Welcome to Closer to Christ, a general conference
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent general
conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today we're discussing the talk,
Charity, a Sign of True Discipleship. This is
by Elder Michael B. Strong of the Seventy. Hey,
Abby. Good to see you today. It's good to be
here with you. It's the day that we're recording,
kind of a gloomy, rainy day, but we're experiencing
some fires. So it's been kind of... It's a blessing.
The best day of rain I've ever had. It's true.
And unseasonably, not unseasonably, really, but
it's way colder than it has been for a while.
And just very hint of fall when we wouldn't expect
this until October. But it's very nice. Since
it's accompanied with rain, it's great. It really
is. President Russell M. Nelson recently invited
us to make our discipleship our highest priority.
Elder Strong used that invitation to reflect
back on his life and identify where those lessons
have been learned. So pretty much the overarching
theme, I would say, of the talk allows us to
see that it is one thing to learn about the Savior
and it is another to actually do as he did. The
intended destination of discipleship is to become
as the Savior. love the first title that he gave.
He said, discipleship is deliberate. And I feel
like deliberate is just, is very close to the
word intentional. Yes, one of your words. I love
that word. So I was all in it for this paragraph.
He said, first, we accept the divinity of Jesus
Christ, and then we do as the great teacher did.
So if we simply leave it at just learning his
words, we've missed the essential step that a
true disciple would be. Disciples are apprentices,
he says, who devote their lives to becoming like
their teacher. What a great challenge to give
to ourselves. Not just be learners of the word,
but doers. Right. I agree. President Dallin H.
Oaks explained it this way. Following Christ
is not a casual... So if we look at some of the
qualities of Christ, we could choose to emulate
from His thoughts and actions. You know, in the
life that He lived on earth, we might say things
like He was obedient or humble, patient. There
are many divine attributes of Jesus Christ, but
if we want to emulate the one that stands preeminent
and embodies all others, that would be his pure
love or charity. You might look at that list
and you're like, where do I start? I don't think
I possess any of those. You can see that there's
a lot of work to be done. But if you're looking
at the list in that way, trying to decide where
to start, I can promise you it doesn't really
matter. Gradually working on one of these attributes
will always lead to developing others, especially
if we've identified the ones in ourselves that
we're lacking or that we want to improve. And
then, you know, like anything that's worthwhile,
repetition and mimicking these attributes will
eventually lead us to becoming, as he said, partakers
of his divine nature. So when others see Jesus
Christ through us, we were demonstrating what
it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
Yeah, absolutely. So this is funny because whenever
I read this quote from our prophet, I can hear
him. There's like a sound bite in my mind of
him saying it. He says, our adoration of Jesus
is best expressed by our emulation of Jesus.
So if charity is the preeminent attribute, it
might be good to focus on that. The prophet Mormon
and the apostle Paul both remind us that without
charity, we are nothing. And then the prophet
Joseph Smith taught, and I love this so much.
I love this from the talk that without charity,
we can do nothing. So they say we are nothing.
And he further emphasizes that we can do nothing.
This makes me reflect on my own service. When
it's done with the pure love of Christ, it actually
feels like a great accomplishment. However, if
my actions lack that commitment of testifying
of the Savior, it lacks the fullness of joy that
they could have been. Does that make sense? Absolutely.
Like, Christ served others out of love, and it's
like the very core of His being. And so serving
others... brings me closer to Christ better than
any other thing that I can think of doing, especially
when I'm doing it for Him and not for the praise
of man. So I would say when I'm looking at service
that way, it often requires me to periodically
check in in the way that I'm doing things. And
I say, is this His way? Or does He, you know,
does He know better than I? So I'm checking in.
It's like, no, you can do that a little bit better.
