Jesus Christ - Our Friend

To trust someone, we must know them. We trust our parents or a family member or friend because of our experiences with them. We know who they are and what they are like; they have listened to us as we have shared the more vulnerable parts of ourselves. They support, encourage, and help us. They know us. They love us. And they are loyal and kind.

In order for us to trust Jesus Christ enough to accept Him and follow Him, we must know Him. We knew and loved Him long before we came to earth. We all trusted Him enough to come here in order to continue our journey of becoming like our Heavenly Father. We understood that Jesus would provide the only way we could overcome death and sin. And we knew He was loving and strong and good enough to do all God had asked Him to do (Revelation 12:10-11). We had this confidence because we loved and trusted and knew both Him and our Heavenly Father. So, we have already trusted Him once; we must now rediscover that trust. 

To do so, we must learn again who He is. We must know that He has the power to keep all of His promises. We must understand why we need Him, what He has done for us, and what He has promised us. We must have experiences with Him in order to understand and feel His love and compassion and power. We can begin to rediscover our faith as we act on any desires we have to find out more about Him, or to act on the hope that He can help us.   

As we have experiences with Him, our faith in Him will grow. As we repent of our sins, we will feel that we really can be forgiven because of what He has done for us. As we pass through difficult times, we can learn that His invitation, “come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” does lead to His promise, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). As we continue to try to depend on Him as we go through our challenges, we will learn that He will always help us. He keeps His promises. He always has.

He is kind and compassionate. He understands why we do the things we do. He understands that we often aren't able to do everything we would like to do. We want to be be better than we are. He also understands what we have gone through and how we feel about those experiences, and how those feelings can affect us. He took our pains (physical, emotional, etc.) upon Him. Because He understands us, He knows how to help us. 

We will need to trust that He has the power to make our lives better as we accept Him. We can trust that what Jesus offers us is and will be better than what we already have. I am learning that. As I have gone through my own personal challenges, as I have sinned and sought forgiveness, and as I have needed strength and encouragement to keep going, I have learned of Jesus’ perfect character and love. He is so kind, so understanding, so forgiving and encouraging. He understands what we need and when we need it. He is the perfect teacher. 

He loves us enough to let us pass through challenges, even though many times these challenges persist and do not get resolved right away. They may last months. Or years. But, He is right there with us as we go through them. These challenges are for our good. I know this because of my experiences with Him during these times. I know Him. I have been supported, encouraged, and helped as I have worked through experiences where I have felt vulnerable and helpless. He has walked with me at the pace I have been able to maintain. He invites me to do what I can, and He helps me do what I can't. He has helped me see when I am trying to do too much by myself or when I could be doing and being more. He has lightened the pain and weight of what I could not carry. He has helped me do and be more than I ever thought possible. I have come to know Him. And the more I know Him, the more strength I have to trust Him. The more I know Him, the more I love Him.

To learn more about Jesus Christ and how you can accept more of His help, feel free to visit http://mormon.org/jesus-christ/