Talk Given On June 9, 2013:

Becoming A Disciple of Jesus Christ
Benjamin David Nelson

Today in my talk I will focus on three questions.

·         What is a disciple of Christ?
·         How can we become Disciples of Christ?
·         What blessings do we receive when we are Disciples of Christ?

To answer these questions, I would like to use the scriptures as well as talks from our latter-day prophets that will help answer these questions clearly.

I. What Is A Disciple of Christ?

In the Bible Dictionary, we read that Disciples of Christ are “[A]ll followers of Jesus Christ.”

In the September 1974 Ensign, Chauncy C. Riddle expounded on what a true disciple of Jesus Christ is:

The word disciple comes from the Latin [meaning] a learner. A disciple of Christ is one who is learning to be like Christ—learning to think, to feel, and to act [like] he does. To be a true disciple, to fulfill that learning task, is the most demanding regimen known to man. No other discipline compares … in either requirements or rewards. It involves the total transformation of a person from the state of the natural man to that of [a] saint, one who loves the Lord and serves with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength.

In the October 2012 session of General Conference, President Uchtdorf taught:

[Becoming a disciple of Christ] is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self.

In The Book of Mormon, we read about a handful of Disciples of Christ, one of them being Alma The Younger. Like each and every one of us, Alma The Younger was far from perfect, but he learned what a true disciple of Christ was. At one point of his life, he was an unbeliever; his only desire was to prevent the work from going forth.

As we know, however, Alma The Younger was visited by an angel, and he had a mighty change of heart. It was essentially at this moment that Alma became a disciple of Christ. In Mosiah 27:32-33, it explains:

32 And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them.

33 But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with long-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.

II. How Can We Become Disciples of Christ?

Alma teaches us that no matter where we are in our lives, it is never too late to become a Disciple of Christ. It isn’t necessary for us to see an angel like Alma did, but we can decide now to follow Alma’s example of true discipleship.

In the April 2009 General Conference, President Uchtdorf taught us what we can do today to become true disciples of Jesus Christ. He shared:

The first step on the path of discipleship begins in the exact place where we stand! We do not have to prequalify to take that first step. It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor. There is no requirement to be educated, eloquent, or intellectual. We do not have to be perfect or well-spoken or even well-mannered. You and I can walk in the path of discipleship today.

President Uchtdorf then shares a list of things that we can do to begin our journey of discipleship:

·         Let us be humble; let us pray to our Father in Heaven with all our heart and express our   desire   to draw close to Him and learn of Him.
·         Have faith.
·         Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. (See Matthew 7:7.)
·         Serve the Lord by serving others.
·         Become an active participant in your ward or branch.
·         Strengthen your family by committing to live the principles of the gospel. Be of one heart and of one mind in your family.
·         Adjust your lives to be able to have a temple recommend and use it.
·         Have meaningful family home evenings, read the word of God, and speak to our Heavenly Father in earnest prayer.
·         Fill our hearts with gratitude for the Restoration of His Church, for living prophets, the Book of Mormon, and the priesthood power that blesses our lives.
·         Embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, become His disciples, and walk in His way.

At times, however, it can be difficult to follow these suggestions given by President Uchtdorf as we are surrounded by so many distractions in this life. In such situations, we can follow the advice that President Eyring gave in the April 2010 Priesthood Session when talking about diligence:

We are to learn our duty from the Lord, and then we are to act in all diligence, never being lazy or slothful. The pattern is simple but not easy to follow. We are so easily distracted. Studying the daily news can appear more interesting than the priesthood lesson manual. Sitting down to rest can be more attractive than making appointments to visit those who need our priesthood service.

When I find myself drawn away from my priesthood duties by other interests and when my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: “Remember Him.”

As we remember the Lord and our love for Him and His work, we can progress as His disciples—even when it seems impossible.

III. What Blessings Do We Receive When We Are Disciples of Christ?

In the same talk where President Uchtdorf talked about true discipleship, he also talked of the blessings that come from being true Disciples of Christ. He promised:

Let us remember…that the restored gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has the power to fill any emptiness, heal any wound, and bridge any vale of sorrow. It is the way of hope, faith, and trust in the Lord. The gospel of Jesus Christ is taught in its fulness in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I bear my solemn witness that Jesus the Christ lives. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He is the promised Messiah. He lived a perfect life and atoned for our sins. He will ever be at our side. He will fight our battles. He is our hope; He is our salvation; He is the way.

