Knowing Christ

By George W. Pace

Author George W. Pace explains why it is important for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to know the Father through the Son. He details what kind of relationship we could have with them and how to build that relationship. He also explains how we learn to live by the Spirit. In "Knowing Christ," he carefully lists what is meant by the commandment "come unto Christ" and what it can mean in the day-to-day lives of every Latter-day Saint: Why do we pray to the Father in the name of the Son? Why was the Savior's Atonement necessary? What does the Atonement really mean? How can we make the Atonement

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing & Media
• Release date: Mar 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781462107537

Book preview

Why is it important for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to know the Father and the Son? What kind of relationship should we have with them? How do we build that relationship? And how do we learn to live by the Spirit?

In Knowing Christ, author George W. Pace answers these and other questions as he details what the commandment Come unto Christ can mean in the day-to-day living of every Latter-day Saint:

•Why do we pray to the Father in the name of the Son?

•Why was the Savior’s atonement necessary?

•What does the Atonement really mean?

•How can we make the Atonement a powerful force in our own lives?

Brother Pace, familiar to many as a popular speaker and teacher at Education Weeks sponsored by Brigham Young University, bears his testimony that the purpose of Joseph Smith and the Restoration is to declare to a confused world that indeed God lives and Jesus is the Christ, that the Lord has appeared and is appearing in our day, and that if we seek him diligently, we can come to know him in a marvelous way.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual, electronic, film, microfilm, tape recording, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.

This is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The opinions and views expressed herein belong solely to the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of Cedar Fort, Inc. Permission for the use of sources, graphics, and photos is also solely the responsibility of the author.

ISBN 13: 978-0-87579-136-4

Published by CFI, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc., 2373 W 700 S., Springville, UT 84663 Distributed by Cedar Fort, Inc., www.cedarfort.com

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Pace, George W

Knowing Christ / George W. Pace

p. cm.

Bibliography: p.

Includes index.

ISBN 13: 978-0-87579-136-4

1. Spiritual life--Mormon authors. I. Title.

BX8656.P27 1988

248.4’89332--dc19

88-18862

Cover design by Lyle Mortimer

Cover design © 2010 by Lyle Mortimer

Edited and typeset by Rene Munoz

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed on acid-free paper

Contents

1. The Pearl of Greatest Price

2. Mighty Prayer

3. Jesus Christ, the Son of God

4. The Savior’s Atoning Sacrifice

5. Being Born Again

6. Living Day to Day by the Spirit

7. A God of Power

8. His Living Prophets

9. A Loving Father

10. To See His Face

Bibliography

Chapter 1

The Pearl of Greatest Price

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45- 46.) In the church and kingdom of God, there are many pearls of great price, but one pearl is of greatest price and of greatest value. What is it?

The Savior told us: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3.) There simply isn’t anything more important in heaven or on earth than to know, to really know, with a perfect knowledge, the Father and the Son.

The observations that follow are my attempt to explore why it is so important to know the Father and the Son and what that knowledge means in our individual lives. It is one thing to know by the power of the Spirit what the characteristics and attributes of God are, but to apply that knowledge is what effects a tremendous change in our lives.

For example, I’m convinced that most of us believe that it is a great thing to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, but it is an even greater thing to experience, through the gospel he restored, the kinds of things he experienced. It’s marvelous to know that the heavens have opened and that great powers are available to us in our day, but what will enable us to become true Saints is to become worthy to experience those powers ourselves.

If what changes our lives is experiencing the powers of the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ, then our relationship with them is of supreme importance. Joseph Smith learned that he could speak with the Father and the Son, that they knew him by name, and that they were anxious and pleased to answer his prayers and bless him with their powers. We too can gain a similar understanding of the Father and the Son and have a similar relationship with them.

As beautiful and meaningful as our relationships are with one another, our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer can be the most beautiful relationship we experience in mortality. Indeed, by coming to know the Father and the Son through the experience of feeling their love and influence in our lives, our relationships with others will take on a deeper, more godlike meaning. In fact, it seems fundamental in the gospel to believe that the kind of relationship we have with God will determine the kind of relationship we have with others.

A meaningful life, an abundant life, is made up of personal relationships with one another, and it seems natural to believe that eternal life will be made up of similar relationships. Perhaps that is what Joseph Smith meant when he said, That same sociality which exists amongst us here will exist among us there only it will be coupled with eternal glory which we do not enjoy now. (The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 169.) The Prophet Joseph also said that no man’s name will be sealed in the Lamb’s book of life until he has a perfect love. (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 9.) A perfect love for whom? Surely he meant a perfect love for God and for all men. (See 2 Nephi 31:20.)

