What is the Cost of Discipleship?

by Terra Sanderson Heywood

President Russell M. Nelson boldly instructed us in his October 2024 Conference address that “now is the time for you and me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time to make our discipleship our highest priority.” 1

Jesus impressed upon his followers what was necessary to be called His disciple. He taught us that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. 2 Jesus anticipated that the decision to become His disciple was to be done with care, for he entreats us to “count the cost”. 3

He teaches, “ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Or what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consults whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? So likewise, whosoever...of you that forsake not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. 4

Jesus then gave this revolutionary promise. That any desiring to save his own life would eventually lose it, but any who would willingly give up their life for Him would find it.5 Posing this thought-provoking question, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” 6

So, what is the cost of discipleship? What will we give up for our soul? Jesus taught that we must deny ourselves. What does that look like? I believe part of it looks like being willing to shed the worldly version of ourselves. Getting rid of our selfishness, our pride, and sins. Letting go of our anxieties and our fears. Ridding ourselves of our judgments and our limited perspectives.

In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis shares this thought, “Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think wicked--the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.” 7

Changing our natural selves may feel like a difficult commission. It’s not going to come easily or naturally. Especially in these last days, which the Apostle Paul describes, where the world will be filled with those who love only themselves and their money. Those who consider nothing sacred. Those who are unloving and unforgiving, who slander others, having no self-control. The world will be filled with those who are cruel and hate what is good, who love pleasure rather than God. 8

Not being influenced by the world in our day will be challenging. But Jesus promises that if we give over ourselves to him, what we will gain in return is something of far greater value. We will have gained His image in our countenance.9 We will have His light, His love, His power in our reflections. What Jesus promises is that we will discover our identity. Our eternal identity. We will come to know and understand that we are children of a loving God. “This knowledge, Elder Uchtdorf once shared, changes everything. It can change your present, it can change your future, and it can change the world. He expresses if only we understood who we are, and what is in store for us, our hearts would overflow with such gratitude and happiness that it would enlighten even the darkest souls with the light and love of God.”10

I believe that for us to become better disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to trust Him. Trust that as we forget ourselves, we will find our true and divine selves.

Jesus also instructs that we must take up our cross and follow Him. Elder Holland expressed this thought in his address at the General Conference in October 2022. “To be a follower of Jesus Christ, one must sometimes carry a burden—your own or someone else’s—and go where sacrifice is required and suffering is inevitable.” 11

This also may feel like a hard ask. But Jesus’s promises can bring comfort and assurance. He pleads Come to me. Come to me any who are burdened. Come to me any who are weary. Come to me and I will give you rest.12

We can learn from the example of the Apostle Paul, who suffered from “a thorn in his flesh” 13 and had asked the Lord to remove it three times. The Lord responded to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”14 Paul replied: “Most gladly therefore will I ... glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, ... in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”15

President Camille Johnson, in her current General Conference address, suggests “that even in our weakness, our strength in Jesus Christ can be made perfect—that is, complete and whole. She continues, wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ and in letting the light of that conversion shine.” 16

I heard a beautiful thought in a podcast that I was listening to this week, and the sentiment was this. “The presence of tribulation does not mean the absence of God.” 17I believe that to be true. I believe that as we seek to strengthen our discipleship to Jesus Christ, in our moments of tribulations, those incredible difficult moments of carrying our cross of things seen and unseen, that if we turn to Him, we will find Him. And we can trust with “His power and grace” 18 we can find strength and healing to becoming spiritually whole. That is His promise.

