Brothers and Sister, I am happy to be here with you today. President Jeppesen asked that I accompany him this week, and I happily agreed. I have integrated thoughts and quotes from Steven Sharp Nelson of the Piano Guys during next week’s Follow Him podcast together with the talk by Elder Wakolo, called Come Unto Christ – Together.

When we hear the word together some of us might say with shock, “Together! I struggle to even come unto Christ alone.” Today, many of us feel burdened to live certain expectations. These pressures come from work, family, school, church, or even God.

Counterfeits to Coming Unto Christ

Additionally, many counterfeits exist out there that definitely impede this process. I recently read an article called Can You Really Raise A Teen Today Without A Smartphone? by Melanie Hempe, RN. The premise of this article was very intriguing, and I agree with most of what was said. One particular part stood out to me about the author talking with her friends during a lunch:

I remember every detail and emotion of that eye-opening, fork-in-the-road moment. I was out to lunch with a close group of mom friends, all had 16-year-old daughters. They asked me about my daughter’s upcoming birthday. When I mentioned that I was going to upgrade my phone and give my old smartphone to my daughter, they all very firmly and loudly said, “Whatever you do, do not get her a smartphone—you will lose her!” I was stunned. They continued to talk and share stories of their smartphone woes.

“Our girls have them, and it has been the worst parenting decision we ever made. All they do is take silly selfies and stay up all night texting each other and searching the internet instead of doing their homework. They stick their tongue out and take pictures all day. They take pictures of their food, their pimples, their socks, their dogs going to the bathroom, and any embarrassing things going on in our home. Then they send it to each other on Snapchat, Instagram, and group texts that we can’t follow at all. If they have a smartphone, they will have social media. At 16, they are still obsessed with silly, stupid middle-school jokes and bathroom humor. They are regressing and not growing up, so we emphatically say, ‘Don’t do it, Melanie!’”

She decided to heed their advice and goes on to list 16 major benefits of restricting access which I will not cover in my talk.

I understand this is a personal decision whether your child should have a phone. I also want us to consider our own phone usage. In some ways, I feel our phones host some of Satan’s greatest counterfeits:

1. “Friends” over real companionship.
2. Glorified reels over reality.
3. Streaks instead of personal growth.
4. And so on…

What counterfeits do we go to, to get our dopamine fix? Have you ever eventually disconnected from the endless scroll of social media, continuing to watch YouTube recommendations, playing countless hours of video games, etc. and then felt worse about yourself? I have! Social media engines are built to get you craving more. The more you use, the more these companies make. The highest form of currency is YOU! Some of the developers behind the ideas in use today regret programming things the way they are because they see their consequences and the impact it has had on society.

Now with AI, things are only accelerating for good and bad. AI can generate real-looking images and videos of people doing things they wouldn’t normally do or wouldn’t share with others. Some of these may be politically driven or sexually explicit. All it takes is an image and a few seconds of someone’s voice, and I could use AI to make someone say or do virtually anything. Some use AI as a substitute where they feel empty like an AI girlfriend. It is terrifying how these technologies can be used.

These technologies keep vying for us to keep coming back. Satan would have us come unto things like this and be distracted, so we forget about Christ and don’t come unto Him. It wants to entice us to believe that which isn’t real, cause divisions among us, and live lives contrary to the principles of the gospel. My wife and I recently listened to a wonderful video series by Elder Gong on AI called, Faith, Dignity and Human Flourishing: Hearing God’s Voice in an Age of Artificial Intelligence. I strongly encourage everyone watch it.

The 2007 landmark talk by President Oaks on Good, Better, Best stands stronger even today serving as a good barometer, causing us reflect on the best usage of our time. Despite the excellent premise of this talk, some of us might feel like a member in Steven Sharp Nelson’s (Piano Guys) ward, “You are all talking about Good, Better, Best, but some of us are really struggling just to get to good.” Have you felt that way? Have you felt you aren’t good enough? Have you felt you aren’t meeting expectations?

Coming Unto Christ First

I am here to say, every day will not be your best, many will not even be better days, heck some days might not even be good days. This is true especially with all the counterfeits vying for our attention. Not all my days are good. Hearing the news from family about the loss of a loved one or family choosing to leave the church were not good days for me. The days I get in heated arguments with opinionated teenagers are not good days for me. The struggle is real. In these situations, I feel low. I feel hope dissipates. I feel despair. I almost feel I can’t come back to having good days again. Satan loves when you and I feel this way. There is hope though. Elder Wakolo says, “Because of Jesus Christ, all can receive the gift of eternal life—which includes living in God’s presence eternally as families.” And as Nephi states in 2 Nephi 26:33, “For … he denieth none that come unto him … and all are alike unto God.” I repeat, all are alike unto God and all can receive eternal life. Note here that they didn’t say some, neither did they say few, nor did they say only those who have lived perfect lives, it says all. So, who is part of this group all?

