JESUS CHRIST—THE ONE PEERLESS PERSON
“Jesus
is revered and worshiped by all Christian nations and classes of individuals.
This is really a wonderful fact after the lapse of nearly two thousand years,
because from a human standpoint, we know so little about him. What we have of
his teachings is so little that we can put it into a vest-pocked edition.
“Yet,
no being has ever been on the earth who has wielded a thousandth part of the
influence that this man of Galilee wields throughout the world.
“Wherein
lies the secret of his greatness? We do not honor him as a great discoverer nor
as a scientist, nor as a literary genius, nor as one noted in the realm of art,
nor as one distinguished in the realm of invention, in statesmanship or war; in
fact, in none of the realms in which the men and women of the world have won
their laurels do we pay deference to Jesus.
“We
reverse him because his wisdom and spirituality comprehend and exceed that of
all others.
“Consider
for a moment his example in regard to the following fundamental principles:
“First,
reverence for God; second, peace; third, goodwill toward men, or to express it
in another way, Godliness, happiness, brotherly kindness.
“The
first principle, peace has been defined as the happy, natural state of
man, the ‘first of human blessings.’ Without it there can be no happiness.
Peace as taught by the Savior is exemption from individual troubles, from daily
broils, from national difficulties. Such peace refers to the person just as
much as it does to communities. A man cannot be at peace when he is untrue to
his better self.
“The
world that expresses goodwill towards men is brotherliness. Though Jesus
gave his message particularly to the chosen house of Israel; he knew no nationality,
neither was he a respecter of persons. Not only toward the poor and helpless,
but also toward the rich he manifested brotherliness.
“Fundamental
in all of Christ’s teachings was the crime of wrong thinking. He condemned
avarice, enmity, and jealousy in the mind as vehemently as he did the results
that avarice, enmity, and jealousy produce. Modern psychology proves the virtue
of such teachings. It confirms also his teachings regarding the injury that
follows the harboring of hate. He who harbors hatred and bitterness injures
himself far more than the one towards whom he manifests these evil
propensities.
“Equally
applicable to present conditions are his teachings regarding the value and
sacredness of human life, the virtue of forgiveness, the necessity of fair
dealings, the crime of hypocrisy, the sin of covetousness, the saving power of
love, the immortality of man. His teachings regarding arbitration as a means of
settling difficulties if applied by warring nations, would do away with war.
“’A
cathedral without windows, a face without eyes, a field without flowers, an
alphabet without vowels, a continent without rivers, a night without stars, and
a sky without a sun—these would not be so sad as a world without a Bible, or a
soul without Christ.’” (Home Memories of President David O. McKay, comp.
Llewelyn R. McKay [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1956], 218-19)
