I want to start by reading a part of a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
You will recall that when Andrew and another disciple, probably John, first heard Christ speak, they were so moved and attracted to Jesus that they followed Him as He left the crowd. Sensing that He was being pursued, Christ turned and asked the two men, “What seek ye?” [John 1:38.] … They answered, “Where dwellest thou?” or “Where do you live?” Christ said simply, “Come and see.” [John 1:39.] Just a short time later He formally called Peter and other new Apostles with the same spirit of invitation. To them He said, Come, “follow me.” [Matt. 4:19.]
It seems that the essence of our mortal journey and the answers to the most significant questions in life are distilled down to these two very brief elements in the opening scenes of the Savior’s earthly ministry. One element is the question put to every one of us on this earth: “What seek ye? What do you want?” The second is His response to our answer, whatever that answer is. Whoever we are and whatever we reply, His response is always the same: “Come,” He says lovingly. “Come, follow me.” Wherever you are going, first come and see what I do, see where and how I spend my time. Learn of me, walk with me, talk with me, believe. Listen to me pray. In turn you will find answers to your own prayers. God will bring rest to your souls. Come, follow me.
Today, I want to focus on some ways we can come unto Christ. But, first I want to answer the question of why we should come unto Christ?
The answer starts with our own testimony of His divine calling as Savior of the world. Ezra Taft Benson said: “Once one is convinced ... that Jesus is the Christ, then he must take the next step; he must come unto Christ.” Many of us have that testimony that He is our Savior and that He lives and loves us and watches over us. For those who don’t, I urge you to gain that testimony. Pray, and God will give the only answer there is for that question. He tell you by His Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Once converted, our duty is to align our lives with the teachings of Christ. In so doing, we turn over our lives to the one who gave His life for us. Said Elder Lowell D. Wood:
"To yield to Christ means to put him and his teachings first. The total submission of our will to his is one of the most difficult obstacles we face on our journey toward eternal life. The rewards of this submission are beautifully described by President Ezra Taft Benson: 'Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.'"
President Benson tells us that we need to know that Christ has invited us all to come unto Him. Elder Wood said of the call to come unto Christ: “It should be understood this invitation is not a request to participate in a single event, but to participate in a process. This process leads individuals to eternal life, which “is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.” (D&C 6:13). As we come unto Christ, He leads us to our Ulimate Hope: Life in the eternities with Him and our Father in Heaven—and all the blessings associated with that wonderful gift, including to become joint-heirs with Christ, to have our mortal families here be made eternal and to have unending joy. All these are promised to us if we but come unto Him.
It was the Savior who said: “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me” (D&C 88:63). What a blessing it is to have the Savior near us. The Psalmist wrote, “It is good for me to draw near to God” (Psalms 73:28). Prior to that verse, David explains why it is good for Him to draw near to God:
“I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalms 73:23-26).
I believe whenever we draw unto Christ, we will find it rewarding. As we come unto Him, He will take us by the right hand and guide us with his counsel and strengthen our hearts—and all this will He do so that He may one day receive us into the Kingdom of the Father. If we arrive there, it will be because of the blood He spilt in the Garden and His life He gave on the cross. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the ways we can come unto Him.
1. Strengthen yourself through scripture study, fasting and prayer.
When Vince Lombardi was hired to coach the Green Bay Packers, reporters asked him what he was going to do in his new role—would he emphasize the pass, the run, defense, what? Lombardi responded, “We’ll be brilliant at the basics.” Lombardi’s teams were, and they won so much, they named the Super Bowl trophy after him.
Similarly, in our spiritual doings, we need to be brilliant at the basics, so we are prepared for whatever Satan throws at us.
Because He was brilliant at the basics, Christ was strengthened to withstand Satan’s temptations. He was strengthened to withstand the through his forty days of fasting and prayer. He also drew upon the scriptures for strength.
As we fast and we pray, we also find additional strength. In Doctrine & Covenants 10:5, the Lord promises us: “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conqueror Satan …” Certainly, that is our goal! How de we return to live our Heavenly Father? We conqueror Satan? What’s the best way to conqueror Satan? Pray Always. President Ezra Taft Benson has said, “Communicating with our Father in Heaven through prayer also brings a spiritual power and strength found in no other way.”
Next, in response to each of Satan’s temptations, Christ quotes a scripture. Of this, Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “Think on it carefully. When facing Perdition himself, the Lord drew upon scriptures for protection.”
For us, we too find added protection from studying the scriptures, but we also find a great example in the scriptures in the life of Jesus Christ.
In modern revelation, Christ has said: “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23).
