Building Faith in Christ Part 3.0 to 3.2

Learn of Me

As the Savior prepared His apostles for the final sacrifice, he prayed, “Father, hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3)

     This is a most important concept, that the Atonement is to reconcile as men and women to God, so that Father may grant eternal life as a gift to His faithful sons and daughters.  But in order for the atonement to be effective, we need to come to know God. We come to know Him, by becoming acquainted with the Savior. So then the question is, what must we do to become acquainted with the Savior?

     The first thing is to study the scriptures, especially the New Testament and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ.  These two collections teach us about the life and mission of Christ, about the things he endured for our sake, and about the life He asks us to live.  Early in his earthly ministry, he taught, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)

     The people wanted a Savior to free them from bondage. Jesus promised deliverance, but not from the political bondage of Rome, but from the spiritual bondage of sin, and from the bondage of the “traditions of their fathers.” When they refused to recognize Him as the promised Messiah, he told them to read the scriptures, and if they truly searched, they would find that the scriptures testified of Jesus of Nazareth. Eternal Life, as promised in the Scriptures, can only be realized when we know who are Savior is. So first we study the scriptures to find out who Jesus Christ is and what we need to do.

     The study also includes the words of the modern apostles and prophets. These words teach us about what Jesus has on His mind for us now, the things we need to know and do in order to survive the current temptations, trials and conditions in our days.

     Many people have searched the scriptures before we have.  Same have written books and papers on their studies, sharing insights and epiphanies gleaned from their studies.  It is okay for us to read and understand some of their insights. But for us to come to know the Savior truly, we need to personally engage in the study process and gain our knowledge of the scriptures. Moroni promised us that as we read and engage the scriptures, we will come to know of their truthfulness, that is, to know of the Divinity of the Risen Lord.  The spiritual witness of the Holy Ghost is the knowledge we seek first.  That spirit lets us know that our hope is not in vain, and that Jesus has prepared the Way for us. Personal scripture study provides the basic doctrines and witness, a stake in the ground for us to always return to when times become turbulent.  

     The second thing is to obey the commandments. The commandments are not harsh restrictions merely to prove that He is our master.  Rather obedience teaches and disciplines us to chip away the imperfections of our character and to build the strength of spirit needed to control the knowledge, power and responsibilities that Father wants us to receive.

     The great artist Michelangelo was asked how he was able to create the amazing statue of David from an imperfect, discarded piece of marble.  He replied that he visualized the statue inside the rough rock, and chipped away and polished everything that did not belong.  The commandments of the Lord are to help us visualize the ideal, the person we want to be, and to begin to remove those characteristics that do not belong. 

     Obedience is not optional, if we desire to truly seek to know the Savior.  Jesus was obedient in all things. In order to understand His character and nature, we too must strive for obedience in all things. As mortal men, total, complete obedience is not possible.  The striving for obedience and the repentance process moves us closer to the Savior. Not only do we understand His Character, we also come to rely upon Him to help us overcome these weaknesses, transgressions or outright sins.

     At times we seek for selective obedience. We justify a little sin, telling ourselves that since we are working on some bigger sins, these little things won’t matter much. We must come to realize that the “little sins” will keep us away from the promises of Eternal Life as much as major transgressions. As Elder Neal Maxwell used to say, we cannot seek our mansion in Heaven while keeping our summer cottage in Babylon.