What think ye of Christ? In April 2021, during the semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Michael John Uy Teh from the Philippines asked a motivating question: “What think ye of Christ?”. Elder Teh pointed out that as he studied and pondered this question, he said: “I came to the stark realization that what I know about the Savior greatly outweighed how much I really know Him.”
Knowing Takes Effort
As I reflect upon Elder Teh’s words, I ponder on how we really get to “know” something. Decades ago, I was preparing to leave for my missionary service in Thailand. My missionary service began with intensive study at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. The first eight weeks entailed learning the language, culture, and lessons that I would teach upon arriving in Bangkok. We spent nine hours a day, six days a week, in group classroom study. There were hours upon hours of personal study. We would practice learning a language that was rumored that only Thai babies and Latter-day Saint missionaries would ever learn!
Knowing Takes Humility
After these eight weeks, my companions and I thought we’d learned enough to get by. The morning after our arrival in Bangkok, our Mission President organized us into pairs. He handed each pair of missionaries a list of items and a map of the bus routes in and around Bangkok. He then gave us instructions to obtain all the items on the list and return to his home before 6 p.m. I quickly discovered that I didn’t “know” anything. The humbling effect of this learning experience was not lost on me. I had a tremendous amount of work ahead of me to “know” the Thai language and culture. And I fully immersed myself in study and preparation.
Knowing Takes Time
To know the Savior, not just know about the Savior, requires a similar immersion. We must study His life and keep His commandments. We must follow His example of love and service and do our best to emulate His behaviors. As we do these things, we can begin to know Him. We must pray diligently, with full purpose of heart, and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Additionally, we need to repent of our sins and remain clean and worthy. All these things require humility and diligent effort on our part.
Today my friends, what is the next step on your journey to know the Savior? I pray for you to have the strength to take that next step. To know Him should take priority over anything else we desire to accomplish during this mortal journey. “And this is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” God bless you all as you learn to know Him.
