by John Horning

Here’s the text of a talk I gave in Sacrament meeting yesterday.  It doesn’t look like much, but I spent a lot of time on this – didn’t get to bed until 3:45 AM Sunday morning.  Ruby stayed up with me working on this, which was really sweet of her.

Today I’ve been asked to speak on the subject of how we can use the example of the Savior as a guide in our life.  Jesus Christ has been described as the perfect mentor, or the perfect example for us to follow.  Why is that?  We know he is the redeemer of the world, the only perfect man to ever walk the earth and he has experienced more than anyone of us.  But the reason he is the perfect mentor is because he was tutored by and perfectly emulates his Heavenly Father who is the father of us all.  We in turn have been asked to emulate him.

Elder Neal A.Maxwell, in speaking of Christ as the perfect mentor, noted that Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). When we read this we usually think of their physical appearances, but He was also speaking of seeing Their perfect examples and all the divine attributes embodied in Their majestic leadership.

Furthermore, the Master likewise told us who His own Exemplar is: “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).

He who is our Great Redeemer was fully qualified to become such, because He was and is the Great Emulator! We, in turn, have been asked to emulate Him: “What manner of men [and women] ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27).

Why do we need to emulate Christ?  In the Book of John the Savior said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.“ and in a  later verse “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Considering the Savior’s great promise for peace in this life and eternal life in the life to come, discipleship is a price worth paying. It is a price we cannot afford not to pay. By measure, the requirements of discipleship are much, much less than the promised blessings.

At every stage in life, we face challenges.  They can range from problems in our relationships with friends and family, difficult decisions relating to career or marriage, and raising children to financial problems, abuse, persecution, physical infirmities, loneliness and loss.   The formula for overcoming every one of these challenges is the same.  We must use the principles that Jesus taught by word and example.  They are faith, obedience to the commandments, sincere prayer, and acceptance of Heavenly Father’s will.

Faith

Elder Dallin H Oaks said this about Christ’s faith: The kind of faith that includes trust in the Lord stands in contrast to many imitations. Some people trust no one but themselves. Some put their highest trust in a friend or another family member, perhaps because they feel that person is more righteous or more wise than they. But that is not the Lord’s way. He told us to put our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Savior gave us the model for that kind of faith and trust. Remember how he prayed to the Father in the agony of Gethsemane? This was the culminating event of his life, the climactic fulfillment of his mission as our Savior. The gospel of Luke, as corrected in the inspired translation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, describes how he knelt down and prayed: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done” (JST, Luke 22:42).

Here we see the Savior’s absolute faith and trust in the Father. “Nevertheless,” he said, “not my will, but thine be done.” The Father’s answer was to deny the plea of his Only Begotten Son.

When we try to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than merely cultivating faith as an abstract principle of power, we understand the meaning of the Savior’s words: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moro. 7:33).

Obedience

Christ was the perfect model of obedience.  His entire life was characterized by his total willingness to submit to the will of His Father. Despite His godly status, He acknowledged His Father with deference at every turn and obeyed His divine will and direction. At the beginning of His mortal ministry, He obediently sought baptism from John the Baptist “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). Soon Christ was subjected to intense personal temptation by Satan. Christ’s unwavering commitment to His Father is reflected in His steadfast refusal to stray a single step from the straight and demanding course laid before Him by divine decree and eternal law. Satan’s will was rejected at every turn (see Matt. 4:3–11).

Christ’s ultimate submission to the will of the Father was as He drank the bitter cup of suffering in Gethsemane, at His scourging, and in His Crucifixion on Golgotha. His submissive attitude is reflected in His words, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). His example of unhesitating, unswerving obedience sets a very high bar, but when we accept His admonition to “be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Ne. 12:48) as a key element of the plan of eternal progression, we begin to understand what the Lord expects us to be.

Prayer

Elder Russell M. Nelson said this about prayer: “Our prayers follow patterns and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught us how to pray. From His prayers we can learn many important lessons. “

The Lord’s Prayer, as it is called, is found in 4 places in the scriptures.  Christ  prefaced His prayer by first asking His followers to avoid “vain repetitions” and to pray “after this manner.” Thus, the Lord’s Prayer serves as a pattern to follow and not as a piece to memorize and recite repetitively.

As I recite the Lord’s Prayer, listen for lessons:

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

“Give us this day our daily bread.

“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” and

“Suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

The term “Our Father,” signifies a close relationship between God and His children. The phrase “hallowed be thy name” reflects the respect and worshipful attitude that we should feel as we pray. “Thy will be done” is another way of expressing the concept of submitting to Heavenly Father’s will, which we’ll discuss in a moment.

His request for “daily bread” includes a need for spiritual nourishment as well. Jesus, who called Himself “the bread of life,” gave a promise: “He that cometh to me shall never hunger.” And as we partake of sacramental emblems worthily, we are further promised that we may always have His Spirit to be with us. That is spiritual sustenance that cannot be obtained in any other way.

