3 Nephi 27

3 Nephi 27:21

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

Is it me or is this something we focus on with primary aged members of the church but tend to focus less on with ourselves (Adult members of the Church)? I tend to take this scripture pretty literally. If the point of this life is to become like our Heavenly Father then we must follow Jesus because he is like our Heavenly Father. Let me propose an alternate slogan to "What Would Jesus Do?" Here it is: "What Did Jesus Do?" Because the works that we have seen him do we should also do. The answers to this question range from the general: He kept his Fathers commandments. He ministered to the sick and afflicted. He prayed. He finished the work that God gave him to do. To the more specific: He was baptized. He blessed and administered the Sacrament. He prayed that we might all become one with Him and God.

But for me the most important work that he did and one that I have found to be quite applicable to my own life is the atonement. The atonement falls into the category of "a work that we have seen him do that we must also do" in 2 major ways. First was that he willingly suffered the terrible pains of the atonement because it was God's will.

Matthew 26:39, 42

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

We might seek Father in Heaven's will in many of the choices we make in life but do we willingly submit ourselves to the worst trials that life has to offer? We are not like Jesus, we are merely mortal, but luckily we have not been asked to suffer an infinite amount of pain. But perhaps we are required to experience a proportional amount of suffering. We will have suffering in this life. It is part of the plan. And we must strive to be like Jesus and suffer it willingly, enduring it well until the end.

The second way that the atonement is "a work that we have seen him do that we must also do" is in that through the atonement Jesus took upon himself the pains and sicknesses of all the people of the world. Now again we are not like Jesus in that we are merely mortal, but if we have been baptized then we have made a covenant to bear one another's burdens (Mosiah 18:8-9). Each of us can follow Jesus example by striving to take upon ourselves the trials and afflictions of our friends and family and neighbors. This can apply to more than just physical afflictions, even to sins as did the Saviors atonement. For example we all have friends or family neighbors who struggle with certain sins (as everyone does) if they choose to let us know about it, we can talk to them about it openly and pray for them privately. We can help shoulder the weight of their failures and comfort and inspire them and when they overcome we will certainly share in the joy of their success (I write from personal experience).

3 Nephi 27:27

...Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

Why should we limit ourselves? The purpose of this life is to become like the Savior. While there will always remain great distinctions (no one should ever pray in our name, and no one can ever receive forgiveness through us) I think that we can take this charge to be like him further in every aspect of our lives.