Continuing from a previous post , , , , Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. . . .It is to those who hunger that I address these thoughts. . . .
Wherever you live, and whatever point in age or experience you find yourself, I declare that God has, through His only Begotten Son lifted the famine of which Amos spoke. I testify that Jesus is the Bread of Life, and a well of living water springing up unto eternal life. I declare to those who are members of the Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints, and especially to those who are not, that our Heavenly Father and his Beloved Firstborn Son did appear to the boy prophet Joseph Smith and restored light and life, hope and direction, to a wandering world and a world filled with those who wonder, “Where is hope? Where is peace? What path should I follow? Which way should I go?
Regardless of past paths taken or not taken, we wish to offer you “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). We invite you to join in the adventure of the earliest disciples of Christ who also yearned for the bread of life, those who did not go back but who came to Him, stayed with him, and who recognized that for safety and salvation there was no other that could go to whom they could ever go. (see John 6:68).
You will recall that when Andrew and another disciple, probably John, first heard Christ speak, they were so moved and attracted to Jesus that they followed him when he left the crowd. Sensing that he was being pursued, Christ turned and asked the two men, “What seek ye?” (John 1:38). Other translations render that simply “What do you want?” They answered, where dwellest thou?” or “Where do you live?” Christ said simply, “Come and see” (John 1:38-39). Just a short time later, He formally called Peter and other Apostles with the same spirit of invitation. To them He said. Come, “follow me” (Matthew 4:19).
It seems the essence of our mortal journey and the answers to our most significant questions in life are distilled down to these very brief elements in the opening scenes of our Savior’s earthly ministry. One element is the question put to every one of us on earth: “What seek ye? What do you want?” The second is His response to our answer, whatever that answer is. Whoever we are and whatever we reply, his response is always the same: “Come,” He says lovingly. “Come, follow me.” Wherever you are going, first come and see what I do, see where and how I spend my time, learn of me walk with me, talk with me, believe. Listen to me pray. In turn you will find answers to your prayers. God will bring rest to your souls. Come, follow me.
With one voice and one accord, we bear witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to satisfy ultimate spiritual hunger and slake definite spiritual thirst. Only he who was so mortally wounded knows how to heal our modern wounds. Only One who was with God, and was God (see John 1:1), can answers the deepest and most urgent questions of our soul. Only His mighty arms could have thrown open the prison gates of death that otherwise would have held us in bondage forever. Only on His triumphant shoulders can we ride to celestial glory—if we but choose through our faithfulness to do so.
To those who may feel that they have somehow forfeited their place at the table of the Lord, we say again with the Prophet Joseph Smith that God has “a forgiving disposition, that Christ is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, [is] long-suffering and full of goodness.” I have always loved that while Matthew records Jesus’ great injunction, “Be ye therefore perfect” (Matt. 5:48), Luke adds the Savior’s additional commentary: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful:” (Luke 6:36)—as if to suggest that mercy is at least the beginning synonym for the perfection God has and for which all of us must strive. Mercy with its sister virtue forgiveness, is at the very heart of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the eternal plan of salvation. Everything in the gospel teaches us that we can change if we need to, that we can be helped if we truly want it, that we can be made whole, whatever the problems of the past.
Now, if you feel too spiritually maimed to come to the feast, please realize that the Church is not a monastery for perfect people though all of us ought to be striving on the road to godliness. No, at least one aspect of the Church is more like a hospital or an aid station, provided for those who are ill and want to get well, where one can get an infusion of spiritual nutrition and a supply of sustaining water in order to keep on climbing.
In spite of life’s tribulations and as fearful as some of our prospects are, I testify that there is help for the journey. There is the Bread of Eternal Life and the Well of Living Water. Christ has overcome the world—our world—-and His gift to us is peace now and exaltation in the world to come (see Doctrine & Covenants 59:23). Our fundamental requirement is to have faith in Him and follow Him—-always. I testify that in my fears and in my infirmities the Savior has surely sustained me. I will never be able to thank Him enough for such personal kindness and such loving care.
President George Q.Cannon said once: “No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and he never will. He cannot do it. It is against His character [to do so]. He is an unchangeable being. . . . He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and the purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments.”2 Those who will receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of their salvation will always lie down in green pastures, no matter how bleak the winter has been. And the waters of their refreshment will always be still waters, no matter how turbulent the storms of life. In walking His path of righteousness, our souls will be forever restored; and though that path may for us, as it did for Him, lead through the valley of death, yet we will fear no evil. The rod of His priesthood and the staff of His spirit will always comfort us. And when we hunger and thirst in the effort, He will prepare a veritable feast before us, a table spread even in the presence of our enemies—contemporary enemies—which might include fear or family worries, sickness or personal sorrow of a hundred different kinds. In the crowning act of compassion at such a supper, He anoints our head with oil and administers a blessing of strength to our soul. Our cup runneth over with kindness and our tears runneth over with joy. We weep to know that such goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life’ and that we will, if we desire it, dwell in the house of the Lord forever (see Psalms 23).
I pray that all who are hungering and thirsting and sometimes wandering, will hear this invitation from Him who is the Bread of Life, the Fountain of Living Water, the Good Shepherd of us all, the Son of God: “Come unto me, all that ye that labor and are heavy laden , . . .and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). Truly, HE does fill “the hungry with good things, and His own mother, Mary, testified (Luke 1:53). Come, and feast at the table of the Lord in what I testify to be His true and living Church, led by a true and living Prophet. ~~~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Trusting Jesus” Deseret Book © 2003 Jeffrey R. Holland p. 9-16
