Understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple.  We learn about Him until we believe in Him, that's faith.  Then, because we believe he can atone for our sins, we repent and get baptized, and by so doing our sins are washed away.  Then, with the help of the Holy Ghost, we follow Jesus and try to become like him. It's a process, of course, but because of the atonement we can repent and keep trying, and hopefully getting better as we go, at the same time helping the people around us come home to heaven with us .  Mind you, there are lots of commandments, but they are given to help us become like the Savior.

I've noticed throughout my life that people tend to make the gospel harder than it really is.  Sometimes we fixate on a principal or program intended to help us follow Jesus, but we forget the rest of the gospel.  Once in awhile people chuck the whole thing because they decide it's too hard or not worth it or they get discouraged thinking they will never be good enough.  They forget how simple the gospel really is, and how much they love the Savior,and how much he loves them.  He doesn't expect us to be perfectly like him to start with. He just wants us to try, and when we mess up, to try again.  Little by little, over a life-time and well beyond we will become like Him.  Then, after we have done our best, through the atonement He will make up the difference and we will be perfect.

I've held lots of positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints, (or Mormons as many people call us), and each one has helped me grow a little closer to the Savior, and taught me a little more about what He is like.  When I was young I played the piano and led the singing for the little children.  I learned from their pure love, innocence, and enthusiasm how to love Jesus with a simple heart.

As I grew older I was blessed to be a teacher of six, seven, and eight year olds.  All of the lessons were based on the simple, pure teachings of the Savior, and in trying to find a way to teach them they became a part of me.

As a young wife I was called to teach the twelve and thirteen year old girls, and found as I tried to help them understand the gospel and apply it in their lives, I also understood it better.

When I was called to serve the women in our ward in Relief Society I gained all kinds of new insights on how to raise children and love my husband with charity, the way the Lord would.  I also learned how to serve other people and create a warm, welcoming home.  It was so much fun.

When we moved to our new house I wondered what calling I would be given next.  It was a couple of months after we'd moved in before the bishop called me into his office and asked me if I would be the Laurel Adviser, teaching the fifteen and sixteen year old girls in our ward.  I said yes, of course, because by then I'd learned that every calling was actually a huge blessing for me, but I was sure scared.  I'd never taught girls that old before, and I wasn't sure I knew how.  Personally, I hadn't really enjoyed being a teenager, it had often been an intimidating, frustrating, humiliating, and frightening experience, and I never really felt like I identified with the boy-crazy, gossiping, trendy girls.  How was I going to understand and help the young women in my class now?

In the end it wasn't so bad.  The girls in my group were sweethearts, much more mature than I remembered being at their age, and they seemed to soak in the gospel like a sponge.  They understood, better than I had at their age that Jesus gives us commandments  to keep us safe and make us happy, not to restrict us. 

One thing I began to see clearly was that it is possible for someone to be active in church, to know the commandments and programs, but to not really understand the gospel.  I saw adults in our ward who came because they were expected to, or to see their friends, but they hardly ever even thought about worshiping the Savior.  I met other members who had stopped coming to church because they had their feelings hurt or they just found it boring.  They didn't get that church is the place we go to learn about Jesus and feel his spirit, no matter who else happens to be there or how much fun we may have.  In fact, these people seemed to think that church was about the Bishop, the Relief Society President, the Sunday School Teacher, or maybe the prophet, but they totally left out the Savior.  And it's His church!    Interesting, and no wonder when they stopped caring about those other people they stopped coming.