Elder Kearon stated it this way, “Jesus specializes in the seemingly impossible. He came here to make the impossible possible, the irredeemable redeemable, to heal the unhealable, to right the unrightable, to promise the unpromisable. And He’s really good at it. In fact, He’s perfect at it.” 19

Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples as He shared His final Passover meal with them. He commanded them to “love one another. Even as He had loved them. Jesus explained that by showing this kind of love, all would know that they were His disciples.” 20

That command is the same for us today. The hallmark characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ is for us to love as He does. President Nelson in his General Conference address Peacemakers Needed said, “the easiest way to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.”21

Elder Uchtdorf, in his recent General Conference address, recounted a time when he and his wife were traveling through Southern Germany and invited a good friend not of our faith to join them for their Sunday worship. Elder Uchtdorf was hoping that the meeting would be a good experience. But as he sat through it, he noticed some things that made him cringe a little. The singing wasn’t the best, there were restless and noisy children, and the speakers, although doing their best, were not skilled at public speaking. He was hoping Sunday School would be better. It wasn’t.

After the meeting he was ready to make apologies when his friend spoke up first and said, “That was beautiful. I am so impressed with how people treat each other in your church. They all seem to come from different backgrounds, and yet it’s clear that they genuinely love each other. This is what I imagine Christ wanted His Church to be like.” He quickly repented of his judgmental attitude. He had wanted picture-perfect meetings to impress his friend, but what the members achieved was much greater: a perfect spirit of love. 22

I came across a pastor, Wayne Hoag, who created a project called the “One Another Project.” He was drawn to the admonitions that call us to do something for our fellow men. He found 29 uses of the word “one another” in the New Testament. His belief is that these admonitions are given to shape and mold God’s children into the image of His Son. 23

Some include:

• Love one another

• Forgive one another

• Pray for one another

• Bear one another’s burdens

• Regard one another as more important than yourself

• Do not judge one another

• Build up one another

• Care for one another

I loved this idea of his project. I think it’s a beautiful way to build a community of God. To build Zion. It teaches us to become. To become like our Savior. And at the foundation of all these “one another” admonitions is the call to love one another. I believe that our testimony to the world of our discipleship comes through this beautiful command to love.

I have a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. Learning of Him and trying to become like Him has changed my life. I am trying to become a better disciple of Him. I am grateful for his continual call to repent, giving me another try at having my heart, mind, and spirit changed. I have found that when I put in the time and effort to be consistent in my scripture study and my personal prayers, I am more attuned to His Spirit. And that Spirit brings light and truth and love into my life. I testify and give gratitude to a loving Father in Heaven who sent His Beloved Son because of His love for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Terra Sanderson Heywood is a native Arizonan who loves to call Mesa her home. She is a mother to 5 active children. She loves to read and can often be found with a good book nearby and a salty snack in hand. She finds joy in studying the life of Jesus Christ in the scriptures.

Footnotes:

1 Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” October 2024 General Conference

2 See Matthew 16:24

3 See Luke 14:28

4 Luke 14:28,31,33

5 See Matthew 16:25

6 Matthew 26:26

7 Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity

8 See NLT Bible, 2 Timothy 3:1-5

9 See Alma 5:14

10 Our True Identity (video), Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/self-reliance-videos/finding-strength-

in-the-lord-emotional-resiliance/2010-04-20-our-true-identity

11 Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lifted Up upon the Cross,” October 2022 General Conference

12 See NLT Bible Matthew 11:28

13 2 Corinthians 12:7

14 2 Corinthians 12:9

15 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

16 Camille N. Johnson, “Spiritually Whole in Him,” April 2025 General Conference

17 David Butler, “It Became Beautiful,” Don’t Miss This Podcast, May 27, 2025

18 Elder Patrick Kearon, “He is Risen with Healing in His Wings,” April 2022 General Conference. “You are a survivor, you can heal, and you can trust that with the power and grace of Jesus Christ, you will overcome and conquer.”

19 Elder Patrick Kearon, “He Is Risen with Healing in His Wings, “April 2022 General Conference

20 John 13:34-35

21 President Russell M. Nelson, “Peacemakers Needed,” April 2023 General Conference

22 Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples”, April 2025 General Conference

Terra Sanderson Heywood is a native Arizonan who loves to call Mesa her home. She is a mother to 5 active children. She loves to read and can often be found with a good book nearby and a salty snack in hand. She finds joy in studying the life of Jesus Christ in the scriptures.