"Jesus Christ at the Center of Our Lives"

Last updated on October 3rd, 2024 at 12:59 am

General Conference Applied

S3 E25 – Thursday, September 12, 2024 | “Jesus Christ at the Center of Our Lives” by Elder Jose L. Alonso; April 2024 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Bio

“Elder Jose L. Alonso was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2011. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the México Area. He has served as a member of the Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean Area Presidencies. He currently serves as President of the North America Southwest Area.

“Since joining the Church in 1974, Elder Alonso has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the México Hermosillo Mission, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president, counselor in a mission presidency, president of the México Tijuana Mission (2002–2005), and Area Seventy.

“Elder Alonso received a medical degree as a homeopathic physician and surgeon in 1986. Then in 1991, after attending the National Institute of Pediatrics, he received a degree in pediatric development. He has worked with the Red Cross Emergency Unit, at private clinics, and at the medical clinic of the Integral Family Development (DIF) in the State of Mexico. He has also worked for the Church as a seminary coordinator, institute director, and area director.

“Jose Luis Alonso was born in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 17, 1958. He married Rebeca Salazar in February 1981. They are the parents of two children.”
“Humility in Covenant Leadership“, Sister Rebecca L. Craven, June 18, 2024, BYU-Idaho Devotional: “My first international assignment as a counselor in the Young Women General Presidency came just a few weeks after my call. Ron and I traveled to the Caribbean Area. I admit to being quite nervous—I just didn’t want to mess anything up! Elder Jose L. Alonso, who was a counselor in the Caribbean Area Presidency, accompanied us as we visited six islands over a period of ten days. To say it was an incredible experience would be a vast understatement. At the end of our trip, I asked Elder Alonso what I could do differently as I moved forward in my new calling. I knew I had much to learn, and I hoped for some helpful, honest feedback. After some coaxing, he finally threw his hands up over his head and, with a big smile on his face and an animated voice, he said, ‘Enjoy! This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is the gospel of joy.’ He then suggested that as I meet with members of the Church throughout the world I remind them of this divine truth and to live and serve with joy!”
This was Elder Alonso’s third general conference address:
- “Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time, without Delay” – October 2011 General Conference
- “Love One Another as He Has Loved Us” – October 2017 General Conference

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “Strive to place [Jesus Christ] at the center of our lives. … Strive each day to draw nearer to Him.”

Choose to focus on Jesus Christ and to become like Him.
“When we encounter difficulties, we naturally tend to concentrate on the obstacles we face. Our challenges are tangible and command our attention, yet the principle of surmounting them is in our focus. By placing Christ at the core of our thoughts and deeds, we align ourselves with His outlook and strength. This adjustment does not discount our struggles; instead, it helps us to navigate through them under divine guidance. As a result, we discover solutions and support that arise from a higher wisdom. Adopting this Christ-centric perspective empowers us with the fortitude and insight to turn our trials into victories, reminding us that with the Savior, what seems like a major problem can become a pathway to greater spiritual progress.” -Elder Alonso
Questions:
1. What does ‘[striving] to place Jesus Christ at the center of [my life]’ and ‘striving each day to draw nearer to Him’ look like in my life?
  - followHim Podcast – Alma 32-35 – Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: “In the Doctrine and Covenants, I call them the three Ls, I put them together, one’s in section six, beautiful thing: at the very end of section six, he says, ‘Fear not, little flock. Do good. I don’t condemn you. Go your ways, sin no more, perform the work with soberness,’ and then the invitation, ‘Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.’ That’s another place where I say, ‘Boy, you hit the nail on the head, Joseph, with that one right there.
    
    “‘Look unto me in every thought,’ all day, anywhere, whenever you need. And then I go to section 19 and I get my other two in verse 23, ‘Learn of me. Listen to my words and then do something,’ look, learn, listen, and then walk in the meekness of my spirit and you will have peace. So, all my life long, I’m looking, learning and listening in every thought. I come home from work, I’m tired, I’m a little impatient, and my kids want to play. And the Lord says, ‘Mike, let me heal you. You’re a little sick right here. You just want to go and read the newspaper. Look unto me in that thought, learn of me. Listen to my words. Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven. Now, walk as I did.’
    
    “Now, what do I do? I put the paper down and I play with the kids. You have a commandment that you can’t keep, or it’s hard. It’s difficult. And the Savior says, ‘Look unto me in that thought. Learn of me. Listen to my words. Father, if it would be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. Now, walk as I walked.’ You’re having trouble forgiving somebody, and the Savior says, ‘Look unto me in that thought. Learn of me. Listen to my words. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’
    
    “It doesn’t matter what thing is happening in our life, what challenge, what joy, what fear … He’s always giving us that invitation, ‘Look, learn, listen, and you will find an answer in my life that will heal everything you need healed, that will fulfill everything you need fulfilled, that will bring you any kind of peace or any kind of joy you want.'”
  - 8/2/2024 journal entry: Following the pattern established by S. Michael Wilcox in the quote above, today two of our neighbors surprised Morgan (my wife) by taking her to dinner. Morgan fell on her tailbone last Saturday at the Lindon Pool and has been experiencing pain in her neck, shoulders, arms, and hands ever since. However, while Morgan has been experiencing this pain, I’ve been picking up the slack around the house, as well as massaging Morgan. I sometimes wish others would see the work I’m putting in and take me to dinner! However, that thought doesn’t seem quite right, so let me look to the Savior. Now, let me learn of Him and listen to His words:
    
    “Matthew 20:8-15 – ‘[8] So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. [9] And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. [10] But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. [11] And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, [12] Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. [13] But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? [14] Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. [15] Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?’
    
