Come Follow Me
“When Andrew and
Philip first heard Christ speak, they were so moved, so spellbound 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). Other translations
render that simply “What do you want?”
They answered,
“Where dwellest thou?” or “Where do you live?”
And Christ said,
“Come and see.” Just a short time later he formally called Peter and others of
the new apostles with the same spirit of invitation, “Come, follow me” (see
Matthew 4:19).
It seems to me
that the essence of our lives is distilled down to these two brief elements in
these opening scenes of the Savior’s mortal ministry. One element is the
question, to every one of us, “What seek ye? What do you want?” The second is
his answer as to how to get that. Whoever we are, and whatever our problems,
his response is always the same, forever: “Come unto me.” Come see what I do
and how I spend my time. Learn of me, follow me, and in the process I will give
you answers to your prayers and rest to your souls.
... I know of no
other way for you to succeed or to be happy or to be safe. I know of no other
way for you to be able to carry your burdens or find what Jacob called “that
happiness which is prepared for the saints” (2 Nephi 9:43). That is why we make
solemn covenants based on Christ’s atoning sacrifice, and that is why we take
upon us his name. In as many ways as possible, both figuratively and literally,
we try to take upon us his identity. We seek out his teachings and retell his
miracles. We send latter-day witnesses, including prophets, apostles, and
missionaries, around the world to declare his message. We call ourselves his
children, and we testify that he is the only source of eternal life. We plead
for him to swing open the gates of heaven in our behalf and trust everlastingly
that he will, based upon our faithfulness.
Lay Down Your
Burden
“I don’t know
what things may be troubling you personally tonight, but, even knowing how
terrific you are and how faithfully you are living, I would be surprised if
someone somewhere weren’t troubled by a transgression or the temptation of
transgression. To you, wherever you may be, I say, Come unto him and lay down
your burden. Let him lift the load. Let him give peace to your soul. Nothing in
this world is more burdensome than sin. It is the heaviest cross men and women
ever bear. And while I believe you to be the greatest generation of young
adults ever to live in this Church, nevertheless the world around you is an
increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and
perhaps, in the case of a few of you, it may be nearly drowning you.
To anyone
struggling under the burden of sin, we say with the Prophet Joseph that God has
“a forgiving disposition” (Lectures on Faith 3:20). You can change. You
can be helped. You can be made whole—whatever the problem. All he asks is that
you walk away from the darkness and come into the light, his light, with
meekness and lowliness of heart. That is at the heart of the gospel. That is
the very center of our message. That is the beauty of redemption. Christ has
“borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows,” Isaiah declared, “and with his
stripes we are healed”—if we want to be (Isaiah 53:4–5; Mosiah 14:4–5).
For anyone out
there seeking the courage to repent and change, I remind you that the Church is
not a monastery for the isolation of perfect people. It is more like a hospital
provided for those who wish to get well. Do whatever you have to do to come into
the fold and be blessed. For some of you that is simply to live with greater
faith, to believe more. For some of you it does mean to repent: Right here.
Tonight. For some of you (I hope there are investigators out there.
There better be!) it means to be baptized and come into the body and fellowship
of Christ. For virtually all of us it means to live more by the promptings and
promises of the Holy Ghost and to “press forward with a steadfastness in
Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.”
…Jesus taught the
the Nephites, who also lived in a difficult world. “For the mountains shall
depart and the hills be removed,” he said, “but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed [from thee]” (3
Nephi 22:10; see also verses 13–14). I love that. The hills and the mountains
may disappear. The seas and oceans may dry up completely. The least likely
things in the world may happen, but “my kindness shall not depart from thee,
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed [from thee]” (emphasis
added). After all, he has, he reminds us, “graven thee upon the palms of my
hands” (1 Nephi 21:16). Considering the incomprehensible cost of the
Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now.
Peace to Our
Souls
“Just because God
is God, just because Christ is Christ, they cannot do other than care for us
and bless us and help us if we will but come unto them, approaching their
throne of grace in meekness and lowliness of heart. They can’t help but bless
us. They have to. It is their nature. That is why Joseph Smith gave those
lectures on faith, so we would understand the nature of godliness and in the
process have enough confidence to come unto Christ and find peace to our souls.
There is not a single loophole or curveball or open trench to fall into for the
man or woman who walks the path that Christ walks. When he says, “Come, follow
me” (Luke 18:22), he means that he knows where the quicksand is and where the
thorns are and the best way to handle the slippery slope near the summit of our
personal mountains. He knows it all, and he knows the way. He is the way.
Listen to this
wonderful passage from President George Q. Cannon teaching precisely this very
doctrine:
No matter how
serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never
has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do
so]. He is an unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He
will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God.
We have made Him our friend, by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We
may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we
shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials
and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and
keep His commandments. [“Freedom of the Saints,” in Collected
Discourses, comp. and ed. Brian H. Stuy, 5 vols. (Burbank, California:
B.H.S. Publishing, 1987–92), 2:185; emphasis added]”
