Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference,
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent General
Conference talks. This is Abbey and Amy. Let's
jump into it. We get to discuss Thou Art the
Christ by Sister Amy A. Wright, First Counselor
in the Primary General Presidency today. In this
talk, Sister Wright emphasizes the significance
of recognizing Jesus Christ as the Savior and
a central figure in the lives of believers. So
she starts with a story about her son, Eli. As
a fourth grader, the class voted him as a class
judge. She says one day a sitting judge from
the Utah Second District Court visited, put his
official robes on Eli, and then administered
an oath of office for their class. This ignited
in Eli's young, impressionable soul a passion
for studying law and the lawgiver himself, Jesus
Christ. After years of diligent effort, he received
an invitation for an interview with one of his
top choices for law schools. After the interview
with his top choice, her son recounted that the
conversation entailed being asked the question,
And he said, Mom, I was asked 10 questions. The
final one was, where do you derive your moral
compass? So maybe an action item for all of us.
Where do you derive your moral compass? Have
you ever noticed that like whenever there's a
current event or something that's hot at the
time, so many celebrities all of a sudden chime
in with their views. And then also like you jump
on social media and another influence, which
is another influence in our day. And either,
you know, friends are sharing their views or
basically strangers to us that are dubbed influencers
also share their. views. I was just thinking
about this, actually, Abby, like how much influence
do we allow from them? It might be easy for us
to downplay the influence that social media has
in our lives because we really don't share the
same views that these people have. And yet. Oh,
and also we're not purchasing, you know, necessarily
the things that they're touting or whatever.
But on the other hand, a really simple way to
judge how much we let them influence us would
be to see how much time each day we spend just
on social media versus how much time we listen
to the words of the prophets through conference
docs or the word of the Lord through his scriptures.
It's so interesting because now in this day and
age, we can pretty much be in our car driving
somewhere and you can definitely have on influences
that are fantastic. listening to a conference
talk or a podcast or whatever it is that's bringing,
you know, the Lord's words into your heart. And
that can be part of our everyday lives. As we
allow the Lord to influence us, we follow the
words of our prophet when he says, give the Lord
a fair share of your time. And I think another
way to put this could be to give the Lord a fair
share of your heart. That's nice. A fair share.
Like we're not asking it to be all or nothing.
Like you can't, you don't have to just shut down.
the thoughts the impressions that the influencers
are feeding you but if you're the algorithms
know what to feed you and if you're like trying
to feed your your your doubts and your fears
like it's going to be death scrolling for the
next couple hours on that so that's true coming
at it with Maybe, you know, a conference talk
in mind could totally change the trajectory of
what things you're going to see. Yes. As you
go into it. It's so funny. Have you ever listened
to like an artist or something and they will
be like, I was listening to a lot of, let's say,
Beatles at that time, whatever. And then the
song that comes out is very Beatles. You know
what I mean? There might be phrases that come
out. There might be chords or the chord progression
or whatever it is. But I feel like it's the same
way with us. We could totally say like, you know,
whatever I'm about to say, it's been influenced
because in the past week I've been doing a lot.
God of X, whatever that thing is. Absolutely.
I definitely find that each week the talk that
we're on will have a ton of influence from the
most recent events that we're dealing with. Interesting.
In her talk, she suggests that we first believe
in Jesus Christ. After the Bread of Life sermon,
many of the Lord's disciples found it hard to
accept his teachings and doctrines, and they
went back and walked no more with him. Jesus
then turned to the Twelve and asked a heart -wrenching
question, Will ye also go away? Peter's response
to this is, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life. We believe and are
sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. I love that. Maybe an awesome time
to share an action item. It's a great opportunity
to ask ourselves in a self -check, to whom shall
we go or to whom shall I go? If we're turning
to Jesus Christ for strength to overcome our
daily challenges, or if our answer to that question
is, something other than that who are we turning
to where do we go when things get tough yeah
not that you can't have your people but right
jesus christ or things like A Diet Coke might
be just fantastic, which is fine. Grab the Diet
Coke. But also just remember, you can totally
have a quick prayer. And, you know, like that
might be the... Drink your Coke with some company
to save your... There was another point she shared,
belong to Jesus Christ and his church. Do we...
We do this through our own personal testimony.
This quote really stood out. It says, to know
him is to love him and to love him is to follow
him. in third nephi we read the account of christ
visiting the americas it says behold i am jesus
christ arise and come forth the multitude went
forth and thrust their hands into his side and
did feel the prints of the nails in his hands
and his feet and this they did do going forth
one by one and did see with their eyes and did
feel with their hands and did know of a surety
and did bear record that it was he I was reminded
this sister serves in the general primary presidency
and she asked each of us adults this question
as we took stock of our time as we model and
teach. you know, those who were in charge of
the youngest disciples of Jesus Christ. I thought
that was so cute. I like that phrase. I loved
it. They're better out than us. So really, we're
following the best, but they happen to be also
the youngest. Yes. She says this, I invite you
to ponder what this can look like in the life
of a young child. Do they hear testimonies of
Jesus Christ in his gospel? Do they see reverential,
worshipful images of his ministry and godhood?