As we strive to become true Disciples of Jesus Christ, any emptiness we are experiencing in our lives can be filled. As we strive to become true Disciples of Jesus Christ, He will fight our battles.

[Testimony]

Looking Up.

Today in my Science Foundations class, my teacher shared a spiritual thought that really impacted me. He talked about how too often we think along the lines of, "Man! I'll be happy when this semester is over" or "You know, I will be much more happy when I am done with this difficult task." What we don't realize, though, is that when we finally reach these "turning-points" we aren't actually happy after all because--well--challenges and difficult tasks are going to follow us the rest of our lives.

So what's the point? Well, I personally believe that it means that we need to find a way to be happy even if we are overwhelmed by what life throws at us. We need to maintain a positive, hopeful attitude toward life. I am reminded of the talk Elder Carl B. Cook gave a few years back--"It Is Better To Look Up." After a busy day at the church offices, he was a little down on himself; he got on the elevator and kept his head down. To his surprise, though, President Monson hopped onto the elevator, whistling away before he told Elder Cook, "You know, it's better to look up." It's simple, but sometimes the answer is to just be a little more positive and hopeful by looking up and not down.

Another talk that can help in such times: "Come What May And Love It" by Elder Wirthlin. That talk has helped me "look up" even during the hard times.

My Science Foundations professor had some great advice, too, though. He said, "Write a list of activities you love doing...and do them!" When he said that, it hit me that even the smallest, simplest things that we love can help us "look up" as long as if we remember to do those things. For example, I have realized these last few months that I love sending random text messages to my siblings and my parents. And I have been pretty good about doing so. And sending all of these texts has truly helped me "look up" even during some of the most difficult times that I have faced these last few months. Something as small as a text message to a loved one can help us be happy now rather than later. Amazing, isn't it?

Of course, this will be different for each person. But I am fully confident that it is always possible for us to "look up" as we strive to do the small things that make us most happy. Life will always have challenges and will never get easier. There will be heartache, tears, and disappointments, but these things are much easier to bear as long as we are "looking up."

The Lord's Hand

We are often taught and encouraged to look for the Lord's hand in our lives as we go about our days. Sometimes the Lord's hand is obvious, while other times the Lord's hand is there, but we simply do not recognize it as that. For me personally, it has been difficult for me to recognize the Lord's hand in my life at times, but when I recognize it, I am overwhelmed with peace, joy, and gratitude.

I have been here at BYU-Idaho for almost two months now, and I have seen the Lord's hand in my life so much during these two months. To try and state each occurrence would be unnecessary, of course. But I do want to share an experience that happened to me yesterday that helped me recognize the Lord's hand in my life.

Today I have a project due in my Visual Media class, and so I decided to get it all done yesterday so that I wouldn't be scrambling around today trying to get it done at the last second. The project required that I mount what I had created to a 13x16 "mounting board" (for lack of a better word). It seemed like simple enough instructions, but the problem for me was that I had no idea how to use the spray room used to mount projects, I had no idea how to mount it in a way that it looked professional, etc.

In such situations, I feel like I just need a little input and/or feedback from another person to get me going in the right direction. And so as I went about my day yesterday, I kept a small prayer in my heart that everything would work out with my project. Surely enough, my prayer was answered. Arlan, a fellow classmate of mine who also happens to be a professor here at BYU-Idaho, showed up to the spray room and asked me if I needed any help or suggestions.

Long story short, I was in that spray room mounting my project to that "mounting board" for five minutes tops thanks to Arlan and his willingness to take just a few minutes to help my lost, uncertain self. As I walked away from campus with my completed project, it suddenly hit me that it was once again the Lord's hand (Arlan's help) that helped me complete that project.

The Lord's hand is evidence that He loves us and is aware of our situations. It is that unfailing love that anchors me when the trials and/or troubles come. And that love--the Lord's hand--will always be there as long as we let it and recognize it.