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The Inconvenient Messiah | Other Media Formats
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Jeffrey R. Holland was president of Brigham Young University when this devotional address was given on 27 February 1982.
A Personal Introduction to "The Inconvenient Messiah"
By Caleb Fisher*
"For my purposes today… I have labeled my remarks 'The Inconvenient Messiah.' I wish to speak this morning of the demands of discipline and discipleship, of the responsibilities we have to face when we choose to follow Jesus Christ. In the Savior's life and in ours, Satan counters such discipline with temptations of an easier way, with an offer of 'convenient Christianity.' It is a temptation Jesus resisted, and so must we. Life was very inconvenient for him, and, unless I miss my guess, it will often be so for you and for me when we take upon us his name."
Not long ago, in the height of a very lonely part of my struggle, my close friend of many years and I were discussing my same-gender attractions. He asked me with a curious attitude, "Why don't you just give in to the attractions that you face? Are you afraid that you won't make it back to Heaven if you give in for a time?" My spiritual desire was at the forefront of my mind, and I guess that is why we were discussing the issue. I wasn't about to give in to my feelings, no matter how much they plagued me. I told him that I would rather know that I am on the path that leads to God than to wonder if I could even be a candidate for the Celestial Kingdom. I explained that I desire to be disciplined in the ways of the Lord, rather than having a wasted routine in the effortless ways of the Adversary. My wish is to be a disciple of Christ on the path that I had covenanted to walk, and to walk with my eyes focused toward my Savior's embrace.
Not long after that, when looking up talks to read at BYU Speeches, I came across this talk by Elder Holland concerning the dangers of following the path of the "Convenient Christian." He gave incredible insight to the Savior's "dialogue with the devil" as He was tempted during His fast in the wilderness. Satan's first approach was to get Christ to give into his physical need to eat and to break His fast. Elder Holland makes an impressive comparison that has benefited my life tremendously. I have a need to fill when it comes to sexual hunger, a hunger for companionship, and a hunger for love. But the temptation is not in the fulfilling of that hunger. The temptation is doing it Satan's way and by his terms, which just happen to be convenient.
The talk speaks for itself, the wonderful principles about our "daily walk" in mortality. For myself, I would choose to view the abstinence of my sexual desires and tendencies as a specific fast to my God that I am willing to live the principles he has laid for me, recognizing that "my thoughts are not His thoughts, neither my ways His way," and pray that my fast from these natural hungers will allow Him to open up the windows of Heaven in my behalf and granting me the promised blessings given in the Temple and my Patriarchal blessing. I can fulfill my natural tendencies, but only by the way the Lord has appointed. I have had many friends give into their homosexual desires. Some of them have now denounced the Church and the Lord and they live in the bars, the clubs, and they walk blind allies with the question, "Will this relationship last, and for how long?" There is so much comfort in the gospel knowing that, if done the Lord's way, our relationships can last for eternity. Disciplined discipleship is the high road to Eternal Life.
We must remember that we are trying to become like our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. He never lived a convenient life. Why should we expect that it will be easy for us, when even the Master cried for the cup to be removed—but partook for us. Let us be firm and live worthy of His blessings. And let us be quick to observe this instruction from a mighty Apostle:
"[Sexual gratification] is not yours without price. Not instantly. Not conveniently. Not with cozy corruption of eternal powers. It is to be earned, over time and with discipline. It, like every good thing, is God's right to bestow, not Satan's. When faced with that inherent appetite, a disciple of Christ must be willing to say, 'Yes, but not this way.' In time, with love, after marriage. The right and proper and sanctified physical relationship of a man and a woman is as much a part—indeed more a part—of God's plan for us as is the eating of our daily bread. But there is no convenient Messiah. Salvation comes only through discipline and sacrifice."
* Caleb Fisher is a pen name chosen by the author. Occasionally, contributors may choose to use pen names for personal or professional reasons. In such cases, North Star will so indicate upon publication.
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