By This Shall All Men Know

In his recent talk in general conference, Elder B. Corey Cuvelier told a story about his great-grandfather Martin Gassner who lived in Germany in the early 1900s. He was a welder who spent most paydays “drinking, smoking, and buying rounds at the pub.” With his wife threatening to leave him, one day a friend showed him a Latter-day Saint pamphlet and they decided to take a train on a Sunday to attend their services (which were far away). They were welcomed by the branch president to a testimony meeting where Martin felt moved by the Spirit. Elder Cuvelier recounted what happened after the meeting, “Afterward the man introduced himself as the branch president and asked if they would return. Martin explained that he lived too far away and couldn’t afford the weekly trip. The branch president simply said, ‘Follow me.’ They walked a few blocks to a nearby factory where the branch president’s friend worked. After a short conversation, Martin and his friend were both offered jobs. Then the branch president led them to an apartment building and secured housing for their families.” Elder Cuvelier continued, “All of this happened within two hours. Martin’s family moved the following week. Six months later they were baptized.” If this branch president had not taken that extra effort to find a way for Martin to continue coming to church, he may never have returned. But through his inspired service that Sunday, that branch president changed forever the course of this man’s life as well as that of his descendants. Elder Cuverlier summarized, “As for the branch president, I cannot tell you his name—his identity has been lost to time. But I call him a disciple, ambassador, Christian, good Samaritan, and friend. His influence is still felt 116 years later, and I stand on the shoulders of his discipleship.” His given name was not remembered, but how he took upon himself the name of Christ was.   

                In his message Elder Cuvelier encouraged us to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to be called by his name. Clearly this branch president was such a saint who sought to follow the Savior, and Elder Cuvelier invited us to do likewise: “Let us strive to follow Christ’s example, doing good and making discipleship a lifelong priority so that each time we interact with others, they will feel God’s love and the confirming power of the Holy Ghost. Then we may join my great-grandfather and millions of others who have declared, like the disciple Andrew, ‘We have found the Messias.’ In the end, our identity isn’t defined by the world. But our discipleship is defined by the ordinances we receive, the covenants we keep, and the love we show to God and neighbor by simply doing good. As President Nelson taught, we are indeed children of God, children of the covenant, disciples of Jesus Christ.” The Savior has invited us in the scriptures to become His disciples. In one passage He said, “And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:40). To be a disciple is to care for those in need. In another passage the Lord said to His servants, “Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you, and clothe you, and give you money. And he who feeds you, or clothes you, or gives you money, shall in nowise lose his reward. And he that doeth not these things is not my disciple; by this you may know my disciples” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:89-91). In other words, the missionaries sent out would recognize disciples by their kindness shown to them. The Savior put it best when He said simply at the Last Supper: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). As all of these scriptures attest, the essence of discipleship is love—we cannot follow the Savior if we do not strive to love others. Moroni summarized it this way when he said to the Savior, “And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father” (Ether 12:34). The Savior showed us how to love, and if we are to be His disciples we must strive to do likewise. Like that branch president in 1909, we may not fully understand the impact of our efforts to love, but we can strive to show kindness and compassion as we call ourselves by the name of Christ.