When Jesus Christ came to this earth He said, “I came...not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). God’s purpose—His will—is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
Through the Atonement our Savior was able to bring about immortality—living forever. Every human soul who lived on this earth will be given the gift of a resurrected body, “restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided” (Doctrine & Covenants 138:17). Through His service on the earth He was able to bring people to His Father, and thus help them progress toward eternal life—living like God.
We live in a fallen world. Our bodies are fallen. our thoughts are fallen. The Lord stated, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). By lifting ourselves, and our thoughts, to a higher plain—far above our fallen state—we can see the horizon more clearly. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught,
“The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 51).
It must have been this clarity of vision that allowed the Savior to look beyond the throngs of people that continually surrounded Him. Some were interested in His teachings, others in His miracles, and others sought to condemn Him:
“But as he went the people thronged him” (Luke 8:42).
“there were many coming and going, and they [Jesus and His apostles] had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31).
“and great multitudes followed him” (Matthew 12:15).
“And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole” (Mark 6:56).
Jesus had compassion on those who followed Him, “because they…were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). He wanted to teach them a better way, a higher way, so that they could find direction in their lives, and ultimately "seek for the things of a better [world]" (Doctrine & Covenants 25:10).
Before this earth life our Savior had progressed so much that He was “like unto God” (Abraham 3:24). He had perfected every attribute possible: love, compassion, patience, kindness, gentleness, charity, and the list goes on and on. Tad R. Callister stated,
“[T]he great Jehovah, creator of worlds without number, infinite in virtue and power, made his entry into this world in swaddling clothes and a manger.
“Be that as it may, no one could mask his godhood. One might clothe his spirit with flesh and blood, wrap him in mortal garb, draw the veil of forgetfulness across his mind, but no one, absolutely no one, could rob him of his divinely inherited traits. They could not be buried in his mortal frame. They could not be silenced. Every moment of every day his godly attributes were etching themselves on his outer shell. They manifested themselves in every smile, every glance, every spoken word. Godliness exuded itself in every thought, every action, and every deed” (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p64).
It makes me wonder if there are any attributes or gifts that I perfected in heaven that are trying to etch themselves on my mortal frame.
People were drawn toward the love that emanated from the Savior. Even getting close enough to touch His robe provided healing—to those who had faith (see Mark 5:25-34).
Jesus lived a life of service: service to His God shown by His service to others. King Benjamin taught, “that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Being in the service of His God, the Savior was acting like God. For “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5:19). By watching how Jesus treated others, we can come to better understand how deeply our Heavenly Father loves each one of us, no matter where we are in life, or what we’ve done. We are all His children.
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
“They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
“Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
“This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
"And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
“And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
“When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
“She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8: 3-11).
Jesus did not condemn her. To condemn means to “express complete disapproval of, typically in public”, it can also mean to criticize, reprimand (link to definition), and many other things He could have done. But He did not. He did not bring up the sin, or chastise her for what she had done. He told her to go and sin no more.
He looks at our sins in the same way. He may be sorrowful that we choose to sin, but He will not condemn us. He loves us—perfectly. Perfect love is something that I think we as mortals, living in an imperfect world, will never understand in this life. It is hard to understand someone who will love us so much, no matter what we do. When on the cross Jesus spoke of those who were crucifying Him when He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He held no condemning feelings even in the midst of His suffering. His love not only extended to those who were trying to do what was right, but for those who despitefully used Him and persecuted Him (see Matthew 5:44).
If we can understand the love of our Savior, we can catch a glimpse of the unending love that our Father in Heaven has for each of us. Elder Richard G. Scott said, “Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously” (link to talk).
As we come to know more about the life of the Savior we will see the amazing good He did for the world. As we draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, we will be able to come to know Him more. As we come to know Him more, we will recognize His never-ending, unfailing, and merciful love; and a life so motivated by pure love that He willingly lay down His life for each of us.
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