November 24, 2003

  • So, you asked me who Jesus Christ was. Honestly your question surprised me. It surprised me because I sometimes forget that people’s perceptions of the Christ can be different. My testimony of Jesus Christ comes from three main sources or experiences that I have had.

    My first experience with the LORD I don’t remember. I believe that before I was born I existed as a spirit child of God, and that before I was born I testified of Christ. My mother has often told me stories about how when I was really little I would cry at night saying that I “missed Jesus.” As a child I had a basic understanding of Christ. I loved him, and I knew that he loved me.

    My next big experience with the Lord Jesus Christ came when I was 12 years old. I chose to be baptized when I was 8, so I had a pretty good understanding of the Savior, but it wasn’t until I was 12 that I discovered one of the most important relationships between Christ and His disciples. I spent a week at a camp in Nauvoo Illinois. The town has major historical importance to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was headquartered there until it was driven out of the United States. There is a special feeling in that place, and I felt it very strongly when I visited the Carthage Jail. There, in 1844 the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed by a mob. I remember being so touched when I went there. I prayed to the Father in Jesus’ name, asking Him if Joseph Smith really was a Prophet. The feeling that swept over me intensely assured me that he was indeed a Prophet of God. The knowledge was sweet and clear, like a divine euphoria. It is through that feeling in my heart and mind, the voice of the Holy Ghost, that I am able to believe in Christ.

    You probably wonder why knowing that Joseph Smith was a Prophet helped me know and believe in Christ. Well, first of all, it taught me that God the Father answers prayers. If that is so, then all you have to do to believe in Christ is ask the Father. Second of all, it taught me that the Book of Mormon was true. Since the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ, Jesus would have to be real for the book to be true. Perhaps most compelling of all is Joseph Smith’s own personal witness of the Son of God. I know with out a doubt that when Joseph was 14, God the Father and his Son Jesus appeared to before him to answer his question. I believe that Joseph saw them, two distinct personages. Later in his life and after another experience, Joseph Smith and Sigdney Rigdon testified, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony . . . which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 176:22-24) To that I add my own testimony, that Jesus does in fact live, that He is the only begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, that He is our advocate with the Father.

    My third experience with Jesus Christ is really just the relationship that I have now with him. Since that is very personal, I’ll just focus on a few things briefly. I believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I’ve witnessed its miracles in my life and the lives of others. I believe that through that Atonement all mankind may be saved by obedience the ordinances of Christ’s restored Gospel. I believe in repentence when we fail to live up to our covenants. I believe in the Scriptures, I know that they testify of Him. I believe that as we serve others, we really serve Him. I believe that we have reason to rejoice in Christ, and I strive to do so. He loves me, and I love him. I guess that is Christ to me. He is Jesus, the Jehovah, God of the Old Testament, Lamb of the New Testament. He is the Creater of all things, and He is our personal Redeemer. And He is my friend.

    See Also The Living Christ