1. Turn and look at the person next to you. They are.
2. Think of someone you may not have the best relationship with. Yes, they are included as well.
3. Close your eyes. Now, think about one person…you! You are part of this group “all”. Say it to yourself, “I am.”

Elder Wakolo says, “You are essential to God’s plan.” You will not be denied. The only thing you can truly surrender to God is your will. We learn in Alma 42, this life is a time of probation to prepare to meet God. Let’s use this time to joyfully repent. Steven Sharp Nelson said, “If you are asking, ‘How do I turn my life over to God?’ You are already doing it.”

In the 1988 December Ensign, President Benson remarked that, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.” President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” Ensign. Dec. 1988.

Coming Unto Christ Together

Coming unto Christ ourselves is a crucial first step to coming unto Christ together. When I am “in the service of my fellow beings” (Mosiah 2:17), I feel the most joy according to the promise of D&C 18:16. Many times, we may feel our efforts are in vain. Steven Sharp Nelson states:

If your success is predicated contingent on something you can’t control, you will never be happy. Instead, what if our definition of success was, “I love my child and they know.” Base your definition of success on something you can control, and your life will change.

I liken it to gardening. We all know that the seed “is planted long before it breaks the soil.” As a gardener, I grow a variety of fruits and veggies including carrots, broccoli, pears, plums, peaches, apples, raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, beans, and my personal favorite sugar snap peas. Oftentimes, I plant these sugar snap peas and day after day there is no sign of any growth. I wonder what is taking so long or become impatient. In the past, I have had thoughts about pulling the soil away to check if anything is happening. Other times, I might have continued to give the plant water thinking it needs more (possibly doing more harm than good). Sometimes I worry endlessly even though I have no ability to change the outcome. The opposite is true that if I completely neglect a plant, it will wither too (just ask the plant I neglected in my office for two months). Likewise, do we plant seeds of the gospel but metaphorically stir the dirt by pressure or stop showing friendship because someone isn’t interested or has differing opinions? When I plant a seed and occasionally water it, the seeds do eventually sprout. Not all seeds grow though, while others grow in abundance.

In my case, my mom left church many years ago. She has tried to pull me away as well. I have decided it is more important to just love her. This has kept the door open for important conversations. Although we still disagree, her eyes have been opened in ways that I don’t think would have been possible if I had taken a different approach. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, to love God and love our neighbor, even those that are hard to love. In this way, the gospel of Jesus Christ serves as a bridge instead of a wedge. Elder Wakolo says, “We must ensure that our discipleship reflects the Savior’s patience, His gentleness, and His perfect love.” He shares one example of this:

In Farmington, Utah, there lived a good man named Bob Hasenyager, who was not yet a member of the Church. His wife, Marlene, was devoted to the gospel. She honored her covenants quietly and patiently, never pressuring—only loving. Bob was serving and helping in the local ward. One day the stake president asked Bob, “Are you aware that your wife longs to attend the temple but still waits, not wanting to hurt you?” Bob wept when he was told this. Then he gave his full support. Marlene received her endowment and began attending the temple regularly. Bob noticed something different: not pressure, not argument, but peace. Then one day a young missionary simply suggested Bob be baptized on a specific date. In Bob’s words: “I felt the Holy Ghost. I felt warmth and joy and peace. I finally had my answer.” Bob was baptized. He was later diagnosed with terminal cancer. He and Marlene were sealed four months before he passed away.

Steven Sharp Nelson states that, “Life is not in our expectations but the space between them. When our expectations aren’t met, we are experiencing a divide between human time and divine time. The tension between our time and God’s time is tense indeed. Faith is that resolution will occur but on God’s time.” Elder Wakolo further supports this by saying, “God keeps His promises—but in His timing. These stories are not about statistics. They are about souls. The Savior never forces. He invites. He blesses. He fulfills promises according to faith and faithfulness.” Let’s not let anyone “sit alone” as Elder Gong mentioned in a conference and during our stake conference.

President Jeppesen and I created an unbreakable friendship through our callings together. We have literally come unto Christ together in many ways. We have the privilege of being on the front seats of seeing youth, both young men and young women, come unto Christ together. The miracles we have seen are real. Seeing:

1. Youth with no testimony to youth experiencing a testimony for the first time.
2. Youth who question their value to youth knowing their worth.
3. Youth who sit alone to youth who sit with others.
4. Youth who feel lost to youth who find Christ and feel His companionship.

Bear testimony…