Do they feel and recognize the Holy Ghost testifying
of his reality and divinity? Do they know of
his message and his mission? So each of those
questions, it's almost like an individual action
item to each of us. Not that you have to just,
oh, I just got to do everything all at once,
but pick one of those things. If you're like,
oh, I could add an image. Oh, I could bear testimony
of him more. Love it. Small tweaks could be made
to impact the children that we interact with
individually. Maybe we could pray through that
list. you know, what's something that I can do?
What's something that I can change? What's something
I can become more aware of? Let the spirit prick
in your heart to know what small and simple thing
that we could do for the, let me say, the youngest
disciples of Christ that we teach in some way.
I love too that she said, do they hear? She was
using all the senses, right? She asked us to
ponder and she said, do they hear the testimonies
of Christ? Do they see? The images. Do they feel
and recognize the Holy Ghost? And do they know?
I just love that she did that because we do learn
best through our senses. When we feel, touch,
experience, all of that, then it becomes part
of our heart. And it's not just something we
heard once. You know what I mean? Yes. I love
that. Her third one was become like Christ. Christ
taught his new disciples what manner of men ought
ye to be, even as I. So. We can counsel with
these precious little ones as they prepare to
teach and love that to counsel. I don't know
how many times I've thought, you know, am I?
I'm now a parent of older children and it's much
easier for me to counsel with them. I don't know
when they were so young that I really thought
of my role as counseling with them. So I appreciate
that insight. She says, prepare to teach, testify,
pray, or serve so that they are confident and
experience joy in fulfilling their responsibilities.
Seek inspired ways to help them come to know
this is their church and they have a vital role
to play in preparing for the Savior's return.
How does becoming a disciple of Christ? change
us? It's a good question to ask. Yeah. Have you
thought of that before in your life, Abby? How
does becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ change
us? Well, what I like is that the word disciple,
it doesn't mean we just heard about him. Like
he's just some guy in history. Discipleship means
that we've heard his teachings and then we want
to emulate the things that he's taught. So it
changes us because naturally we aren't inclined
to be like he is. Totally. Seeing kids. Like
it would change us. Right. Because we're not
who we are at that point, right? Exactly. The
better. Recognizing that he is the savior and
he set the perfect example for me always causes
change. My natural inclination is not to be like
him. For sure. I'm fighting that constantly.
Like I want to be mad or angry about something.
I want to hold a grudge about something. And
he's like, that's not what we do. So I'm like,
okay, I know you. I believe you. I trust you.
Then, you know, my inclination to be annoyed
or irritated or hold a grudge. naturally has
to come in alignment with what he's taught. That's
so great. A lot of change all the time. Yeah.
But he allows me to change and he, and he helps
me not feel so bad about, you know, not naturally
just being like him. Yeah. Yeah. That's true.
He's like not feeling so bad. Another thing too,
is it's funny when I be a younger version of
myself hearing that and it's like, how. I didn't
totally understand like how that could change
everything, how being a disciple of Jesus Christ
would change everything. And I'm really grateful
that I didn't just get hung up on it. And I just
went about being a disciple and kind of figuring
things out, continuing to read my scriptures,
continuing to seek Jesus Christ. And I'm starting
to understand how that actually is happening
in my life. I'm not saying I'm great at it. I'm
saying I'm starting to catch a glimpse of it.
But like I was saying before, you know, like
when you listen to the Beatles a bunch or Mozart
a bunch or whatever, they start to influence
your decisions, the way that you create whatever
it is that you're doing. And it's the same when
I'm listening to conference talks, when I'm studying
a specific principle about how Jesus Christ handled
a certain thing, which could be division or something
like that. I do see myself start to see things
in that way. This is what Amy. Wright or Sister
Wright had to say about it. As Jesus Christ becomes
the focus of our lives, what we desire and how
we desire it is forever altered. Conversion does
change everything. It changes our nature that
we have no more disposition to do evil, but to
do good continually. It changes how we spend
our time, our resources, what we read, watch,
listen to, and share. It even changes how we
respond in a distinguished academic career on
the line interview, like she talked about at
the beginning. So I shared my thoughts on what
it is like, what I see is an indication that
I'm trying to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Not that I do it perfectly, but that as I learn
something about him, that I try to apply that
in my life. Sure. probably came to me because
of these words from her she said we need to infuse
the light of christ into every corner of our
lives if we're not testifying to the veracity
of his primordial godhood his divine mission
his prison bursting resurrection in our homes
and in every single meeting of the church that
our message of love service honesty humility
gratitude and compassion can become nothing more
than a jaunty pep talk of thoughtful life living
without jesus christ there's no power to change
no purpose to aspire to no reconciliation of
the travails of life if we become casual in our
discipleship of jesus christ it could be catastrophic
for our children um kind of a couple things come
to mind there i think all of those um acting
as jesus christ would love service honesty humility
gratitude those are all great those are all great
manifestations of knowing who he was and then
trying to live like him but it is important to
be paired with it is important to be paired with
um Making sure that we give that audio sensation,
you know, full attention to where we're testifying
of Jesus Christ. That's a good point. So they
can see with their eyes these things that we're
doing, and then they're hearing that testimony
paired with the actions. So good. It seems like
it's super important to pair both. One more reminder
about our children. When we tell them that we
love them, we are also telling them that their
Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ love
them. Our love may comfort and inspire. But the
love of the Father and the Son can sanctify,
exalt, and heal. So this is my final thoughts.
