I Believe in Christ

This post is the text of a talk I gave in stake conference on August 25, 2024, but these messages are my opinions. Neither this post nor anything else on this website is an official Church-sponsored product.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah

While John the Baptist was in prison, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Art thou he that should come? Or look we for another?”¹ In other words, they wanted to know whether he was the long-awaited Messiah.

Think of all the things that Jesus could have said to answer that question.

Jesus Christ is the premortal Jehovah.² In the council of heaven he offered himself as a sacrifice to be our Savior.³ As God, he held the power of creation, and with that power he created the heavens and the earth.⁴

He revealed his gospel to his prophets, such as Adam, Noah, and Abraham.⁵ He spoke with Moses face to face,⁶ and led the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Although he was God, he condescended to come to earth with a mortal body,⁷ where he suffered pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.⁸

He performed the atonement, in which he took upon himself our sins, and in his own words, his suffering during this experience caused him, “even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore.”⁹

He was crucified and died on the cross. But he was not killed; his life was not taken from him. As God, he held the power over life and death, and so he said, “I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”¹⁰

While in the spirit world, he organized his work so the gospel could be preached to the dead.¹¹

On the third day after his death, he was resurrected, making it possible for us to also be resurrected and return to the presence of the Father with a physical body.¹²

Considering all that, and so much more that he could have said about his messianic mission, how he answered John’s disciples gives us great insight into his character.

To those two disciples he said, “Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.”¹³

This answer shows us that the greatest desire of our Savior’s heart is to heal our suffering.

We have a Savior

We have a Savior! By performing the atonement, Jesus Christ gained power from the Father.¹⁴ It is with that power that he can forgive us and cleanse us from sin, but it is with that same power that he can comfort us, give us peace, help us feel true joy, strengthen us to overcome life’s challenges, and heal us.¹⁵

Another blessing the Savior has given us is the gift of agency.¹⁶ Because of our agency, we have to choose to invite the Savior’s power into our lives.

To teach us what we must do in order to draw his power into our lives, the Savior has established conditions. It is only by satisfying his conditions that we are able to obtain any blessing he offers us.¹⁷

Belief is the first condition

The first, and most fundamental condition to receive any of his blessings, including his healing power, is that we must believe.¹⁸

As we study the Savior’s miracles, we see that belief was a condition of those he healed.

• To the Roman Centurian who asked for his servant to be healed, the Savior said, “as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”¹⁹
• When two blind men asked for mercy, the Savior responded, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”²⁰
• In contrast, when he visited his hometown of Nazareth, “he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”²¹

Belief in Jesus Christ is the first condition we must satisfy to receive the Savior’s healing power.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ?

As we ponder three specific scriptures, we can have a better understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.

First, to a desperate father who asked for his son to be healed, the Savior said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”²²

I have always wondered how it is possible that this man could say he believed, yet ask for help with his unbelief. This teaches us that although belief is a condition, there is no threshold requirement for how much we need to believe. Any amount of belief will invite the Savior’s power into our lives.

I also think this teaches us that belief can co-exist with questions, concerns, and even doubts. As we will see in the other two scriptures, belief is not a mere opinion, or state of mind. Belief is so much more, and because our belief should motivate us to follow the Savior, it is possible to believe, but at the same time wonder about our unbelief.

Second, we learn about belief from Alma’s great sermon on faith. To the Zoramites, he compared the word to a seed, and taught that we must plant the seed and nourish it.²³ Alma then extended an invitation for them to “experiment” upon his words, and he said, “if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you.”²⁴

This shows that belief in Jesus Christ leads to action. If we look in the dictionary, it may define belief as something that is considered to be true, or is held as an opinion. But belief in Jesus Christ is not just an opinion, or even an assumption that he is real. Our belief in him will motivate us to act on that belief.

The third scripture is from the Book of Ether. When the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord, he said, “Lord, show thyself unto me.” The Savior then responded, “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?”²⁵

This is a hard doctrine. How can the Savior expect us to believe something that we haven’t even heard?

This teaches us that to believe in Jesus Christ means to place our trust and confidence in him. We don’t evaluate his teachings and determine whether or not we want to believe that teaching. We don’t pick and choose which doctrines we like, or don’t like.

Instead, we believe that Jesus Christ is God. We believe that he has all knowledge, all power, all wisdom, and that he can see the end from the beginning. We trust that because he performed the atonement, in which he suffered so much pain, he loves us, and so everything he does is for our benefit, even if we can’t understand how. And because we trust him, we accept that what he says is true. Because we believe him, we will do what he asks.

To believe in Jesus Christ is to follow him, and to commit our hearts so that we trust him above all others.

How do we develop that belief?

How do we go from unbelief, or merely desiring to believe, to placing our full trust and confidence in Jesus Christ? I experienced something of this a little over 10 years ago.

