Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch and his wife, Sister Alynda Kusch, gave Ensign College’s first devotional messages of the semester on Tuesday, Sept. 9 — which happened to be Church President Russell M. Nelson’s 101st birthday.
With that in mind, President Kusch said he found it appropriate to center his remarks on an invitation President Nelson gave in his October 2024 general conference address.
“I urge you to devote time each week — for the rest of your life — to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” President Nelson said.
President Kusch invited listeners to take time with him that morning to deepen their understanding of Christ’s Atonement.
Jesus Christ is the way back
President Kusch compared mortality to an experience he had in Disneyland when he was about 5 years old.
With an older cousin, President Kusch rode a train that took them around the park. They were supposed to get off the train at the same stop they left from. There, they would be reunited with President Kusch’s parents.
When the two children got off the train, they realized they had chosen the wrong stop. They had no idea how to get back to President Kusch’s parents.
Tears filled President Kusch’s eyes as he recalled the fear he had experienced as a young boy separated from his parents.
“This childhood experience has become a quiet parable in my life,” he said, “a reminder of what it means to stray, to be lost and to be found.”
President Kusch and his cousin were eventually reunited with their parents, but this experience has stayed with him even after many years.
He explained that just as he became separated from his parents, listeners may find themselves separated from God.
“But the good news of the gospel,” he said, “is that we are never beyond being found.”
He continued, “Jesus Christ is the way back. He is the bridge between being lost and being found.”
What is repentance?
President Kusch explained that finding one’s way back to God requires effort — repentance, to be specific.
He asked two questions about repentance: “What, really, is repentance? And how can I know that God has forgiven me?”
To define repentance, President Kusch quoted President Nelson’s April 2019 general conference talk.
“When Jesus asks you and me to ‘repent,’ He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit, even the way we breathe.”
To help answer his second question — “How can I know that God has forgiven me?” — President Kusch invited President Robert E. Lund, president of the Salt Lake Married Student Stake and institute teacher, to join him on the stand.
President Lund responded to President Kusch’s question, “You’ll experience peace and joy and gratitude; you’ll have a greater feeling in your heart to want to do good. The burden fades and will be replaced by thankfulness for the Lord’s goodness.”
Stay close to Jesus Christ
Sister Kusch also addressed listeners, starting with a story from her and President Kusch’s trip to Europe this July.
Sister Kusch explained how boats on the Rhine River navigate varying elevations using safeguards called locks.
“A lock consists of a chamber with gates at each end that open and close, allowing the vessel to be lifted or lowered matching the water level on the other side,” she said.
As the Kusches’ boat entered the lock, the captain stationed the boat directly against the wall. He told the passengers that staying close to the wall helps him manage the ship’s drift.
Sister Kusch drew a parallel between this experience and her spiritual life.
“Standing firm with Jesus Christ will help you navigate the often-turbulent waters of life while avoiding dangerous obstacles. He is the way to safety and peace.”
She then asked listeners to consider, “How do we draw Him near to us, so that we are nestled tightly against the safety of His love?”
She offered four suggestions to draw closer to Christ.
- Check your spiritual hearing by finding quiet moments during the day to listen to God.
- Take out the proverbial trash by getting rid of influences that drive away the Spirit.
- Protect your spiritual heart by keeping your desires pure so the Spirit can dwell there.
- Serve someone every day — not necessarily in hours-long service projects, but in quiet, constant acts of love.
Sister Kusch concluded by inviting listeners to do one thing that day to draw them closer to Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ is our safe place,” she said. “He is the way. When we cling to Him, follow Him and believe Him, we draw upon His power and are kept safe from spiritual sway or drift.”
