Être saint, devenir disciple
Cet article a été rédigé par un membre local de l'Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours. Les opinions exprimées peuvent ne pas représenter les vues et les positions de l'Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours. Pour le site officiel de l'Église, visitez églisedejesuschrist.org.
Par Eleanor Cook
Pour beaucoup, le terme saint désigne une personne qui a une proximité exceptionnelle avec Dieu ou qui a en quelque sorte consacré sa vie d'une manière extraordinaire à Dieu. Ce sont des gens qu'il faut admirer et, en tant que tels, dans de nombreuses cultures chrétiennes, ils sont considérés avec le plus haut degré de respect, agissant parfois comme un médiateur entre les autres et Dieu.
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term saint still has many of the same connotations. Saints work to follow Jesus Christ. They serve as He did, giving aid to the needy. They study the scriptures and pray often. They attend church and serve in different capacities. For Latter-day Saints, I have found that the term saint refers to everyone who has made promises to God through baptism and keeps those and additional promises as members of His Church.
A saint is “one who follows Christ in holiness and devotion with a view fixed on eternal life. This is the commitment of a Latter-day Saint.”¹ Although we respect saints past and present, I understand that as Latter-day Saints, we don’t worship them. We only worship God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ.
So what does a saint in the latter days look like? In 2 Nephi 26:33 we read: “and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” As I ponder the truths of this scripture, it is clear to me that tout le monde est invité à être disciple du Christ.
Being a disciple of Christ is not influenced by social, economic, or cultural backgrounds. Instead, I have come to find that there are some practical things that apply to all those trying to become disciples of Christ:²
- Avoir la foi
- Being humble and having the desire to communicate with God, to seek council from Him, and then to act on that guidance
- Chercher sincèrement des réponses, confiant que vous recevrez une réponse (Matthieu 7:7)
- Servir les autres
- Aller à l'église
- Renforcer la famille
- Faire preuve de gratitude
- Rester digne d'entrer dans le temple et tenir les promesses que nous avons faites avec Dieu
- Accueillir l'Evangile du Christ
In addition, Disciples of Christ try and develop His attributes and become more like Him. “Many people hear the word disciple and think it means only “follower.” But I have come to know that genuine discipleship is a state of being. This, to me, suggests more than studying a list of individual attributes. Disciples live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry.”³
So it is no wonder that the saints throughout history have been admired by many, or that they have been recognized as extraordinary. It requires work to be a saint, or disciple of Jesus Christ. But it is not impossible. All are invited to become disciples of Jesus Christ. And the best news of all is that we are not invited to do it alone.
We learn in Ephesians 4:11-12 that prophets, apostles, teachers, and others were given for “the perfecting of the Saints.” From this, we can learn that we must continually work to improve. We also learn that God has given us a Church to help us improve. The Church is quite literally a place where imperfect people work together to provide help, support, and guidance as we collectively try and draw nearer to Christ. He has given us prophets and apostles, to guide us and lead us in the right direction.
And if all that wasn’t enough, Jesus Christ Himself has promised that He will help us. I have found through my personal study that we actually can’t become saints or disciples of Christ without His help. As we exercise faith in Him and become better people daily through repentance, I know we can become better disciples of Jesus Christ.
Being a saint is worth it! As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I can say that there is nothing better than to gather together with other followers of Jesus Christ as we work to sustain and support each other on a path of discipleship toward the Savior. As I go about daily life, my identity as one of Christ’s disciples does not change. In fact, it influences my every decision. I am not perfect. But thanks to Christ, I need only be perfect in trying.
So join us, come to church, and message this page to discover more about how you can become a disciple of Christ through the Savior’s help and the support of other saints trying to do the same. God loves you!
¹ Bangerter, Wm Grant. 1987, "Ce que signifie être un saint"
² Uchtdorf, Dieter F. 2012 « Comment être un disciple du Christ »
³Hales, Robert D. 2017 « Devenir disciple de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ »
