PROVO, Utah – Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman’s family likes to think of “the one thing” that’s the most important to them to do or remember from different experiences.
On Tuesday night, Oct. 3, President Freeman asked the missionaries in the Provo Missionary Training Center to think of the one thing that was the most important to them from the recent October 2023 general conference, and the one thing to remember as they are training at the MTC.
Alma tells the people in Gideon: “For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all — for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people” (Alma 7:7).
Said President Freeman, “What is the one thing more important than they all? It is Jesus Christ.”
Five steps of the doctrine of Christ
President Freeman drew from “Preach My Gospel” Chapter 3 and the scriptures to teach the doctrine of Christ: Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.
Faith. Faith in Christ leads to action, explained President Freeman. “Faith is going to require you to do something. If you are learning about faith, then action will be required in that.”
Repentance. President Freeman asked the missionaries learning American Sign Language to make the sign for repentance. The fingers make the letter “r” and then the hands turn around each other.
“This is what repentance means, to turn again to Christ,” she said. “The Lord welcomes us back every time we repent — every time we turn again to Him.”
Baptism. “You are not just inviting people to be baptized, you are inviting them to enter into a covenant relationship with the Lord,” President Freeman said.
The gift of the Holy Ghost. “It is our privilege to have a member of the Godhead within whispering distance every day of our life,” President Freeman said. “… I would invite you to come to know the Holy Ghost as well as you know the Father and as well as you know the Son. Let Him be your friend. Live in a way that He will be your constant companion.”
Enduring to the end. This means continuing to exercise faith in Christ each day, being firm, solid, steadfast, within, President Freeman explained.
She held up her son Caleb’s shoes from his mission. The soles had holes in them, the thread was frayed and the sides were coming apart. She has kept them for the last 10 years and looks at them every day: “This is what it means to endure to the end.”
These steps in the doctrine of Christ are circular, explained President Freeman. Faith in Jesus Christ leads to repentance, which leads to making covenants with Him, then receiving the Holy Ghost, and becoming more like Christ while enduring — which leads to more faith, and so on.
“What is the one thing more important than they all? It’s Jesus Christ. And what are we going to teach about Jesus Christ? His doctrine. And that is going to change lives. It is going to change your life, and it is going to change the life of everyone you come in contact with.”
‘Mine angels round about you’
President Freeman’s husband, Brother Greg Freeman, read Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 to the missionaries:
“I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”
He said the angels often around people are their friends — or companions, in the case of missionaries. Going through “Preach My Gospel,” Brother Freeman pointed out how companionships can become united, testify of Jesus Christ, support each other and strengthen each other.
He shared a favorite quote by James Whistler that his mission leaders shared with him — who later became his in-laws when he married their daughter.
“Hang on the walls of your mind the memories of your successes. Take counsel of your strength, not your weakness.”
Missionaries react
Elder Hakaru Nitahara from Maui, Hawaii, who is assigned to the Japan Tokyo North Mission, said the thing he took away from the devotional was the importance of teaching simple principles — something he said he was also taught by his mom and dad.
“The simple principles are what keep you grounded in the gospel and build your faith in Jesus Christ,” he said. “He is the answer we need.”
Sister Clara Moyes, from Syracuse, Utah, assigned to the England Leeds Mission, said the devotional was powerful.
“All our simple efforts to live the gospel in those five steps bring about great things. That brings me comfort that even my little efforts can have a big difference.”
Her companion, Sister Angela Barnard from Oakley, Idaho, understood the doctrine of Christ in a new way.
“They all work together in one big circle. And the one thing is Jesus Christ — that’s what we are doing, we are bringing Jesus Christ to people.”
