Armed With Power

Yesterday President Nelson posted this on social media: “Exactly 25 years ago, on January 1, 2000, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles published ‘The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles.’ I am one of four living Apostles who signed my name to this landmark document…. Over the last quarter century this testimony has been read, studied, and even memorized by countless disciples of Jesus Christ. My study of this testimony increases my desire, every day, to be more like Him.” I was one of those who memorized it a couple of years after it came out. I remember spending time memorizing The Living Christ while at a summer camp in high school away from home, and since then its words have often come into my mind and have become a part of my testimony of the Savior. I came to better appreciate how He “went about doing good” in His life when He “walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.” Most importantly, this document helped me better appreciated “His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.” How blessed we are to have modern apostles who boldly declare the divinity of Jesus Christ in a world that continues to turn away from His teachings. The final paragraph is a powerful witness of Him: “We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

President Nelson continued His post yesterday with these words: “As I celebrate my 101st New Year’s Day, I continue to love the opportunity it provides for fresh starts, new perspectives, and new and renewed resolutions. May I extend an invitation to you as you consider what your resolutions will be this year? I invite you to come to the temple as often as your circumstances allow. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him and His gospel. We make covenants that bind us to Him and to our Heavenly Father. Through these temple experiences and others, we are strengthened to achieve our New Year’s resolutions. My dear friends, may this new year be filled with the light, love, joy, and power of our Savior and Redeemer, who is the Living Christ.” This testimony and invitation continue three themes that President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized over the course of his tenure as the president of the Church: The Savior, the temple, and receiving power from God. He said this in the most recent general conference: “Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him. We make covenants to follow Him. We come to know Him. As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power. In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world. Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will feel His mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of His gospel.” In the temple we can both come to know the Lord Jesus Christ better and receive more abundantly His power in our lives to overcome the challenges we face in mortality. This was the prayer of the Prophet Joseph Smith at the dedication of the first temple of this dispensation: “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them.” I love the final words of his inspired petition: “And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb! And let these, thine anointed ones, be clothed with salvation, and thy saints shout aloud for joy. Amen, and Amen” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:22, 79-80). President Nelson’s repeated message to us is the same that the Prophet Joseph Smith would give us—come of the temple and receive the power of the Lamb of God. “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24).