What it means to be a disciple of Christ

Of all blessings we each receive, one of the greatest blessings of life and eternity is to be counted as one of the true and devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the scriptures, a large crowd followed the Savior as He ministered by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. So that more would be able to hear Him, He got into Peter’s fishing boat and asked to be taken a little way out from the shore. After He was done with speaking, He told Peter, who had fished all night long without success, to go out in the lake and let down his nets in the deep, cavernous water. Peter obeyed straightway, and he caught so many fish that the nets broke. Peter quickly called to his partners, James and John, to come and to help him. All were baffled at the amount of fish which were caught. Jesus said to Peter, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” (Luke 5: 10) Luke then tells us, “When they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”1 (Luke 5: 11) They became some of the Lord’s disciples. Both the word for disciple and the word for discipline both come from the same Latin root—discipulus, which means pupil. It is meant to detail practice or exercise. Self-discipline and self-control are constant and permanent attributes of the followers of Jesus, as shown by Peter, James, and John, who indeed “forsook all, and followed him.” (as it says in the Bible) But what is discipleship anyway? It is obedience to the Savior. Discipleship can mean many things. In these it is chastity. It is tithing. It is family home evening. It is keeping each and every one of the commandments. It is rejecting anything that is not good for us. Everything in life truly has a price. Thinking about the Savior’s great promise for peace in this life and eternal life in the life to come, discipleship is indeed a price worth paying. It is a price we cannot have funds worth not to pay. In other words, the qualifications of discipleship are much, much less than the instated blessings. Christ’s disciples receive a call to not only give up the pursuit of worldly things but to carry the cross daily. To carry the cross means to follow His commandments and to help in building up His Church here on the earth. As Jesus instructed each of us, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”3 (Matthew 16: 24) “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”4 (Luke 14: 27) The words of one of my favorite Primary songs are drawn to my mind here: I’m trying to be like Jesus; I’m following in his ways. I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.5 With that thought/memory, let us each think of ways that we can personally try to be like Jesus. 1. Jesus went about doing good for all.6 We can each do something good every day—for a family member, a friend, or even a stranger—if we will honestly look for those opportunities. 2. Jesus was the Good Shepherd who watched over His each and everyone of His sheep, even the ones that were lost.7 We can seek out the lonely or those who are less active and befriend them. 3. Jesus had compassion on many, no matter how poor or truly unlucky they may have seemed.8 We too can have compassion in this way. I think of the reminder in the Book of Mormon that we are “to mourn with those that mourn.”9 (Mosiah 18: 8-10) 4. Jesus bore witness of His divine mission and of His Father’s great work in the plan of salvation. For our part, we can help all as we “stand as witnesses of God at all times.”10 (Mosiah 18: 9) 5. Jesus bade “the little children to come unto [Him].”11 (Matthew 19: 14) Our children (both born already and unborn if you happen to be a little like me with mine and my husband’s little son, Nathaniel and seeing the first daughter that I currently am pregnant with) need desperately our attention and love as well as our care. True disciples of the Savior should be prepared to lay down their lives, and some have indeed been privileged to do so. The Doctrine and Covenants counsels us: “Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again. And whoso is not willing to lay down his life for my sake is not my disciple.”12 (D&C 103: 27-28) We read in the book of Acts the account of the disciple Stephen (or at least I have, considering how we got started on Acts in our Come Follow Me this week), who was “full of faith and power, [and] did great wonders and miracles among the people.”13 (Acts 6: 8) Stephen came across a hostile audience in Jerusalem who wrongly accused him of blasphemy even though he really was transfigured before them. Stephen testified of the spirituality of Christ, and when he called them to repentance, many in the crowd turned on him. “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”14 (Acts 7: 55) Even as he was stoned to death, the last words on his lips were “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”15 (Acts 7: 60) In the early days of the Church, some disciples other than Joseph and Hyrum Smith also laid down their lives for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The faithfulness and testimony of Edward Partridge, the first bishop of the Church, is noted in the Doctrine and Covenants.18 On July 20, 1833, Edward was sitting at home with his wife, who had just given birth. Three mobsters broke in and dragged him into the bedlam of the street and then into the square, where they had already previously taken Charles Allen. A mob of somewhere around 300 demanded through their spokesman that Edward and Charles either renounce their faith in the Book of Mormon or leave the county. Edward Partridge said: “If I must suffer for my religion, it is no more than others have done before me. I am not conscious of having injured anyone in the county and therefore will not consent to leave. I have done nothing to offend anyone. If you abuse me, you are injuring an innocent man.” The mob then splattered both Edward and Charles from head to foot with hot tar containing pearl ash, a flesh-eating acid, and then they threw feathers that stuck to that burning tar.19 The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke on Edward’s death a few years later at age 46 in these words: “He lost his life in consequence of the Missouri persecutions, and he is one of that number whose blood will be required at their hands.”20 Edward Partridge left an inheritance that lives on in a large and righteous posterity. However, for most of us, what is required is not to die for the Church but to live for it. Living a Christlike life every day may be even more difficult than laying down one’s life for many. Many men were and are capable of great acts of selflessness, heroism, and nobility without regard to life. Some people may say: “I am a simple person. I have no stature or position. I am new in the Church. My talents and abilities are limited. My contribution is little.” Or they might say: “I am too old to change. I have already lived my life. Why should I try?” That is why I remind us all, whether we count ourselves as part of that group or not that is never too late to change. Discipleship does not come from high-class positions of prominence, wealth, or advanced learning (no matter how well you may think you may be doing in your college courses). Think about it, the disciples of Jesus came from all walks of life. Lest, discipleship does require us to give up evil transgression and enjoy what President Spencer W. Kimball called “the miracle of forgiveness.”21 This can truly come only through the effort of repentance, which means that we forsake sin and resolve each day to be followers of truth and righteousness. As Jesus taught, “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”22 (3 Nephi 27: 27) A whole lot of people suppose that the price of discipleship is too costly and too burdensome. For some, it involves giving up far too much of who they believe they are. Though the cross is not as heavy as it may appear to be. Through obedience we gain much greater strength to carry it. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”23 (Matthew 11: 28-30) Our true stance as disciples comes when we can say with certainty that His ways have indeed become our ways. The blessings of discipleship are available to all who are willing to pay the price that should never seem too much, once we understand it in whole. Discipleship sustains purpose to our lives so that instead of wandering aimlessly, we walk steadily on that strait and narrow path that leads us back to our Heavenly Father. Discipleship brings us comfort in times of sorrow, peace of conscience, and joy in service—all of which help us to be more like Jesus and act more as one of his disciples. Through this discipleship of the Savior, we come to know and believe in our hearts and minds the saving principles and ordinances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through our own discipleship, we come to appreciate the profound mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith in restoring those saving principles in our modern time. We rejoice and are joyful that the keys of the priesthood and its authority have been passed down through the Presidents of the Church, from the Prophet Joseph Smith to our present prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. We are thankful that in our discipleship of the Savior we come to enjoy His promise of “peace in this world,”24 with contentment, happiness, and fulfillment. Through our discipleship, we find ourselves able to receive the spiritual strength that we need to deal with the seemingly endless challenges of this life. One of the greatest blessings and challenges of life and eternity is to be counted as one of the devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though we each should find that ability if we are only true to ourselves, our individual worth, and our divine identity. I have a deep testimony of this truth, to which I bear witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.