As the Lord closes His prayer, He acknowledges God’s great power and glory, ending with “Amen.”

The Lord said many prayers and taught many things about prayer, indicating it’s importance.  Likewise, we cannot take it lightly.

Submission to the will of Heavenly Father

Surely there is no greater example of submission to the will of our Heavenly Father than that of Christ’s suffering and death.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland, in the last general conference focused on the loneliness of the Savior’s final hours before his death on the cross, and how his experience could help us when we are feeling alone, but it also illustrates the Savior’s acceptance of his Heavenly Father’s will.  He said “I speak of the loneliest journey ever made and the unending blessings it brought to all in the human family. I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation. Rightly He would say: “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me. … I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold [me].”

Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”   With this final question, the Savior completed his mission, having fully submitted to the will of his Father.  Although we will not be asked for such a extreme sacrifice, the example has been set for us to submit our will to our Heavenly Father, which can sometimes mean denial of our fervent prayers.

Now let’s take a closer look at some of the less dramatic, but still important ways in which our Savior tutored his disciples.  Neal A Maxwell explained that Christ used Questions, Commendations, and Corrections in his interactions, thus giving us an example to follow as we interact with each another.

Questions

An example of a Jesus’ questions would be the one he asked Peter – “Lovest thou me?”.  This question carried with it tremendous implications. Peter’s reply “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee” then brought the Christ’s response “Feed my sheep”.  With his affirmative reply, Peter not only promised to be faithful and loyal to Jesus, which became very difficult when Jesus was arrested, but also that he would care for all of Heavenly Father’s children – a task he hardly could have comprehended at the time.

Another question which Elder Maxwell describes as “multi-dispensational” was Jesus’ question to the returning and healed leper “where are the other nine?”  It was a question not only for him, but for all of us and for all time.

Elder Maxwell points out that these kind of searching questions need to be asked in love in order to bring about the desired affect.  Asked without love, Christ’s questions would likely have little affect.

Commendations

Elder Maxwell uses the word commendations to describe the kind and complimentary words Christ’s used sometimes to teach.  For example in D&C 124, speaking of Hyrum Smith, we find a verse that I found particularly meaningful.  “I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me”.   This is certainly a good verse to keep in mind when we are facing temptations that could result in a possible loss of integrity, and thus loss of the Savior’s approval.

Referring to the Roman Centurion Jesus gave this commendation: “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”  This of course, was not only praise for the Centurion, but with his remark, Christ made it clear that the Centurion’s faith was an example for all of us to follow.

Corrections

Christ’s tutoring sometimes included corrections. To Oliver Cowdery he said “You took no thought save it was to ask”.  He was of course referring to Oliver’s request that he be allowed to translate portions of the gold plates.  Apparently Oliver, like us made a request of the Lord through prayer, but then failed to do his own part.  This can certainly be likened to us when we make similar requests of the Lord and then fail to make the required effort of our own.

Brigham Young needed to be reminded to “take especial care of your family”.  This came despite all the good things that Brigham was doing, and is a reminder that all of us need to submit to loving correction, at least occasionally.

I think it is noteworthy that Elder Maxwell used the term “corrections” to describe those times when the Lord points out error.  When we try to point out error, the word “criticism” comes to mind.  How much better to “correct”, which implies love, than to “criticize”, which is void of love.

The relationship between correction and commendation is a tricky one.  We are cautioned by Paul, interestingly enough, not to reprove others too much, causing them to “be swallowed up with over much sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7). President Brigham Young, ever practical as well as spiritual, said we should never reprove beyond the capacity of our healing balm to reach out to the person reproved (see Deseret News, 6 Mar. 1861, 1).  And of course there’s the counsel we receive in the D&C to Reprove “ betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then show  forth afterwards an increase of love”

Our lives which include our friends, families, neighbors, and coworkers currently constitute the sample of humanity which God has given us.. ..It is within these circles of influence that we can strive to carry out all the dimensions of the second great commandment. If we follow the Savior’s example as we love we will praise, commend, and occasionally correct.

I’m going to conclude with some specific things Jesus did that we can all emulate, as taught by James E. Faust.

1. Jesus “went about doing good.” We can all do something good every day—for a family member, a friend, or even a stranger—if we will look for those opportunities.

2. Jesus was the Good Shepherd who watched over his sheep and had concern for those that were lost.  We can be spiritual shepherds by being member missionaries to our friends, neighbors, and family members.  We can follow the Savior’s example as we seek out the less active and befriend them.

3. Jesus had compassion on many. He healed the sick and caused the blind to see. Although we can not do miracles like the Savior, we can do small acts of kindness to show our compassion for others. At baptism we made a covenant   “to mourn with those that mourn.”

