SIMPLE ARE THE DOCTRINES OF CHRIST

Dr. Debi Gilmore LMFT

Doctrine of Christ—Simple truths that speak with force to our heart, mind, and soul.

I invite you to imagine you are surrounded by your loved ones… your closest loved ones, and you know that this will be your final conversation with them in this mortal life. If you were to have one last conversation with them, what would you want to say? What would you want them to know and to remember? If you knew this conversation would be passed down through generations, would it change what you would say to them?

I recall the last conversation with my father. He had been battling cancer, and I didn’t know it would be my last conversation with him. However, the conversation was memorable and sweet. He said, “I want you to speak at my funeral. I want you to talk about your love for the Savior. I want you to teach the people the Doctrines of Christ.”

The foundation of my testimony is built upon my father’s love for the Savior, and on his love for the scriptures. He was never forceful, and never lectured me, but I always knew he felt deeply and strongly about the things he was sharing with me. There were times when I stopped all that I was doing and listened with all my heart. He taught with the power of his spirit, combined with the power of the Holy Ghost. He taught me about Jesus Christ through the way he lived, the way he loved, and the way he served others.  

The thing that impresses me most about my father is that he taught with loving simplicity. It was a gentle, patient, yet powerful method of bearing witness of Christ without pressure or imposition of his beliefs. He made me WANT to learn more of the ways of the Savior, and he made me WANT to live the doctrines of Christ.

The Power of our Words and Actions

I wonder if we really understand the power of words and our actions—particularly for those who are struggling with their faith or have lost their testimony. Do we understand the influence we can have, good or bad, positive or negative, empowering or degrading? 

Many years ago, Elder Russell M. Ballard had an experience that was never shared publicly. He is a member of our extended family, and his daughter, a dear friend of mine, shared this memorable experience with me.

Elder Ballard was about to undergo a very risky, life-threatening surgical procedure. He was surrounded in the hospital room by his closest loved ones. The nurse appeared and announced it was time to take him to the operating room. She gave them all permission to walk alongside the hospital bed while they rolled him to the elevator.

What did Elder Ballard want his loved ones to remember? If this would be his final conversation with them, what did he want them to know? His daughter was struck by the simplicity of his words. He spoke with the whisper of a loving father, but his words carried the power and force of his unshakable testimony of the Savior. He said:

Love each other

Hold onto your faith

Repent daily

Pray often

God loves you—You are His children

Keep your covenants

The family members could hear him repeating these simple truths, as the elevator doors closed. If this would be his last words of loving counsel, he must have felt an urgency to utilize those final moments by filling them with the truths that, if faithfully followed, would ensure his loved ones would dwell together forever.

Alma the younger, in a moment where his very soul was racked with torment, remembered the words of his father. He said, “While I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a son of God to atone for the sins of the world.” (Alma 36:17)

I imagine Alma’s father was deeply concerned about his son and possibly agonized over whether his words had any impact on him. However, when Alma was in the depths of despair, he recalled the words of his father and knew exactly to whom he could reach for comfort and forgiveness. He knew, because of his father’s witness, that the Savior was the only one who could relieve the torment in his soul.

Most of us have worried about a loved one or dear friend who is struggling with their faith and who are challenged by the trials of life. We find ourselves deeply concerned about how to alleviate their painful journey and wishing we could have the ability to lead them back into paths of righteousness. We have loved ones and friends who have lost their testimony and who question if God is aware of them.

Helping Those Who Stray Feel Loved and Accepted

What about those who have made it clear they do not want to hear the doctrine of Christ? How can we honor their feelings, and help them feel loved, accepted, and respect their wishes while continuing to teach of Christ?

Sometimes it is entirely appropriate, and even necessary to teach with boldness. To offer a witness and testimony of our faith in Christ and his teachings. However, maybe more often, we must rely on the whisperings of our spirit and have faith that the Holy Ghost will do the rest. Sometimes this softer, gentler method, combined with patience and long-suffering carries the greatest power of influence.

Several years ago, a new client came in for his first session with me. He announced he was atheist and could not imagine there would be a God that would allow the world to slip into such wickedness. He refused to trust any divine being that would allow such suffering. He told me it made him angry when therapists would pressure him with religion or spirituality. He said, “I don’t want ANY of that stuff in our sessions.”

I wasn’t concerned at his request because I knew the Spirit would attend our sessions. Each morning when I begin my day, my prayer includes a plea to heaven that my sessions with be accompanied by the Spirit. I pray that I will be touched with promptings and inspiration to know what the Lord would have me say so I can offer the best of care.

This new client had spent many years working undercover for federal law enforcement, fighting against gangs, drugs, and trafficking. He had seen and experienced horrific things. Our spirits can take only so much of that before we either shut down completely to protect from more trauma, or we become desperately hardened, skeptical, and broken.