What marvelous relationships can we anticipate having here and in the hereafter with gods, angels, and one another if we are faithful in Christ! Paul the apostle seemed to glimpse the greatness of our future relationships when he said, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9.) Our experiences with the Father and the Son are most sacred and distill in us an ever-increasing sense of awe and respect for them, and yet we can feel a profound closeness to God, a closeness that is warm, comforting, constant, and marvelously fulfilling.

I want to testify of an association with a Heavenly Father and a divine Redeemer who love beyond comprehension all of the children of men and yet reserve for the obedient in Christ the designation of friend (John 15:14; D&C 84:63, 77) and give to such the promise of eternal life. With all the glory, honor, and majesty of the Father and the Son, their promise to us is that their infinite power and love can be translated into such personal and heart-touching experiences as wip[ing] away all tears from our eyes (Revelation 7:17), heal[ing] the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18), leading us by the hand, and giving us answer to our prayers (see D&C 112:10). We can be endowed with the very same love that Deity possesses (see Moroni 7:46-47), a love that at times will seem to consume our very flesh (see 2 Nephi 4:21).

The Father and the Son are so aware of all their creations that they are mindful when a sparrow falls. (See Matthew 10:29.) Will they not then be mindful of our heartaches, concerns, and hopes? It seems to me to be a valid proposition that our daily association with those we worship can become so meaningful that the time will come when we will know from them with a perfect knowledge that the path we are following—that is, the lives we are living and the sacrifices we have made—is totally acceptable to the Lord. (See Lectures on Faith, p. 38.)

How marvelous it is that we have been invited to increase our faith and our ability to communicate with God so that we may converse with him as one man converses with another. {Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345; see also Ether 12:39.)

One of the greatest teachings of the restored gospel is that the Lord has commanded us to prepare ourselves while we are yet in the flesh that we might see him. (See D&C 67:10.) Indeed, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am. (D&C 93:1.) Such an invitation from Deity speaks volumes about the potentially close, sacred association we can have with him. Further, the Lord on a few occasions has not only invited faithful Saints to see him but also to thrust their hands into his side, and... feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. (3 Nephi 11:15.)

In a marvelous way the Prophet Joseph is our great exemplar in this dispensation of what it means to know God and what feelings and hopes it will be most natural for us to have toward the Lord as we try to draw close to him. On one occasion, the Prophet declared, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my Great Counselor. CHistory of the Church, 6:93.) On another occasion, Joseph Smith had been separated from his wife, Emma, for some time and had hoped to receive a letter from her. When he didn’t, being very disappointed, he wrote: I will try to be contented with my lot knowing that God is my friend. In him I shall find comfort. I have given my life into his hands. I am prepared to go at his call. I desire to be with Christ. I count not my life dear to me only to do his will. (Quoted in LaMar C. Berrett, in BYU Studies, Summer 1971, p. 520.)

Let me conclude my discussion of the importance of knowing God and knowing the kind of relationship we can have with the Father and the Son with an account of a vision that was given to Joseph Smith and recorded by Heber C. Kimball. The Prophet Joseph saw the Twelve going forth, and they appeared to be in a far distant land. After some time they unexpectedly met together, apparently in great tribulation, their clothes all ragged, and their knees and feet sore He (Joseph) saw until they had accomplished their work, and arrived at the gate of the celestial city; there Father Adam stood and opened the gate to them, and as they entered he embraced them one by one and kissed them. He then led them to the throne of God, and then the Savior embraced each one of them and kissed them, and crowned each one of them in the presence of God. (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp. 93-94.)

I believe we are well within the mark to assume that all relationships we have with others which are good and beautiful are but a shadow of the relationship we can acquire, through the restored gospel, with our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Along with the recognition that our relationship with the Father and the Son can be very real and very personal comes the recognition that because of our relationship with them, our experiences with others will improve and in time be perfected. It is crucial to obtain the pearl of greatest price—knowing the Father and the Son. The Savior said, Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27.) The Son came to the earth to reveal the Father to us. There really isn’t any other way to know the Father than to come to know the Son. As we come to know the Son, we simultaneously come to know the Father. Indeed, the greatest revelation of God our Heavenly Father is Jesus Christ.

As we search the scriptures, which are so Savior-centered, and understand more fully the life and mission of the Lord and Savior, we are simultaneously coming to know the mind, will, glory, and reality of the Father. The Father is the Author of the plan of salvation; the Son, his life, and his mission are a perfect reflection of the plan—to testify of the greatness and glory of the Father. To honor the Son is to honor the Father. To know the Son is to know the Father.