4. Jesus bore witness of His divine mission and of His Father’s great work. We can bear our testimony of the Savior and we can “stand as witnesses of God at all times” and all places.

5. Jesus invited “the little children to come unto [Him].” Our children need our attention and love as well as our care.  We need to teach them gospel principles and of the Savior’s love.

Brothers and Sisters, I testify that Christ, having been taught by the Father, is now our perfect mentor, and is not only worthy of our emulation, but is the only way back to the Father and to the countless blessing that will be ours if we but follow his example.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Since my last post, I’ve met a telemarketer who may be the key to jump-starting my digital phone service, Rivul.com. I was looking for a job on Craigslist when I came across his ad. He was looking for telemarketers to sell phone service. Although telemarketing is not something I do well with, the fact that he was selling telephone service intruiged me. The owner’s name is Tom Canterbury and we talked by phone and decided to meet. He has been a telemarketer for a long time and has a had excellent success selling local phone service – mostly with First Communication.

by John Horning

Here we go again – yet another website “launch”.  While I realize no one has been holding their breath about this event, I’m cautiously hopeful that this might one day become at least a respected website.

I tried to get Rivul.com off the ground a couple of weeks ago, but quickly realized that’s easier said than done.  Initially, I tried an Adwords campaign, but chickened out before I had blown $100 (I accidentally spent about $60 just trying to set up a fake test campaign!).  PPC may have worked but I just didn’t have the nerve.

So I went on to plan B, which was to put my referral cards to work.  I mailed off a set to Michele Ross, an energetic woman I met on LDSMingle who lives in Dayton.  Also sent some to Jeannine Griffith who is in Arizona – she and her husband David used to live in Ohio.  She’s has a very outgoing personality, and likes me, so I thought I would take advantage of that and ask her to pass them out to her friends.  I also gave some to Paul McMahon, a fellow member of the Canton Ward (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).  He attends networking meetings and figured he wouldn’t mind passing them out.

Then I got what I thought was a brilliant idea.  I found out about some forums where the main topics have to do with Internet marketing, MLM, and home-based businesses.  I thought to myself, I’m sure there’s someone in this group that would appreciate my new product, and has a sizable following of people on his list or his downline.  I just needed to find one person with influence and the rest would be history.  Right?

So I posted a message on the board (after making the required 15 posts so I was priviledged enough to begin using HTML code in my messages).  The message decribed my VoIP telephone service with it’s great referral program, along with a link to the site.  I got a reply almost immediately from a guy who was completely full of himself and very condescending.  He ripped my website, saying it was “amateurish” and claimed it would “never convert” (make sales, in other words).  He also hated the name (Rivul) and said it was “rivulting” or something rude like that.  I pathetically tried to respond explaining that I realized the site needed a little help, but felt the product was good, and I just needed a little help from someone good at marketing.

Well it just went downhill from there.  He made another rude comment.  At that point I was totally embarrassed and demoralized and tried to figure out to get the whole post deleted.  This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen, and definitely not how they described the process of developing relationships and trust, etc. in the tutorial on forum marketing.  I went to bed that night feeling very depressed.

But the next day, I felt better.  On Craigslist, I came across a couple of new ways to earn money online – one was from a guy looking for bloggers – turned out he was trying to find a way to get people to click on Adwords just to drive up income.  I reluctantly went along with it for a couple days and then he disappeared.  I was relieved.  Anyways, the other thing I found was a way to earn by surfing – a site called ad-ventures4u.  I don’t want to go into detail, but they pay people to view ads, and I found out that, as a member, I could post ads for free for the members to view.  That started me thinking about new ways to advertise, but I was convinced that it wouldn’t work to advertise Rivul.com directly – it just didn’t have broad appeal, and it had no brand recognition.

I also thought about some of the things I had learned while studying “attraction marketing” concepts that are effective in marketing mlm products.  Slowly an idea came together in my head.  What if I had a good “capture page”, where I was myself (maybe people my age could relate) that made it sound like I had a lot of knowledge I wanted to share with people in exchange for their name and email addresses.  And after I got that, I’ll direct to, not one, but many affiliate products.  This would sure be more effective than just trying to advertise one product, like Rivul.com or even a high-converting affiliate product.  And with their contact information, I also had the chance of developing a relationship with the possibility of selling to them later.

So, the idea of an Internet Marketing “Resource and Learning Center” came about.  You can see this now at JohnHorning.com/resources.  I also decided to name the website after myself – seemed like a good idea after I learned of the power of branding yourself in my reading on attraction marketing.  I had previously felt that it might be effective to “tell my story” because maybe people could empathize with a little – you know the guy who’s down on his luck and makes a comeback.  I would love to be that guy!

Anyway, I hope you find the site useful – and maybe even occasionally entertaining.