Chapter 13

Principle #5

A Priesthood Holder’s Identity Becomes Christlike

I am made all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some.

—1 Corinthians 9:22

Ministering—blessing, supporting, and loving—is at the heart of priesthood service. An effective priesthood holder becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, in large part, to help others come unto Christ (see Moroni 7:48). Being a faithful disciple in order to help others become faithful disciples is the purpose behind every priesthood calling in the Church.1

Priesthood holders, however, may be unaware that their own attitudes and attributes may hinder their ministry. I learned this from an interaction we had with a friend in South Africa. My friend was a former stake president, mission president, and Regional Representative. He said, “We South Africans don’t like to be told what to do by Americans.” It caused me to ask why he would say this. At the time, I was serving as the Area President of the Africa Southeast Area of the Church. What did this statement say about how our friend saw me? How did his view of me affect my ability to effectively minister?

After consideration, I concluded that as a priesthood holder I had to do two things. First, I had to make a conscientious effort to view others without my prejudices and biases. Second, I had to help others minimize whatever prejudices and biases they might have related to me. Everyone naturally sees the world through his or her own filters or lenses. These filters may include nationality, race, traditions, profession, or culture. They express themselves as preferences for language, appearance, or habits.

Such filters may prevent a priesthood holder from seeing a person as he or she truly is—a son or daughter of God. The priesthood holder needs to plead with Heavenly Father to eliminate personal filters. His goal should be to see others as God sees them and minister to others as the Savior did. In doing so, he will subjugate his personal identity for the sake of claiming a higher identity, an identity as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

“If any man come to me, and hate [the Greek word translated as “hate,” miseo, means to “love me more” or “put me first”] not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

As the priesthood holder puts his discipleship before his own identity, he will see others more clearly and minister more effectively. Clearly seeing people as they really are has a profound impact.

My medical career focused on patients who were very ill, those with heart failure. One of the treatments for heart failure is a heart transplant. I cared for many patients who waited for and received new hearts. Over time, I saw too many individuals succumb to their illness. Sometimes I kept an emotional distance, a clinical objectivity, to avoid feeling overwrought each time a patient passed away. I would tell myself that at least the patient received the best care that could have been given.

On one occasion, my clinical objectivity shattered. A young man, Chad, developed heart failure. At age eighteen, he underwent a heart transplant. He did well for many years and tried to live as normal a life as possible. Chad’s efforts were heroic. He served a mission and contributed to the happiness and joy of his parents and other family members. Fifteen years after his transplant, Chad’s health began to decline, and he was repeatedly hospitalized. One evening, Chad was brought to the emergency room in cardiac arrest. My medical team worked for a long time trying to save him, but the attempt failed. Eventually, I directed that the resuscitative efforts cease and declared Chad dead.

I felt sadness and disappointment but objectively thought, “Well, at least he had many good years.” This emotional distance completely disappeared as Chad’s parents were brought into the emergency room bay where Chad lay dead on a stretcher. In that moment, I saw Chad through the eyes of his loving parents. I saw the love, hope, and desires they had for him. I could not stop my tears as I sensed the great sadness Chad’s parents felt.

Seeing Chad through his parents’ eyes changed me. I have since had a heightened awareness of the need to see others here on earth as Heavenly Father sees them. A priesthood holder is forever changed if he too can see through heaven’s eyes. Once a priesthood holder eliminates his natural biases and prejudices, he can help those he serves minimize their prejudices and biases toward him. When he is recognized as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it makes it possible for those he serves to look past the man.

The Apostle Paul described his own need to eliminate filters in order to be an effective priesthood holder:

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews . . .

To them that are without law, [I became] as without law . . . that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

And this I do for the gospel’s sake. (1 Corinthians 9:19–23)

Paul knew that to be effective as a priesthood holder, he needed to accentuate the characteristics that made him like those to whom he was called to minister. Paul wanted others to look past his outward characteristics and see a disciple of Jesus Christ. Similarly, priesthood holders must become genuine disciples of the Jesus Christ in order to effectively minister. They can do this only with the Lord’s help, as He has said, “My grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness” (Ether 12:26). Through His grace, the priesthood holder’s outward characteristics diminish so that all others see is a disciple of the Savior.

A priesthood holder who is serious about incorporating the attributes of Jesus Christ into his character may find it helpful to consider the following:

• Though omniscient, Jesus Christ never acted like an insufferable know-it-all. How can a priesthood holder ensure that his education and knowledge are not barriers to others?

• Though omnipotent and having overcome all things, Jesus Christ was meek and humble. How can a priesthood holder ensure that he is meek and humble in the face of his own accomplishments?

• Though capable of the loftiest language, Jesus spoke in simple terms, seeking to be understood by those He taught. How can a priesthood holder ensure that he speaks and teaches to the understanding of others?

Note

1. Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), section 3.1.