Let me elaborate further on this theme. The Savior said, I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (John 6:38.) Further, the Savior confirmed to the Israelites on the American continent this same truth when as a resurrected being he stated: I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross. (3 Nephi 27:13- 14.) For us to glimpse the majestic power and feeling of the infinite atonement is to glimpse the mind, the feeling, and the power of God the Father, for it was he who sent his Son to fulfill its awesome requirements.

Paul the apostle acknowledged the Father as the author of the plan of redemption and His role through Christ in fulfilling that plan when he said: All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19.)

Perhaps one of the most powerful of many scriptures on this subject is the following: No man knoweth... who the Father is, but the Son’, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. (Luke 10:22; see also Matthew 11:27.) Paul’s statement to Timothy also confirms powerfully that the only way to the Father is through the Son: There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5.)

Christ, then, is the revealer of the Father. He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6.) The Savior said that all men should honor him even as they honor the Father. (See John 5:23.) To become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to commence the journey of coming to know the Father through Christ.

As we seek for eternal life, we acknowledge the Savior’s teaching that no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6.) When we accept the Savior as the Son of God, we recognize that in his name and his name alone is salvation possible. (See 2 Nephi 25:20.)

It is my feeling, to emphasize again, that the greatest revelation of the Father is Jesus Christ; that for us to honor the Father we must acquire a mighty knowledge of his Son; that out of that knowledge will come adequate faith to become like our Redeemer; that he, Christ, will then introduce us to the Father so that we might return safely to him.

Is it any wonder that the first principle of the gospel is faith in Jesus Christ? And yet, again, because the Father and the Son are one, to have faith in Christ is also to have faith in the Father. Is it just a coincidence that the Book of Mormon, another testament of Christ, has 3,925 references to the Savior in 531 pages, or an average of one reference for approximately every 1.5 verses? (See Susan Easton Black, Finding Christ through the Book of Mormon, pp. 15-16.) Is it not most natural that Nephi testified that everything that has been given from God to man is the typifying of Christ? (See 2 Nephi 11:4.)

The Savior came to be the mediator between us and the Father. President Joseph Fielding Smith declared: After Adam’s transgression he was shut out of the presence of the Father who has remained hidden from his children to this day, with few exceptions wherein righteous men have been privileged with the glorious privilege of seeing him. (Man: His Origin and Destiny, p. 304.) The Father hid himself so that we might know that the only way we could find him was to acquire a mighty faith in his beloved Son and be obedient to him.

Therefore, because Jesus is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and the key to knowing the Father, my central theme is the tremendous importance of coming to know Jesus Christ. It involves not simply sensing the remarkable power that is available through the gospel of Jesus Christ but recognizing that he, Christ, is the source of that power. It involves not merely having a testimony of the divinity of the restored Church but also actually acquiring through that restored Church a profound knowledge of the very creator of heaven and earth and making a commitment to obey him. What I would like to explore with you has to do with placing the many pearls of the gospel, as it were, in perspective so as to accent that pearl of greatest price, recognizing that the full value of those pearls is achieved when you and I accept them and use them as a means of developing a full and complete relationship with the Father through his beloved Son.

Even to approach the topic of what it means to know the Father and the Son is an awesome undertaking and one that would be out of the question if I didn’t know that Jesus is the Christ, the literal and eternal Son of God: I know that through faith in Christ we can be forgiven of our sins, have our fallen nature changed, and enjoy an abhorrence for sin. I know that our Lord is a God of power, for I have seen him make bare his mighty arm and enable the otherwise impossible to be accomplished. The promise has been burned into my soul by the whisperings of the Spirit that if we are faithful in keeping the commandments and honoring every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, we will come to know the Savior marvelously well. (See Mosiah 12:24; Jeremiah 9:23-24.) In time, the Lord will transform us into his image, and ultimately we may have the privilege, perhaps while yet in mortality, of seeing his face. The capstone of my testimony, the essence of what I have to say, is that we can come to know the Savior better than we know any other person on earth—that the Savior can have, and indeed must have, a greater effect on our lives than the combined effect of everyone else we know if we ever hope to fulfill the will of the Father and return to his presence.

