Suffer His Cross

Jacob wrote that he desired “that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world” (Jacob 1:8).  This statement suggests that as disciples of Christ we must suffer to some small degree like He suffered.  Of course we don’t atone for the sins of any, but we come to know Him and receive His grace by symbolically bearing a cross like He did.  Jacob wrote also on another occasion suggesting that “the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel” will have “endured the crosses of the world,” again alluding to some kind of suffering in similitude of that of Christ’s.  The Savior seemed to suggest that this was the case for His disciples when the mother of James and John requested that they sit on His right and left in the kingdom of God.  He responded, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”  When they responded in the affirmative, He said, “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with” (Matt. 20:22-23).  That “cup” I believe was the same that He mentioned to the Nephites when summarizing His suffering for them: “I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:11).  So in some way it seems that we must drink a small portion of that cup—of course not in the infinite way He did but to a tiny degree we will be refined and tried and will suffer in similitude of His great atoning sacrifice.

Other teachings seem to affirm this principle.  Christ suggested this to His apostles on another occasion shortly before His death: “The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).  The apostles did indeed suffer, and when Peter and John were beaten for Christ’s sake, “They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41).  In our dispensation the Lord gave us this word of warning for disciples: “Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:4).  So the Saints will be tried in some way like Abraham was tried, and Abraham’s sacrifice “is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:5).  Elder Holland offered his thoughts on why this kind of suffering in similitude of the Savior is required of His disciples.  He was speaking in particular of the difficulties of missionary work, but His words apply generally to the challenges of discipleship.  He said, “I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.  For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.  If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, ‘Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,’ then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.”  We don’t seek suffering or trials or difficulty, but when they come we can turn to the Savior knowing that because of His triumph over suffering, we too can overcome all things through Him.