Friendship and Divine Imitation

But there are also other senses in which Jesus is a friend. Exodus tells us that the Lord spoke to Moses as one speaks to a friend (Ex. 33:11). James tells us that Abraham was called "the friend of God" (Jas. 2:23). And on the night when his passion began Jesus said to his disciples, "Henceforth I call you not servants; . . . but I have called you friends" (Jn. 15:15). Because Jesus laid down his life for us, he is already our friend. But we ought to yearn for the more profound friendship had by Moses, Abraham, and the disciples.

In scripture revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord describes his work in these words: "This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Mormons believe that Jesus brought about the immortality of humanity through the resurrection: he overcame death, guaranteeing that all humanity will be resurrected.

Eternal life, divine life, is another matter. The passion in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross made forgiveness of sin possible, but we must repent for that atonement to be meaningful in our lives. We will all have immortality, but only if our sins are taken from us can we have eternal life, life with God.

With Paul (e.g., Acts 20:32, Eph. 1:11, Col. 1:12), Mormons speak of the inheritance of the saints (Doctrine & Covenants 93:45). We believe that inheritance is given to those who repent, are baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and make and keep covenants with God, remaining faithful to him until death—all in faith.

Profound friendship with God is possible. It is promised: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom. 8:16-17).

I assume that profound friendship with Jesus is a profound inward experience. Søren Kierkegaard's pseudonymous authors have a great deal to say about that inward experience of friendship with God, as do many Christian mystics. But full friendship with God is more than something merely inward. Being like God requires that we live godly lives, and as Jesus' life showed that is not a merely inward life.

To be a friend of Jesus is not only to receive, with him, all that the Father has (Jn. 16:15). It is also to imitate his Son. It is to be a servant to the world: "I called you servants for the world's sake, and ye are their servants for my sake" (D&C 93:46). Jesus demonstrated that service in his life and in his death: he healed the sick and provided for the poor; he suffered for those who inflicted that suffering, and died for us without recrimination or blame.

Taken with the revelation of Doctrine and Covenants 93:46, the last clause of Romans 8:17 is instructive: being a friend of God means serving the world, and serving the world means suffering with Christ. That does not mean that we must seek persecution or death, but that we must take his death for us seriously and imitate the willingness to sacrifice for others that motivated that death.

We must be servants of the world if we wish to inherit with the Son. The interests of those with whom we deal must be our interests. We must be willing, like our Savior, to bear their sins and griefs as if they were our own, and to do so in love, without accusation or revenge. The safety and security of friendship with God requires the exposure and danger of befriending the world.