Lord, Is It I?

Jesus watched sadly as some of his followers walked away.

Many were offended by Him and had no desire to stay.

“Will ye also go away”?, he asked those within the sound of his voice.

In this decisive moment each one had to make the right choice.

After three years of ministering, He would see it all.

He would watch many of His disciples stumble in their faith and fall.

He would experience denial, betrayal, derision and rejection

and suffer the attempts of utmost humiliation.

At the last supper, each apostle may have had an inward reflective glance

to wonder if they would betray the Lord if given the chance.

Would their character and commitment hold up under the utmost stress

or would they buckle and waver because of doubt, uncertainty or fear of arrest?

Their Master had warned them of His imminent demise -

that many would turn against him and resort to conspiracy and lies.

What would they do after He was gone?

How would they live in a world in which they felt they no longer belonged?

They had depended on Him for their very existence.

What did they think as they watched Him on the cross, giving little resistance?

How many times had their faith failed them?

How many times had they not served completely or misunderstood Him?

Can we ask ourselves the same question today?

Lord, will I be faithful, or leave you to find a new way?

Surely there are many reasons to go astray and leave the fold.

Even the very elect will be deceived, we are told.

How will we fortify ourselves that our spiritual foundation will not crack and fail?

How can we endure to the end amidst the boisterous wind and hail?

How can we remain humble and continually acknowledge our weakness to ourselves and our Maker?

Seek Him. Follow His teachings, study His words and be a truth seeker.

Another question may be best to ask ourselves each day –

What can I do Lord to remain faithful and steadfastly obey?

June 2023

Matthew 26: 20-22 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Lord is it I ?”, October 2014

“It was our beloved Savior’s final night in mortality, the evening before He would offer Himself a ransom for all mankind. As He broke bread with His disciples, He said something that must have filled their hearts with great alarm and deep sadness. “One of you shall betray me,” He told them. The disciples didn’t question the truth of what He said. Nor did they look around, point to someone else, and ask, “Is it him?” Instead, “they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”

I wonder what each of us would do if we were asked that question by the Savior. Would we look at those around us and say in our hearts, “He’s probably talking about Brother Johnson. I’ve always wondered about him,” or “I’m glad Brother Brown is here. He really needs to hear this message”? Or would we, like those disciples of old, look inward and ask that penetrating question: “Is it I?” In these simple words, “Lord, is it I?” lies the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change.”

“… being able to see ourselves clearly is essential to our spiritual growth and well-being. If our weaknesses and shortcomings remain obscured in the shadows, then the redeeming power of the Savior cannot heal them and make them strengths. Ironically, our blindness toward our human weaknesses will also make us blind to the divine potential that our Father yearns to nurture within each of us. So how can we shine the pure light of God’s truth into our souls and see ourselves as He sees us? May I suggest that the holy scriptures and the talks given at general conference are an effective mirror we can

hold up for self-examination. As you hear or read the words of the ancient and modern prophets, refrain from thinking about how the words apply to someone else and ask the simple question: “Lord, is it I?”

Helaman 5: 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

2 Nephi 31: 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.