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Learning from “The Living Christ”
Although I never fully memorized “The Living Christ,” trying to do so became a great blessing in helping me draw nearer to Him.
When I was a young woman, my family and I set a goal to begin memorizing “The Living Christ.” My mom thought it’d be helpful to put a copy of the document somewhere practical where we would see it every day and have time to study it. So, she put it in a plastic cover and taped it in the bathroom.
Each day, I would read through the document and practice memorizing bits and pieces.
The first few paragraphs became very significant to me—perhaps because I read them so many times trying to memorize them. But there was something about reading about where Christ walked and what He did that made Him seem more real to me. He truly was—and is—the living Christ.
“Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He ‘went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.”1
I remember being fascinated by the 15 signatures at the bottom of the document. I loved looking through the beautiful cursive writing to see if I could make out each of the names. Those 15 names represented 15 real people. And those 15 people were 15 representatives of Jesus Christ. They stood in unity bearing testimony of the Savior and His life and ministry. That was powerful to me.
In the April 2017 general conference, one of those witnesses, President Russell M. Nelson, encouraged all of us to study its truths, whether you’ve already memorized it or you’ve never read it entirely. “As you seek to learn more about Jesus Christ, I urge you to study ‘The Living Christ,’” he said.2
That experience in my youth stuck with me and instilled in me a lifelong desire to learn more about Jesus Christ. Even if I didn’t end up memorizing every single word of the document, I read it so many times that it strengthened my testimony of the living Christ and helped me draw nearer to Him.