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Following the Example of Jesus Christ

Kathy
Nov 26, 2016
6 min read

Chapter 24, Following the Example of Jesus Christ, is the perfect ending to this year’s study of Howard W. Hunter’s life and teachings. The way he lived his life was evidence of his unwavering love for and devotion to the Savior. He truly lived the things he taught. In the lesson, President Hunter reminds us, “The Lord’s invitation to follow him is individual and personal, and it is compelling. Each of us must at some time face the crucial question: ‘Whom say ye that I am?’ We must each answer the question for ourselves—if not now, then later; for at the last day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ.”

David A. Bednar recently asked a similar soul-searching question, “Do we only know about the Savior, or are we increasingly coming to know Him?”1 He then gave four steps that are essential in helping us come to know the Lord. They are exercising faith in Him, following Him, serving Him and believing Him.

The first is faith in Him. Elder Bednar teaches that “the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ is relying upon His merits, mercy and grace. … As our faith in the Lord increases, we trust in Him and have confidence in His power to redeem, heal, and strengthen us. True faith is focused in and on the Lord and always leads to righteous action.”1

Second, we come to know the Savior as we follow Him. Elder Bednar said, “The Savior has admonished us to become as He is. Thus, following the Lord includes emulating Him. Steady and sustained progress along the covenant pathway is the course of life that is pleasing to Him.”1 Howard W. Hunter taught, “If we can pattern our life after the Master, and take his teachings and example as the supreme pattern for our own, we will not find it difficult to be consistent and loyal in every walk of life. Our course will be clear and our standards will be obvious.”

The third step is serving Him. Elder Bednar states, “We come to know the Savior as we do our best to go where He wants us to go, as we strive to say what He wants us to say, and as we become what He wants us to become. As we submissively acknowledge our total dependence upon Him, He enlarges our capacity to serve ever more effectively. Gradually, our desires align more completely with His desires, and His purposes become our purposes.”1 Just think what a better place our world would be if we would all accept the invitation President Hunter issued when he became our prophet to “live with ever more attention to the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially the love and hope and compassion He displayed. … Treat each other with more kindness, more courtesy, more humility and patience and forgiveness. … Even in the midst of great personal sorrow and pain, our Exemplar reached out to bless others. His was not a life focused on the things he did not have. It was a life of reaching out in service to others.”

The fourth is to believe Him. Elder Bednar said, “We come to know the Lord as we not only believe in Him but also believe Him and His assurances. … Believing Him with our whole soul comes as we press forward along the covenant pathway, surrender our will to His, and submit to His priorities and timing for us. Believing Him invites perspective, peace and joy into our lives.”1 President Hunter reminds us, “Only Christ can be our ideal. Only he can say without any reservation, ‘Follow me, learn of me, and do the things you have seen me do. Drink of my water and eat of my bread. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the law and the light. Look unto me and ye shall live.”

Increasingly coming to know the Savior takes time and effort, dedication and devotion. It comes as we make room in our life for Him and His gospel. Neal A. Maxwell once said, “Each of us in an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.”2

From the beginning of His mortal life, the world has had a difficult time making room for Jesus. On the night of His birth, there was no room in the inn. President Hunter taught that during the Savior’s ministry, “there were many who made no room for his teachings – no room for the gospel he taught. There was no room for his miracles, for his blessings, no room for the divine truths he spoke, no room for his love or faith. Even in our day, although two thousand years have passed, there are many who say the same thing that was said on that night in Bethlehem. ‘There is no room, no room.’ We make room for the gifts, but sometimes no room is made for the giver. We have room for the commercialism of Christmas and even pleasure-seeking on the Sabbath day, but there are times when there is not room for worship. Our thoughts are filled with other things – there is no room. While it will be a beautiful sight to see the lights of Christmas, it is more important to have human lives illuminated by an acceptance of him who is the light of the world.”

Let us make room for the Savior’s teachings and divine truths. Let us recognize His miracles and blessings in our lives. Let us feel His love and share His love. Make room for Jesus by exercising faith in Him, following Him, serving Him and believing Him. President Hunter encourages us to “make every effort to become like Christ – the one perfect and sinless example this world has ever seen.”

Perfect and sinless. We often hear those words used to describe the Savior, but how often do we really think about what that truly means. President Hunter’s words give such clarity. He said, “It is important to remember that Jesus was capable of sinning, that he could have succumbed, that the plan of life and salvation could have been foiled, but that he remained true. Had there been no possibility of his yielding to the enticement of Satan, there would have been no real test, no genuine victory in the result. If he had been stripped of the faculty to sin, he would have been stripped of his very agency. It was he who had come to safeguard and ensure the agency of man. He had to retain the capacity and ability to sin had he willed so to do.”

Dallin H. Oaks adds this perspective, “Our Savior experienced and suffered the fulness of all mortal challenges ‘according to the flesh’ so He could know ‘according to the flesh’ how to ‘succor [which means to give relief or aid to] his people according to their infirmities.’ He therefore knows our struggles, our heartaches, our temptations, and our suffering, for He willingly experienced them all as an essential part of His Atonement. And because of this, His Atonement empowers Him to succor us—to give us the strength to bear it all.”3

The Savior knows how we feel, no matter our circumstance, because He has experienced it. There is something profound that happens when we can empathize and not just sympathize. That is what the Savior can do for us – if we make room for Him!

President Hunter reminds us, “Our responsibility today as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to see that our individual lives reflect in word and deed the gospel as taught by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All that we do and say should be patterned after the example of the one sinless person to walk the earth, even the Lord Jesus Christ.”

We can follow the example of the Savior only as we come to know Him. We should study His life, His teachings and His character. Our resources are endless! We are blessed with the scriptures, lesson manuals, talks from general conferences and devotionals. One of my favorite talks is “The Character of Christ”4 by David A. Bednar. It gives me such great insight into the Savior’s character and teaches me how to develop a Christlike character. I highly recommend reading and studying it. I would also encourage you to memorize “The Living Christ.”5 I accepted that challenge last year and it has blessed my life more than I can express. I recite it each night as I go to bed. It has deepened my love for the Savior and strengthened my testimony of His divinity.

May we make room for Jesus every day of our lives so that when we are asked “Whom say ye that I am?” we will have come to know Him and can proclaim, as did Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”6 Oh how I look forward to that day!