I grew up in the Church, and so I did all the “church things.” But I had a lingering concern. I struggled to recognize the difference between my own thoughts and feelings, and promptings from the Holy Ghost. I tried to seek out revelation and follow it, but I always worried about whether what I felt was the Holy Ghost, or whether it was just me.

In February 2013, the month I turned 39, I started a fairly intensive study of church history. I read official sources, like the Joseph Smith Papers, but I also read a lot of materials that were critical of the church. As I continued to seek out and explore those criticisms, my own doubts started to feel more significant.²⁶

I wanted to know, I wanted to be sure that everything I had lived my whole life was right. From my study of the scriptures, I knew that the only way to gain that knowledge was through the Holy Ghost. But I didn’t feel much confidence that I had experienced the Holy Ghost.

In essence, I worried about whether I had received a testimony through the Holy Ghost, or whether I just thought it was true because I had lived it my whole life. How could I really know it was true, while I was so uncertain about whether I had felt the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Ghost can help us believe

That worry, although significant at the time, ignored a basic fundamental principle of the gospel, which is, the Holy Ghost is real. It is subtle, but it is powerful. As a member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost carries with it that same power that Jesus Christ gained from the Father by performing the atonement. We can receive the Savior’s peace through the Holy Ghost.²⁷ We can be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost.²⁸ Our hearts and minds can be changed,²⁹ and through the Holy Ghost, we can receive the Savior’s strength to overcome life’s challenges.³⁰

Although belief is a condition to receiving the Savior’s healing power in our lives, he does not leave us to flounder on our own. This is not like a race where he is waiting on the end and we must make our way to him all on our own. Instead, he guides us and will be with us every step of the way, if we invite him. To help us, he sends us the Holy Ghost and will give us the strength to help us believe.

What shall we do?

In Acts chapter 2, we read a sermon that Peter gave about the Savior. The people who heard him “were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”³¹

What shall we do? This question gives us great insight into how the Holy Ghost helps us to believe.

We see this question in several other places in the scriptures. After Aaron taught the king of the Lamanites, the king said, “What shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast?”³² After Alma taught the Zoramites about faith, they responded by asking him “how they should plant the seed,” or “in what manner they should begin to exercise their faith.”³³

Although that last example uses slightly different wording, the question is the same: in each situation, an authorized representative of the Lord taught the gospel, the people who heard it felt the power of the message, and the Holy Ghost prompted them to act on those messages. It is certainly true that the Holy Ghost testifies of truth, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to be lived. A knowledge of truth does nothing for us if we’re not willing to act on that truth. And so, as the Holy Ghost testifies to us of the truth, it also encourages or prompts us to act on that truth. So in these examples, we see these people responding to that invitation by asking what they could do with the truth they had just learned.

I have felt that prompting to act

I felt this inspiration as I wrestled with my own concerns. One morning, when I was about forty and a half, I was pondering about all the things I had read, and all the criticisms I had studied about the Church. I was thinking about how I could be certain that I had received a testimony through the Holy Ghost, and I remember specifically thinking, “Do I even have a testimony?”

In that moment, there came to my mind an image of my wife. As I thought of her, I thought of the promises that had been made to us in the temple, that we could be husband and wife throughout eternity.³⁴ I realized that of all the criticisms I had explored, not one had attempted to give me an alternative solution of what I could do to be with my family forever. Not one had even tried to answer that all-important question of what happens after we die.

I felt myself longing for those promises of an eternal family to be true, but I also knew that for me to claim those blessings, I had to keep my covenants. I had to satisfy the conditions that the Savior had established in order for our temple blessings to become a reality.

I think that in that moment, I felt like Peter, who when the Savior asked, “Will ye also go away?” Peter responded, “To whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”³⁵

And so, in that moment, I chose to believe. I decided that I would live the gospel with all my heart. I would study my covenants, intentionally live my covenants, and do everything that I could in order to claim the blessings that had been promised me in the temple.

It has been 10 years since I chose to believe, and it has been by far the best decade of my life. I have felt the Savior in every aspect of my life. I have felt his peace, his comfort, his guidance, and his strength as I have made an effort to put him at the center of my life.

Certainly, I have made my fair share of mistakes, but even in that, and maybe especially in that, I have felt the Savior’s mercy and compassion as he has corrected and chastised me.³⁶ But as I have made an intentional effort to live my covenants, he has always been there to teach and strengthen me.

Believe in Christ

I am convinced that our Savior’s greatest desire is to heal our suffering. But in order to receive that blessing from him, we have to believe. Over these past ten years, I have felt the Spirit with me as I have made an effort to keep my covenants, and so I have gained confidence that the Holy Ghost is real. Because of that, I have become convinced that Jesus Christ is our Savior. And so, I can say with conviction, “I believe in Christ.” That statement means so much more to me than simply, “I think he’s real,” or even, “I know he’s real,” because in saying “I believe,” I am saying, “I choose him.” I am committing myself to trust him, above all things. And through that trust and confidence, I have felt peace as I have learned to trust in and rely upon the Savior.

