Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, Our Savior

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of God. He is our Redeemer. The Holy Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ's mother was Mary, His father on earth was Joseph, that He was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, and labored with Joseph as a carpenter. When he turned 30, He began a three-year ministry of teaching, blessing, and healing the people of the Holy Land. He also organized His Church and gave His apostles "power and authority" ( Luke 9:1 ) to assist in His work.

But what do we mean when we say He is the Savior of the world? The Redeemer? Each of these titles point to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way by which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by His mercy and grace can anyone be saved. His subsequent resurrection prepared the way for every person to overcome physical death as well. These events are called the Atonement. In short, Jesus Christ saves us from sin and death. For that, he is very literally our Savior and Redeemer. In the future Jesus Christ will return to reign on earth in peace for a thousand years. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He will be our Lord forever.

What Jesus Christ Means to Us

God is our Heavenly Father, and like any parent He wants us, His children, to be happy. In the scriptures, He teaches "my work and my glory [is] to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" ( Moses 1:39 ). Eternal life means to live in heaven, in His presence, with our families, forever. God has given us commandments, which teach us what is right and wrong and chart a way through life that will offer the greatest happiness. Jesus Christ taught, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" ( John 14:15 ). But the scriptures also teach that "no unclean thing can dwell with God" ( 1 Nephi 10:21 ). As hard as we try to live good lives, we all sin, so how can we live in God’s perfect kingdom if we are imperfect?

God sent Jesus Christ to earth to give us a way to overcome our sins and imperfections. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ( John 3:16 ).

Even before God created the world, He prepared a plan that allows us to learn and grow during this life. Jesus Christ is the center of this plan. Christ’s mission was not only to teach us about God the Father and how we should live, but also to make a way for us to be forgiven after we sin. Sin is more than just making a mistake. When we sin we disobey God's commandments or fail to act correctly despite our knowledge of the truth ( James 4:17 ).

Before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane on our behalf. Christ's suffering for our sins in Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary is called the Atonement. He suffered for us so that we can be made clean and return to live with our Heavenly Father. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the "good news" of Christ's sacrifice for us, giving us a path back to the Father. "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" ( 2 Nephi 2:8 ).

Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to do good works. The Holy Bible teaches, "Faith without works is dead" ( James 2:20 ). This does not mean that we can be saved by good works, for no amount of good works can cleanse our souls of even a trace of sin without the power of Christ’s sacrifice. But those who have genuine faith in Christ will want to follow Him and do the kinds of works He did, such as helping the poor and needy, caring for the sick, visiting the lonely, and showing good will and love to all people.

As we follow His example and live according to His words, we will feel our faith growing until it becomes an active force in our lives, helping us repent of our sins and deal with our challenges. Faith in Jesus Christ isn’t a simple declaration of belief—it is a source of power we can renew every day by studying His words, praying, and by trying harder to follow His example.

Repentance

Having faith in Jesus Christ makes us want to live good lives. When we sin and seek to repent, we recognize and feel deep and sincere sorrow for what we’ve done wrong. God understood when He created the earth that we wouldn’t be perfect, so He provided a way for us to overcome our sins. The ability to repent is truly one of our greatest blessings.

To repent we need to recognize and feel sorry for what we’ve done wrong, do whatever is possible to repair the damage it may have caused, and to leave our sinful behavior behind. Repentance can be difficult and requires a lot of honesty, but the joy and freedom we feel when we turn away from our sins are well worth the effort. Because Christ suffered for our sins, we can be forgiven when we repent. That’s why the Atonement is so important to all of us.

We believe Christ's Atonement gives us the ability to repent and become clean from sin. To say we have to repent for our sins may sound like a punishment, but the real punishment is the guilt, sorrow, and disappointment we feel when we sin. Repentance is the opposite of punishment, then, because it allows us to become clean in God’s eyes and remove the feelings of guilt that follow our bad choices.

Baptism is a promise or covenant we make to follow Jesus Christ throughout our lives. When we develop faith in Him and repent of our sins, a person who has God’s authority to baptize immerses us in water and raises us back up. This ordinance, or ceremony, suggests burial and rebirth, symbolizing the end of our old life and the beginning of a new life as a follower of Jesus Christ.

When we are baptized, we take Christ’s name upon us. As Christians, we seek to follow Him in all aspects of our lives. Jesus was baptized when He was on earth. He has asked us to follow His example and to be baptized ( see 2 Nephi 31:12 ). He has promised that if we follow His example and keep the promises we make when we’re baptized, we will have His Spirit to guide us through this life. Because Heavenly Father is a fair and loving God, everyone will have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ through baptism, if not in this life then in the next.

After Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" ( Mark 1:11 ). We believe that God is also well pleased when each of us chooses to follow His Son and be baptized. He sees everything we do, knows us by name, and wants us to become clean so we can return to His presence.

When Jesus was on the earth, He told a man named Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" ( John 3:5 ). After we are "born of water," or baptized, we can be "born […] of the Spirit" by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. A person with God's authority puts his hands on our heads and gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost ( Acts 8:17 ). This ceremony is known as confirmation. The Holy Ghost is a Spirit. He is the third member of the Godhead, along with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and walk humbly before God He can always be with us. We call it a gift because the Holy Ghost is given to us from God to guide us as we face difficult decisions, comfort us when we are sad, influence our minds and feelings, and help us recognize when something is true. This kind of divine help reminds us that God loves each one of us and wants to help us through the difficulties of our lives.

A relationship with Jesus Christ is like any other—it can start to fade if we fall out of touch. It takes effort to exercise enough faith in Christ to repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, but we have to strive to follow Christ to receive all the blessings God wants to give us.

The key is to think of the gospel of Jesus Christ as a pattern for living, rather than steps on a checklist. We can continue to develop our faith in Christ every day by reading His words in the scriptures and praying to our Heavenly Father. When we sin, we can repent every time with a humble heart because Jesus Christ's Atonement is never-ending. We can remember the promises and blessings of baptism by taking the sacrament every Sunday at church. We can continue to rely on the comfort and guidance of the Holy Ghost as he leads us back to God.