Obtaining a Greater Faith

My own experience of gradually growing in awareness of the Father through the Savior and of the Savior’s place as the center of all things has not been atypical. I was raised as an active member of a small country ward in southern Idaho. I sensed early in my life that the testimonies I heard in the small frame chapel each fast and testimony meeting were sincere and indeed true. I felt very positive about the teachings I heard and the concepts I learned in the many auxiliary meetings I attended. I observed also that the more diligently I tried to keep the commandments and to stay in close contact with the Church, although I often fell far short, the more peace I felt in my heart. And even though much of the motivation behind my activity in the Church was probably social (there were some really attractive girls in the ward), my involvement in the Church was uplifting and beneficial.

Nevertheless, had I been asked in my late teens how I felt about the Church—that is, did I know the doctrines of the Church were true?—my response would have been something like, I really think there is a strong possibility that the Church just might be true, or There is absolutely no question in my mind that a lot of people I know really know the Church is true, or Oh, I sure hope the Church is true! In any event, even though I felt very good about the Church—indeed, there was absolutely no question in my mind that the effect of the Church in my life was very positive—I knew there had to be much, much more to my membership. I sensed that I hadn’t yet found that pearl of great price that would give greater meaning to my membership in the Church and enable me to obtain a greater power to enjoy life more abundantly.

Somewhere along the line, I came to the conclusion that I desperately needed to learn more fully for myself by personal revelation that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that the true Church of Jesus Christ was indeed restored to the earth. I determined that the quickest, surest way to do that was to read the Book of Mormon and pray mightily about it. Consequently, in my nineteenth year and while farming my father’s farm, I decided to tuck a copy of the Book of Mormon in my back pocket and take it with me everywhere I went. I carried out my plan with some determination. Whenever I got a chance between changes of water while irrigating, while waiting for the final preparation of my meals, and during every other spare moment I could find, I read the Book of Mormon with genuine intensity for the first time. I had, of course, read portions of it before, both in the auxiliaries and in seminary, but not really of my own volition and not with real intent. Along with diligently reading the Book of Mormon every time I got a chance, for the first time in my life, I also lifted up my voice many times each day in mighty vocal prayer and pleaded for the witness of the Spirit that I might know that the Book of Mormon is true.

My experience that summer of reading the Book of Mormon and fervently pouring out my heart in prayer changed my life. Before the summer was half over, it seemed I had walked into a whole new dimension of life. The unseen things of the Spirit started to become more real than the things of the world. There gradually deepened in my heart the unquestionable assurance that what I was reading was true, and with that revealed assurance, Joseph Smith’s divine calling as a prophet of God emerged as my great anchor in the reality of the restoration of the gospel. With those assurances, there seemed to come to me a desire to be more personally involved in the great unfolding drama of the redemption of man, a feeling that there was a preparation to be made, a mission to be fulfilled, a reason for being. Incidentally, I’ve noticed over the years that when anyone obtains a sure testimony of the divine origins of the Church, invariably that person will get excited about doing all he or she can do to effectively build the kingdom.

As beautiful and as great as those feelings were, however, I still hadn’t glimpsed what the real pearl was. One experience I had that summer made a particularly deep impression on me and seemed to bring me a step closer to finding the pearl of greatest price. I had been irrigating alfalfa, a task that gave me several hours for reading interspersed with vocal prayer. About midmorning, I was sitting on a small bridge made of railroad ties that crossed the irrigation ditch. I was dangling my rubber boots in the water to keep my feet cool. As I sat there reading and reflecting, there came to me a quiet but particularly powerful witness of the Spirit that what I was reading was true. The feeling was so intense that I instinctively glanced heavenward. Although I didn’t see anyone or hear anything, I seemed to feel strongly the presence of Nephi—so strongly, in fact, that I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to have seen him standing there. It seemed to me that he spoke to my heart and said: I want you to know that what you’re reading is true, for I wrote it. I want you to know that I have seen the Lord and talked with him. I have been carried by his Spirit to the tops of high mountains and have been shown marvelous things. [See 2 Nephi 4:24-25.] And I want you to know he has endowed me with great power to fulfill all the commandments he has given me.

What a great assurance it was for me to feel so deeply and powerfully the truth of Nephi’s words, and especially to know of his relationship with the Lord and of the great power the Lord had given him. As the summer continued and I persisted in reading and lifting up my voice in prayer, there came into my heart, by the power of the Spirit, an even greater and more exciting idea, an idea that helped me leam more fully what the gospel was really all about. It seemed to come from the Spirit and reflected the testimony of Nephi. The message was: "It’s wonderful that you now know that what I have written is true, and that you know I have seen and talked with Christ and have received of his marvelous power in my life. But it is even more important for you to know that you, too, can see him as I have seen him; that you, too, can talk with him as I have; and that you, too, can obtain his mighty