“Choose Christ.” That was the simple injunction offered by Elder Alexander Dushku, a General Authority Seventy, during the Brigham Young University campus devotional on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
“If you remember nothing else I say today — if I put you to sleep or everything else fades by lunchtime or you have a TikTok emergency — please remember these two words: ‘Choose Christ,’” said Elder Dushku.
Some may be familiar with the phrase “crossing the Rubicon.”
The phrase makes reference to the River Rubicon, which marked the northern border of Italy. At the time of Julius Caesar, to cross the Rubicon River with an army without permission of the Roman Senate was treason.
In January of 49 B.C., the general Julius Caesar took a legion across the Rubicon, reportedly declaring “the die is cast.”
In other words, “The choice is made. There is no turning back,” said Elder Dushku.
Julius Caesar went on to defeat his foes and become, in effect, the first Roman emperor.
To BYU students on Tuesday, Elder Dushku declared, “Now is the time to cross the Rubicon of faith and never look back. Now is the time to decide to be all in for the Lord. … Now is the time to choose Christ — over everything.”
Why choose Christ?
Choosing Christ is easier if one understands better who He is and what He offers, said Elder Dushku.
“When I say ‘choose Christ,’ I mean choose the Living Jesus Christ — the full Christ, the Christ of the Restoration,” said Elder Dushku. “Not the watered-down Jesus society sometimes purports to admire for being kind, saying wise things and caring for the poor. A kind, wise, caring Jesus is certainly admirable. But Jesus the Christ is no mere guru of kindness or life coach or social worker. He is infinitely more than that.”
The core of Heavenly Father’s plan to save and exalt His children is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. “The question for you and me,” Elder Dushku explained, “is whether we will choose to receive that gift — whether we will receive Him and allow Him to be with us.”
Christ seeks intimate communion, but He cannot force that communion. “This is why agency matters so much.”
Not even God can save or exalt by external force. “The change must come voluntarily, from the inside. The problem is that on our own, we lack the spiritual power,” Elder Dushku said.
The ordinances, covenants and commandments of the gospel are about receiving the Father’s gift of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Creator, the Advocate with the Father, the Good Shepherd, the Christ, Messiah, Savior and Redeemer, said Elder Dushku.
“He is the perfect embodiment of the highest and most powerful form of love. … His love for you is all-consuming. He knows you, loves you and has paid the ultimate price for you. He wants to be with you, make you glorious and take you home to our Father in Heaven,” said Elder Dushku.
Elder Dushku said sometimes individuals refer to “the Atonement” as an entity or power they can apply. “It’s not,” he said, adding, “It is Jesus Christ who saves us. His offering is not mechanical. It is deeply personal. It is a matter of blood, sweat and tears; of flesh and bone; of life and death; of agony unfathomable as the price of joy indescribable. It is personal to us, and it is personal to Him.”
Jesus Christ is a gift. “Everything depends on our receiving Him. But the choice is ours,” said Elder Dushku.
What does it mean to choose Christ?
Sin, at its most fundamental level, is not just rule breaking, said Elder Dushku. “It is turning away from Christ — and at its worst, rejection, betrayal, disloyalty.”
But keeping the commandments and covenants is an act of love and loyalty. “It’s our invitation for Christ to abide with us,” he said.
Christ’s loving invitation is constant — “Come unto me, follow me, receive me, hear me, draw near unto me, walk with me, love me, abide in me.”
Elder Dushku said the fundamental choice is between Jesus Christ and the world.
“When the adversary presses in and temptations come, we must remember that we are choosing in that moment what we love most. So choose Christ, because He first loved you and because you love Him most,” said Elder Dushku.
One of the barriers to choosing Christ is the widespread notion that this life is about being true to yourself. “‘You do you,’ we are told. But Christ says, ‘I am the way’ (John 14:6).”
Elder Dushku reiterated to listeners, “My dear friends, now is the time to rise up, cross the Rubicon of faith, plant yourself on the rock of our Redeemer and take your stand for Christ and the Restoration and the cause of truth.”
“Now is the time to choose Christ — over everything.”
