The Lord gave the Saints of Luputa strength “that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38). I know He will do the same for us, because I have felt His joy over and over again in my life.

The Lord gave the Latter-day Saints in Luputa strength “that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38).

Photograph courtesy of the author

We Can Obtain Peace

 

“My Peace I Give unto You”

By Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Storms in Our Lives

During the Savior’s mortal ministry, His disciples learned that He could calm the storms in our lives. One evening, after a full day of teaching by the seaside, the Lord suggested that they “pass over unto the other side” of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35).

After they had departed, Jesus found a spot to rest on the ship and fell asleep. Soon the skies darkened, “and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full” (see Mark 4:37–38).

We don’t know how long the disciples struggled to keep the ship afloat, but at last they could wait no longer. Panicked, they cried out, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).

All of us face sudden storms. In our mortal life of trials and tests, we may feel distressed, discouraged, and disappointed. Our hearts break for ourselves and those we love. We worry and fear and sometimes lose hope. During such times, we may also cry out, “Master, carest thou not that I perish?”

In my youth one of my favorite hymns was “Master, the Tempest Is Raging.”¹ I could picture myself in the boat when “the billows [were] tossing high.” The crucial and most beautiful part of the hymn follows: “The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still.” Then comes the important message: “No waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.”

If we welcome Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, into our boat, we need not be frightened. We will know that we can find peace amidst the storms that swirl inside us and around us. After His disciples cried out for help, Jesus “arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).

The same words Jesus spoke to the Sea of Galilee that stormy night, He says to us during the storms of our lives: “Peace, be still.”...

Brothers and sisters, dear friends, we live in perilous times. Nations are perplexed, judgment is upon the land, and peace has been taken from the earth (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:35; 88:79). But peace need not be taken from our hearts, even if we must suffer, grieve, and wait on the Lord.

Because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, our prayers will be answered. Timing belongs to God, but I testify that our righteous desires will one day be realized and that all our losses will be made up to us, provided we use the divine gift of repentance and remain faithful.⁵

We will be healed—physically and spiritually.

We will stand pure and holy before the judgment bar.

We will be reunited with loved ones in a glorious resurrection.

Meanwhile, may we be comforted and encouraged as we rely on the Savior’s promise: “In me ye might have peace” (John 16:33).