March 29, 2026
Union Fort 11th Single Ward
I've chosen for the title of my talk a phrase that comes from Psalm 24:8, "Who is this King of Glory?"
What Manner of Man is This
Phrases like this also make me think of phrases uttered by His apostles. Here they are stuck on this ship on the Sea of Galilee, which can apparently get very rough storms very fast. Such a storm happens to the vessel carrying the apostles, almost sinking the ship. Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. The apostles exclaim “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” With three words, Jesus calms the storm. “Peace be still.” The scriptures say the apostles responded to this with fear, which is a very interesting choice of word, saying their own version of “Who is this King of Glory?” They said, in fear, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
As I've studied the life of and teachings of Jesus Christ I find myself becoming more and more intrigued by this Jesus of Nazareth. I am drawn to Him and hope that you and I both find ourselves desiring to know "Who is this king of glory?" and “What manner of man is this?” I want to share some scriptures that illustrate just how intriguing Jesus Christ is.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
One of the earliest stories of Jesus is about Him teaching to so many people in a house that there was no room for more people to even stand in the doorway. Four people bring a paralytic to the house, but since they can’t fit through the door, they make a hole in the roof and lower the man down to be closer to Jesus. Recognizing their faith, Jesus heals the man.
Actually he doesn’t heal the man. And that’s the part that intrigues me. Makes me say, “What manner of man is this?” Instead, Jesus says, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” I know Jesus of Nazareth had the spiritual gift of discernment, so He knew that the real desires of this man’s heart was more set on being forgiven of his sins than it was on being healed from his paralysis. Did Jesus abstaining from healing and instead forgiving surprise the four people that brought this man to the house? Were they expecting like I was that his innermost desire was NOT to be healed, but it was in fact to know the mercy of our Savior? Maybe it surprised the paralyzed man himself.
I once had a spinal injury and was stuck in a hospital bed, unable to move under my own power. I wasn’t paralyzed. Just broken. I thought about this story of the paralytic. “What would I ask for? Healing, or forgiveness?” Initially I thought, “healing.” But the more I thought about it, I too realized that deep down, what I really want is to know that I’m forgiven of my sins. Of course, Jesus does eventually heal this man of his physical infirmity, but only to teach the scribes that He was in fact divine.
An interesting side note, Joseph Smith in some of his accounts of the First Vision said that he went to the woods to pray about which church to join, and for forgiveness of his sins. And the first thing Jesus said to Joseph Smith was , “Your sins are forgiven.”
Mercy of Jesus
When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus would leave his Apostles behind to go and pray to God and to suffer. He asked His Apostles to support Him by staying awake. But they could not. He encouraged them three times to stay awake but they could not. During the pinnacle moment of our Savior’s earthly ministry they could not put off sleep, even though Jesus Christ really needed them and expressed that need for social support. He was still merciful to them. He had empathy and said, “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” People ebb and flow in and out of activity in the Church or in and out of discipleship to the Savior, and it’s okay! But it’s important that “the spirit truly is ready.” As long as we repent, Jesus will forgive us.
This is similarly reflected in the man that brought his child to Jesus to be healed, and asked for mercy and understanding when he said, “Lord I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” His spirit was ready, but he recognized there was still some work to do. There was an ebb and flow to his faith.
Whom do ye say that I am
Another passage that I think about a lot comes from Matthew 16. It shows that Jesus sees us as individuals. Jesus asks his disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias, and others Jeremia[h], or one of the prophets.” In other words, people definitely think Jesus is unlike anyone else these people have met. Almost a myth. He’s more than a man. He’s devoted to an ideal and has become something else entirely. A legend. But Jesus isn’t worried about what the world thinks of Him in this moment. In this moment Jesus is more concerned about what they as individuals think. “But whom say ye that I am?”
Except for when I’m around my social circles in this ward, I’m around mostly people that have never been members of the Church, or are no longer members of the Church, and in some cases are outspoken against the Church. They have explanations for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I think about this scene of Jesus and His apostles.
This was an important moment for Simon Peter. In the theater of my mind, when this scene plays out, Peter didn’t answer immediately as it might seem when reading verse after verse. I think there was an elongated moment of introspection when Peter repeated the question internally. In that moment an internal testimony was borne to Peter. I’ve also felt that burning in my bosom after internal reflection. Peter responds, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus knew what just happened inside Peter and confirmed “flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
This is in contrast to the world we live in. There’s lots of noise. Joseph Smith described it as “war of words, and tumult of opinions.” I’d describe it as mobs, and courts of public opinion. But Jesus cares about me. “Whom say YE that I am?” How are YOU doing?
Ward examples
I see this exemplified in my associations in the Church. A couple of examples:
I serve on the FHE committee with Leanna. She and I don’t have meetings. We have what we call “walk and talks” here in the hallways. After we’ve concluded FHE business, I say “That’s all I had to discuss.” She’ll ask “Now how are you doing?” with the word “you” in italics. And I can tell her interest and concern is genuine so we’ll chat about things going on in life outside of FHE. That is very Christlike of her.
