“In Him All Things Hold Together” | Neal A. Maxwell | 1991

Everything about the gospel is held together by the Savior Jesus Christ. His Atonement exemplifies all of the divine attributes we are seeking.

This speech was given on March 31, 1991.

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https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell/in-him-all-things-hold-together/

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"I wish to talk about your unfinished journey. It is the journey of journeys and will be described quite differently this Easter night. It is an arduous journey. The trek awaits—whether one is rich or poor, short or tall, thin or fat, black or white or brown, old or young, shy or bold, married or single, a prodigal or an ever faithful. Compared to this journey, all other treks are but a brief walk in a mortal park or are merely time on a telestial treadmill.

Becoming Men and Women of Christ
Your journey is embodied in an invitation from the resurrected Lord, who himself inquired, “What manner of men [and women] ought ye to be?” Then he directed, “Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27; emphasis added). Making this journey qualifies us eventually as the men and women of Christ.

Confirming this developmental goal, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God possesses” (Teachings, p. 216). Peter, likewise, spoke of the manner of persons we ought to be in all godliness (see 2 Peter 3:11).

The scriptures provide the road map for this journey because it is the word of God that will lead the men and women of Christ in a straight and narrow course and land their immortal souls at the right hand of God (see Helaman 3:29–30).

Jesus, our guide and model, had a perfect guide and model himself:

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. [John 5:19]

Just what Jesus saw “the Father do,” including premortally, we do not know, but Jesus was the perfect pupil and he had a Perfect Teacher!

Each of us is at a particular point in the journey, having “come thus far.” However, if we are deflected from this journey, we will, instead, become estranged from Christ:

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? [Mosiah 5:13]

If we are not serving Jesus, and if he is not in our thoughts and hearts, then the things of the world will draw us instead to them! Moreover, the things of the world need not be sinister in order to be diverting and consuming.

For the serious disciple, the cardinal attributes exemplified by Jesus are not optional. These developmental milestones take the form of traits, traits that mark the trail to be traveled. After all, should not Latter-day Saints have a special interest in what is required to become a Saint, virtue by virtue and quality by quality? Hear the words of King Benjamin:

And becometh a saint . . . submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him. [Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added]

These attributes are eternal and portable! Being portable, to the degree developed, they will go with us through the veil of death, and still later they will rise with us in the Resurrection when all else stays behind. Meanwhile, so much of our time is ironically devoted to learning and marketing perishable skills that will soon become obsolete. It isn’t just the morticians who will have a vocational crisis in the next world, brother and sisters. Please note several additions to these key qualities:

And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things. [Alma 7:23; emphasis added]

Unsurprisingly, the disciple’s way of using power and authority will reflect these same qualities, for he is to lead by persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, and kindness (see D&C 121:41–42). Such should be our leadership style. It is certainly Jesus’!

Numerous other scriptures describe the same, small cluster of spiritual qualities that the men and women of Christ are to strive to achieve in their lives. When significantly developed, these qualities will convey the added “authority of example”! When you and I have seen that authority, we are filled with admiration for it."

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