I invite you to believe in Christ. Choose to put your faith, trust, and confidence in him. Follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost that are even now filling your heart and mind with impressions of what you need to do to help you believe. Let your belief in Jesus Christ influence every aspect of your life.

And when the Savior’s teachings through his authorized representatives seem to conflict with important social issues, let your belief in Jesus Christ influence your opinions and help you to have patience as you learn to trust the Savior. Trust that he loves us, and that everything he does is for our good.

It is my testimony that Jesus Christ has power to heal our suffering. But I also know that in order for us to claim that blessing, we must believe. So even if all you can do is desire to believe, let that desire work in you. The Holy Ghost will help you have the strength to believe, but you must be willing to follow the promptings that the Holy Ghost will give you. As you ponder your covenants with the Savior, you will know in your heart and mind what you need to do to exercise your belief. And I testify that as you follow those promptings, you will feel the Savior’s comfort, peace, and joy.

As you choose to believe in Christ, you will feel the Savior heal your suffering.

References

1. Luke 7:19. ↩︎
2. Bible Dictionary, “Jehovah,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/jehovah?lang=eng&id=title1#title1; Andrew C. Skinner, “The Premortal Godhood of Christ: A Restoration Perspective,” in Jesus Christ: Son of God, Savior, ed. Paul H. Peterson, Gary L. Hatch, and Laura D. Card (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2002), 50–78, https://rsc.byu.edu/jesus-christ-son-god-savior/premortal-godhood-christ-restoration-perspective. ↩︎
3. Abraham 3:27; Moses 4:1-2; Topics and Questions, “Council in Heaven,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/council-in-heaven?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
4. 3 Nephi 9:15; Topical Guide, “Jesus Christ, Creator,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/tg/jesus-christ-creator?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
5. Moses 6:50-68; F. Melvin Hammond, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament,” in The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, The 38th Annual BYU Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), https://rsc.byu.edu/gospel-jesus-christ-old-testament/gospel-jesus-christ-old-testament. ↩︎
6. Exodus 33:11. ↩︎
7. 1 Nephi 11:16-33. ↩︎
8. Alma 7:11. ↩︎
9. Doctrine and Covenants 19:18. ↩︎
10. John 10:17-18. ↩︎
11. Doctrine and Covenants 138:30. ↩︎
12. Topics and Questions, “Resurrection,” (Gospel Study Guide), https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/resurrection-study-guide?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
13. Luke 7:22. ↩︎
14. Helaman 5:11; Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2017, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2017/05/saturday-morning-session/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives.html?lang=eng#title1. ↩︎
15. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives.” ↩︎
16. Moses 4:1-3; Topics and Questions, “Agency and Accountability,” (Gospel Study Guide), https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/agency-and-accountability-study-guide?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
17. Mosiah 4:8; Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21. ↩︎
18. Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5. ↩︎
19. Matthew 8:13. ↩︎
20. Matthew 9:28. ↩︎
21. Matthew 13:58. ↩︎
22. Mark 9:23-24; Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lord, I Believe,” Ensign, May 2013, 93-95, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2013/05/sunday-afternoon-session/lord-i-believe.html?lang=eng#title1. ↩︎
23. Alma 32:28-43. ↩︎
24. Alma 32:27. ↩︎
25. Ether 3:11. ↩︎
26. For more about my personal experience, see the “About Me” page on this website. https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/about/. ↩︎
27. John 14:18, 26-27. ↩︎
28. 3 Nephi 27:20. ↩︎
29. “The Holy Spirit,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe/god/what-is-the-holy-spirit. ↩︎
30. This one thought is the conclusion of a lengthy study project. See, for example, the following: Alma 18:35, “And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God;” Helaman 4:24, “And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples;” and Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one, the Holy Ghost is authorized to perform a role in the work of salvation, which includes carrying or delivering the Savior’s power to us. So as we have the Holy Ghost with us, we have access to the Savior’s power. And so in order to receive the Savior’s power in our life, we need to do those things that invite the Spirit into our lives. For a more in-depth discussion on this topic, see my posts about the sacrament, specifically, “The Sacrament: the Promise of the Holy Ghost,” https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/the-sacrament-the-promise-of-the-holy-ghost/. ↩︎
31. Acts 2:37. ↩︎
32. Alma 22:15. ↩︎
33. Alma 33:1. ↩︎
34. “About Temple Sealings,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/what-happens-in-a-temple-sealing?lang=eng. ↩︎
35. John 6:67-69. ↩︎
36. Doctrine and Covenants 95:1; Mormon 5:11. ↩︎