This year millions have been inspired by the gospel study plan known by the Savior’s invitation “Come, follow me.” 

How has the Come, Follow Me study plan inspired you and your family?

Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice. It is a continuous commitment and way of life that should guide us at all times and in all places. His teachings and His example define the path for every disciple of Jesus Christ. And all are invited to this path, for He invites all to come unto Him, “black and white, bond and free, male and female; … and all are alike unto God.”

The Gospel of Christ is available to all!  In the October 2023 General Conference, Elder Ulisses Soares said:

‘As disciples of Christ, we are invited to increase our faith in, and love for, our spiritual brother- and sisterhood by genuinely knitting our hearts together in unity and love, regardless of our differences, thereby increasing our ability to promote respect for the dignity of all the sons and daughters of God.’

How can we better see people as individuals who are all equal before God?

The first step in following Christ is to obey what He defined as “the great commandment in the law”:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

“This is the first and great commandment.

Why is this the first and great commandment?

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

What do you see as the relationship between these two great commandments?

The commandments of God provide the guiding and steadying force in our lives. Our experiences in mortality are like the little boy and his father flying a kite on a windy day. As the kite rose higher, the winds caused it to tug on the connecting string in the little boy’s hand. Inexperienced with the force of mortal winds, he proposed to cut the string so the kite could rise higher. His wise father counseled no, explaining that the string is what holds the kite in place against mortal winds. If we lose our hold on the string, the kite will not rise higher. It will be carried about by these winds and inevitably crash to the earth.

That essential string represents the covenants that connect us to God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. As we honor those covenants by keeping Their commandments and following Their plan of redemption, Their promised blessings enable us to soar to celestial heights.

How does this metaphor help you better understand covenants?

The Book of Mormon frequently declares that Christ is “the light of the world.” During His appearance to the Nephites, the risen Lord explained that teaching by telling them: “I have set an example for you.” “I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do.” He is our role model. We learn what He has said and done by studying the scriptures and following prophetic teachings, as President Russell M. Nelson has urged us to do. In the ordinance of the sacrament, we covenant each Sabbath day that we will “always remember him and keep his commandments.”

How do studying the scriptures, following prophetic teachings and partaking of the sacrament all help us to follow Christ?

II.

In the Book of Mormon, the Lord gave us the fundamentals in what He called “the doctrine of Christ.” These are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end, and becoming as a little child, which means to trust the Lord and submit to all He requires of us.

What does it mean to submit to the Lord?

Elder David A Bednar said:

‘To some degree, the natural man described by King Benjamin is alive and well in each of us. The natural man or woman is unrepentant, is carnal and sensual, is indulgent and excessive, and is prideful and selfish…In contrast, “the man [or woman] of Christ” is spiritual and and bridles all passions, is temperate and restrained, and is benevolent and selfless. Men and women of Christ lay hold upon the word of God, deny themselves and take up His cross and press forward along a strait and narrow course of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to the Savior and His gospel.’ (We Believe in Being Chaste, Ensign, May 2013)’

The Lord’s commandments are of two types: permanent, like the doctrine of Christ, and temporary. Temporary commandments are those necessary for the needs of the Lord’s Church or the faithful in temporary circumstances, but to be set aside when the need has passed. An example of temporary commandments are the Lord’s directions to the early leadership of the Church to move the Saints from New York to Ohio, to Missouri, and to Illinois and finally to lead the pioneer exodus to the Intermountain West. Though only temporary, when still in force these commandments were given to be obeyed.

Some permanent commandments have taken considerable time to be generally observed. For example, President Lorenzo Snow’s famous sermon on the law of tithing emphasized a commandment given earlier but not yet generally observed by Church members. It needed reemphasis in the circumstances then faced by the Church and its members. Recent examples of reemphases have also been needed because of current circumstances faced by Latter-day Saints or the Church. These include the proclamation on the family, issued by President Gordon B. Hinckley a generation ago, and President Russell M. Nelson’s recent call for the Church to be known by its revealed name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Why is it necessary for some commandments to be reemphasised from time to time?

III.

Another of our Savior’s teachings seems to require reemphasis in the circumstances of our day.

