Teachings of Jesus

What think ye of Christ?

“What has Christ done for me?” Anyone may accurately answer this by saying that Christ paid the price of their sins to open the way back to heaven.

This doctrine is soothing and familiar. It is for ANY who truly wait upon the Lord.

Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God and we should not use a visa to visit Babylon or act like one of it’s citizens.

The Spirit has revealed these truths to me and will reveal them to you. The way is through desire and obedience.

Some who call themselves Christians praise Jesus as a great teacher but refrain from affirming His divinity. To address them, I have used the words of Jesus Himself. We should all consider what He Himself taught about who He is and what He was sent to earth to do.

• Jesus taught that He was the Only Begotten Son.
• Jesus also taught that His appearance was the same as His Father’s.
• The Apostle John wrote that Jesus, whom he called “the Word,” “was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:2–3). Thus, under the plan of the Father, Jesus Christ was the Creator of all things.
• During His ministry to His people in Palestine, Jesus taught that He was Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel

At a stake conference many years ago, I met a woman who said she had been asked to come back to church after many years away but could not think of any reason why she should. To encourage her I said, “When you consider all of the things the Savior has done for us, don’t you have many reasons to come back to church to worship and serve Him?” I was astonished at her reply: “What’s He done for me?” For those who do not understand what our Savior has done for us, I will answer that question in His own words and with my own testimony.

• The Bible records Jesus’s teaching: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
• Jesus also taught, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.”
• Always, Jesus honored the Father and followed Him.
• Who then will enter the kingdom of heaven? Not those who merely do wonderful works using the name of the Lord, Jesus taught, but only “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” … Jesus showed us how to do this. Again and again He invited us to follow Him: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
• He gave priesthood power to His Apostles and to others.
• Jesus taught His Apostles, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you,” and “he will guide you into all truth.”
• He also challenges us to focus on Him, not on the things of the world.
• The culmination of our Savior’s mortal ministry was His Resurrection and His Atonement for the sins of the world. … the Atonement of Jesus Christ gives us the opportunity to overcome the spiritual death that results from sin and, through making and keeping sacred covenants, to have the blessings of eternal life.

Luke records that “the Lord appointed … seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”

This is the same pattern that He employs today. The Lord sends servants—generally in twos—to prepare the way before Him. He comes to bless those who receive His servants and wait patiently and faithfully for His coming.

Speaking of the mortal nourishment the world offered, including the manna Jehovah had sent to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness, Jesus taught that those who relied on this bread were now dead. In contrast, the nourishment He offered was “the living bread which came down from heaven,” and, Jesus taught, “if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.”

Some of His disciples said this was “an hard saying,” and from that time many of His followers “went back, and walked no more with him.” … Even today some who profess Christianity are more attracted to the things of the world—the things that sustain life on earth but give no nourishment toward eternal life. For some, His “hard saying” is still a reason not to follow Christ.

Where is our ultimate loyalty? Are we like the Christians in Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s memorable description who have moved their residence to Zion but still try to keep a second residence in Babylon?

There is no middle ground. We are followers of Jesus Christ. Our citizenship is in His Church and His gospel, and we should not use a visa to visit Babylon or act like one of its citizens. We should honor His name, keep His commandments, and “seek not the things of this world but seek … first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness.”

Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten and Beloved Son of God. He is our Creator. He is the Light of the World. He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth, and you can know this for yourself, as I know it for myself. The Holy Ghost, who testifies of the Father and the Son and leads us into truth, has revealed these truths to me, and He will reveal them to you. The way is desire and obedience. As to desire, Jesus taught, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” As to obedience, He taught, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” I testify of the truth of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.