When Brother Sean R. Dixon, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, graduated from Brigham Young University in 1994, the commencement speaker — James Q. Wilson, a business professor at the University of California, Los Angeles — noted that many of the commencement speakers encouraged graduates to “pursue impossible dreams” and to rise to lofty ambitions.
Instead, Wilson encouraged listeners to do something more difficult: to be good husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors.
“True good deeds are the small, everyday actions of everyday life,” Wilson said. “The employee who faithfully goes about his day’s work, … the stranger who stops to help someone in need, the craftsman who builds each home as if it were his own, … the father who wants the respect of his children more than admission to the executive suite, the mother who knows that caring for a young child is not an admission of professional failure … these are the heroes of everyday life. May you join their ranks.” (“The Moral Life,” BYU Commencement, April 21, (1994).
Speaking to students and faculty gathered in the Marriott Center for Campus Devotion on Tuesday, March 17, Brother Dixon spoke about the standing ovation the graduates received after Wilson’s speech.
“I felt that day that my greatest goal is to be a daily disciple of Jesus Christ in the simple daily decisions of my life,” Brother Dixon said, and encouraged the audience to do the same.
“Many everyday disciples have gone before us. May we join them.”
What is a disciple?
Brother Dixon said that disciples of Jesus Christ not only believe in Jesus Christ, but like the apostle Peter and other fishermen, they would leave everything to follow Jesus.
“Discipleship is not an activity that should be crammed into a busy schedule; it is something we are at the core of.
“Disciples do not compartmentalize their lives and strive to be the same whether they are at school, work, church, playing around BYU or driving on the interstate.
“The disciples don’t just have pictures of the Savior on their walls, they make the Savior the center of their daily lives,” Brother Dixon said.
“Christ is the way”
At a press conference when President Dallin H. Oaks was announced as the new President of the Church, he was asked what he wanted Latter-day Saints to remember. He answered: “Jesus Christ is the way.”
When people find themselves torn between their natural human desires and their actions as disciples of Jesus Christ, Brother Dixon said it can help to slow down in the moment and remember these five simple words of President Oaks.
“When we follow (Christ’s) path, we may decide to say ‘I’m sorry,’ to give you a ride, to carry on an awkward conversation, to do the dishes, to roll something off your back, to call your mother, to take a break, to ask someone to join you, to participate in an activity, to soften your opinion, to interject, to stop and pray, to make room for someone on the bench,” he said.
Brother Dixon warned that even though we have a desire to follow Christ, it is easy to rely too much on our own efforts. “When we make a mistake, we may hear negative voices in our heads criticizing us and making us feel hopeless,” he said.
But the journey along the path of discipleship is not overseen by a God who is eager to castigate individuals as wrong. “Rather, we are guided by our Heavenly Father and the Savior, who love us and want us to learn, grow, overcome setbacks, and ultimately become like our Father,” Brother Dixon said.
“We may not always make the right decisions, but when we choose to act as one of the Lord’s disciples in every moment of life, we will be filled with light and peace, deeper relationships, and opportunities to participate in His miracles,” he promised.
“A gentle heart”
Brother Dixon talked about two choices individuals can make to maintain a soft heart for disciples. The first is to do it intentionally.
“This includes setting aside time to develop a relationship with the Lord through heartfelt scripture study, prayer, and reflection, so He will prepare and teach us whatever the day brings. This choice has less to do with the amount of time we spend and more to do with our intention to connect with Heaven,” he said.
The second option is to worship in the Lord’s house. “There’s no better way to get to know someone than to be in the house with them,” he said.
