I can't think of a more appropriate way in which to lead off this blog than in expressing my testimony of the divinity of the Savior Jesus Christ. For the church, He is at its head and guides and directs it through his chosen prophet. For mankind, He is the way back to our Heavenly Father. For us as individuals, He is our friend and example, who is always there and always seeks to help us grow and learn to become more like Him. I have always known these truths since childhood, but have not always known them. What I mean is that it wasn't until I actually went through difficult life experiences, which prompted a need to dig deeper for knowledge and help, that I came to know Him and the nature of His mission and sacrifice in a more deeply personal way. I still don't fully understand His atoning sacrifice (e.g. how He accomplished it, the enormity of all that it covers, etc.) and like most people will spend forever continuing to learn about and understand it, but I am thankfully huge leaps and bounds ahead of where I used to be with that understanding! In many ways, I tend to think that this is how the significance of who He is and what He accomplished was designed to be, at least in what it means for us on a personal level - it's something that is not just handed to us or bestowed cheaply. Otherwise, if it were easier to understand and grasp, where would the faith-building challenge be for us to reach and strive to overcome ourselves and become more like Him? It would be too easy and the ultimate prize of becoming like Him and "see(ing) him as he is" (Moroni 7:48) would not be worth to us what it should be. The fullness of what He means to us seems to lie behind a door that is often only opened by the harrowing adversities of life.
Here are some additional resources that describe the role of the Lord Jesus Christ:
One thing that I love doing is going through the vast archives of general conference talks, church education system devotionals and firesides, and any other church resource I can get my hands on and diving into talks that speak powerfully to me at any given time in my life. There are decades worth of these available, thanks to today's technology! I love hearing new stories and seeing new angles to basic and powerful truths. One such favorite talk of mine over the past few years that puts powerfully who the Savior is/can/should be for us is a talk from the October 2008 general conference entitled "The Way", by Elder Lawrence C. Corbridge of the First Quorum of the Seventy. I love the simplicity of this talk that is at once bold yet loving and encouraging! Here are some of my favorite points from Elder Corbridge's talk:
- There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is madness!
- In combination with the Lord's Atonement, every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives.
- Although life may seem hard and attaining His standard, unreachable, it is not. Unlike with many higher standards in life, becoming like Him is not something that is achievable only by a select few who appear most able. This is because becoming like Him is not a human endeavor but is something that can be accomplished through Him and by Him, "not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too."
- The gospel is not hard, life is. But life is also simple: get on the path and just keeping going, never giving up, no matter what, and we will make it!
Watch the talk below or click the link above for more ways to watch/read/download:
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