With all the excitement about superheroes who save the world, I hope you will take advantage of the great and precious opportunity this week and next to teach your children about the true superhero who really has saved the world! (See John 16:33: I have overcome the world.)
I have written a hymn that I am submitting for consideration to be included in the new hymnbook being produced by the church. I wrote it with a quote in mind that I recently read by President J. Reuben Clark. I can't find it again to quote it exactly, but in essence he said that while we may teach that Jesus Christ was a great teacher and that he performed many miracles, etc., the most essential thing we must teach about Him is that He is the Firstborn Son of God in the Spirit and the Only Begotten Son in the flesh and as such, that He performed a mission in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary that no other could have done or will ever do, that through His great Atoning Sacrifice, He is our Savior and Redeemer. In this, He stands alone. Because of this, we must always remember Him, evermore worship Him, and with all our heart, might, mind and soul, follow Him.
You may want to review the words to the hymn in connection with the Come Follow Me lesson this week and next. You could talk about what each verse represents and why the name of the Savior in that verse applies to that event.
For instance, in the 2nd verse, I use the name Only Begotten Son. What does that mean and how does that apply to the Savior's experience in the Garden of Gethsemane?
- Only Begotten Son means that Jesus is the only person ever born who had an immortal Father and a mortal mother, so His body really did have superhero qualities that no other person's body has. He literally had a body that allowed Him to save each of us from death: physical death and spiritual death.
- As Only Begotten Son, He had a body capable of suffering infinite pain and was not subject to death until He willed it to die, thus, making Him capable of suffering the Infinite Atonement and not dying until "It [was] finished."
- As Only Begotten Son, He was also capable of living a sinless life in mortality, which allowed Him to satisfy the law of justice when, as sinless, He suffered for our sins. He owed justice no penalty personally, so He was able to pay the price for our sins.
- As Only Begotten Son, He could love His Father and us perfectly and obey His Father perfectly, so that when it came time for Him to suffer, even though He asked if the Father could take this trial away from Him, in the same breath He could also say, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."
I hope you can use this hymn to teach your children about the greatest superhero in the universe, the Only One who has saved us from death and the Only One who will be able to abolish evil and suffering and bring peace to the earth!
Here is the text to the hymn:
ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM
Je-sus, the Son of Man,
Cen-tral to Fa-ther’s plan,
Said, “Here am I,
“Send me to live, to die!”
Al-ways re-mem-ber
Him
E-ver-more wor-ship
Him
Come, now, come fol-low
Him,
Je-sus, our King!
Je-sus, the Sin-less One,
On-ly Be-got-ten Son,
In ag-o-ny,
Suf-fered for you and me!
Al-ways re-mem-ber
Him
E-ver-more wor-ship
Him
Come, now, come fol-low
Him,
Je-sus, our King!
Je-sus, On Cal-v’ry’s cross
Died will-ing-ly for us!
The Great I AM,
God’s sa-cri-fi-cial Lamb!
E-ver-more wor-ship Him
Come, now, come fol-low Him,
Je-sus, our King!
Je-sus, first from the grave,
A-rose, our souls to save;
Now King of Kings
With heal-ing in His wings!
Al-ways re-mem-ber
Him
E-ver-more wor-ship
Him
Come, now, come fol-low
Him,
Je-sus, our King!