    “We will all reap the rewards of our consequences. Dinner is nice, but eternal life is better. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are aware of my efforts, and They will bless me abundantly in Their own way and in Their own time. I know that! And I am grateful that two good friends were willing to treat Morgan to an enjoyable night out to dinner!”
2. We have been invited ‘to place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives’. During His mortal life, how did Jesus Christ place Heavenly Father at the center of His life?
  - “In Matthew 14 we learn that after hearing of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus sought solitude. However, a large crowd followed Him. Moved by compassion and love, and not allowing His grief to distract Him from His mission, Jesus welcomed them, healing the sick among them. As evening approached, the disciples faced a daunting challenge: a multitude of people with scant food available. They proposed that Jesus send the crowd away to procure food, but Jesus, with high love and high expectations, asked the disciples to feed them instead.
    
    “While the disciples were preoccupied with the immediate challenge, Jesus demonstrated His trust in and love for His Father, coupled with an unwavering love for the people. He directed the crowd to sit on the grass, and taking only five loaves and two fish, He chose to give thanks to His Father, acknowledging God’s provision over His authority and power.
    
    “After He gave thanks, Jesus broke the bread, and the disciples distributed it to the people. Miraculously, the food not only sufficed but was abundant, with 12 baskets of leftovers. The group fed included five thousand men, along with women and children.
    
    “This miracle teaches a profound lesson: when confronted with challenges, it’s easy to become engrossed in our difficulties. However, Jesus Christ exemplified the power of focusing on His Father, offering gratitude, and acknowledging that solutions to our trials do not always lie within ourselves but with God.” -Elder Alonso
3. If Jesus Christ is not currently ‘at the center of [my life]’, then who or what is?
4. Why is ‘[striving] each day to draw nearer to [Jesus Christ]’ so important?
5. Are my current actions, thoughts, and words putting me in a position to recognize the Savior?
  - “Willing to Receive“, Elder Marion D. Hanks, April 1980 General Conference: “Long ago I heard an important story which has been helpful to me. I have not seen it in writing and therefore cannot give credit as I would like. The story has obviously been deliberately fashioned to teach in a provocative way principles in which I believe.
    
    “Over a period of time three men, as each of us ultimately will, passed from mortal life to ongoing immortality. Each, as he made the transition, at once found himself in the presence of a gracious person who made him feel comfortable and calmed his apprehensions.
    
    “Each man in turn found himself responding to questions which somehow formed in the mind and heart, vital above all other considerations. ‘What do you think of Christ? What is your relationship with him? Do you know him?’
    
    “The first man answered reluctantly, with some chagrin. He had not been, he said, one who had participated in organized religious activity. There seemed to be too much formalism, too much hypocrisy, too little real religion. Neither had he on his own sought a personal relationship with the Lord. He had been a good husband and father, an active citizen, a man of integrity, but it now came to him very clearly that he had missed the central purpose of his life, that he had been distracted from what he should have been seeking. With gratitude, he was received into a circumstance where he could begin to learn what he needed to know.
    
    “The second man had a briefer interview. Quickly perceiving the import of the questions, he quickly answered. He had, he said, been a soldier for Christ, a crusader for him in business, a spokesman for him in industry. He seemed crestfallen to be ushered after a time into a circumstance where he too could begin to learn what he needed to know.
    
    “The third traveler came into the presence of his host with an overwhelming sense of warmth and wonder. Understanding the questions, looking tearfully into the loving eyes of him who stood at the gate, he fell to his knees at his feet and worshiped him.
    
    “In the scripture it is written:
    
    “‘O … my beloved brethren, … the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name’ (2 Ne. 9:41).
    
    “Salvation and exaltation, I believe, are not matters of heavenly bookkeeping, but of the qualifying of the soul that comes with knowing the Lord.”
6. What can President Nelson teach us about ‘[drawing] nearer to [Jesus Christ]’?
7. Have I learned anything new about Jesus Christ recently that is inspiring me to ‘draw nearer to Him’?
  - iansimkins (Instagram) – More than 50% of Jesus’ miracles were interruptions: “More than half of the miracles of Jesus we read about in the Bible happened while He was going somewhere else or doing something else. They ‘interfered’ with the plan for the day. But He stopped anyway. …
    
    “I think the pace of Jesus might be as important as the preaching and practices of Jesus. …
    
    “I wonder how often we miss what God is doing because we hold too tightly to our own plans and agendas.
    
    “For a lot of us, we have room for God in our hearts but not our calendars. Be open to the interruptions. Efficiency is good but it’s a terrible god.” (Also shared in my September 8, 2024, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter)
8. How can I better help others to see and love Jesus Christ?
9. What does loving Jesus Christ look like?
  - “Love One Another as He Has Loved Us“, Elder Jose L. Alonso, October 2017 General Conference: “Some years ago, when our oldest grandson, Jose, was four, he was playing with my wife. While they were laughing and having a good time together, our grandson asked her, ‘Grandma, do you love me?’
    
    “She answered him, ‘Yes, Jose, I do love you.’
    
    “Then he asked her another question: ‘How do you know that you love me?’
    
    “She explained to him her feelings and also told him all she had done and was willing to do for him.
    
    “Later my wife asked Jose the same questions, including this penetrating inquiry: ‘How do you know that you love me?’
    
    “With an innocent but sincere response, he said, ‘I love you because I feel it inside my heart.’ Jose’s loving behavior to his grandmother that day and always demonstrates that love is a combination of actions as well as deep feelings.”
10. Am I willing to commit to thinking about Jesus Christ more often – even always – as prophets have invited me to do?

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

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