By Brian Liddiard, formerly 2nd Councilor of the Cedar Park Texas Stake Presidency

Brian presented this talk on January 14, 2024. It is so inspired and chock-full of scriptural reasons as to why we want to be disciples of Jesus Christ that I feel his message needs to be shared with as many as possible. He kindly agreed. This is published with his permission.

The main reason I strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is my in-depth testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and His restored church in the latter days.

I believe that most of us are hard-wired to strengthen our testimonies by favoring either study or faith. As an accountant by training, I tend to rely more on study than by faith, but both aspects are critical to me and frequently the Holy Ghost confirms the truthfulness of a gospel principle while I study it. Sometimes my faith can wane, and my testimony based on my study sustains me. Other times, my testimony based on study can be questioned, so then I must rely on my faith. Ideally, both study and faith are needed for building strong testimonies. (D&C 88:118)

My testimony of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is based on the following five categories:

1. Pronouncements testifying of Jesus from Heavenly Father;
2. Testimony from the Savior Jesus Christ Himself;
3. Accounts of miracles performed by the Savior;
4. Testimony about the Savior Jesus Christ given by angels who dwell in the presence of God; and,
5. Testimonies of the Savior Jesus Christ by prophets, seers, and revelators in our day.

Pronouncements from Heavenly Father

The scriptures have recorded at least six pronouncements made by Heavenly Father: in the pre-mortal council, to Adam, at the baptism of the Savior, at the transfiguration of the Savior, to the Nephites in the Land Bountiful and, lastly, to the 14-year-old boy, Joseph Smith.

We learn in Moses 4:1-4, Heavenly Father’s account of what took place in the pre-mortal council in heaven. He clearly explains why He chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Redeemer: “And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan…came before me saying – Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me – Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I the Lord God, had given him…I caused that he should be cast down. And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.”

In His instructions to Adam and Eve, Heavenly Father explained why He had placed them on earth and the conditions for Adam, Eve, and their posterity to receive the Holy Ghost and salvation (Moses 6:51-52): “And He called upon our father Adam by His own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all they transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…”

At the Savior’s baptism by John the Baptist, Heavenly Father declared Jesus to be His beloved Son and He instructed His children to hear Jesus. Please refer to Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 9:7; and Luke 9:34-36.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Heavenly Father again stated that Jesus was His beloved Son and that His children should hear Him. Please refer to Matt. 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, and Luke 9:28-36.

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites on the American continent after being introduced by Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father testified that Jesus is his Beloved Son and that all His children should hear Him (3 Nephi 11:7).

Heavenly Father’s last recorded pronouncement was to the boy Joseph Smith, Jr., when He and the Savior appeared to Joseph and the Father declared: “Joseph-this is My Beloved Son, hear Him.” (see Joseph Smith History, v. 17)

Pronouncements from the Savior

There is no ambiguity in my mind that Jesus testified that He is the Christ. Here are five instances when He did so:

• To the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:14-16;
• To the woman of Samaria at the well in John 4:25-26;
• To Caiaphas the high priest of the Sanhedrin as recorded in Mark 14:61-62;
• To the Nephites on the American continent after His resurrection, as found in 3 Nephi 11:10-11, 14-17. In these six verses we learn why the Book of Mormon can rightfully be called “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” as 2,500 Nephites became personal witnesses to the reality of the resurrected Jesus Christ.
• Finally, to the Prophet Joseph Smith in a revelation in March 1830, as recorded in D&C 19:1-2, 16-19, and 24.

Miracles Performed by Jesus

I believe in Christ because of the many miracles which He performed. Based on my research, the Savior performed 37 New Testament-recorded miracles during His ministry on earth. All 37 are recorded by at least one of the four Gospel writers. All His miracles were amazing. Most notable are His walking on water, calming of the storm, the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and then the 4,000, healing 11 individuals with leprosy, healing the blindness of at least six individuals, and healing the woman with the issue of blood. Most notably, He raised three individuals from the dead: the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus, the brother of Martha when Lazarus had been dead for over three days.

 After the pronouncements by Heavenly Father, by the Savior Himself, and after seeing 37 miracles, did the Jewish people and leaders believe in Christ? Some did and became His disciples; but, most people did not believe (as recorded in John 12:37, 42-43). The last part of that scripture states that “…because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

We have the same choice today. Will we trust in Christ and pay the sometimes-heavy price of being His disciple? Or will we seek the praise of men and go along with the ways of the world? I exhort you to stand with Christ.

