"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22)

The other morning as I was coming back from taking one son to school I noticed a white SUV on the opposite side of the road. It was cold, had snowed the night before, and was icy out. I thought, "What a bummer to be broken down in this weather". I drove home and proceeded to take my youngest son to his school and dropped him off safely. On my return home from doing this, which was about 45 minutes later, I noticed the same car still sitting there on the side of the road. I wasn't headed in that direction, but I wondered if someone was still sitting in the car waiting for help. I drove through the light, but I decided to turn around and just check to make sure someone wasn't still in the car. I flipped a U-turn, headed back to the light, and pulled into traffic. I was able to easily pull in front of the car. There was a woman still sitting in the car. I parked, got out, and walked back to the car. She rolled down her window. I asked if she was okay or if she needed help. She said she was waiting for AAA and it would take them another hour, but she and her daughter were fine. I asked if there was anything I could do and she told me no. She told me she appreciated that I had stopped because no one else had stopped. I told them to take care and I thought to myself, I will pray for them, because sometimes that's all one can do to help.

As I drove down the road and back up again past her to head back home, I was praying for her. The thought came to me how much we are all loved. Christ "suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam" (2 Nephi 9:21). He has suffered for us. His Atonement is "an infinite atonement" (2 Nephi 9:7), it doesn't just help once, it is eternal, "infinite". My brain can't even begin to comprehend infinite. But Christ can, does, and aides us when we call upon His name. (see D&C 100:17; Helaman 3:27; Romans 10:13; Psalms 99:6; 1 Chronicles 16:8). It's interesting that in today's world it is so easy to call others, we have cell phones and other electronic devices and can call anyone pretty much anytime we want, or text them or email them. But to understand what it really means to "call upon His holy name" (Helaman 3:27) changes our behavior, changes us.

There is this Hymn, Have I Done Any Good? (#223) that asks if we have done anything to help "another on their way". When we decide to call upon Christ and follow Him, James teaches us an important lesson, that it is more than just saying a name. He says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). We have to do more than just say we follow Christ. We actually have to let our actions speak for us. It's interesting as I write this, because I realize how difficult this is at times, to acknowledge that I have done something wrong and make it right isn't easy, but it is important. It is important because it is about our personal growth. Our growth is impeded when we don't make the wrong things right. This might mean that we need to forgive our neighbor who has deeply hurt us and used us, however near or far that neighbor may live (see 3 Nephi 12:44; Matt 5:44). Remember I said it was necessary for our growth, I didn't say it was easy.

The beauty of the plan of God (see Moses 6:62; Alma 24:14; Alma 34:31), is that God knew we would make mistakes, that we would screw up, even after we had committed to following His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore I must say as Jacob, "O the wisdom of God, His mercy and grace! (2 Nephi 9:8); "O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape" (2 Nephi 9:10); O how great the plan of our God" (2 Nephi 9:13)!

Just as the sun rises each day, even on cloudy days when we can't see it, we get a new opportunity to try again. This is the same when we "in the sincerity of [our] hearts, call upon His holy name" (Helaman 3:27), we are sincerely trying to change, to repent, to become a new creature in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). When we are "in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17) "we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him" (1 John 2:3-4). When we walk the walk and not just talk the talk, but are true Christians, we "love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them who despitefully use [us] and persecute [us]" (3 Nephi 12:44; Matthew 5:44), even when it is the most difficult thing to do. And why do we do this? Because, ultimately, we love Jesus Christ more than we love staying the same in a "carnal and fallen state" and we want to be "born again; yea, born of God" (Mosiah 27:25).

I had to flip a U-turn to get to the woman in the white SUV and she didn't even need any help, but life is like that. We need to make U-turns all the time, correct our course. We need to see that we are "checked as to the pride of [our] hearts, and [begin] to humble [our]selves before God... watching and praying continually, that [we] might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction" (Alma 15:17). Check ourselves, make sure we are driving, walking, talking, living, in the right direction. When we do this "great check" (Alma 15:17) on a daily basis, for it only takes a couple of minutes, just as stopping to see if the woman needed help to only a couple of minutes, then there are great rewards (see Matthew 5:12). After the Lord taught the Sermon on the Mount He said, "Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad" (Matthew 5:12) because He had just taught them how to live, how to walk, how to become as He is, full of love, kind, patient, meek, humble. He taught a higher, a celestial law.

Life can be hard, but it is also full of joy. The prophet Jacob taught, "But, behold, the righteous (note that it is not self-righteous), the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever" (2 Nephi 9:8). We can walk the walk, and talk the talk and sincerely change and be "born again" (John 3:3; Mosiah 27:25) because we have faith in Christ and we desire to truly follow Him. This I testify.