One day, several months into our work, he came in, sat down, and put his head in his hands. He was deeply depressed, utterly despondent, sad and desperately lonely. He looked up at me and said, “I know you believe in a God who cares… will you pray for me?”

 I had never disclosed my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I had honored his request to not speak of religion or spirituality. I turned to him and said, “I would be so happy to do that for you. I am curious… how did you know I would, or even could pray for you?”

He spoke with a firm and determined response, carefully selecting his words. He said, “Because I feel it. I know it every time I meet with you… you are an ambassador for God.”

Our sessions changed after that, and this client spoke more and more about the possibility of reaching to a divine being for help.

President Henry B. Eyring said: “All of us have family members we love who are being tempted and tried by the forces of Satan… For many of us, there have been sleepless nights. We have tried to surround the people who are at risk with every force for good. We have pled in prayer for them. We have loved them. We have set the best example we could.” (Simple is the Doctrine, April 1999)

I will to this that so often we agonized and wonder if our words or actions have any influence.

President Eyring offers us a very meaningful and comforting promise: “If WE study the doctrine of Christ, LIVE the doctrine of Christ, and TEACH it WITH SIMPLICITY, The Holy Ghost will reveal the truth to the hearts of those who have strayed.“ (Simple is the Doctrine, April 1999)

I am intrigued by his suggestion that we “teach with simplicity.” This is consistent with my experience with my father, the experience Alma had with his father, and Elder Ballard’s powerful simplicity in a most important moment with loved ones. If we examine the way the Savior taught, we see this same pattern and method: Simple truths that speak with force to our heart, mind, and soul.

 President Eyring’s great-grandmother Mary Bommeli

President Eyring’s great grandmother had an experience that caused her to have to decide what she would say that would carry the most power. She chose to teach with courage and boldness. (The Power of Teaching Doctrine, Henry B. Eyring, April 1999)

 Mary and her family were taught by missionaries in Switzerland. Mary was baptized at age 24, and decided she wanted to dwell with the Saints in America. She had to earn her way there, so she began her journey by leaving Switzerland and entered Berlin.

While there, she lived with a family and weaved cloth to earn money. At that time, it was illegal to preach in Berlin. However, she found she couldn’t refrain from speaking about the simple truths of the Savior’s gospel. The woman of the house and her friends would gather around Mary’s weaving loom while she talked about her love for the Savior and the teachings she loved so much.

She talked about the appearance of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith. She talked about the visitation of angels and the Book of Mormon. She taught about the Atonement and miraculous resurrection of Christ, and the joy of being able to live together forever with our families in the Celestial Kingdom.

Word got out that she was preaching, so one day a policeman came, seized her, and took her to jail. On the way to jail, Mary asked the policeman about the judge who would oversee her case. The policeman told her the judge had a family, but that he was “a man of the world.”

When she arrived at the jail, Mary asked for a pencil and some paper, and she spent the entire night writing a letter to the judge. In the letter she bore witness of the Resurrection of Christ as described in the Book of Mormon. She talked about the nature of the spirit world, and she explained the blessings of repentance.

In a bold and courageous manner, she suggested that the judge had some pondering to do before judgment day and that his family would be heartbroken if he didn’t repent so they could be together for ever.

She gave the letter to the policeman hoping he would deliver it to the judge. He did deliver the letter and then was summoned by the judge to his office. The judge said the letter was irrefutable evidence that she was breaking the law. However, later the policeman returned to her jail cell and announced to her that all charges were dropped, and she was free to go.

President Eyring said: “Her teaching the doctrine of Jesus Christ had caused her to be cast into jail, however, her declaring the doctrine of repentance to the judge got her cast out of jail. Mary Bommeli’s teaching did not end with her release. The record of her words passed true doctrine down through generations yet unborn.” (Simple is the Doctrine, April 1999)

We may be tempted to discount the power and influence we can have on those who have strayed, or who are struggling with their testimony.

As President Eyring said, we can have great confidence in our power combined with the Holy Ghost if we study the doctrines of Christ, live the doctrines of Christ, and teach the doctrine with simplicity.

President Eyring said: “If you pray, if you talk to God, and if you plead for His help for your loved one. If you thank Him not only for help but for patience and gentleness, I promise you that YOU will draw closer to Him. YOU will become diligent and long-suffering. And then you can know that you have done all that you can to help those you love and those you pray for, to navigate through Satan’s attempt to derail them.” (Simple is the Doctrine, April 1999)

I am so grateful for the impact of my father’s loving and simple words and example, for it has influenced my unshakable testimony and witness of the Savior. It is my hope that we can all serve as Ambassadors for the Lord and be an extension of His loving arms. I bear witness that the whisperings of our spirit, combined with the power of the Holy Ghost, will lead our loved ones back to paths of righteousness.