This is a time of many harsh and hurtful words in public communications and sometimes even in our families. Sharp differences on issues of public policy often result in actions of hostility—even hatred—in public and personal relationships. This atmosphere of enmity sometimes even paralyzes capacities for lawmaking on matters of importance where most citizens see an urgent need for some action in the public interest.

What should followers of Christ teach and do in this time of toxic communications? What were His teachings and examples?

“Where people have that Spirit with them, we may expect harmony. The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention (see 3 Nephi 11:29). It never generates the feelings of distinctions between people which lead to strife (see Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 131). It leads to personal peace and a feeling of union with others. It unifies souls. A unified family, a unified Church, and a world at peace depend on unified souls” (Henry B Eyring, in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 86).

It is significant that among the first principles Jesus taught when He appeared to the Nephites was to avoid contention. While He taught this in the context of disputes over religious doctrine, the reasons He gave clearly apply to communications and relationships in politics, public policy, and family relationships. Jesus taught:

“He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

“Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

President Nelson linked contention to a disease or a cancer:

‘As we dread any disease that undermines the health of the body, so should we deplore contention, which is a corroding canker of the spirit…My concern is that contention is becoming accepted as a way of life. From what we see and hear in the media, the classroom, and the workplace, all are now infected to some degree with contention…’ (General Conference, April 1989)

What is the cure for this disease?

If we detect these symptoms in ourselves then we need to do something about it. In the Relief Society book Daughters in my Kingdom (page 17) we read that the Prophet Joseph encouraged the Saints to be at peace with the Lord, with those around them and with themselves. He said:

‘…shall there be strife among you? I will not have it – you must repent and get the love of God…Not war, not jangle, not contradiction, but meekness, love, purity, these are the things that should magnify us.’

In His remaining ministry among the Nephites, Jesus taught other commandments closely related to His prohibition of contention. We know from the Bible that He had previously taught each of these in His great Sermon on the Mount, usually in precisely the same language He later used with the Nephites. I will quote the familiar Bible language:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

This is one of Christ’s best-known commandments—most revolutionary and most difficult to follow. Yet it is a most fundamental part of His invitation for all to follow Him. As President David O. McKay taught, “There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for one’s fellowmen.”

In the Book of Mormon, Alma instructed the members of his new congregation “that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another”(Mosiah 18:21). Those new Saints in the wilderness of Nephi truly did unite themselves, accepting Alma’s challenge: “And thus they became the children of God. … And they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants” (Mosiah 18:22,29).

Here is another fundamental teaching by Him who is our role model: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Peacemakers! How it would change personal relationships if followers of Christ would forgo harsh and hurtful words in all their communications.

What do you think it means to be a peacemaker? In the home? At Church? At school or work? On social media?

In general conference last year, President Russell M. Nelson gave us these challenges:

“One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people. …

“… True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.

“… One of the best ways we can honor the Savior is to become a peacemaker.”

Concluding his teachings: “Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”

How can we as members of the Church, Saints, lead the way in being peacemakers?

Potential adversaries should begin their discussions by identifying common ground on which all agree.

To follow our Perfect Role Model and His prophet, we need to practice what is popularly known as the Golden Rule: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” We need to love and do good to all. We need to avoid contention and be peacemakers in all our communications. This does not mean to compromise our principles and priorities but to cease harshly attacking others for theirs. That is what our Perfect Role Model did in His ministry. That is the example He set for us as He invited us to follow Him.

In this conference four years ago, President Nelson gave us a prophetic challenge for our own day:

“Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other?”

What does letting God prevail in our lives look like?

As followers of Christ, we teach and testify of Jesus Christ, our Perfect Role Model. So let us follow Him by forgoing contention. As we pursue our preferred policies in public actions, let us qualify for His blessings by using the language and methods of peacemakers. In our families and other personal relationships, let us avoid what is harsh and hateful. Let us seek to be holy, like our Savior, in whose holy name I testify and invoke His blessing to help us be Saints. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

In 2 Nephi chapter 2 we read that the Lord created things to act and things to be acted upon. As children of our Heavenly Father we are not things to be acted upon  but beings with the agency to act. This agency includes control of our words as well as our actions.

NB: Passages in italics are direct extracts from President Oaks’ talk.

You can watch President Oaks’ talk here.

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