Dec 8, 2024

Jesus Christ by Harry Anderson

Who wouldn’t pick up a child who reaches up with outstretched arms and hands, wide eyes, and a smiling face? When a child cries or wants to be fed, held, or taught, a parent or loved one is there to assist. This week in Come, Follow Me, we read about Mormon encouraging his son, Moroni, to “let Christ lift [him] up” (Moroni 9:25) in spite of the horrific circumstances that weighed him down. Today we face a similar situation in “this sin-saturated, self-centered, and often exhausting world.”

Oh, how we all need to rely upon and be lifted up by Jesus Christ and His gospel. To lift is to raise to a higher mood, position or level: to pick up and move to a different position. For me, both of these definitions apply to what the Savior can and will do for us. Like a parent to a child, Heavenly Father and the Savior are there for us when we plead for deliverance, hunger after righteousness, seek their comfort, or search for knowledge.

Mormon was acting as a loving father when he reminded his son of the source of all blessings and hope. Wilford Woodruff taught this clearly: “We are all dependent upon the Lord, upon his holy Spirit, and upon the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ for instruction, for light, and knowledge, such as is calculated to edify, encourage, sustain and aid us in magnifying our callings in this life.” Who else can lift us?

Like a child with outstretched arms and hands, I have pled for deliverance from sins and financial difficulties and petitioned for comfort and answers many times in my life. Even when I wasn’t a member of the Church, Heavenly Father heard my prayers and I recognized His answers. Upon joining the Church, I pledged to be a better person and build a better relationship with Him. I came to realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the key to achieving both. Because of my access to His Atonement and the gift of the Holy Ghost, I found guidance and comfort in my suffering. As I pled for answers, personal revelation came in His time. Like a child, I slowly grew in faith.

Our beloved prophet, Russell M. Nelson, assured us that we are never alone: “I testify that the lifting power of the Lord can be yours if you will come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.” He added that our part is to “deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness and love God with all [our] might, mind and strength” (Moroni 10:32).

If we humble ourselves, we can be lifted up by Christ (see Matthew 23:12). Only He can lift us up, for He is standing on a foreordained high and holy ground. As we reach to Him with outstretched arms and hands, He will pick us up kindly and gently and with great love.

Garry Weiss is a retired teacher currently living in Snowflake, Arizona. He loves the Church, his community, and his family, especially his grandchildren. His hobbies are journal writing, rock collecting, doing temple and family history work, and participating in anything his grandchildren want to do and learn.

The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation’s mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make his records universally accessible in order to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. For more information, please explore wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.