9/27/2025

Most Christians equate living the gospel of Jesus Christ with being busy within the structure of institutionalized religion. They attend church regularly, take on callings, participate in ordinances, evangelize, and follow the direction of leaders. While such activity can be meaningful, it is easy to confuse these outward, institutional activities with the deeper reality of discipleship. The danger is subtle but profound: church activity can become a substitute for true conversion and discipleship. Jesus never taught that the kingdom of God was about ritual busyness or religious showmanship. He called His followers to be something far greater.¹

When Jesus summarized His gospel, He did not point people toward organizational obligations. He said: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. … And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”² He invited all to “deny [themselves], and take up [their] cross daily, and follow me.”³ He declared: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”⁴ The focus is always on the transformation of the inner person from being secular and profane to becoming sanctified and holy.  We are to become fundamentally better people through faith in Christ, repentance, humility, love, service, and a life patterned after our Savior’s.

This is what it means to take upon oneself the name of Christ. It is to be the kind of person He is. It is to do as He would do. We are called to follow His example in all things, in the best ways we know how.

Church activity has its place. The Apostle Paul taught that the church exists “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”⁵ In other words, gatherings and ordinances are scaffolding—tools meant to instruct and build discipleship. But they are not discipleship itself.

The Book of Mormon makes this clear. Alma warned that the people should not “set their hearts upon riches and vain things of the world” while neglecting to “succor those that stand in need.”⁶ King Benjamin taught that discipleship is to “impart of your substance to the poor… administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need.”⁷ True gospel living was measured not by attendance at ritual gatherings, but by love in action, often in situations where love is hardest.

To live the gospel is to live as Christ lived. He gave us the pattern: Love God completely. Put Him above all else in devotion, time, energy, and loyalty. Love others actively. Service, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy are not optional—they are the daily bread of discipleship. Be honest and virtuous. Integrity in private and public life demonstrates covenant loyalty to Christ. Be courageous. Following conscience and truth, even when unpopular, is central to discipleship (see Mosiah 18:9). Be productive and diligent. Jesus taught the Parable of the Talents, expecting His disciples to multiply good in the world, not waste the gifts of life.⁸

Throughout scripture, God warns that ritual without righteousness is an offense to Him. Isaiah declared in God’s name: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? … Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me.”⁹ What God desired instead was justice, mercy, and care for the oppressed. The Book of Mormon echoes this warning. Mormon observed that many in his day “had polluted the holy church of God… for the sake of gain.”¹⁰ Christ Himself, when He appeared to the Nephites, gave the simple command: “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”¹¹

In our time, living the gospel requires pulling our focus away from constant institutional busyness and toward Christlike character by our daily actions. It means choosing to forgive rather than hold grudges. Offering kindness to strangers. Being fair and honest in business. Raising families in righteousness. Speaking truth even when inconvenient. Building communities of love and service that reflect God’s kingdom. Church can support this growth, but it can never replace it. If all we do is go to church, yet fail to be changed into Christ’s image, leaving our homes a mess, not studying the gospel, not teaching the gospel in our homes or communities, wasting our time in vain pursuits by seeking after the vain things of the world, we miss the very heart of the gospel.

Hypothetically, if the church you attend or belong to suddenly ceased to exist, but the reality of Jesus Christ remained, what would you do to become and remain a true disciple of Christ? This question pierces to the core of what it means to live the gospel. Church can be a helpful and convenient structure to assist us in some ways, but it is no replacement for personal initiative and faith directly in Jesus Christ.

Living the gospel does not depend on any earthly institution. Churches may rise or fall into apostasy, leaders may come and go, programs may change, but Christ is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”¹² Discipleship is not bound to a building, a schedule, or a hierarchy—it is bound to Him.

If stripped of all outward structures, discipleship would still look like this: praying daily with real intent; immersing yourself in the words of scripture; living the two great commandments—loving God wholly and loving your neighbor tangibly; seeking the gifts of the Spirit to guide and sanctify you; and building your life on the rock of Christ by doing His sayings, not merely hearing them.¹³

In this way, the question is really a test: Do we worship Christ, or do we worship an institution? If our faith collapses when the structure collapses, then our faith was not in Him. If our discipleship continues, even flourishes, without external scaffolding, then we show that our foundation is secure.

The Book of Mormon gives the example of Alma and his people, who were forbidden from worshipping in their synagogues. They still “did assemble themselves together in different bodies, being called the church of God.”¹⁴ Their worship was simple but profound: baptism, covenant, prayer, and caring for one another. When persecution scattered them, their faith endured because it was never in buildings or institutional leaders, but in Christ.¹⁵

Thus, if the church you attend ceased to exist tomorrow, the true disciple would still rise each morning with a prayer of gratitude, still forgive offenses, still speak truth, still bless the hungry and clothe the naked, still study the word, and still live as Christ lived. The kingdom of God is within you, and no institution can give or take away that reality.¹⁶

References

1. See Matthew 22:37–39 (KJV).

2. Matthew 22:37–39 (KJV).

3. Luke 9:23 (KJV).

4. John 14:15 (KJV).

5. Ephesians 4:12 (KJV).

6. Alma 34:28 (Book of Mormon).

7. Mosiah 4:26 (Book of Mormon).

8. Matthew 25:14–30 (KJV).

9. Isaiah 1:11–17 (KJV).

10. Mormon 8:36 (Book of Mormon).

11. 3 Nephi 27:27 (Book of Mormon).

12. Hebrews 13:8 (KJV); Moroni 10:19 (Book of Mormon).

13. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (KJV); 2 Nephi 32:3 (Book of Mormon); Matthew 7:24–25 (KJV).

14. Mosiah 18:17 (Book of Mormon).

15. Mosiah 24:12–15 (Book of Mormon).

16. Luke 17:21 (KJV).

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