As we learn about His life, our testimonies deepen as does our resolve to walk his paths, which brings us to point No. 2:
2. Walk in His footsteps
To Peter and his brother Andrew, the Savior said: “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19). During the Last Supper, Christ would repeat this command to Peter, saying, “Follow thou me” (John 21:22). This same invitation was also extended to Phillip (John 1:43). Also, during his ministry, He once said: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
We use what we have learned of Him to follow Him. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said of the scriptures, “We possess these precious truths! Now they must come to possess us!” The scriptures teach us how to follow Him. They also teach us that great blessings come to us by following Him. Pay attention to the blessings in the following scriptures. First, He has told us: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). Also,“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26). In speaking of inheriting eternal life, He said: “Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people” (D&C 38:27).
Think of all those promises: The promise of eternal life, the promise that He will be with us, and the promise that one day He will give us that eternal freedom that only He can grant. What a great blessing it is to follow Him!
During His life,Christ focused on being an example to us. In blazing the trail back to the Father, He showed us how to walk it. An example of this comes from His baptism:
Christ was baptized to “fulfill all righteouness” (Matthew 3:15). He did so to fulfill the commandment He had received of the Father and to show us the way. In writing to encourage us to be baptized, Nephi writes, “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do” (2 Nephi 31:17). That’s good advice not just for baptism—but in all aspects of life. By studying Him, we know what we should do. As we come to know Him, we will want to follow in His footsteps.
3. Let the Spirit Be Your Guide
The King James Version of the Bible tells us that the devil led Christ to the various places where Satan tempted Him. Fortunately, through the wonderful Joseph Smith Translation, we know that this is not the case. The JST tells us that Christ followed the Spirit. Christ never allowed Satan to lead Him. Instead, He listened to the Spirit.
Like Christ, each of us have two voices tugging at us: The voice of the Spirit and the voice of the Evil One. If we follow Satan, we know where that will lead. As President Howard W. Hunter said, “The surest way to lose the blessings of time or eternity is to accept them on Satan’s terms.” But if we follow the Spirit, we know where we will be led: Back to the Kingdom of our Father.
Let’s focus for a moment, though, on the fact that He let the Spirit lead Him. Each of us will face times when we can visit an unholy place. Did Christ ever allow Himself to stand in unholy places? In this dispensation, He has issued this command: “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved” (D&C 87:8). If we stand in holy places, then it obviously becomes easier to live the gospel. The question, then, for each of us becomes this: Is there a place I go that offends the Spirit? If there is, then a change needs to be made—and a new destination needs to be found. There are plenty of holy places here where you can stand; there are plenty of good, fun friends you can hang out with.Your standards never need to be compromised.
Consider also, how Christ treated these temptations from Satan. He dismissed each temptation quickly. From this, we learn He controlled His thoughts. It has been said that thoughts become actions; actions become habits; habits become character. Christ was of a perfect character—perhaps because He controlled His thoughts. “For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7) Satan had no control over Christ because Christ had complete control over His thoughts. Said Elder Wood: “Any thought, activity, or action that is compatible with the name, the life, or the teachings of Jesus Christ is acceptable. Any behavior that is not compatible with his name, his life, or his teachings is not acceptable and should be avoided.”
Our job in this day is to be close to Christ. Said Ezra Taft Benson: “We are meeting the adversary every day. The challenges of this era will rival any of the past, and these challenges will increase both spiritually and temporally.
“We must be close to Christ, we must daily take His name upon us, always remember Him, and keep His commandments.” Here, President Benson quotes the same requirements we take upon us when we take the sacrament. The blessing of which is that His spirit will always be with us. To face the challenges of our day, we need to be led by the Spirit.
In conclusion, I want to bear you my testimony that Christ stands with open arms to receive any who come unto Him. Nephi writes, “He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him” (2 Nephi 26:33). And, a few chapters later, we read: “I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long” (2 Nephi 28:32). I know Christ stands with outstretched arms always waiting to embrace us. I know He is aware of us, and He will do all He can to bring about our happiness. I pray that each of us will come unto Him and find joy in Him and that we all may feel often His love in our lives. I know my life has been blessed by having Him as a friend. How grateful I am for His sustaining love that lifts me up and gives me hope. How grateful I am for the sacrifice He made for me that I might live. How grateful I am for His mercy and His patience with me. And how grateful I am that He has blessed my life so richly. I know the joy of drawing unto Him, and I know the disappointment of moving away from Him. From this, I know I want to live my life near Him, and I want to live my eternities with Him. From my own experience, I can testify that I knowHe means it whenHe says: “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.”
