Week 3: John the Baptist and the Savior

This week, I find myself speaking about John the Baptist again, but about a different part of his story than last time. This one is about John sending his disciples to Jesus and why.  John sent his two disciples to ask Jesus Christ if he was the Messiah.  When they did so, they were shown the many miracles of the Lord and He told them to go tell John what they witnessed.

If I was one of them, and had three things to tell John, it would be three of the miracles that we saw Jesus perform, of which were that:

1)He cast out devils

2)He made the blind see again

3)He cleansed the lepers

John wanted his disciples to go to Jesus, because he wanted them to realize for themselves that Jesus is the Messiah and that He was the one they should be following at that point.  John kept telling his disciples to go and follow the Savior, but some of them still wouldn't leave John, and so John thought this was the best way for them to realize who they needed to follow.

There are three reasons by Joseph Smith that explain why John is considered one of the best prophets:
     1) He was the only one entrusted to prepare the way before the face of the Lord.
     2) He was privileged by being chosen to baptize the Son of Man.

     3) He was the only legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom on the earth at that time and held the keys of power.

What the Savior said about John the Baptist, was that among those who are born of women, there isn't a greater prophet than John the Baptist.

John the Baptist’s had a wonderful attitude toward the savior.  In John 3:30 it shows John’s respect for the savior and his knowledge that he had already done his part and that it was time for the Savior to take over and do His part.  It also shows that John understood his calling.

An image I see from this is passing a baton or even the flaming torch in the opening ceremony of the Olympics.  I also see it as a situation where one is released from their calling and another is called for that position.  That is a way we can apply it to our own lives.  There may be some people in the church who have a hard time acknowledging that the calling they had is not theirs anymore.   All of us should respect the next person who is called for that calling, sustain them, and support (not criticize) the next person.  We need to embrace them with love and only give advice (and kindly so) if they ask for it.  We should also remember that just as we were called of God, that next person is also called of God.  John the Baptist is an example of how we should pass the baton to the next person.  I know that if we do these things, we will be blessed in return.