Bruised Thumbs

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So in light of my companion's concussion, we have had to take it easy

this week by staying inside a lot more than usual. So naturally I have

had a lot of time to study! Part of my studies have centered on Jesus

the Christ, from which I continue to grow in understanding of who our

Savior is as a person.

One chapter in the book is centered entirely on Christ's boyhood and

growth. One thing that Tallmadge emphasizes in this chapter is that

Christ, just like everyone else, learned line upon line, precept upon

precept. Nothing was ever simply handed to Him on account of His

divine sonship; He was required to attain wisdom and knowledge in

exactly the same way we are, by hard work and patience.

With this in mind it occurred to me that, while He was entirely

sinless and spiritually perfect, Christ was not perfect at all things

temporal. That is, He was not by default that best at everything He

ever did. In mortality, He probably wasn't as good at swimming as

Michael Phelps, or as good at Basketball (had it existed) as Michael

Jordan. He probably couldn't beat a world champion Chess player at a

game of Chess and, who knows, He may not have even been a straight A

student had he attended Harvard Medical School (although He was

clearly a very smart individual). Christ probably wasn't a perfect

carpenter when He began learning the trade and He probably had His

fair share of splinters and bruised thumbs.

Christ was perfectly sinless, there is no dispute about that, but that

doesn't mean he was a superhuman from planet Krypton. For me, thinking

about Christ in this light makes Him a lot more relatable. I think too

often we lose sight of the fact that Christ experienced life in just

the same way we do and that He wasn't arbitrarily lead through life or

given whatever He wanted without needing to put in sincere effort on

His end. He stands shoulder to shoulder with us in being able to

attest that life is not an easy experience.

Anyway, that is a bit of what I have learned this week, maybe it's

false doctrine, maybe it's not haha. In the end the important part is

that Christ was sinless and that because of this He was able to take

upon Himself our sins and pay the cost for them that we might not have

to if we came unto Him. I know this is true and I am so happy to have

the chance to share this truth full time for the next two years!

Have a great week everyone and don't forget to invite a friend to

conference this week!

-Anziano Wilkinson