Come unto Christ

Objective: To help us come unto Christ ourselves and then help others to do so by working to fulfill the mission of the Church.

The Lord has said, “Behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) Through the Atonement, Jesus Christ made it possible for us to inherit eternal life. In turn, we have the responsibility to help make eternal life possible for our fellowmen.

The Lord is merciful. He will lift our burdens and purify our souls if we come unto him. But we may be hesitant or afraid to do so; we may wonder if the blessings of the gospel can really help heal the wounds inflicted by a difficult marriage, lift the burden of financial problems or tensions at work or school, relieve the pain of illness, loneliness, or sin.

Indeed, the Savior can help lift our burdens. One sister describes a time when she had petitioned Heavenly Father night and day, asking him for help with some pressing problems. One morning she felt inspired to go to the temple. “There,” she says, “I began to fathom the necessity of the Atonement in a way I had not understood before. Without the Savior’s help, I literally could not rid myself of my mistakes and continue to progress.” The Spirit told her that she needed to repent of disobedience, and the recognition of her weakness overwhelmed her with remorse and with a desire to obey.

She was also overwhelmed with a sense of the Savior’s love. “I felt that I had been watched over throughout my entire life and that all that had occurred in the past and all that would occur in the future, whether pleasant or painful, could be for my ultimate good—if I accepted it in faith,” she says. She felt a great rushing warmth and a feeling of peace and contentment.

“Uncontrollable tears of joy rolled down my cheeks,” she recalled. “I felt the Savior’s love for me spill over into love for all others. … I had been healed.” (Ensign, Sept. 1977, pp. 50–51.)

There is no problem the Lord cannot help us with if we come to him in faith. When we feel his strength and love, we will want to strengthen and bless our brothers and sisters and bring souls unto him.

We can help in this work by focusing on the three areas included in the mission of the Church. President Ezra Taft Benson has said, “We have a sacred responsibility to fulfill the threefold mission of the Church—first, to teach the gospel to the world; second, to strengthen the membership of the Church wherever they may be; third, to move forward in the work of salvation for the dead.” (Ensign, May 1986, p. 77.)

Of the first mission, teaching the gospel, President Benson has said, “There is no greater joy than bringing souls to Christ. Participation in this great work blesses the convert, blesses the missionary, and blesses those who support the missionary.” (Ibid., p. 78.)

He has said that the second part of the mission, strengthening Church membership, requires us “to learn the will of the Lord for us and then do it. … His will is made manifest through the standard works, His anointed servants, and personal revelation.” (Ibid.)

Temple work, the third part of the mission, not only blesses the dead; it also blesses the living. President Benson has said that the temple “is a house of revelation.” (Ibid.)

As we accept the Atonement and then love and serve our brothers and sisters, we can help the Lord “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.)

Suggestions for Visiting Teachers

Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–16 and discuss what these verses say about the Lord’s love for us and about the love we should have for our brothers and sisters. [D&C 18:10–16]
You or the sister you visit may want to share an example about how the gospel and the Atonement can bless and change lives. Encourage the sister you visit to allow the Savior to help her with her problems.

(See Family Home Evening Resource Book, pp. 36–51, 109–15, 208–10 for related materials.)

Illustrated by Beth Maryon Whittaker