The Ultimate Role Model

A role model is “a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others” (dictionary.com). Consider your role models. Whom do you look up to? As I partook of the sacrament, I thought of the Savior and His perfect example. It was deeply impressed upon my mind and heart how He is the Ultimate Role Model that I should strive to emulate. Too often I see someone I look up to and am filled with a desire to become more like them, and yet in the present moment I often fail to connect that desire to my ultimate desire of becoming more like the Savior. Instead of just focusing on becoming like others, I should strive to ascend exponentially as an asymptote approaching the perfect and endless state of being of our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. We all have people in our lives that we look up to, but we need to give the Lord the credit for everything we admire about them and in them.

In President Nelson’s 2017 young adult devotional, he gave multiple spiritually rigorous invitations. Among those, he “asked the young adults of the Church to consecrate a portion of their time each week to study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the standard works” (“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” President Nelson). There are some invitations that we check off our to-do list after we complete them. However, I don’t think President Nelson intended for there to be a completion date on this invitation. This is an invitation of a lifetime. We should strive throughout our whole lives to learn everything we can about Jesus Christ. I hope that a day never goes by that I fail to learn more about the Ultimate Exemplar and strive to do the things He does (3 Nephi 27:21) and become as He is (3 Nephi 27:27). I need to connect the good works I strive to do and the attributes I’m striving to develop with the Holy One of Israel.

I strive to memorize and retain the names of individuals I serve because Christ set the example: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14) I strive to commune with the Lord in the early morning hours because Christ set the example: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). I strive to be “armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14) because Christ set the example: “And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory” (1 Nephi 11:28). I strive to “do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22) because Christ set the example: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).

We are blessed with increased power to become like Him as we strive to learn everything we can about Him. There is a spiritual gravitational force that draws us upward unto Him (3 Nephi 27:14) and I hope I will never ground myself by having my heart “set so much upon the things of this world” (D&C 121:35). Rather, I hope I will always strive to “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better” (D&C 25:10) as I strive to emulate the best Exemplar, the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite you to join me in gathering together “in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10) by proceeding to learn all you can about Jesus Christ and by connecting all of the good things you strive to do and the attributes you strive to develop to Jesus Christ.

As I’ve been striving to learn of Jesus Christ and emulate His example, I came across Abraham 3:17, “there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it”. That is definitely something to strive to emulate! It can be easy to receive a prompting but fail to act on it, to feel a great desire to share one’s testimony but fear what others may think of you, to make a goal but give up on it a week later, to receive inspiration but delay acting on it, to put off what you know you need to do, to shrink when there’s something hard we must do or a sacrifice we must make, and so on and so forth. Christ has set the example in always doing the things that He takes in His heart to do. What things have we taken in our heart to do? What commitments or covenants have we made? Are we really willing to do those things that we have taken in our hearts to do? We have to align our wills with the Lord’s and then strive to do His will with exactness.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. Always, always, always, always, always do what you are afraid to do. Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” What hard things do we have in our future? Are we willing to move forward in faith and do the things we fear, which are right? Or do we listen to the voice of discouragement? Are we listening to the Spirit of God or to those who say “it’s impossible”, “you can’t”, you don’t”, “Why would you do that?”, “you’re crazy”, “What were you thinking?”, “you’ll never be able to do that”, etc. Do we really believe that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26)? Do we “expect and prepare to accomplish the impossible” (President Nelson)? What changes do we need to make? Are we committed to those changes? In answering these and other questions, we look to the Savior for whom “there is nothing that [He] shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it” (Abraham 3:17).