What have the people seen Christ doing? Witnessing of His divine mission, expounding, praying, baptizing, serving the people, blessing lives, organizing, perfecting the ministry, doing the will of the Father—all those things that belong to the gospel plan and the work of the priesthood. We are to do those same things under the direction of the Spirit—beginning with repentance and then enduring to the end in obedience. We are to follow in the footsteps of the Savior and become involved in the unfolding of the work of the kingdom of God, as Paul explains:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13)
The Savior shows the way in His counsel to do as He is doing. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “It is the beginning of wisdom for us mortals to accept the simple but verifiable truths about eternal purpose as found in Jesus Christ. He has summed it all up, commencing with the words ‘This is my gospel.’ The straightforward explanation that follows each of these declarations gives to mankind the ‘good news’—the glorious news—concerning Jesus’ coming as our Rescuer and our Savior and our Atoner. His gospel gives to humankind the answers to the search for meaning and eternal purpose” (Even As I Am [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982], 4).
We need not think that the Lord has made it complicated to gain eternal life. We need to exercise our faith unto repentance, take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ through baptism, become sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. This is the doctrine of Christ (see 2 Nephi 31). As we live the gospel, access priesthood blessings, and participate in the ordinances of the temple, we can have the blessings of eternal life. We learn from the sacred record: “And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him” (D&C 76:40–42). The gospel is centered in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every individual can be sanctified and cleansed through the Atonement of Christ. It is only through our Savior that all mankind can be saved by obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel. The gospel is the foundation of the Church, the rock upon which we are built and the essence of a Christ-centered life.