FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE Becoming
True Disciples
First Counselor in the First Presidency
In every sacrament meeting,
we have the privilege of promising Heavenly Father that we will always remember
the Savior and keep His commandments so that we may have His Spirit to be with
us (see Moroni 4:3; 5:2; D&C 20:77, 79).
Remembering Him will always come to us naturally as we take His name upon us.
We do so in many ways but especially when we serve others in His name, read His
holy words, and pray to know what He would have us do.
It happened for me when I
performed the baptism of a young man. I knew
that I had been called by the Savior’s ordained servants as a missionary to
teach His gospel and to testify of Him and of His true Church. My missionary
companion and I had promised the young man that he would be cleansed through
the power of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ as he repented with faith in the Savior and was baptized
by one of His authorized servants.
As I lifted the young man out of
the waters of the baptismal font, he whispered in my ear, “I am clean, I am
clean.” In that moment, I remembered the Savior’s baptism by John the Baptist
in the river Jordan. Even more, I remembered that I was doing the saving work
of a resurrected and living Savior—attended by the Holy
Ghost, as John had been.
For me and for each of us,
remembering the Savior can be more than relying on a memory of our knowledge
and experiences with Him. We can make choices every day that draw us closer to
Him in the present.
The simplest choice may be to
read the scriptures. By doing so, we can gain the feelings of being close to
Him. For me, closeness comes most often when I read in the Book
of Mormon. In the first minutes that I read in the chapters of
2 Nephi, I hear in my mind the voices of Nephi and Lehi describing the
Savior as if they knew Him personally. A feeling of closeness comes.
For you, other
places in scripture may especially draw you to Him. But wherever and whenever
you read the word of God, with humble and real intent to remember the Savior,
you will increase your desire to take His name upon you in your daily life.
That desire will
change the way you serve in the Lord’s Church. You will pray to Heavenly Father
for help in magnifying even what appears to you to be a small calling. The help
you will ask for is the ability to forget yourself and focus more on what the
Savior wants for those you are called to serve.
I have felt His
hand and His closeness in my service with our children when I prayed to know
how to help them find the peace that only the gospel brings. At such moments, I
cared less about being seen as a successful parent, but I cared deeply about
the success and well-being of my children.
The desire to
give to those we serve what the Savior would give to them leads to prayers that
are a pleading to
Heavenly Father, truly in the name of Jesus Christ. When we pray in that way—in
the Savior’s name, with faith in Him—the Father answers. He sends the Holy
Ghost to guide, comfort, and encourage us. Because the Spirit always bears
witness of the Savior (see 3 Nephi 11:32, 36; 28:11; Ether 12:41), our
capacity to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength increases (see Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; D&C 59:5).
The blessings of
daily and present remembering will come slowly and steadily as we serve Him,
feast on His word, and pray in faith on His name. And this remembering will
shape us to become true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in His kingdom on
this earth—and later with His Father in the glorious world to come.
Teaching from
This Message President Eyring counsels us to remember the Savior always by
making daily choices to draw closer to Him. With those you teach, you might
read the sacrament prayers,
which outline the covenant to always remember Him (see Moroni 4:3; 5:2; D&C
20:77, 79). Consider inviting those you teach to write a list of
things they could do each day to remember the Savior. You might also consider
inviting them to pray to Heavenly Father for each other’s success and
well-being. Consider praying for them in the same manner.
Youth Remembering the Lord Every Day
Friends,
chores, homework, TV—there are so many things that ask for our attention. But
every week, we promise Heavenly Father “that [we] do always remember [His Son, Jesus
Christ]” (D&C 20:79).
President
Eyring says that we can “make choices every day” that help us remember the
Savior. Consider making a goal this month to remember the Savior more each day.
You could make a calendar and commit to doing one thing per day. President
Eyring lists things like reading the scriptures, praying in faith, and serving
the Savior and others. There’s also journaling, attending Church meetings,
listening to general conference, going to the temple, singing hymns—the list
goes on! As we remember the Savior daily, President Eyring promises that “the
blessings … will come slowly and steadily … [and] will shape us to become true
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Children Lots of Love
When we read the
scriptures or pray, we can feel how much Heavenly Father and Jesus love us.
Color in a heart each time you pray or read your scriptures. What else can you
do to feel close to Heavenly Father and Jesus?
“A True
Disciple”
cji
10/1/17
Entering
into the Scriptures
learning
of Heavenly Father
of the
discipleship of the Son
becoming
one with the Father
as we
too can become as one
being a
true disciple eternally
reaching
into their spheres
clasping
their individual hands
making
their will as ours always
delving
into the Scriptures
finding
to exchange our names
into
those of the Prophets
Apostles
Disciples or as Ruth
Esther Naomi
Sarah Mary
Elizabeth
and so many others
becoming
personalized then
whether
the Old Testament
New
Testament or
Book of
Mormon
learning
to become as one
as are
the Father and the Son
becoming
true disciples always!
Copyright © 2017 – cji
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