Christ is mighty to save. He commands us to repent and be born again in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Our testimony of the Savior gives us strength to obey. Joy centers in our testimony of Jesus Christ and in the confirmation that others who are in our care are likewise motivated by the testimony of the Savior. Elder Neal A. Maxwell eloquently confirms this truth:
At the gate to heaven, Christ, the King of kings, waits for us with open arms. He awaits not only to certify us, but also to bestow a Shepherd’s divine affection upon His sheep as we come Home. The reality that, if we are worthy, we should one day be so warmly received by the Lord of lords and King of kings is marvelous beyond comprehension!
Yet He cannot fully receive us until we fully follow Him. His love for us is unconditional and perfect, but ours for Him is clearly not. Being just, He cannot deviate from His standards by giving us blessings without our obedience to the laws upon which such blessings are predicated. His devotion to truth is such that even in His mercy, He cannot lie, including to Himself, about our readiness. He knows our weaknesses, but, mercifully, He also knows how to succor us as we seek to cope with them. And whatever weaknesses remain in us, He will tutor us and train us to exculpate these, if we will but let Him.
Let others, if they choose, advocate lesser lords or causes for mankind. Only Jesus, truly and fully, advocates the basic and central cause of mankind. Christ’s advocacy is advocacy with perfect empathy and mercy. Being sinless Himself, the wounds and scars He bears are actually ours. After all, He was “wounded for our transgressions.” He loved us so dearly that He voluntarily laid down His life for us. Furthermore, even though He gives us demanding commandments and stern tasks, He has mercifully promised to prepare a way for us to keep and to fulfill all of them.
Oh, how glorious and wonderful is “this Jesus Christ”!
If contemplating the doing of all these things—to become more and more like Him—makes us feel discouraged, intimidated, and overwhelmed, we need to remember that He never said it all had to be done in a day. Rather, if we could not travel fast, we could at least be steadfast and press forward, doing things in wisdom and order and in a pattern of paced progress, first achieving correct direction and then added momentum. It is the labor of a lifetime and more. (Even As I Am [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982], 33–34)