Editor’s note: To support elders quorum and Relief Society classes, the Church News is publishing lesson resources on messages from October 2024 general conference. These are meant to be a starting point and not a strict lesson plan.
About this talk
- “I Am He”
- by President Jeffrey R. Holland | Acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Sunday morning session of October 2024 general conference.
- Theme: The Savior’s example of unfailing love and complete loyalty to Heavenly Father’s will is an invitation to do likewise.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of President Holland’s message here.
Outline
- Before Christ was arrested, soldiers declared they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth. The Savior declared, “I am he,” and the soldiers “went backward, and fell to the ground” (John 18:4-6). This is “one of the most stirring lines in all of scripture” for President Holland, that just being in the presence of the Son of God sends antagonists stumbling into retreat.
- When Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, “all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10). The answer is found not in His appearance or wealth or training but rather in His divine DNA.
- Many throughout history have simplified or trivialized who He was, reducing His behavior to prudishness, anger or permissiveness. “We must not be guilty of such simplistic versions of Him that conveniently ignore teachings we find uncomfortable.”
- Following the Savior faithfully in His two great commandments involves keeping His commandments and loving others as He loves. These are essential for charity — true, Christlike love.
- Jesus loved with “all [of His] heart, might, mind and strength” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:2), and so must His disciples. He both heals the deepest pain and declares the hardest reality, both administering grace and insisting on truth.
- Christ always aligned His will and behavior with that of Heavenly Father. His charity, evident in this complete loyalty, persists through both easy and difficult times.
- Since Jesus’ love does not fail — despite being “a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3) — neither should the love of His followers, no matter how difficult life gets. The devil is determined to oppose every good thing the righteous try to do.
- Christ’s followers stay the course, even through poverty and criticism and human foibles, because they, like the Redeemer, “signed on for the whole term.”
- Disciples seek Jesus of Nazareth with all their hearts. Acting on fundamental principles and ordinances of the gospel reveal their love of God and neighbor.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the vehicle God has provided for the exaltation of His children. One day, the Savior will descend like “lightning ... out of the east” (Matthew 24:27); His followers will exclaim, “Jesus of Nazareth”; and He will reply, “I am he” (John 18:5-6).
Discussion questions
What about the Savior shows His “divine DNA”?
When has Christ’s love been “an encouraging embrace” in your life?
What scriptural examples show Jesus loving God and loving His neighbors?
How can we avoid simplifying or trivializing who the Savior is?
How could Christ’s example of submission to His Father’s will strengthen us in difficult times?
Notable quotes
- “Jesus was routinely placed in difficult, often devious situations in which He was always triumphant — victories for which we have no explanation except divine DNA.”
- “As Lehi said in his blessing to his son Jacob, ‘Redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth’ (2 Nephi 2:6). His love allows an encouraging embrace when it is needed and a bitter cup when it has to be swallowed. So we try to love — with all of our heart, might, mind and strength — because that is the way He loves us.”
- “Christ’s charity — evident in complete loyalty to divine will — persisted and continues to persist, not just through the easy and comfortable days but especially through the darkest and most difficult ones.”
Key scriptures
- “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. ... As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.”
- “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
- “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”
Invitations and promises
- “Down through history many have simplified, even trivialized, our image of Him and His witness of who He was. They have reduced His righteousness to mere prudishness, His justice to mere anger, His mercy to mere permissiveness. We must not be guilty of such simplistic versions of Him that conveniently ignore teachings we find uncomfortable.”
- “‘Love the Lord thy God [and] love thy neighbour as thyself’ (Matthew 22:37, 39). If we are to follow the Savior faithfully in these two crucial and inextricably linked rules, we ought to hold firmly to what He actually said. And what He actually said was, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15). On that same evening, He said we were to ‘love one another; as I have loved you’ (John 13:34).”
- “So, if sometimes the harder you try, the more difficult it seems to get; if, just as you try to work on your limitations and your shortcomings, you find someone or something determined to challenge your faith; if, as you labor devotedly, you still feel moments of fear wash over you, remember that it has been so for some of the most faithful and marvelous people in every era of time.”
Stories
- “A great multitude with swords and staves” (Matthew 26:47) sought to arrest Jesus in the last week of His mortal life. He asked, “Whom seek ye?” They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When Jesus said, “I am he,” the soldiers “went backward, and fell to the ground” (John 18:4-6). For President Holland, this is “one of the most stirring lines in all of scripture,” that just being in the presence of the Son of God sends antagonists stumbling into retreat.
- Jesus always aligned His will and behavior with that of His Heavenly Father. When He arrived on the Western Hemisphere, the resurrected Savior said to the Nephites: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ. ... I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, ... in the which I have suffered the will of the Father ... from the beginning” (3 Nephi 11:10-11). Of the many ways He could have introduced Himself, He did so by declaring His obedience to His Father’s will.
- Disciples of Christ “stay the course with the true Church of Christ” because they, like their Redeemer, “signed on for the whole term — not ending with the first short introductory quiz but through to the final exam.” The Headmaster gave open-book answers before the course began, and a host of tutors regularly remind students of the answers. However, none of this works for those who keep cutting class.
Notable footnotes
- 13. See Mosiah 15:7; 3 Nephi 27:13-15. And Jesus reminds us to do the same [align our will and behavior with that of Heavenly Father] in Matthew 7:21: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Additional resources
- Related image: “Christus Consolator” by Carl Heinrich Bloch
- Related video: “Jesus Christ’s Charitable Sacrifice | Holy Week”
- Related hymn: No. 1017, “This Is the Christ”
Recent conference talks on Christ’s character
- President Russell M. Nelson: “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again” (October 2024)
- Elder Gary E. Stevenson: “Bridging the Two Great Commandments” (April 2024)
- Elder Jack N. Gerard: “Integrity: A Christlike Attribute” (April 2024)
Who is President Holland?
- President Jeffrey R. Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 23, 1994, and was set apart as acting president of the quorum on Nov. 15, 2023. President Holland was called as a General Authority Seventy in April 1989. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, where he was also a professor of English and ancient scripture.
