farewell talk.

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.