At the
beginning of His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ walked along the shore of the Sea
of Galilee and called out to two fishermen, “Follow me,” He said, “and I will
make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Although this statement was originally
said to the future apostles, Peter and Andrew, Christ has extended this
important invitation to each of us: he has asked us all to follow Him. As we
follow Christ, we become more like Him we glean and learn from His character as
we come closer to Him.
The
restored gospel enables us to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Our
Savior himself showed us the path we must take to do so. He set the perfect
example and asks us to become like him.
In Moroni
10:32 we are instructed to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.”
Preach My
Gospel outlines some of the characteristics of the Savior that we can strive to
emulate in our own lives. These qualities are: Faith in Jesus Christ, Hope,
Charity, Patience, Diligence and Virtue. I think it is important to note
however that we don’t have to be perfect to come unto Christ, we become perfect by doing so.
One of my
very favorite miracles Christ performed during his mortal ministry is a story found
in Mark chapter 5, the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus from the
dead. This story so wonderfully exhibits many of the attributes we are
instructed to develop in Preach My Gospel.
In this
story, Jesus is traveling when he is stopped by Jairus, who pleads with Jesus
to come and heal his sick daughter. Jesus comes with the man but before they
get to her they are stopped by a servant of Jairus, who gives them the grievous
news that the daughter is already dead. Exercising hope, Jesus tells Jairus to
be not afraid, but believe. When Jesus arrives at the house to see the girl
dead he announces that she is not dead, but sleeps. He is laughed to scorn.
Jesus then took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, “Damsel, I say unto
thee, arise.” The damsel then arose straightway and walked.
Throughout
this one story alone, Jesus exemplifies so many of the attributes we are
instructed to develop. Hope, when He accepted the plea to heal Jairus’
daughter. Diligence, when He persevered after the servant told Him it was too
late. Patience and humility, when he was laughed to scorn. Faith, when he
performed the miracle. And charity and love when He took the time from what I’m
sure was a busy day to heal a young girl. It means even more when we look at
the time in history he lived in, when young girls were not of very much worth
to the world. But to Christ, he treated the young damsel with compassion and
charity, the same as he treated any other.
I really do
love that story but, of course, the greatest thing Christ did during His mortal
ministry was perform the atonement. In Alma 42:15 it says, “and now the plan of
mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore
God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of
mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just
God, and a merciful God also.”
This
scripture helps us to understand the necessity of the atonement in balancing
the laws of justice with God’s desire for mercy. It also helps us understand
what a crucial role Christ played in the plan of salvation. Christ performed
the atonement for us, something no one else could do. He did this so that we
can be redeemed of our sins and live in God’s presence one day. Christ performed
a saving work for us that we simply cannot do for ourselves.
As we are
trying to become Christlike, how can we take our knowledge of what Christ did
for us through the atonement and use it to help inspire us to better our own
actions?
One way we can approach the spirit of the Savior’s atoning
sacrifice is through doing family history work.
Our efforts in family history work approach the spirit of the
Savior’s atonement because we are performing a saving work for others that they
simply cannot do for themselves. Performing priesthood ordinances for those who
have died allows us to become more Christlike because in a sense we are
becoming a savior on Mount Zion for our ancestors.
Family history work is so important. Heavenly Father’s plan of
happiness enables family relationships to continue throughout eternity. As we
perform family history work, we are being missionaries to our very own
ancestors.
As many returned missionaries will tell you it is a rare
privilege to baptize or help bring an entire family to Christ because binding
eternal families in Christ is what our gospel is all about. Family history work
allows us to experience this joy and help bind our very own eternal family to
Christ.
One quote that I love ties together the spirit of family history
work and it’s actually from an inspirational Hawaiian movie it goes like this: Ohana
means family, family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.
The True to the Faith manual outlines three basic
responsibilities we have in doing family history work. They are:
1. Receive the temple ordinances for yourself and help immediate
family members receive them. 2. Hold a current temple recommend and attend the
temple as frequently as circumstances allow. 3. Gather family history
information so you can help your ancestors receive the blessings of the temple.
First, we must receive the temple ordinances for ourselves and
help immediate family members receive them. Part of our responsibility in
family history work is to raise the living as well as the dead. Prioritizing
our family over other worldly things is so important and cannot be
overemphasized.
Second, hold a current temple recommend and attend the temple as
frequently as circumstances allow. I think the youth in our ward are such a
positive example of this. Many of them go to the temple every week and they all
testify how it improves their day to day lives and strengthens their
testimonies. I know that for me going to the temple helps me feel at peace
while I am there and it also helps open my mind and heart to promptings and
feelings from the holy ghost.
And finally, we must gather family history information so we can
help our ancestors receive the blessings of the temple. This is typically what
we think of when we talk about doing family history.
A quote by President Henry B Eyring says, “When you were
baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. …They rejoiced to see
one of their descendants make a covenant to find them. Their hearts are bound
to you. Their hope is in your hands.”
As we complete these saving ordinances for our ancestors we help
to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [our ancestors].” Family
history allows us to become more Christlike as well as giving us the
opportunity to be missionaries to those who have gone before us.
Whether it is working on your own temple ordinances, doing
family history or searching out God’s children in Guadalajara, the gospel
allows various ways to magnify Christ’s atonement in our lives. It is my prayer
that we will each find our way to respond to Christ’s invitation, “Come, follow
me.” And it is my testimony that God sees us as he saw Jairus and Jairus’
daughter, as individuals as great work.