Ministering comes to mind. You know, one way
to do it is so you make the phone call. I know
that it's different than this, but I'm just saying
you make the phone call once a month and you
can just say, oh, I can check the box. And when
you're asked in a report, yep, I did that versus,
you know, taking it to prayer. Heavenly Father,
how can I minister better to this particular
sister with them in mind? And something will
come to your mind and you'll execute that. And
most people probably won't see that happen. It
doesn't really. You know, it doesn't make the
newspaper or anything, but... Not even a small
town. Right, that's the point. It doesn't need
to be seen by anybody to imprint on our hearts
and to help us to get a taste of what it would
be like to be Him. And then, you know, in that
way, we're a disciple. Absolutely. You know,
and when I think about it too, if I were to be
ministered to by Jesus Christ Himself, No matter
what miracle he performed in my life, no matter
what he did in my life, I would think that the
overall feeling that I would get from him and
what I would remember for the rest of my life
is the love that I felt from him. And that was
when he was serving me. So if we can even tap
into just a little bit of that, that whatever,
whoever we're serving, whatever lives we're touching,
if they can just remember the love that we gave.
And we just ask that even if we don't have that
much in our hearts or we're tired or we're spent
or we're spread thin, if we can just pray and
ask that Heavenly Father would grant us a portion
of God or of Jesus Christ's love. I feel like
that's what people would feel. And that's what
would make a difference. I think it's true. If
you're having a nice discussion on this, it's
much harder to share things that you've done
that demonstrate those sweet feelings that have
come as you've served other people, but it's
very comfortable for people to share when they've
been served in that way. And the smallest thing
that's been done that just helps them feel of
our Savior's love. Like, this is the most random
thing. This was so weird. I had a gal that lived
across the street from me, and I'd made Chinese
food, and I'd make a sweet and sour sauce. And
I had the impression to go take her, like, a
little pint of sweet and sour sauce. And I knocked
on her door, and she got tears in her eyes. Like,
I don't know what... You knew the way to her
heart. No, I didn't. I don't know anything about
her liking sweet and sour sauce. I, I, it was,
it's one of those things, like when it's so weird
that you're like, that didn't come from me. I'm
just going to go with it. Yeah. And the tears,
like the tears in her eyes. And then she wrote
me a thank you letter, like a while later, just
sweet and sour. That was this weird little thing.
Like that's how she felt God love for her. And
I just felt like this was awkward. Like I would
rather just dump this down the sink or, or do
my norm. Like you put it in the fridge until
it rots. And then you feel good about dumping
it on the sink. But he told me, go take this
too. the sister and she let me know like i wouldn't
know otherwise but later that it meant something
to her so i'm like it would be so fun to just
hear like what little thing happened and in that
way other sisters would be like it just doesn't
take much to um To observe, look around, see
a need and fill a need. And in that way, learn
more about our Savior, become more like our Savior.
That's awesome. It was probably more about the
timing than it was about the actual sweet and
sour. Maybe. She said that her husband loved
it and that she doesn't make it. She was really
grateful for it. I'm like, cool. That's great.
Like once a year. I love it. Okay, so as we've
been talking about love and identifying that,
the Savior himself identified love as a mark
or a sign by which his true disciples would be
recognized when he declared this, 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. We learn that
this truth in one of my favorite primary songs
and the message hits. deep as I think how simple
life can be if we just live by that charge. Preach
My Gospel teaches that charity like faith leads
to action. Indeed, charity may be described as
love in action. Never a truer statement than
this. Charity is a rich concept that can be difficult
to define but easily perceived by all who are
touched by it. And that line is kind of what
I was thinking of if a conversation sparked up
as you and other Members in your ward have a
chance to discuss this talk that you can't really
put your finger on it until you start sharing
stories. And you're just like, that was a moment
that I felt so seen and held. Or maybe people
will start feeling comfortable saying, I had
this weird experience and I did this thing. And
they'll be like, yeah, I can see that example.