The title, Thou Art the Christ. If nothing else,
that we can teach our children that that is our
testimony. Thou Art the Christ. And we show that
in the way that we act, in the words that we
speak. We are doing the best that we can for
these littlest disciples of Jesus Christ. That's
so good, Abby. I feel like this talk serves as
a powerful reminder of the role of Jesus Christ
in the lives of us, you know, the believers,
how we serve others, share our testimonies, and
we live like we were talking about in a way that
reflects our beliefs in Christ. This week, I
was walking on my treadmill and I had been fasting
as well. And I just, there was a certain point
where I was praying and I was asking Heavenly
Father to show me something that I had been promise
and a blessing. And it was talking about how
the process I was going through right now, how
I would find joy in it. And I was like, Heavenly
Father, will you remind me about the joy part?
I'm hungry. I'm exhausted. And I feel sick. And
I just was quiet and kept walking. And definitely
the Spirit brought to my recollection all the
things. And just as it brought recollection,
I started my prayer in a different way. And I
started thanking Heavenly Father for like, I
look out my window, I look at the back of a mountain
that has quaking aspen on it. So when the wind
is blowing, they're just fluttering beautifully.
I have purple wildflowers that are up on the
mountainside. These also yellow flowers that
is actually a weed, but I think they're fantastic
and beautiful. And this week, a yellow butterfly
showed up. Is it the wild clover you're talking
about? It's the sweet yellow clover. Smells like
honey. Yeah, love it. We were looking out at
our field last night or a couple of nights ago
and Adam's like, I actually don't mind that yellow
flower. And I said, that's one of Amy's favorite.
We'll go on a walk and she's like, Oh, that's
cool. And I just think it's wonderful. So I just
started thanking Heavenly Father for everything.
And then as each member of my family, my husband,
my oldest daughter, my next son, you know, my
missionary and my other one, I went through with
each one of them and was just thanking him, Heavenly
Father, for the role of Jesus Christ in each
of the lives of those I love the most. And it
was just like. You know, as a mother, you kind
of think on each person in your life and you
think of, OK, maybe they need to do this or that.
And you kind of think of things tweaking or whatever
it is. What I felt in that moment, though, was
completely different. It was for a moment. It
was like the Heavenly Father gave me his glasses
and his view. And I was able to see how he saw
them because of his son, Jesus Christ. You could
say with the filter of Jesus Christ on each person
in my family's lives. I had like the weight of
the world was off my shoulders because it reminded
me, you don't need to worry about this. They
are where they are. I know where they are. And
the Lord or Jesus Christ is a prominent figure
in their life. And he is helping them to become
what they will. Like my son who is having his
first weeks of a mission and he's having a companion
where it more feels like he's a trainer and things
and he's learning a lot of things. Jesus Christ
is in those details. He is perfecting him. He
is helping him to become a better person. My,
you know, each one of my kids. And so for that
moment, while I was still walking on my treadmill,
I absolutely 100 % felt the joy that I wasn't
feeling previously. Had anything changed in my
life? No, I was still walking on my treadmill.
I was still hungry and I was still praying. However,
because I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to
just... I guess, let me borrow a little bit of
his insight. Everything changed and I just felt
so much relief and gratitude for Jesus Christ.
So I love it. I love what she says at the end.
I wanted to stand up and kind of shout with her
when she read these words at the very end about
how she talked about Jesus Christ. I'm going
to, I totally echo. stand with her in these words,
and I'm just going to finish with them. She says,
this Jesus should not be a fictional Jesus or
a simplistic Jesus or a bodiless Jesus or a casual
or an unknown Jesus, but a glorified, omnipotent,
resurrected, exalted, worshipful, powerful, only
begotten Son of God who is mighty to save. And
as a young child in the Philippines, compellingly
testified to me, one day we are worth saving.
I absolutely echo that. And I say that in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thanks for being
here.