The greatest miracle of the Savior and the paramount evidence of His Divine Sonship is His glorious Resurrection from the dead. James Talmage states in Jesus the Christ that there were eleven appearances to others by the Savior between His Resurrection and His Ascension. These visitations stand as testimony that the Savior’s resurrection was, and is, a reality:

1. To Mary Magdalene, near the sepulchre (Mark 16:9, 10; John 20:14);
2. To Mary and others, between the sepulchre and Jerusalem (Matt 28:9);
3. To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13);
4. To Peter, in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5);
5. To ten of the apostles (minus Thomas) at Jerusalem (Luke 24:36; John 20:19);
6. To the eleven apostles (including Thomas) at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14, John 20:26);
7. To the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21);
8. To the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matt 28:16);
9. To 500 brethren at once, probably in Galilee (1 Cor 15:6);
10. To James (1 Cor 15:7); and,
11.  To the eleven apostles at the ascension of Christ at the Mount of Olives (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51).

Testimonies of the Savior by Angels who Dwell in the Presence of God

As a further witness of the Savior, the following individuals in the New Testament received visits from angels, who dwell in the presence of God, who proclaimed to them the divinity of Jesus Christ:

1. To Mary, visited by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38);
2. To shepherds abiding in the field the night the Savior was born (Luke 2:8-16);
3. To Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary at the empty tomb (Luke 24:1-7); and,
4. To the eleven apostles at the Ascension of Christ (Acts 1:9-11).

In the Book of Mormon, we learn that angels visited many individuals, including Lehi, Nephi, Laman and Lemuel, Jacob, King Benjamin, Alma the Younger and the four sons of Mosiah, Amulek, brothers Nephi and Lehi, Samuel the Lamanite, and the Nephites at the Land Bountiful. I will address just one those visits by angels which was to King Benjamin because it is my personal favorite. It’s recorded in 25 verses in Mosiah, chapter 3, verses 3 to 27.  All but two of the 25 verses directly testify of the Savior Jesus Christ, His life, His ministry, His miracles, His Atonement and His resurrection and His judgment of men.

Please note that when the angel of God visited King Benjamin (Mosiah 3:3-27), he did not talk about methods of government, roadbuilding, better agriculture, homebuilding, irrigation projects or even how to defeat their enemies the Lamanites in battle. Instead, he used 92% of his statements testifying of the divinity of the Savior. Why? Because that is the most important information an angel could give to King Benjamin. And King Benjamin stood on a tower shortly thereafter and proclaimed the angel’s message to his people, and all who heard his message were converted to the Lord.

Mosiah 3 is a very powerful chapter, and it includes a roadmap for us in verse 19 for how we need to become disciples of Jesus Christ. “For the natural man is an enemy of God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” Remember, these words were delivered to King Benjamin by an angel of God. We should trust angels from the presence of God when they testify that Jesus is the Christ.

Testimonies of the Savior by Prophets, Seer, and Revelators in our Day

In our day, numerous apostles and prophets have testified of the divinity of the Savior. On January 1,2000, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles penned their testimony of the Savior in a document titled, “The Living Christ.” In addition to their testimony, the document includes the following testimony of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.”

When I review all the foregoing testimonies about the Savior, I cannot comprehend how anyone could not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But if someone doubts because the events in the New Testament took place almost 2,000 years ago, we have modern scripture in the Book of Mormon that also confirms the reality that Jesus is the Christ.

From my study, my testimony to each of you is that it was physically impossible for Joseph Smith to have written the Book of Mormon. With all due respect, and a lot of respect is due to the Prophet Joseph, he had a third-grade education at that time. He was only 23 years old when he transcribed the ancient record with the power of God. At that time, he could barely write a grammatical sentence, let alone write a book so inspired, so majestic, so uplifting, and so intricate as the Book of Mormon.

From my heart, my testimony to each of you is that the Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It took me about six attempts at prayer to get my answer but I’m positive I received an answer which I cannot forget.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It stands as proof that Joseph Smith was called as the Prophet of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days. The priesthood of God has been restored to the earth. The church today is led by the Savior Himself through his current prophet President Russell M. Nelson.

That is why I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. And that is why I exhort each of you to be the best disciple of Jesus Christ that you can be.