Becoming True Disciples

By President Henry B. Eyring

First Counselor in the First Presidency

In every sacrament meeting, we have the privilege of promising Heavenly Father that we will always remember the Savior and keep His commandments so that we may have His Spirit to be with us (see Moroni 4:3; 5:2; D&C 20:77, 79). Remembering Him will always come to us naturally as we take His name upon us. We do so in many ways but especially when we serve others in His name, read His holy words, and pray to know what He would have us do.

It happened for me when I performed the baptism of a young man. I knew that I had been called by the Savior’s ordained servants as a missionary to teach His gospel and to testify of Him and of His true Church. My missionary companion and I had promised the young man that he would be cleansed through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ as he repented with faith in the Savior and was baptized by one of His authorized servants.

As I lifted the young man out of the waters of the baptismal font, he whispered in my ear, “I am clean, I am clean.” In that moment, I remembered the Savior’s baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Even more, I remembered that I was doing the saving work of a resurrected and living Savior—attended by the Holy Ghost, as John had been.

For me and for each of us, remembering the Savior can be more than relying on a memory of our knowledge and experiences with Him. We can make choices every day that draw us closer to Him in the present.

The simplest choice may be to read the scriptures. By doing so, we can gain the feelings of being close to Him. For me, closeness comes most often when I read in the Book of Mormon. In the first minutes that I read in the chapters of 2 Nephi, I hear in my mind the voices of Nephi and Lehi describing the Savior as if they knew Him personally. A feeling of closeness comes.

For you, other places in scripture may especially draw you to Him. But wherever and whenever you read the word of God, with humble and real intent to remember the Savior, you will increase your desire to take His name upon you in your daily life.

That desire will change the way you serve in the Lord’s Church. You will pray to Heavenly Father for help in magnifying even what appears to you to be a small calling. The help you will ask for is the ability to forget yourself and focus more on what the Savior wants for those you are called to serve.

I have felt His hand and His closeness in my service with our children when I prayed to know how to help them find the peace that only the gospel brings. At such moments, I cared less about being seen as a successful parent, but I cared deeply about the success and well-being of my children.

The desire to give to those we serve what the Savior would give to them leads to prayers that are a pleading to Heavenly Father, truly in the name of Jesus Christ. When we pray in that way—in the Savior’s name, with faith in Him—the Father answers. He sends the Holy Ghost to guide, comfort, and encourage us. Because the Spirit always bears witness of the Savior (see 3 Nephi 11:32, 36; 28:11; Ether 12:41), our capacity to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength increases (see Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; D&C 59:5).

The blessings of daily and present remembering will come slowly and steadily as we serve Him, feast on His word, and pray in faith on His name. And this remembering will shape us to become true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in His kingdom on this earth—and later with His Father in the glorious world to come.