He shared three different examples of our master
as he demonstrated. these as he walked on the
earth going about doing good, little piece of
the living Christ. Do you want to take us, this
is in paragraph 11, you want to kind of summarize
what you see there? Sure. The Savior showed charity
by being compassionate. So during his ministry
among the Nephites, as recorded in the Book of
Mormon, the Lord invited the people to return
home and then ponder on the things that he taught
them and also to prepare for his return the following
day. Then the record states this, they were in
tears and did look steadfastly upon him as if
they would ask him to tarry a little longer with
them. And he said unto them, behold, my bowels
are filled. with compassion towards you. So we
learn here from the Savior that his portion of
charity seeks to alleviate suffering. So what
did he do in this situation? The Lord healed
the sick and afflicted among the people. He blessed
the children while angels descended from heaven
and surrounded them. Can you even imagine, Abby?
Sign me up. I know, sign me up. He performed
these tender loving acts and many more because...
He was moved with compassion. You know, I say
that jokingly, but though we aren't there in
his day and his time, it's no different to fill
his loving arms, his embrace, him tearing with
us a little bit longer when we want him to be.
In 2025. Totally. There are moments that I've
felt his presence so closely. And I know that
angels have been sent on my behalf, on behalf
of other loved ones. I've seen miracles. So it
really isn't any different than physically being
there, but still a beautiful story. I love that
we have record of it, but I don't think it's
meant to make us feel jealous that we weren't
there in that moment. I think it's meant to make
us think, how do we abide in the Savior? How
do we ask him to stay a little longer with us?
How does he reach us in the needs that we have?
Yeah. Like this moment, my heart sunk when he
bore his soul and recounted what happened. Well,
what happened on his own mission as a youth.
An experience that as he reflected on what it
means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, who he's
seen in his life or experience that he's seen
that have affected that testimony. So what he
recounts is his time down in South America. Poor
guy. I don't imagine that his mom, dad, his family
back home got immediate word of this. But like
with the ease of, you know, with communication
in this day and age, if, you know, my own child
was on a mission and this was the scenario, I
would feel equally devastated for the family
that suffered the loss. And I would feel so terrified
for my son in the same situation and helpless
because we're so many miles apart. There's nothing
I can do for him. So Elder Strong says a fellow
missionary, Elder Brian, Jehovah learned of the
accident and he was moved by compassion and came
to the jail and pled with the officers to be
allowed to stay with Elder Strong in the cell
so that he would not be alone. And they agreed.
This action of Christ -like love from a true
disciple calmed, comforted, and consoled me in
one of the greatest moments of distress in my
life. His charitable compassion was a telling
sign of His discipleship. It's such a beautiful
illustration of that, especially the stark contrast
of such a horrific event. It's beautiful. As
President Nelson observed, one of the easiest
ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ
is how compassionately that person treats other
people. Let's look at the second example of how
the Savior demonstrated His love as He both observed
and then ministered. Reminds me of observe, then
serve, right? Multiple cases of this, like the
man who had been lame for 38 years with no one
to help him. The Lord made him whole and encouraged
him to live righteously. And then to the woman
who was caught in adultery. He offered hope and
comfort. rather than condemnation. And third,
for the man with paralysis who was lowered from
the roof, the Lord offered forgiveness of sins,
not just healing of the body. What a gift. It's
such a gift. And these examples paired with the
ones that you had mentioned above, like when
he was in the Americas and he could see they
were pleading with them and his bowels were filled
with mercy. He didn't just do the same thing
for every individual there. He itemizes, he customizes.
I was totally thinking that same thing. I was
thinking it's so interesting how every single
person on this earth. It has access to God's
love and God's blessings. It always just looks
a little bit different for every person. So you
might look at someone and be like, well, I want
that to happen to me. And it's like, you know,
that's not the case. Yeah, it's the principle
of his love and him ministering to the one, which
is each of us. And it's going to look different.
Elder Strong, so good at this. I can tell that
when the prophet issued the charge to make discipleship
like our greatest focus. that he sat and he spent
some time reflecting on these pieces, and it
made this lovely talk. But again, he reflected
back on his life and identified where he learned
that lesson. And this was witnessed in actions
of true disciples of Christ, in the form of John
and Debbie Benish, who helped his wife in the
difficult job of keeping up with six children
in sacrament meeting. It's a cute story. I know.
