There are many things that we do
each day and at different points in our life. When we are young, we wake up, go
to school, eat. We grow and begin to drive and date. Eventually, we leave home
and decide what we will do with our life. Get married, go to college, find a
job, start a family. As our life continues, we do more and more, always adding
to the never ending list of to dos. But just as vital as what we do is who we
are.
We can go through the motions of life and
never let anything really change us. We can do Christian things, but not be a
Christian. That is the fact of doing. But as we are doing, who are we becoming?
Our Savior, Jesus Christ has said, “Behold I am the light; I have set an
example for you.” (3 Nephi 18:16) The life the Savior led was one of humility,
charity, strength and obedience. As we work to emulate Christ’s life, we will be
able to become the amazing work of art that our Father sees us becoming. But we
can’t become like the Savior if we don’t know who He is. The next question then
would be, who was the man named Jesus of Nazareth?
Humble. 2000 years ago, a babe was born in a
manger. He would come to be known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but
on that night, none watched over but the stable animals and the local shepherds.
He truly was humble.
Knowledgeable. As the babe grew, he increased
in wisdom. When he was just a boy, his parents took him to Jerusalem for the
feast of the Passover. As they left the feast, they looked to their company and
realized the Boy was not with them. They frantically ran back to the city where
they found Him in the temple among the rabbi’s and teachers who were both
hearing and questioning the young Boy. And “all that heard him were astonished
at his understanding and answers.” (Luke 2:47) Mary and Joseph were stunned
and, after gathering the Boy, headed back to their home town while Mary
pondered all these things within her heart. As He grew, we are told that He
“increased in wisdom and stature.” (Luke 2:52) He truly was knowledgeable.
Obedient. The Boy became a man and at the age
of 30, he left into the wilderness in search of John the Baptist. As Jesus came
to John, John looked to him in surprise. “I have need to be baptized of thee,”
(Matthew 3:14) he said. John knew who this man was. He recognized in him one
who was perfect, without sin or blemish. Why would a perfect person need to be
baptized? Jesus responded, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) The Savior understood the eternal significance
of being obedient.
Hopeful. After His baptism, Jesus began his
earthly ministry. One day, a ruler of the synagogue, came to the Savior
pleading for His help. The man’s daughter was on her deathbed and she was but
12 years old. Jesus followed the man to his home, but as they went, they were
stopped by a servant who told the ruler, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest
thou the Master any further?” (Mark 3:35) Hearing this and knowing of the
sorrow that must have filled the man’s heart, Jesus quickly said, “Be not
afraid, only believe.” (Mark 3:36) They continued to the man’s house and as the
Savior looked down on the still body he quietly says, “Talitha cumi” (Mark
5:41) meaning “Daughter, arise.” The young girl was healed and the man was
filled with joy. Truly, the Savior was an emblem of hope.
Faithful.
As the Savior continued His ministry, another parent came to him. This
man’s son had been afflicted with a devil from a young age. The father plead
with Jesus saying, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help
us.” (Mark 9:22) Surely the Savior knew of the hardships of this man’s family.
Constantly having to care and look after a boy who would throw himself into the
fire, gnash at his teeth and tear at his own body. How exhausted the boy’s
parents must have been. In response, the Savior says, “If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:23) Straightway, the
father cries, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) With the
seed of faith that this father held, the Savior healed his son. Even thou the
man was still yet filled with unbelief, the Savior knew of his faith and
yearned to help him build it. Truly the Savior knew the power of faith.
Charity. Though Jesus went about doing good,
many were not happy with the way He taught. There were some who constantly
tried to find new ways to condemn Him. One such group of people brought a woman
to the Savior. With accusatory glances they described why this woman was at
Jesus’s feet. “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Moses
in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”
(John 8:4-5) Instead of looking at the accusers, the Savior looks at the ground
and begins to write. His response was simple, “He that is without sin, let him
cast the first stone.” (John 8:7) There was only one in the room without sin
who had the authority to cast a stone at the adulterous woman and that was
Jesus himself. Slowly, each of the accusers left the room, leaving Jesus and
the woman alone. What does the Savior do to the woman now? Does He through the
stone? No. He looked to the woman, eyes full of love and said, “Woman, where
are those thine accusers?” (John 8:10) With a heart full of gratitude which
only the forgiven can understand she said, “No man, Lord.” “Neither do I
condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Charity is so much more than an act of
service or money given to an organization. It is the pure love of Christ. Truly,
Christ was our perfect example of charity.
Courageous. The condemnation continued until
the accusers could wait no more. They accused Jesus of their highest treason,
blasphemy and condemned him to death. They bound Jesus in chords and took him
to the governor, Pilate, to be judged. Standing before this great Roman
authority, the Savior boldly proclaimed, “My kingdom is not of this world. To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.” (John 18:36-37)
Even in His last moments, Jesus was courageous.
Trusting. Just before judgment, the Savior
prophesied to His apostles of the hour that would soon come where they would
each “be scattered, every man to his own” (John 16:32) and would leave the
Savior alone. Nevertheless he said “He that sent me is with me: the Father hath
not left me alone” (John 8:29) As the Savior proceeded with the infinite and
essential Atonement which only He could accomplish, the Father knew that for
the Atonement to be complete, the Savior would need to finish this great act on
His own. Thus, as the Savior hung on the cross, he cried “Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?” meaning “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” For a
moment, the Eternal Father would need to withdraw His Spirit and the Savior
would be left completely and utterly alone. Here was the ultimate test. Even
though the Savior could not feel His Father around Him, would he still hold
strong to the promises that had been made to Him? Would he completely and
totally trust in His Father? Yes. Of all things, the Savior was always trusting
in His Father.
