The Words of Christ
At the end of the Second Book of Nephi, the prophet says, “…all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.” He follows up with this, “And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come. And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day. For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen.
In chapter 32, Nephi says, “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”
My point in quoting these scriptures is that:
- The words of Christ teach us that we should “do good.”
- Christ will verify his words with power and great glory.
- Nephi equates the words of Christ with “the goodness of God.”
- Disrespecting or not accepting the words of Christ will condemn us on the last day.
- The “words of the Jews” and Nephi’s record are the words of Christ.
- Angels (God’s messengers) speak the words of Christ because they speak by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Nephi’s admonition in these chapters is to feast upon the words of Christ. We have an abundance of written material that contains them. Those who accept Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, the promised Messiah of the New Testament, that Jesus visited the Book of Mormon peoples, and finally that he has revealed himself in our day to Joseph Smith and others, have a veritable smorgasbord of His words. On the other hand, traditional Christianity accepts only a few chapters of the New Testament as the words of Christ. The gospels provide the feast’s main course but miss the appetizer, dessert, and a never-ending buffet that we can visit anytime.
There is another place where the words of Christ are written. Jeremiah 31:33 says, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
2 Corinthians 3:3 “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”
Personal revelation can and should be considered the words of Christ. Suppose you have experiences with the Holy Ghost that invite you to do good and believe in Christ. In that case, they become a personal, intimate connection with the Savior and are perhaps our most valuable scriptures. When we read or hear any truth, it will be accompanied by a confirmation of the Holy Spirit. The external sources I mentioned become personal to us when we internalize them. Again, the feast analogy applies; when we consume and digest food, it becomes part of us. With the words of Christ, we consume (read or hear), digest (ponder and pray about) them, and they become part of us. Not only do they become part of us, but they transform us into the image of Christ.
Here is one more course in our spiritual feast. Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 says, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” God has a kingdom here on earth with authorized servants who speak Christ’s words. When they speak, and we hear by the power of the Holy Ghost, we can safely acknowledge that the Savior is speaking. I am not one who blindly accepts everything that is said by anyone who has an official title in the church, and neither am I skeptical of things that I may not be comfortable with. Again, I trust what Nephi said, “Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words.”
I have discussed many ways we hear Christ’s words, but I want to touch on how we can speak them. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul discusses speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift. He points out that edifying speech has great value to the church and the saints. Nephi says that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, and wherefore they speak the words of Christ. We may not consider ourselves as angels, however, we can be. As we serve God by serving others, we may be moved at times to deliver a message from Heavenly Father to someone. Acting as an angel to others is a common common occurrence if we are in tune with the Spirit.
In the same verse that invites us to feast on the words of Christ, it says, “…for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” Two verses later, it says, “…if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” The words of Christ and the Holy Ghost give us the same instructions. You may say that the scriptures do not include specific instructions to deal with the challenges we face in the modern world, which is true. However, the Holy Ghost is current because Christ and the Father know the circumstances of our day’s challenges and temptations. Not only are they current, but they see the path ahead and will guide and warn us of potential dangers. Knowing what to do by following the words of Christ will save us from floundering in sin and lead us to salvation.
In the end, we have no excuses to reject reading, hearing, feeling, and speaking Christ’s words. These eternal declarations should become and remain at the center of our thoughts and actions.
Have a blessed Sabbath as we prepare for Easter.