The ONE Attribute that Jesus Christ Taught that LDS Members Struggle With | 3 Nephi 12-16 | Come Follow Me

Many Disciples Walked No More with Him

How does one know that they are a good disciple? What are the qualities of a good disciple? 3 Nephi 14:1-5 states:

 

1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

 

The attributes of a good disciple, according to the Savior when he visited the Nephites is basically just don't do ONE thing: don't JUDGE. 

 

Isn't that crazy? Don't JUDGE. And this means not judging members, their life decisions, their knowledge of doctrine, their gospel living, and the doctrinal teachings of the Church that could in the form of "new truth."

Unless people are willing to gain a testimony of Jesus’s divinity and saving death today and then enter into a covenant with him, they deprive themselves of the eternal life that he offers.

 

Unfortunately, these religious leaders were not the only ones who were offended by Jesus’s teaching about accepting his salvific work:

 

“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60).

 

The disciples here present another nameless, corporate character—this time one that consisted of those who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah, perhaps even as the Son of God, and had actively chosen to follow him. Yet while they accepted who he was, they had not yet come to a real understanding of what he had come to do.

 

Contemporary messianic expectations had focused on a restorer and teacher like the one awaited by the Samaritans or a lawgiver and miracle worker like Moses such as the crowds had expected; and, increasingly, on an anointed king like David of old who would restore Israel.

 

 

Though Psalm 22 and the later prophecies of Isaiah (e.g., 42:1–9; 49:1–7; 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12) had spoken of a suffering servant figure, few, including Jesus’s own disciples, seemed to have had a clear conception of a messiah who would die as a sacrifice. In this regard, John wrote,

 

“When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” (John 6:61, emphases added)

 

The fact that the same word for murmur was used for these offended disciples as had earlier been used for “the Jews” is significant. The Jewish leaders had been secure, even unbending, in their own religious views and presuppositions. These disciples were similarly so firm in their previous messianic expectations and religious understanding that they were unable, or unwilling, to accept a new doctrine, even when it came from Jesus himself.

 

Sometimes even we—particularly when serving as leaders or teachers or even just as faithful “members in the ranks”—can be so certain that we know how things are that we complain when new information, even new revelation, comes.

 

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004), a member of the Twelve from 1981 until his death in 2004, wrote,

 

“There are equivalent ‘hard sayings’ about our secular societies that one hesitates to utter but which need to be heard. They are not popular . . . A truth may touch us, bore us, or merely make us uncomfortable. But those are reactions to truth, and reactions do not alter the reality of truth itself.”

 

Historical questions, former racial attitudes, the behavior of past and even current leaders, difficult doctrines, the roles of women, the sometimes unkind treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals by other members, and policies that impact social issues such as contemporary views of marriage equality or the status of the children of same sex couples can also be hard sayings for us that require additional faith to understand or at least accept in faith until better understanding comes through the inspiration of the Spirit or future revelation.

 

The following was taken from the book Becoming the Beloved Disciple currently available at Cedarfort.com!