Apostolic Witness

January 17, 2010 in Jesus Christ by Greg | 8 comments

In the quote below, M. Catherine Thomas related a personal experience she had with her husband, twelve other mission presidents and their wives, in Buenos Aires in 1997. In this account Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, referred to his own apostolic witness of Christ’s resurrection:

Doubting Thomas by Caravaggio It was mid-morning in the Area Offices in Buenos Aires, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife were due to arrive, but had been delayed by an emergency in a distant place. With little sleep and little time to refresh themselves, they entered our seminar room. After Elder Holland greeted each of us personally, he stood in the semicircle formed by some thirteen mission presidents and their wives and said, “We are not yet the Church of Jesus Christ.” His context was “the real way to do missionary work,” but the larger meaning of his principles went down into our hearts. “I testify that we are preparing for something, and there is a big gap between what we are and what we must become. I don’t know when the Savior will come, but the work is going very fast – faster than you think.”

“Why isn’t it easier?” he asked. “Because,” he answered, “we don’t believe in cheap salvation or cheap grace. We have to be pushed to the limit, back to the wall. Then the angels come and God speaks: ‘Be patient, Ill give you success. The only way out is through.’ We have to drink the bitter cup, even though we’re wanting, wishing for, another way. The Savior is the model: ‘I’ll drink the bitter cup to its dregs.’ The last words he said in the Old World were, ‘I will finish.’ The first words in the New World were, ‘I did finish.’ He suffered the will of the Father. This is required of all of us too. We bow our head and say, ‘Yes.’ That’s when all the miracles happen. We must be stretched as we can be, and then God will step in with His power.”

Then this: “If there are no miracles, it’s because we don’t want them. The majority don’t have miracles because they don’t live where miracles happen. When we become as obedient as Christ, we will have miracles.” He paraphrased the little French poem about our having to risk coming to the edge in order to experience the miraculous: “God says to us: ‘Come to the edge.’ ‘No, I’ll fall.’ ‘Come to the edge.’ ‘No, I’ll fall.’ ‘Come to the edge.’ So, I came to the edge, He pushed me, and I flew.”1

Then he paused and said, “I love Jesus Christ and have a relationship I cannot really share. He is the most compelling theme in my life – a very rewarding obsession. I have often borne witness: Now I AM a witness. I am a witness of the Resurrection in the same sense as Peter, James, John, Brigham, and Wilford.” His witness is the fruit of unconditional commitment.2

Elder Holland’s apostolic witness is similar to David O. McKay’s testimony in the post Partakers of the Divine Nature.

Sources:

  1. Based on my notes from the Mission Presidents Seminar, Buenos Aires, October 1997.↩
  2. Thomas, M. Catherine. Light in the Wilderness: Explorations in the Spiritual Life. Orem, Utah: Amalphi Publishing, 2008. 318-319.↩

Tags: Jeffrey R. Holland, Jesus Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Resurrection, Testimony

  2. JaredNo Gravatar on January 17, 2010 at 4:33 pm

    Thanks for this post and for putting together a very fine blog.

  3. GregNo Gravatar on January 17, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    Thank you Jared.

  4. S.FauxNo Gravatar on January 17, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Do you have a scriptural reference for the phrase “I did finish” attributed to Jesus? I cannot find anything.

  5. GregNo Gravatar on January 17, 2010 at 9:28 pm

    I believe he may have had reference to 3 Nephi 9:16. The Savior had said at the beginning of his ministry:

    Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)

    Then later, while on the cross he stated:

    When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30).

    If my interpretation of Mrs. Thomas’ notes are correct, Elder Holland may have had reference to the Savior’s statement to the people that he had “finished” or “fulfilled” the will of the Father during His mortal ministry.

    In this context, it is worth contemplating that he was now offering to fulfill another part of his ministry as promised a few verses later in 3 Nephi 9:20 (see also the post Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit).

  6. S.FauxNo Gravatar on January 18, 2010 at 12:22 am

    Thanks for the clarification. Great post, as usual!!

  7. GregNo Gravatar on January 18, 2010 at 9:26 am

    Thank you S. Faux, you’re very kind.

  8. sue maxwellNo Gravatar on April 17, 2010 at 10:16 am

    This story is in the last chapter of her book, entitled “The End of the Wilderness Journey: Seeking Perfection and Election.” In it she talks about the necessity to do all we were asked to do in the pre-mortal world and to seek to have our calling and election made sure. There are many quotes, and the chapter talks about members who are half committed, totally committed, and who seek perfection no matter the circumstances. Right after relating this story she notes that the same sacrifice that the Savior made is required of us at a different level and site DC 138:12-13.

    She talks about three circles, with the Savior at the center- the next circle being the General Assembly and the Church of the Firstborn, and then the the membership. We are to help one another and to seek to fulfill this calling, and our missions- so we can say our work is finished, also.