Another example. Last week there was a ward social at Jamen’s house. When I left I walked out of the house just behind Pete and his wife Julie. We made casual small talk walking to our cars for a bit, but then started talking about some important things, personal things. It turned into a conversation that I really needed to hear. At some point we asked each other where our cars were so as to not overstay our welcome, but I said I was enjoying the conversation so we walked around a couple of blocks and talked for a while. It was very much a “But whom say ye that I am?” moment where Jesus is focused on the individual. These two examples remind me of Jesus walking and talking. Probably in sandals.
Why Weepest Thou
The apostles and disciples, close friends and family of Jesus, didn’t have a full understanding of the Resurrection of Jesus when it happened. On the morning of Jesus’ resurrection, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb where Jesus’ body was buried only to find an empty tomb. Mary went and told the disciples and apostles, (emphasize) but she explained that the body must have been taken and put somewhere else. It was stolen, she told them. The apostles ran to the tomb in a panic. The scriptures say they still didn’t fully understand that this was part of His resurrection. They saw the empty tomb, then returned home, I imagine feeling deflated and depressed.
Mary stayed behind and mourned at the tomb. Jesus was there and Mary saw Him still didn’t recognize Him, I’m assuming because seeing Jesus would have been too unexpected. “Why weepest thou?” He said.
Again, Jesus was focused on an individual. It’s not canon, but in my mind I think that even though Jesus had just risen from the dead and was en route to preach the gospel to imprisoned spirits on the other side of the veil, He thought something like, “I have to stop by and see someone. I have to let her know I’m okay.” The theater of my mind imagines the biggest smile and tears from Jesus’ eyes as He then said, “Mary,” as if to say, “Mary, I’m okay. I’m alive.”
I am the truth
Something else that makes me raise one eyebrow and ask “Who is this King of Glory” is when Jesus describes himself with three titles. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I think all major world religious leaders to some extent say they know the way, or that they know the meaning of life, or that they know the truth. But here Jesus is saying He is the way, is the truth, and is the life.
Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I think I understand why He can say he is the embodiment or personification of the way and the life. But the middle one, the truth, I find very curious. I believe Jesus Christ teaches truth and encompasses all things that are true. But I can’t stop wondering about how He can be the embodiment of truth. When he was before Pontius Pilate he did say this: “To this end was I born, …that I should bear witness unto the truth.”
Elder Holland said this: “It is the grand truth that in all that Jesus came to say and do, including and especially in His atoning suffering and sacrifice, He was showing us who and what God, our Eternal Father, is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every age and nation.”
Christ’s mission and the truth He was teaching was who God our Eternal Father is. So if the truth or testimony that Christ is bearing is that of the Father and who He is, then it makes sense that Jesus Christ Himself is THE truth, the embodiment of truth.
An interesting factoid that I recently learned: The temple is centered on Christ, and the word ‘temple’ comes from the same root as the word ‘template’. A template is just something that serves as a model or pattern for others to emulate. Jesus is our template for what the Father is like. And we find that pattern in the temple.
Suffering
Jesus’ purpose was to teach us about God. Our purpose is to become like Jesus Christ. Jesus’s most important act was to suffer. We also have to suffer. It would be blasphemous to suggest we have to suffer to the same degree as Jesus Christ, but we do have our own Gethsemane’s we have to go through.
At points during His suffering, Jesus Himself wished He didn’t have to suffer. It was borderline too tough for Him. “Let this cup pass from Me.” We feel the same way. When Jesus was in the deepest part of his suffering, He stayed focused: “To this end was I born.” In the theater of my mind, when He said this, He was partly trying to inspire Himself to continue, reminding Himself, “I have to do this.” Similarly, when we suffer we should remind ourselves, “To this end was I born.” The purpose of His life was strongly tied to suffering. Our purpose is also tied to suffering, both Christ’s suffering and our own.
I think Christ’s Atonement, Christ’s suffering, brings us to God, and our own suffering brings us to Christ. We are taught that Christ requires a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” A broken heart brings us to Christ, and then through Christ, our contrite spirit brings us to God the Father.
I really like the pairing of those two things as our sacrifice, a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Both are required. If you have just a broken heart, it’s not enough. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wiser. We all suffer.
In addition to our suffering we need to mourn, contemplate, write, read, study, talk, and also be intentionally quiet.
A broken heart is the easy part of the equation. A broken heart is usually caused by the actions of others, or may be a result of our own mistakes. But regardless of the source of the broken heart, our contrite spirit can only be a result of our own proactivity, our own submission. Salvation was never a cheap experience.
Elder Holland said: “Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?” (Missionary Work and the Atonement).
Close with a testimony of how you get to know Jesus Christ on your own, in your own thoughts and your own writing and your own reading. Jesus’ mission was to be a testimony of God the Father, and we should follow His template and be an example of Jesus. I learn about Jesus through your example, and also through my own personal studies and meditations on who Jesus is. Think about Jesus. Will you be able to recognize Him when He comes again?
