“Followers of Jesus Christ on the Path of Discipleship,” For the Strength of Youth, Apr. 2021, 2–5.
Come, Follow Me
Followers of Jesus Christ on the Path of Discipleship
From the April 2010 general conference address “We Follow Jesus Christ.”
The Savior has made it possible for each of us to gain salvation and exaltation. But we must follow the path He has provided for safety and peace.
Photograph by Tyler Rickenbach
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, over death. We cherish our understanding and feel heartfelt appreciation for the Savior’s willing atoning sacrifice on our behalf. It is the most important event in the history of mankind.
Because Christ fulfilled His sacred mission as Savior and Redeemer, we will be resurrected from death and have our spirits reunited with our bodies. Based on personal worthiness, we may through His grace have the glorious opportunity of entering back into the presence of God.
Our Message to the World
The Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking of the events surrounding Easter, said, “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.”1
While we rejoice in the eternal significance of Gethsemane and Calvary, our focus has always been on the resurrected Lord. Our message to the world is that He lives! The symbol of Christ for the Latter-day Saints will be found in the meaningful expression of our faith and the way we live His gospel.2
As we ponder what it means to be Christians today, we should think about what our path of discipleship will require of us. I suggest that we contemplate and in appropriate ways follow what the Savior did in the last two days of His mortal life and ministry.
Remember and Reverence the Sacrament
At the Last Supper, the Savior introduced the ordinance of the sacrament. He took bread, broke it, prayed over it, and passed it to His disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). In this manner He instituted the sacrament. If we are to be His disciples and to be committed members of His Church, we must remember and reverence the sacrament.
The sacrament allows each of us to express with broken hearts and contrite spirits our willingness to follow the Savior, to repent, and to become a Saint through the Atonement of Christ (see Mosiah 3:19). The sacrament allows us to witness to God that we will remember His Son and keep His commandments as we renew our baptismal covenant (see Mosiah 18:8–10; Doctrine and Covenants 20:37, 77–79). This increases our love and appreciation for both the Father and the Son.
Love One Another
The Savior also declared, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (see John 13:34–35). In the face of the eternity-shaping Atonement He was about to undertake, such a commandment requires our obedience. We manifest our love for God when we keep His commandments and serve His children. We don’t fully comprehend the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but we can spend our lives trying to be more loving and kind, regardless of the adversity we face.
The Savior’s charge to His Apostles and all disciples who would come after them to love one another is one of the most central of His teachings. How we relate and interact with each other is a measure of our willingness to follow Jesus Christ.
Be Worthy of the Holy Ghost’s Promptings
At this time, the Savior promised the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, to the Apostles. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, the Comforter, who bears witness of the Father and the Son, reveals the truth of all things, and sanctifies those who have repented and been baptized.
We live in a noisy, contentious world, where it is possible to be viewing or listening to information, music, or even pure nonsense virtually every waking hour. If we want to have the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we must find time to slow down, ponder, pray, and live so we are worthy to receive and act upon His promptings. We will avoid major mistakes if we heed His warnings. It is our privilege as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to receive light and knowledge from Him even to the perfect day (see Doctrine and Covenants 50:24).
Follow the Savior’s Path
This Easter season, we rejoice in all the Savior has done for us. He has made it possible for each of us to gain our salvation and exaltation. But we must follow the path He has provided for safety and peace.
One of the ways we do this is by adhering to the teachings of our living prophet. He is an excellent example of one who follows the Savior. Another way is to seek the refuge and eternal protection of the temple.
I bear my apostolic witness that Jesus Christ lives and is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He has provided the pathway to true happiness.