Jeffrey R. Holland - To My Friends

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Holland, Jeffrey R., 1940 author.
[Works. Selections. 2014]
To my friends : messages of counsel and comfort / Jeffrey R. Holland.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62972-029-6 (hardbound : alk. paper)
1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsSermons. 2. Mormon ChurchSermons. 3. Sermons, American. I. Title.
BX8639.H65T6 2014
252'.09332dc232014040454
Printed in the United States of America
Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, UT
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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To my friends who love the Lord

Chapter 1

The First Great Commandment

There is almost no group in history for whom I have more sympathy than I have for the eleven remaining Apostles immediately following the death of the Savior of the world. I think we sometimes forget just how inexperienced they still were and how totally dependent upon Jesus they had of necessity been. To them He had said, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me... ?

But, of course, to them He hadnt been with them nearly long enough. Three years isnt long to call an entire Quorum of Twelve Apostles from a handful of new converts, purge from them the error of old ways, teach them the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then leave them to carry on the work until they too were killed. Quite a staggering prospect for a group of newly ordained elders.

Especially the part about being left alone. Repeatedly Jesus had tried to tell them He was not going to remain physically present with them, but they either could not or would not comprehend such a wrenching thought. Mark writes:

He taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Then, after such a short time to learn and even less time to prepare, the unthinkable happened, the unbelievable was true. Their Lord and Master, their Counselor and King, was crucified. His mortal ministry was over, and the struggling little Church He had established seemed doomed to scorn and destined for extinction. His Apostles did witness Him in His resurrected state, but that only added to their bewilderment. As they surely must have wondered, What do we do now? they turned for an answer to Peter, the senior Apostle.

Here I ask your indulgence as I take some nonscriptural liberty in my portrayal of this exchange. In effect, Peter said to his associates: Brethren, it has been a glorious three years. None of us could have imagined such a few short months ago the miracles we have seen and the divinity we have enjoyed. We have talked with, prayed with, and labored with the very Son of God Himself. We have walked with Him and wept with Him, and on the night of that horrible ending, no one wept more bitterly than I. But that is over. He has finished His work, and He has risen from the tomb. He has worked out His salvation and ours. So you ask, What do we do now? I dont know more to tell you than to return to your former life, rejoicing. I intend to go a fishing. And at least six of the ten other remaining Apostles said in agreement, We also go with thee. John, who was one of them, writes, They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately.

But, alas, the fishing wasnt very good. Their first night back on the lake, they caught nothingnot a single fish. With the first rays of dawn, they disappointedly turned toward the shore, where they saw in the distance a figure who called out to them, Children, have you caught anything? Glumly these Apostles-turned-again-fishermen gave the answer no fisherman wants to give. We have caught nothing, they muttered, and to add insult to injury, they were being called children.

Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find, enough that their nets broke, the catch filling two boats so heavily they had begun to sink.

Now it was happening again. These children, as they were rightly called, eagerly lowered their net, and they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. And over the edge of the boat, the irrepressible Peter leaped.

After a joyful reunion with the resurrected Jesus, Peter had an exchange with the Savior that I consider the crucial turning point of the apostolic ministry generally and certainly for Peter personally, moving this great rock of a man to a majestic life of devoted service and leadership. Looking at their battered little boats, their frayed nets, and a stunning pile of 153 fish, Jesus said to His senior Apostle, Peter, do you love me more than you love all this? Peter said, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.

The Savior responds to that reply but continues to look into the eyes of His disciple and says again, Peter, do you love me? Undoubtedly confused a bit by the repetition of the question, the great fisherman answers a second time, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.

The Savior again gives a brief response, but with relentless scrutiny He asks for the third time, Peter, do you love me? By now surely Peter is feeling truly uncomfortable. Perhaps there is in his heart the memory of only a few days earlier when he had been asked another question three times and he had answered equally emphaticallybut in the negative. Or perhaps he began to wonder if he misunderstood the Master Teachers question. Or perhaps he was searching his heart, seeking honest confirmation of the answer he had given so readily, almost automatically. Whatever his feelings, Peter said for the third time, Lord,... thou knowest that I love thee.