Jesus the Christ

I have been having difficulties loading pictures again. It's frustrating because I have so many pictures that need to be put on this blog. Oh well. I will go ahead and post about something that I have been wanting to post about but have not had the time.

Years ago, Jon Mark recommended that I read the book, Jesus the Christ. The book nearly has 1,000 pages and it is a hefty read. I was a little intimidated by the language and shied away from it on more than one occasion. But, then one day, a cousin of mine posted on Facebook that it had taken her a year to read it, but she declared that she was so glad that she had done so. For some reason, a year deadline stood out to me and I thought to myself that that seemed doable. I would give myself a year to finish it. I started about a month ago and I am already past the first 200 pages. I will finish it much faster than a year. And this is why: I love the book. I cannot put it down. I read it while I exercise and the time flies. I have made a goal to always put the Lord before Facebook time or other leisurely computer time. The result is that I hardly ever get on Facebook anymore. When I go to sit down at the computer, I ask myself if I had read my scriptures yet. If I haven't, I go and I read. Before I know it, my free time is spent and I no longer have time for Facebook.

My kids have noticed my study time. There is value in that. Today, Joshua went and got his scriptures and sat down quietly next to me and began to read. He didn't announce it, he just did it. When Mercedes and Luke came and invited him to go and play, he responded, "Mom and I are reading our scriptures right now." He later expressed to me that he loves reading his scriptures with me and wanted me to read more with him. I also found that he had been reading them on the toilet. He is a good boy, and it was a happy moment for me as a mom. I have always been pretty good about reading my scriptures, but I used to read them on my Kindle. My Kindle recently broke. I think the kids never recognized when I was reading my scriptures before. I think they thought I was just playing on the computer or something. I think that there is value in them seeing me read. It shows them that I love the scriptures and place an importance on studying them. Actions do speak louder than words.

I am far from completing Jesus the Christ, but I have already come to know my Savior so much better. This morning, my kids were playing the song, "I Can Only Imagine", on the CD player on repeat. It probably played about ten or so times. The song is not an LDS song, but it is a song about praising Jesus Christ. There is great rejoicing about our Savior in the lyrics and the music backs up the message triumphantly. I have always loved the song, and I love that my kids love it too. As it played over and over again, I reflected silently about all that I had read about. My chest burned with a sacred emotion as I recalled just how much I love Jesus Christ. I can't really put the emotion into words, and I guess that's why sometimes I cry when I bear my testimony. My heart feels tender and full, and the feeling overflows and the happiness comes out as tears.

I love my Savior. He came to earth growing in wisdom and spirit, coming to know and understand His mission as He grew. He was tempted, but overcame temptation. These two distinctions are important to me. It shows us that He made a choice. There was an action. Everything depended on Him, and He made the choice to save us. He was free of sin, and yet he deliberately sacrificed Himself for us. I've always been told this, and I guess I have always known it, but as I read about it, I felt it on a more powerful level. He saved us not because He was forced to, but because love compelled Him to. He had agency, and He used it so perfectly all the time. That causes me to rejoice.

There is so much that I feel that I wish I could convey, but my best attempts would be lacking. So, I will just conclude with my testimony on the subject. I know my Savior lives and that He loves us. We lived with Him in heaven and we knew Him. He is our brother. He knows us, and He wants us to succeed. He came to earth to show us how to live, and He died so that we could return to His presence and that of our Father and Mother.