Archive of messages sent while serving as a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Come unto me” is an invitation found throughout scripture.
During His earthly ministry Christ invited the little children to come unto Him
(Mark 10:14) and later beckoned all to come unto Him for rest and peace (Matt
11:28.) When the Savior visited the Nephites shortly after His resurrection, he
invited all to come unto Him and touch His wounds (3 Nephi 11:14.)
This invitation isn’t merely an exercise to physically get
closer to the Lord, but involves aligning our will with His, and therefore, the
Father’s. We do this through Jesus Christ because He is, “the way, the truth
and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by [Him]” (John 14:6.)
So, how do we better come unto Christ?
In order for us to understand the Father’s will and to
personally get closer to Christ, I believe we need to better communicate with
Him. We do this by creating daily heavenly habits of praying and scripture
study. We pray to talk to Him and we study to listen. In both prayer and study,
we should also ponder so we can better recognize the promptings of the Holy
Ghost while doing so.
If we can better communicate with our Father and the Savior
through daily prayer and scripture study, we will better understand His will
and be able to more effectively come unto Him. As we do so, we will have the
promises found in Omni 1:26 which says:
“And now, my beloved brethren, I
would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel,
and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto
him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him,
and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as
the Lord liveth ye will be saved.”
I pray that we can each become closer to Christ by
developing these heavenly habits of daily prayer and scripture study. I also
pray that we can support and love one another as we strive to be more Christ
like.
Thank you for all you do in your homes and in our ward to
build His kingdom in our little corner of Payson.
Bishop Sullivan
