Member Voices
How to Become a Disciple of Jesus Christ
This year, the Africa Central Area mission plan is “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ”.
Wondering what kind of disciple one should be? The answer is one who strives to make and keep sacred covenants, to be self-reliant, to love, to share and invite. In my opinion, these characteristics are progression indicators of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Once we commit to follow Christ, we become His followers. Our goal is then to prepare ourselves to be heirs to the kingdom of God. To do this, we must follow His example. There are many resources available to help us to learn more about His life. These include the scriptures, the words of the prophets and even modern revelations.
One of the things I learned from the Savior as I learned about His life is that He invited all to follow Him. In Matthew 4:19, Christ made this invitation to the fishermen He once met at the seaside: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, and we see how the acceptance of this invitation changed the lives of these fishermen. So, I believe that, as His followers, we are called to invite others to follow Him.
The scriptures teach us that there is a joy in bringing souls to Christ and we are promised great joy with them in the kingdom of God. Many have stepped forward and invited others.
King Darius, in the Old Testament, once he had witnessed the power of the God of Daniel, he sent a decree to all people of the lands in their languages, commanding them to fear the God of Daniel. (See Daniel 6.)
The Book of Mormon also tells a story of how a Lamanite named Abish who has been converted to the Lord many years previously, invited others to go to the house of King Lamoni to witness the power of God. She did so with courage, despite the hostility which her people, the Lamanites, had against the Nephites. The scriptures explain that she ran from house to house (Alma 19:16–17).
Lehi, too, dedicated his whole life inviting his family to live the gospel. I know that each one of us, who has chosen to follow Christ, is called to proclaim His gospel throughout the world to bring these truths to others and then invite them to follow Jesus Christ who is the only way to eternal life.
My husband and I work on making our home a place to learn the gospel for us and our children. We help them to gain their testimonies on these principles. Through prayer, we receive inspiration on how to teach them as they are still young and do not yet have a clear understanding of all things yet.
Inviting others is not always an easy task, but we find strength and comfort in Christ. In his April 2023 general conference talk, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve said: “As His followers, we are His peculiar people, called to proclaim His virtues, promoters of the peace so generously offered through Him and His atoning sacrifice. This peace is a gift promised to all who turn their hearts to the Savior and live righteously; such peace gives us the strength to enjoy mortal life and enables us to endure the painful trials of our journey.”
We can also invite ourselves to follow Christ. Let us think about all those gospel principles we are not living and then commit ourselves as of this very moment to do what it takes to change. In my family, we have made a list of things we will work on during the year to improve ourselves and grow closer to the Savior.