Our Never Deviating Friend

To my daughter, 

               One of the challenges of life when you are growing up can be finding good friends. Friends may come and go at times, and we will likely sometimes get hurt by those we thought were our friends. I want you to always remember, though, that no matter what others say or do, you have a Divine Friend in your Savior Jesus Christ. As we keep our covenants with Him and seek to follow His gospel, He will stand by us and be a perfect Friend to us. He said this to the Prophet Joseph Smith to the Saints: “Ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends…. And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:63, 77). In other words, the Lord considers us His friends if we will keep His commandments like His apostles of old. In another revelation He said this: “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am…. I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:1, 45). That is an incredible promise. As we learn to forsake our sins, call on the name of the Lord, obey His voice, and keep His commandments we will see His face and be His friend. He will stand by us and help us in our difficulties as we remember Him and seek before all else to do those things that He would have us do. I believe the description the Prophet Joseph gave of himself applies to the Savior: He is your “never deviating friend” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:25).

                 The Savior began another revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith this way: “Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:1). The Savior will speak to us through the voice of His Spirit and so we must learn to listen to that Spirit which will guide and comfort and strengthen us. To be the Savior’s friend we must learn to hear His voice through the Spirit, and we do that as we sincerely pray, study the scriptures, and think about Him and ask ourselves often: “What would He do in this situation?” Shortly before He died the Savior said this to His apostles: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends” (John 15:13-15). He showed us greater love than we can ever fully know when He gave up His life for us, and we can truly be His friend as we do those things that He commands us. I love the story of the prophet Elijah who, after calling down fire from heaven, ran from the wicked queen Jezebel and was by himself in the desert. We read, “He himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” He thought that he was all alone and felt like he wanted to die. But the Lord was with him as his friend and sent him help: “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink.” The Lord sent an angel to give him food and water and help him see that indeed he was not alone. Elijah said to Jehovah, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” But the Lord corrected him, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:5-8, 14, 18). In other words, the Lord knew that there were still thousands who were not worshipping Baal and who would remain a true friend to the prophet. Elijah was not alone then and you are never alone now, for the Lord will always be with you as you seek to keep His commandments.  

Love,

Dad