Attitude and Discipleship

I was listening to a John Bytheway talk the other day and this talk had such an impact on me that I felt the need to write about it.  Being someone who goes to a church college (and loves it!) I see many people who are valiant and doing their best to live for Christ, but I also see many who take the gospel for granted and have a bad attitude about it.  I see so many kids in high school and college who walk a thin line between what is good and bad simply because their hearts aren’t fully converted.  They like the gospel but they don’t want to fully live its teachings in every aspect of their lives.  

Brother Bytheway captures this perfectly in his talk entitled “Get an Attitude”.  He says that many young people in the church have the bad attitude of how bad can I be.  They want to know how far they can go before it is too far to still be considered worthy in the Lord’s eyes.  This is such a bad outlook to have on life.  When you look at the gospel in this way, the commandments seem restricting and you feel like you are missing out in life if you try to be too good.  You don’t want to be bad, but you don’t want to be what others consider “too good" either.  People like this have one foot in the world and one in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They walk a thin line of discipleship.

Instead of asking how bad we can be, we should be asking ourselves how good we can be.  I know sometimes people in the church can get a bad rap for seemingly trying to be “too” righteous or for being what others consider a goody two shoes.  Because the world teaches us that it is cool to live on the edge and be a little rebellious.  It isn’t cool to follow all of the rules and try to be perfect.  But true disciples of Jesus Christ don’t keep His commandments and strive to be like Him because they want to show off or think they are better than anyone.  They are obedient simply because they love the Lord.  And when you love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with you whole soul, you desire to please them and to become more like them.

We should do things in the gospel because we want to, not because we have to.  We don’t have to go to seminary and institute or read our scriptures daily or serve a mission or share the gospel.  And we shouldn’t do all of these things just because someone tells us to.  If your heart has truly been changed by the spirit then you will want to go above and beyond to serve others and to live by the spirit.  Because being fully converted to Christ and His gospel changes your heart.  The commandments no longer seem like a long list of restrictions but they offer you freedom from the chains of sin and bring you true lasting happiness.

Next, John Bytheway asked a question that changed my life.  He asks, “do you have favorite sins?”  Take a moment to think about it.  We probably all have at least one sin in our life that we know we shouldn’t be doing but we really like it.  Maybe we watch a tv that are inappropriate or we cuss because everyone else does.  Maybe we don’t care about modesty because we love fashion and it is in to wear immodest clothing.  Maybe we drink coffee every morning because we like it and feel like it’s not really that bad for you.  Whatever it may be, we all have favorite sins, things we know are wrong but we don’t want to give them up.  

Then Brother Bytheway asked an even more impactful question, “what would you give up to know God?”  Would you give up your worst tv show?  How about your favorite dress or that cd you’ve listened to since you were a kid?  
When I first heard this talk, it really made me stop and think about my life.  I considered myself to be a righteous saint.  I read my scriptures, prayed, and attended church.  I tried to be kind to others and I loved Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  But when I really thought about it, I realized that I was guilty of holding onto favorite sins simply because they brought fleeting pleasure or because everyone else in the church was doing it.  I personally struggled with media and modesty when it came to favorite sins.  I didn’t watch anything that was rated R or wear ridiculously skimpy clothing, but I realized that I wasn’t doing my best to become a better disciple.  

It doesn’t matter if everyone else in church is listening to that one song or watching that one tv series, if you feel the spirit whisper to you that you can do better and should change something in your life, you should listen. No one can tell you what to do, we all have agency. And I’m just a teenage girl, who I am to tell you what to do? I know that sacrificing the things of this world to be closer to my Father in Heaven and my Savior was the best choice I ever made.  And I’m not perfect, I still struggle to let go of media or to not buy the newest fashions.  But I work really hard to constantly go through every aspect of my life from music to books to clothes to make sure that I am living in such a way that allows for the spirit in all that I do.  I want to live in a way that is pleasing to God and allows me to feel close to Him at all times.  

I woke up one day and decided that I didn’t want to have a mediocre discipleship, I wanted to be all in.  It was a slow process of changing my heart to value the things of the Lord more than the things of the world and it is still something that I am working on. Because being a disciple of Christ is a lifelong process.  You don’t just reach a certain level and then say “I’m good”.  You have to wake up every morning and make the choice to follow the Savior and to put your spiritual armor on to protect you against the things of satan.  Because he will always be trying to drag you down so you will be miserable like unto himself.  Some days I feel satan pulling at me really hard and I have to turn to the Lord for the strength to stand strong against the temptations that are hardest for me.

Sometimes people make fun of me for trying to be “too righteous”.  People who I go to church with every week and who live the gospel too.  That seems to be a common thing in the church,for people to actually tease those who to are trying so hard to be like Jesus and to be worthy. But Brother Bytheway assures us that there is no such thing as being too righteous.  We are all at different levels in our discipleship and our conversion and we should never tease someone for trying to improve.  That is why we are here on this earth, to learn and grow. Ant that is what the Lord has asked us to do.  Article of Faith 13 describes this well, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”  We are meant to be different from the world!      

Living for Christ will never be easy.  Heck, Christ’s life was anything but easy.  But I promise that all of the sacrifices are worth it.  Maybe you won’t look cool to the world, but I promise that nothing compares to living a virtuous life.  Nothing compares to having a rock solid relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and knowing that you are worthy in their eyes.