They Straightway Left Their Nets

I enjoyed the anecdote that Sister Cordon told about her five-year-old son playing soccer recently in general conference. He was placed as the goalie in front of a regulation-size soccer goal—something enormous compared to his size. She recounted, “The game took on mythic proportions as I saw Tanner take the goalie position. I was so surprised. Did he really understand his purpose in guarding the net?” She told how as they watched the game they forgot about him until the ball was headed towards him. She continued, “I looked in Tanner’s direction to make certain he was ready to stand his ground and defend the goal. I saw something I was not expecting. At some point in the game, Tanner had become distracted and began weaving his left arm through the various holes in the net. Then he did the same with his right arm. Next, his left foot. Finally, his right foot. Tanner was fully entangled in the net. He had forgotten his purpose and what he had been entrusted to do.” She used this story to encourage us to remember our purpose on the earth and not get distracted from that which is most important. She taught, “We all occasionally get distracted from why we are here and divert our energies somewhere else. One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is to distract us with good and better causes which, in times of need, may blind and bind us away from the best cause—the very work that called us into this world.” And what is our work here? She summarized it this way: “Our eternal purpose is to come unto Christ and actively join Him in His great work…. We continually seek to draw closer to the Savior through faith, cherished repentance, and keeping the commandments. As we bind ourselves to Him through covenants and ordinances, our lives are filled with confidence, protection, and deep and lasting joy.” We must not get caught in the nets of the world but focus on that which is most important: binding ourselves to the Savior Jesus Christ and helping others come unto Him.

                Sister Cordon’s story about a soccer net reminds me of the apostles in the meridian of time. As the Savior began His ministry among them Matthew recorded this: “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20). They left their literal nets to focus on Him and feed His sheep, and surely He makes that same call to all of us: we must leave our figurative nets and follow Him so we too can be fishers of men. In his conference talk, Elder Patricio Guiffra told of those who had done just that to help him, including a neighbor and two missionaries who through their faith helped teach him the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “It has been almost 45 years since my mother and I first learned the joy and power of having faith in Christ. It was because of their faith in Christ that the Lopez family shared their new faith with me. It was because of their faith in Christ that these two missionaries left their homes in the United States to find my mother and me. It was the faith of all these dear friends that planted a mustard seed of faith in us that has since grown into a mighty tree of eternal blessings.” Indeed it takes faith in the Savior to set aside the cares of the world and help others to find joy and power in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. When the Savior came back to Peter after His resurrection, He found the chief apostle again with his nets and fish, and He said to him: “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (John 21:15) This piercing question is one we must likewise consider in our lives: do we truly love the Lord more than the concerns of the mortality that take up so much of our time? If we are to answer yes, then we, like Peter, must learn to not get entangled in our nets and instead focus on that which is “of the most worth”: feeding His sheep (Doctrine and Covenants 15:6). As Sister Cordon concluded, “Together, we will advance His purpose until that great day when Christ Himself returns to this earth and calls each of us to come ‘hither.’ We will joyfully gather together, for we are those who come unto Christ, and we do not come alone.”