Humble, knowledgeable, obedient, hopeful,
faithful, charitable, courageous and trusting. It is essential that each of us
develop these attributes in this life. But how? How can we possibly hope to
attain a level of perfection and example that the Savior showed? The Book of
Mormon gives us the answer. “Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him,” (Moroni
10:32) Through our Savior and His atonement, we truly can be perfected. We can
develop each of these traits through earnest study, prayer and action.
I know that on my mission, I could have gone
through the motions and done all of the things that missionaries do. But
instead of doing missionary work, the Father needs each of us to be
missionaries. There were very specific instances in which each of these
attributes became important. Times where without them, I would have utterly
failed.
I began my mission in Evansville, Indiana. I
was so excited to be a missionary. But I quickly realized that I had a lot to
learn. I was trained by one of the best sisters I’ve ever known, Sister Chelsey
Earl. Yes, she taught me how to do missionary work; how to teach, make lesson
plans, contact people on the street. But more than anything else, she taught me
how to be a missionary. She was my example of someone who truly loved her
mission. I could not have been more excited to continue to learn at her feet
for the 12 weeks I would be trained by her. Then, 6 weeks into my mission, we
got a call from our mission president. “Sister Thorne,” he said, “The Lord has
a great calling for you. He needs you to open a new area in Jasper, Indiana and
train one of our new sisters coming in. Will you answer the Lord’s call?” My
heart sank. In shock I said, “I will go and do whatever the Lord needs me to.”
He then asked to talk to Sister Earl so I handed the phone to her. Suddenly,
the car was suffocating me. I couldn’t breathe. I looked to her and mouthed
that I needed some air. I got out of the car and immediately, all my strength
came crashing down. My shoulders shook with sobs and all I could do was pace behind
the car and stare up at the heavens angrily. “How could you do this to me? I
can’t do this! There’s no way you can expect me to do this. What on earth are
you thinking?” After a minute, Sister Earl got out of the car and wrapped me in
her arms. I calmed down and we headed into our appointment. Later that night,
the zone leaders came and gave me a blessing. In the blessing, the Lord told me
that He would give me the strength, the words, the gifts that I would need to
accomplish what He had called me to do as long as I was willing to ask. He told
me that I needed to never lose my hope, never lose my faith. Keep trusting in
Him and everything would work out. As I left Evansville and went to Jasper with
Sister Junk I prayed harder than I have ever done in my life and I faced many
many hardships. The refiners fire was far from over. But through it all, I held
strong to the hope that God had given me. Through prayer, I knew of the
promises He had made to me. Hope truly is a power that can get us through anything.
Before my mission, I spent 11 days in the
Provo MTC. It was a very overwhelming time. It felt like drinking from a fire
hydrant. I specifically remember one day as we sat and the teacher, Sister
McGill, told us that today we were going to learn about Charity. She started
explaining that she had only felt true charity twice on her mission. Confusion
came over my face. What? Charity was service you give to others. You go work at
charities. Or you give money to them. How could she only have felt that twice
on her mission? We then turned to Moroni 7:47 and read “Charity is the pure
love of Christ.” Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute. That was very different from
the definition I grew up with. So immediately I set out to understand what
Charity was. I spent many hours during those 11 days studying every scripture I
could find that mentioned the word charity. Slowly, I understood that charity
was truly the deepest love that could ever exist. It was the love that gave our
Savior the strength and the reason to accomplish His great sacrifice. Because
He loves us. I decided that that would be my mission goal. To develop true
charity. It didn’t come all at once. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I
have true charity for everyone!” It came gradually. So slowly, I didn’t even
notice. But by the end of my mission, I realized that as I went through each
day, as I talked to people on the street, I loved them. It didn’t matter what
they looked like, who they were, or how they treated me. They were a son or
daughter of our Heavenly Father. And He loved them eternally. So I did too. I
have never felt so much happiness in my life. Understanding the love that God has
for each of His children is truly miraculous.
Each of these attributes were goals that I
had set for myself, things that I wanted to work on. But there is one trait
more than any of the others that God worked within me without me even knowing.
It is actually my ultimate spiritual weakness. That of trusting in God and His
plan. I am the kind of person that always has my own plan. I always have steps
set out to accomplish that plan and I know my limits so I know exactly what I
can and can’t accomplish. I didn’t want to leave it up to God to accomplish my
goals, because I didn’t know for certain that He would. I never truly trusted
Him. That is why my favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” It is in reality my life goal.
As my mission was coming to a close, I was filled with fear. What would happen
next? Where would I go? What would I do? Would everything with school work out?
I didn’t even want to begin to think about dating. There were so many what ifs
that I had absolutely no control over. Each night, I fell to my knees asking
for direction, answers, anything. But nothing happened. I remember one day, our
plans started going terribly wrong. One of our investigators actually ended up
in jail. Yep. Definitely not in the plan. Sister Brian came to me and asked,
“What are we going to do? How is this going to work out?” Her eyes searched
mine, begging that I would have some answer that would magically fix our
problem. Without thinking about it, I said “I don’t know. But it’s going to be
okay. Everything will be okay. God will make sure of it.” Sister Brian looked
at me and asked, “How can you be so certain?” Suddenly, the Spirit was all
around me. Tears filled my eyes and I said, “Because I trust Him.” In that
moment, the Lord worked in me a mighty miracle. He showed me that through the
course of 18 months, above all attributes, He had taught me how to trust Him.
He had truly made my weakness into a strength. I knew that no matter what
happened, either with our investigator, or once I got home, everything would be
okay. It would all work out. Because I trusted my Father and I knew He was in
charge.