As Elder Strong served as a bishop. First, they
observed the situation, asked how could they
best help, and then over the years, they served
so long and faithfully that a relationship was
cultivated, and they became honorary grandparents,
you know? So when you recognize the unspoken
need and you act on it, that is a way to become
a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes. I love
that, Abby. Is there anything wrong with a person
saying, I need help in this, and you step in
and you feel that need? No. it's another layer
of where we can get to that before we're being
asked, that we're in a situation where we're
willing to look outside of ourselves, even if
we have our own things that we're dealing with.
We're not completely whole and full ourselves.
Sometimes when you reach out and you're looking
at the needs of other people, the Lord steps
in and He puts... somebody's eyes on you and
helps you in your need better than you could
have helped yourself. Yeah, that's a really good
point. And I've said this about, I said this
about you before, Abby, I know that you wouldn't
say it, but I've said to my mom, you have more
peripheral vision than anyone I know. Like you're
able to look outside and be like, oh, and I feel
like you're really good at embodying observe
and serve. So thank you for being that example
to me. I think that's nice to say, but I can
testify that if that is true, it is because I've
been reached in small and simple ways, you know,
in different experiences in my life that were
out of my control. And people helped me just
feel like tiny nods and touches. Yeah. We were
housed. We sold our home. in the early part of
maddie we had the birth of a child and we had
a home to sell but then we had a move that we
needed to plan and stuff and we had some friends
house us and it meant nothing to them because
they raised six children and they were down to
just a couple so they had a huge house and you
know i think the lord's hand was in that because
her um her oldest daughter's an angel because
she was born still born but um Her second child
suffered from lupus, and so they'd spent a lot
of time at Primary Children's and didn't know
that that was going to be our path. But, you
know, Cindy was an earthly angel put in our path.
And we had a lot of doctor appointments, and
our friends' homes and couches were open to us.
And I could go on and on, but we'd been touched
in so many ways that I would feel very ungrateful
if I didn't try to do little things for people,
especially as impressions hit me. And I'm trying
to be more... Like when they're weird, when they're
weird ones, I'm like, that has to be from God
because that is so embarrassing. You're like,
that is so uncomfortable to do that. I'm just
going to do it as quickly as possible so I can
get over how awkward this is. That's how that
goes. That's awesome. Yeah. Let's talk about
the final example. Elder Strong referenced in
paragraph 19. 19. Yeah. Do you want to take that?
Yeah. The Savior's perfect love is focused on
enabling all God's children to fulfill our divine
potential that we may partake of his salvation
and the power of his redemption. A true disciple.
we'll have a greater desire to help our brothers
and sisters along the covenant path that will
naturally increase. This is really just leveling
up what we talked about with the second example
of first observing and then ministering, but
this is specific to uplifting others in their
covenant relationship. Are there those around
us in our sacrament meetings that we can observe
and we can help feel more comfortable, maybe
more welcome? When was the last time you invited
friends to worship in a sacrament meeting? These
are really great questions to just have a self
-check and just kind of check in with where you
are. He suggests that there's countless ways
to encourage and assist others in their progression.
if we're deliberate about it, and if we preferably
seek heaven's help, because there's a lot of
things that we aren't going to observe on our
own. But how cool is it when we pair ourselves
with Jesus Christ to have him give us the eyes
to see and feel what we need to help others with?
Like, I just had a 20 -year... reunion with some
of my closest friends from college, and we set
a temple date. Our temple's closed here, so it
makes perfect sense. I'm going to be traveling
out of town to go to the temple anyway. So we
set a temple date, and one friend, she needs
her temple recommend renewed. So a simple temple
date on the schedule helps keep us all in check.
My own recommend expires the last of this month.
Same with mine. Yeah. That appointment with friends.
