S2 E10 (March 2-8) "This is the Way"

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This was an incredibly hard episode to record and an even harder one to put out there. Please be kind.

This week we discuss how Nephi teaches us to follow Christ, the 4th Article of Faith + enduring to the end, and also mental illness.

The "Improving Teaching" quote:
Improving Our TeachingEmulate the Savior. It is helpful to study how the Savior taught—the methods He used and the things He said. But Jesus’s power to teach and lift others ultimately came from who He was and how He lived. The more diligently you strive to live like Jesus Christ and rely on His atoning power, the more naturally you will teach in His way.

If you had to summarize the path to eternal life in just a few words, what would you say? Here's what I would say:

• Finding Christ
  
• Believing Christ
  
• Follow Christ

D. Todd Christofferson, “The Doctrine of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012,86–90;

"The Prophet Joseph Smith confirmed the Savior’s central role in our doctrine in one definitive sentence: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”7 Joseph Smith’s testimony of Jesus is that He lives, “for [he] saw him, even on the right hand of God; and [he] heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (D&C 76:23; see also verse 22). I appeal to all who hear or read this message to seek through prayer and study of the scriptures that same witness of the divine character, the Atonement, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Accept His doctrine by repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then throughout your life following the laws and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Brian K. Ashton, “The Doctrine of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 106–9.

Difference between the Atonement and the Doctrine of Jesus Christ:
The Atonement of Christ creates the conditions upon which we may rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah,”6 “be perfected in [Christ],”7 obtain every good thing,8 and gain eternal life.9

The doctrine of Christ on the other hand is the means—the only means—by which we can obtain all of the blessings made available to us through Jesus’s Atonement. It is the doctrine of Christ that allows us to access the spiritual power that will lift us from our current spiritual state to a state where we can become perfected like the Savior.10 Of this process of rebirth, Elder D. Todd Christofferson has taught: “Being born again, unlike our physical birth, is more a process than an event. And engaging in that process is the central purpose of mortality.”11

First, faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

Upon hearing the words of Christ, we exercise faith by choosing to follow the teachings and example of the Savior.14 To do this, Nephi taught that we must rely “wholly upon the merits of [Christ,] who is mighty to save.”15 Because Jesus was a God in the premortal existence,16 lived a sinless life,17 and during His Atonement satisfied all the demands of justice for you and me,18 He has the power and keys to bring about the resurrection of all men,19 and He made it possible for mercy to overpower justice upon conditions of repentance.20 Once we understand that we can obtain mercy through Christ’s merits, we are able to “have faith unto repentance.”21 To rely wholly upon Christ’s merits then is to trust that He did what was necessary to save us and then to act upon our belief.22

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Footnote 54:
2 Nephi 31:16.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall aendure to the end, in following the bexample of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

"Enduring to the end is aptly named, as it requires both time and endurance (see James 1:2–4). The fact is that we cannot develop some Christlike attributes without facing opposition and difficulties. For example, how can we become long-suffering if we are never required to suffer for a long time?"

Scriptures that helped me this week:

2 Nephi 32:9

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must apray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall bpray unto the Father in the cname of Christ, that he will dconsecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the ewelfare of thy soul.


2 Nephi 31:3

3 For my soul delighteth in aplainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the bunderstanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their clanguage, unto their understanding.

Songs that helped me this week:

God Only Knows by King and Country

Trust in You by Lauren Daigle

Beloved by Jordan Feliz

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Second, repentance.

Repentance is a precious gift from our Heavenly Father that is made possible through the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son. It is the process that the Father has given us by which we change, or turn, our thoughts, actions, and our very being so that we become more and more like the Savior.24 It is not just for big sins but is a daily process of self-evaluation and improvement25 that helps us to overcome our sins, our imperfections, our weaknesses, and our inadequacies.26 Repentance causes us to become “true followers” of Christ, which fills us with love27 and casts out our fears.28 Repentance is not a backup plan just in case our plan to live perfectly fails.29 Continual repentance is the only path that can bring us lasting joy and enable us to return to live with our Heavenly Father.


Third, baptism and the sacrament.

“The ordinances of baptism and the sacrament symbolize both the end result and process of being born again. In baptism, we bury the old man of flesh and come forth to a newness of life.41 In the sacrament, we learn that this change is a step-by-step process, [where] little by little, week by week, we are transformed as we repent, covenant, and through increased endowments of the Spirit [become like the Savior].”42

Ordinances and covenants are essential within the doctrine of Christ. It is through worthily receiving the ordinances of the priesthood and keeping the associated covenants that the power of godliness is manifest in our lives.43 Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained that “this ‘power of godliness’ comes in the person and by the influence of the Holy Ghost.”


Fourth, the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

After baptism we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost through the ordinance of confirmation.45 This gift, if we receive it, allows us to have the constant companionship of a God46 and continual access to the grace that inherently comes with His influence.

Doctrine and Covenants 20:28

Doctrine and Covenants

28 Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen.

As our constant companion, the Holy Ghost gives us additional power or strength to keep our covenants.47 He also sanctifies us,48 which means to make us “free from sin, pure, clean, and holy through the atonement of Jesus Christ.”49 The process of sanctification not only cleanses us, but it also endows us with needed spiritual gifts or divine attributes of the Savior50 and changes our very nature,51 such “that we have no more disposition to do evil.

Fifth, enduring to the end.

The prophet Nephi taught that after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, we must “endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God.”54

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If you or someone you know needs help with mental illness and you're not sure where to start, please go to https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help