Neal A. Maxwell - Even as I Am

Appreciation is gladly given for Elder James E. Talmage's work Jesus the Christ, from which I first benefited as a young missionary, but also ever since. Gratitude is also due to President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., for the painstaking way in which he converged the chronology and concepts of Jesus' ministry and teachings in his publication Our Lord of the Gospels. More recently, I have been blessed, as have many others, by the multiple and scripture-enriched volumes of my colleague, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, about the Messiah. Each of these works stands on its merits, reflecting the message, talents, and emphasis of the authors.

This volume seeks to bear my own witness and to give my own emphasis and testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 1:2; D&C 76:82.) If there are any incorrect thoughts or words in this volume, that detract from His words, may these be allowed to "fall to the ground" unheeded. (See 1 Sam. 3:19; 2 Kgs. 10:10; Alma 37:17; D&C 1:38.)
Use will be made of selected events and incidents for the purpose of discussing not only Jesus' actuality, but also His remarkable personality and His unparalleled development of the eternal attributes of the Father. These episodes will, of course, underscore His divinity, but they will also tell us much that we need to know about the personality of Jesus, since we have been told clearly that we are to strive to become as He is.
We will examine Jesus' tutoring relationship with His followers in the traditional framework, such as those involving Moses, Peter, and Paul, but also with other prophets, such as Enoch, Moroni, and Joseph Smith. We obviously learn more of Him by studying the fullness of His ministry. Studying the Savior's life at any one point provides single episodes that stir us and deservedly claim our attention. But it is the accumulation of episodes that produces awe and adoration of Himall the more reason to ponder the fullness of His ministry.

As we examine "this Jesus Christ" (3 Ne. 11:2), most of our information about His life comes through the four Gospels of the New Testament. These priceless texts chronicle that portion of His existence wherein the Savior of all mankind was, so to speak, "in residence." Prior and later, He made important visitations elsewhere, giving corroborating testimony and making additional declarations, such as to His "other sheep," as in the Americas, and, subsequently, to the so-called lost tribes. (See 3 Ne. 15:17, 21.) In these and other visits, He repeated many of His basic teachings and sermons; He also provided additional vital instructions and certain amplifications.

However, there was only one birth at Bethlehem, one period when He was a carpenter's son, one Gethsemane, one Judas Iscariot, and one Calvary. Praise be to those who preserved those precious and singular episodes in our Holy Bible!

We do not, by any means, have all that Jesus said. Some of His teachings to His closest disciples have not been shared with others, and for very appropriate reasons. (John 21:25; 3 Ne. 26:6.)

Furthermore, even where we do have His words, we learn of His facial expressions and accompanying gestures only rarely. For example, we do read about Him when He was angry (Matt. 21:12; Mark 3:5), and when He wept (John 11:35; 3 Ne. 17:21-22). We learn of the look He gave to Peter (Luke 22:61), and how He smiled upon His praying apostles and disciples (3 Ne. 19:25, 30).

Jesus clearly had the unique capacity of being able to respond truthfully to inquiries and circumstances in a manner that addressed the immediate audience as well as the needs of eventual audiences. On occasion, He said things that might have seemed stern, even harsh, at the moment in order to teach an eternal truth.

How His glorious words have held up under the scrutiny of the centuries! Though His teachings are deep in the demands made upon us, He has taught us also by explanation and example how to "be of good cheer" as we pass through the proving and tutoring process of mortality.

Acknowledgment is gladly given, therefore, to all who over the centuries have written and preserved the precious and illuminating words about our "precious Savior, dear Redeemer."

More than the usual gratitude is expressed to those who assisted with this book. Given its special focus on Jesus Christ, the rigors of writing were matched by the need for candid and thoughtful review by friendsJeffrey R. Holland, Elizabeth Haglund, Roy W. Doxey, and Lowell M. Durham, Jr.who did not disappoint. As busy and able as these friends are in their own realms, they took time to respond to an early draft and to suggest improvements that clearly affected the subsequent structure of this volume.

From another friend, Robert H. Garff, came encouragement to elaborate on the author's tribute to Jesus Christ in the October 1981 general conference of the Church.

Careful and patient editorial review has been performed by Eleanor Knowles. And perhaps the most patience of all came from Jeananne Hornbarger in the typing of the various drafts. She, too, urged me on in moments of busyness and weariness when the project might have been set aside.

As always, my wife, Colleen, was ever encouragingbut also reminding of what the focus should be, and also of the need for the book to be specifically helpful to the readers in their efforts to live as Jesus lived.

Even with the deep appreciation for the help of all the above, what is said is my responsibility and mine alone. The failures and shortcomings are clearly mine, while any real value which might appear in these pages is attributable to a Special Friend.

In a setting of irreligion or vague religion, both of which abound in our contemporary culture, not only to certify Jesus' actuality but also to write of His personality constitutes marked counterpoint.

In a permissive society that is increasingly unconcerned with virtue, it is even more unusual to testify in apostolic affirmation of the clear requirement that the Father and Jesus have undeniably laid upon us mortals: to strive, individually, to become like them.

In the scriptures, however, we encounter truths and requirements that are at the center of personal, global, and "eternal purpose... in Christ Jesus."

Much of the message of the holy scriptures concerns the nature, character, and attributes of God and His Son, Jesus Christ: "I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness."

Therefore, it becomes clear both logically and scripturally that the only real veneration of Jesus is emulation of Him. Indeed, striving to become like Him is a special way of bearing and sharing our testimony of Him.

Jesus has told us that if we truly love Him, we will keep His commandments; and keeping and doing His commandments surely puts and keeps us on the lengthy pathway to perfection.