drawing the power of jesus christ into our lives

In his April 2017 General Conference talk, titled, Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives, President Nelson teaches that if we want to know how to be healed and receive salvation we must learn about Jesus Christ and how to be like Him. To receive those promises, there are things we must do. In Doctrine and Covenants section 88, Christ counsels, "draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (D&C 88:63)

I love the word "diligently" in this scripture. Diligently means action marked by persevering, painstaking effort.

President Nelson is earnestly trying to lead us to Christ. He gave counsel in what we can do to seek Christ diligently.

Earlier in the year, President Nelson invited the young adults of the Church to diligently search the standard works for all of the words and works of Christ. He continued that theme during General Conference:

"Today I would like to speak about how we can draw into our lives the power of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

We begin by learning about Him. 'It is impossible for [us] to be saved in ignorance. 'The more we know about the Savior's ministry and mission—the more we understand His doctrine and what He did for us—the more we know that He can provide the power that we need for our lives."

Elder Nelson points members of the Church to the scriptures. He said that he spent time reading the references about Jesus Christ from all of the subsections of the Topical Guide. He counsels us to do the same as well as to read the Living Christ.

Pointing us to the man, Jesus, President Nelson corrected word usage that has become common in the Church.

"It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord's atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases," he said, "such as 'the Atonement' or 'the enabling power of the Atonement' or 'applying the Atonement' or 'being strengthened by the Atonement.'"

He continued by explain the problem with shortcut phrases, "These expressions," he declared, "present a real risk of misdirecting faith by treating the event as if it had living existence and capabilities independent of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ."

Where do we go to receive a remission of sin? We go to the Savior, Himself. Christ declared:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

As a second witness to those words, President Nelson declared, "The Savior's atoning sacrifice—the central act of all human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him."

Seeking out all of the scriptures about the Savior is seeking diligently to know the Savior.

In addition to searching through the words and works of Christ in the scriptures, President Nelson continued his counsel us on how to diligently seek the Savior. He asked us to, "stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world", "make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision", "seek for ways to keep [ourselves] unspotted from the world so there will be nothing blocking [our] access to the Savior's power," and to reach up to the Savior in faith.

Diligently doing these things, Elder Nelson declares, will allow "His [Jesus Christ's] power will flow into you."

"And then," he says, "you will understand the deep meaning of words we sing in the hymn 'The Spirit of God':

The Lord is extending the Saints' understanding. …
The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst."

President Nelson concluded that, "the gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with His power, which is available to every earnestly seeking daughter or son of God. It is my testimony that when we draw His power into our lives, both He and we will rejoice."