1Thirty-three years ago, I received my call to serve as a missionary in the Utah Ogden Mission. Of course, because I was coming from Europe, some local Utah traditions like “green Jell-O with carrots” and “funeral potatoes” were a bit peculiar to me!
2However, I was deeply impressed by the devotion and discipleship of many of the Saints, the sheer number of people attending Church meetings, and the scale of fully functioning Church programs. When my mission came to an end, I wanted to make sure that the joy I felt and the spiritual strength and maturity I observed would also be available for my future family. I was determined to return quickly to live my life in the “shadows of the everlasting hills.”
3However, the Lord had different plans. On my first Sunday at home, my wise bishop called me to serve as the Young Men president in our ward. Serving this wonderful group of young men, I quickly learned that the joy that comes from being a disciple of Christ has very little to do with the size of Church meetings or the scale of programs.
4So when I married my beautiful wife, Margret, we joyfully decided to stay in Europe and raise our family in our home country of Germany. Together we witnessed what President Russell M. Nelson taught many years ago: “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” When the focus of our life is on Christ and His gospel message, we can experience the full blessings of discipleship wherever we live.
5However, in a world that is increasingly secular, complex, and confusing, with different and often conflicting messages and demands, how can we avoid our eyes becoming blinded and our hearts becoming hardened and remain focused on the “plain and precious things” of the gospel of Jesus Christ? During a time of confusion, the Apostle Paul gave great advice to the Saints of Corinth by reminding them to focus on “the simplicity that is in Christ.”
6The doctrine of Christ and the law of the gospel are so simple that even little children can understand them. We can access the redeeming power of Jesus Christ and receive all the spiritual blessings our Heavenly Father has prepared for us by exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, being sanctified through the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. President Nelson described this journey so beautifully as the “covenant path” and the process of becoming a “devout disciple of Jesus Christ.”
7If this message is so simple, why does it often feel so challenging to live Christ’s law and follow His example? It may be that we misinterpret simplicity as something that is easy to achieve without effort or diligence. Following Christ requires constant effort and continual change. We need to “[put] off the natural man and … [become like a little] child.” This includes putting our “trust in the Lord” and letting the complexity go, just as little children do. Applying the doctrine of Christ in a simplified and focused way will help us to find joy in our daily lives, give guidance in our callings, answer some of life’s most complex questions, and provide strength to face our greatest challenges.
8But how can we practically implement this simplicity in our lifelong journey as disciples of Christ? President Nelson reminded us to focus on “pure truth, pure doctrine, and pure revelation” as we seek to follow the Savior. Regularly asking, “What would the Lord Jesus Christ have me do?” reveals profound direction. Following His example provides a safe path through uncertainty and a loving, guiding hand to hold from day to day. He is the Prince of Peace and the Good Shepherd. He is our Comforter and Deliverer. He is our Rock and Refuge. He is a Friend—your friend and my friend! He invites us all to love God, keep His commandments, and love our neighbor.
9As we choose to follow His example and move forward with faith in Christ, embrace the power of His Atonement, and remember our covenants, love fills our hearts, hope and healing raise our spirits, and bitterness and sorrow are replaced by gratitude and the patience to wait for promised blessings. At times, we may need to distance ourselves from an unhealthy situation or seek professional help. But in every case, applying simple gospel principles will help us navigate through life’s challenges in the Lord’s way.
10We sometimes underestimate the strength we receive from simple acts like prayer, fasting, scripture study, daily repentance, partaking of the sacrament weekly, and regular worship in the house of the Lord. But when we recognize that we don’t need to “do some great thing” and we center ourselves on applying pure and simple doctrine, we start to see how the gospel “works wonderfully” for us, even in the most challenging circumstances. We find strength and “confidence before God,” even when we experience heartache. Elder M. Russell Ballard has reminded us many times, “It is in that simplicity that [we] will find … peace, joy, and happiness.”
11Applying the simplicity that is in Christ makes us prioritize people over processes and eternal relationships over short-term behaviors. We focus on “the things that matter most” in God’s work of salvation and exaltation instead of getting caught up in managing our ministering. We make ourselves free to prioritize the things we can do rather than being weighed down by the things we cannot do. The Lord reminded us: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” What powerful encouragement to act in simplicity and humility, whatever our circumstances are.
12My grandmother Marta Cziesla was a wonderful example of doing “small and simple things” to bring great things to pass. We lovingly called her Oma Cziesla. Oma embraced the gospel in the small village of Selbongen in East Prussia together with my great-grandmother on May 30, 1926.
13She loved the Lord and His gospel and was determined to keep the covenants she had made. In 1930 she married my grandfather, who was not a member of the Church. At this point it became impossible for Oma to attend Church meetings because my grandfather’s farm was far away from the nearest congregation. But she focused on what she could do. Oma continued to pray, read the scriptures, and sing the songs of Zion.
14Some people might have thought she was no longer active in her faith, but that was far from the truth. When my aunt and my father were born, with no priesthood in the home and no Church meetings or access to ordinances nearby, she again did what she could do and focused on teaching her children “to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” She read to them from the scriptures, sang with them the songs of Zion, and of course prayed with them—every day. A 100 percent home-centered Church experience.
15In 1945 my grandfather was serving in the war far away from home. When enemies approached their farm, Oma took her two little children and left their beloved farm behind to seek refuge in a safer place. After a difficult and life-threatening journey, they finally found refuge in May of 1945 in northern Germany. They had nothing left except the clothes on their bodies. But Oma continued with what she was able to do: she prayed with her children—every day. She sang with them the songs of Zion she had memorized by heart—every day.
16Life was extremely hard and for many years focused on simply making sure there was food on the table. But in 1955 my dad, then 17 years old, was going to trade school in the city of Rendsburg. He walked by a building and saw a small sign on the outside that read “Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage”—“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He thought, “That is interesting; this is Mother’s church.” So when he came home, he told Oma that he had found her church.
17You can imagine how she must have felt after almost 25 years of no contact with the Church. She was determined to attend the next Sunday and convinced my father to accompany her. Rendsburg was more than 20 miles (32 km) away from the little village where they lived. But this would not keep Oma from attending church. The next Sunday, she got on her bicycle together with my father and rode to church.
18When the sacrament meeting started, my dad sat down in the last row, hoping it would be over soon. This was Oma’s church and not his. What he saw was not very encouraging: only a few older women in attendance and two young missionaries who effectively ran everything in the meeting. But then they started to sing, and they sang the songs of Zion that my dad had heard since he was a little boy: “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” “O My Father,” “Praise to the Man.” Hearing this little flock sing the songs of Zion he’d known since childhood pierced his heart, and he knew immediately and without a doubt that the Church was true.
19The first sacrament meeting my grandmother attended after 25 years was the meeting where my father received a personal confirmation of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He was baptized three weeks later, on September 25, 1955, together with my grandfather and my aunt.
20It has been more than 70 years since that tiny sacrament meeting in Rendsburg. I often think about Oma, how she must have felt in those lonely nights, doing the small and simple things she was able to do, like praying, reading, and singing. As I stand here today in general conference and talk about my Oma, her determination to keep her covenants and trust in the Lord notwithstanding her struggles fills my heart with humility and gratitude—not only for her but for so many of our wonderful Saints throughout the world who focus on the simplicity in Christ in their challenging circumstances, perhaps seeing little change now but trusting that great things will come to pass some day in the future.
21I have learned through my own experience that the small and simple things of the gospel and faithfully focusing on Christ lead us to true joy, bring about mighty miracles, and grant us confidence that all promised blessings will come to pass. This is as true for you as it is true for me. In the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.” Of this I also testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.