Suffering the Will of the Father

Jesus explained to a group of antagonists His criterion for making decisions:

I do nothing of myself. …

He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

John 8:28-29

Above all, Jesus valued His relationship with His Father. He trusted His Father and submitted His will to the will of His Father, even when it was excruciatingly difficult. Here is His description of the suffering He bore when He atoned for our sins:

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:18-19

When He visited the Nephites and the Lamanites shortly after this event, He described it in terms of His decision to do His Father’s will:

I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

3 Nephi 11:11

If the defining decision criteria for the Savior’s was the simple question, “What does my Father want me to do?” then surely, we can follow His example by submitting our will to the will of God.

Elder Ulisses Soares recently contrasted a popular decision criterion—”Do what works for you.”—with the Savior’s strategy—”Do what pleases God.”

During our sojourn in mortality, we often wrestle with what we think we know, what we think is best, and what we assume works for us, as opposed to comprehending what Heavenly Father actually knows, what is eternally best, and what absolutely works for children within His plan.

“Aligning Our Will With His,” General Conference, October 2024

Elder Soares acknowledged that “each of us travels an individualized discipleship journey on the covenant path.” As we each strive to do God’s will, we may do things differently from one another, and that’s okay. But a humble acknowledgement that we don’t always know what’s best for ourselves unlocks the door for us to learn from the One who really does know.

Today, I will adopt the Savior’s decision criterion. I will strive to always do what pleases God, even if it’s difficult, even if it differs from my own inclinations.