You know, to keep that appointment with the Lord,
keep that appointment with my friends has kept
that renewal of the temple recommend top of my
mind. So it's not like I'm going to save them
and we're going to get to the temple. That in
no way is what this is about. We're just saying
small and simple things that we're helping each
other on that. Keep those covenants that we've
made. All right. I keep asking you to do this,
but would you like to summarize the last story
that he shared about? an unconventional way of
helping others on their covenant path. Yes. I
love this. And I love the picture that goes with
it. If you guys want to look online or in your,
um, yeah, it's so great. Um, I just said inside.
I know that's what it was called. We're trying
to train ourselves. What is it called? The Agamada
family in the Philippines were baptized in 2023,
and they were preparing to be sealed in the Urdanete
Temple in the Philippines. So just before their
appointment, I guess some typhoons came through
and prevented Brother Agamada, who is a rice
farmer, from planting his crops. So just his
livelihood, no big deal. I know, right? But now
with the fields. just soaking that provided ideal
planting conditions so he faced elaine the temple
trip he needed to do it right then so then um
elder and sister cow cowlin and then also three
young service missionaries heard about this and
They weren't farmers, but they jumped in and
they helped plant the rice seedlings under the
hot sun. Their service enabled the Agamottas
to attend their sealing as planned. And that's
another picture that I love is them all standing
in white in front of the temple with their helpers
as well. And their joy was evident. Discipleship
in Jesus Christ brings enduring happiness through
selfless acts of love and service. Though the
path can be hard, God promises his help, holding
our hand and strengthening us as we strive to
follow him. First observe and then serve. You
know how we did the perpetual education fund
in the church? They've stopped taking donations
on that because it's like funding itself. It's
like they don't need a parent. Don't quote me
on this, but that's what I'd heard. Like, you
finish the program, you do well, you, you know,
I don't know if you pay back in kind or like
in your tithing money. It's like we can justify,
you know, that. So that doesn't exist really.
I mean, I'd have to look again at the temple
slip, but I'm pretty sure it's not there. Yeah,
I don't think I've seen it. But I was like, why
don't they have a perpetual temple fund? Because,
you know, people will save their whole lives
to get one temple trip in their life. And, you
know, it's just been a thought. I'm like, they
maybe have their life savings invested into getting
to the temple. But number one, the Lord's trying
to, you know, inspire the prophet to bring the
temples way closer than ever before, which is
such a better vision and plan. you know, putting
the funds into the tank to get somebody there
one time. That's one thought. But also stories
like this, when, you know, local people helping
local people, the power that comes, the firm,
the concrete example of discipleship of Jesus
Christ really happens rather than it just being
easy. Like, hey, Bishop, we want to go to the
temple. He's like, oh, we've got the funds here
and just write it. Yeah. These stories would
just be totally lacking. So it's probably more
like God's way. to make it a little bit harder
to to make that next step so that other people
around can have observing eyes to to be a partner
in that and help help you out and then in the
same token you can serve and you can give back
for sure okay forward um any final thoughts from
you I don't have any. Okay. Any action items
that come to mind? Yeah, so an action item that
comes to my mind is to ask Heavenly Father for
just one opportunity this week to see people
through His eyes, and then just serve where you
can. After completing the assignment, I really
like this part, after completing the assignment,
thank Him for the opportunity to learn more about
Him and about His Son. That's great. And I love
it. The emphasis on one thing. Yeah. And then
thinking afterwards, because it's true. Sometimes
it doesn't feel like, you know, like the part
where you were talking about being nervous or
just being embarrassed about something. But after,
I feel like if we take that opportunity to thank
Him in prayer, we're going to have a feeling
of warmth and comfort, regardless of any awkwardness
that there was. And it can probably erase and
wash that away. I love it. Let's end with his
testimony. He says, We should help you like him
because we carry a true sign of true discipleship,
which is charity, the pure love of Christ. I
testify that Jesus Christ is our living, glorious
Savior, Redeemer, exemplar, and friend. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.