Learning to Recognize the Voice of Jesus Christ
Ezekiel 37 | Come Follow Me for Teens
Have you ever had someone tell you about a person they know really well?
Maybe a friend was describing someone you hadn't met yet.
They told you what that person was like.
What they enjoyed doing.
What they were good at.
Maybe they even shared a funny story about something that happened when they were together.
And after listening for a few minutes, you began to feel like you already knew something about that person.
Then imagine someone else began telling you about the same individual.
They had different experiences together.
They remembered different conversations.
They noticed things the first friend hadn't mentioned.
But as they talked, you began recognizing something interesting.
Both people were describing the same kind of person.
They both talked about their kindness.
Their sense of humor.
The way they treated other people.
Their willingness to help someone who was struggling.
And suddenly, you began to understand that person more clearly.
Even though you'd never met them yourself, the experiences of two people who knew them well helped you recognize something about their character.
I want you to remember that illustration as we explore one of the most interesting prophecies in the book of Ezekiel.
Because Heavenly Father has given us two extraordinary witnesses to help us come to know someone more important than anyone else we will ever meet.
His Son, Jesus Christ.
And those witnesses are the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Two Sticks in the Lord's Hand
In Ezekiel 37, the Lord gives His prophet an unusual assignment.
He tells Ezekiel to take two sticks.
On one, he is to write a name representing Judah.
On the other, he is to write a name representing Joseph.
Then the Lord instructs him:
"Join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."
—Ezekiel 37:17
Imagine watching Ezekiel do that.
He takes two separate objects, each representing part of God's covenant people, and holds them together.
What is the Lord trying to teach?
The prophecy speaks of the gathering of scattered Israel, the reunion of God's covenant people, and their return to Him.
But for Latter-day Saints, it also contains a beautiful connection to two sacred records.
The stick of Judah represents the Bible.
And the stick of Joseph represents the Book of Mormon.
Two records.
Different peoples.
Different lands.
Different histories.
Yet both testify of the same Savior.
And the Lord promises:
"And they shall be one in mine hand."
—Ezekiel 37:19
I love that phrase.
One in mine hand.
Think about what Heavenly Father has provided.
In the Bible, we read about the Creation, the Fall, the covenants God made with His people, and the teachings of prophets who prepared the world for the coming of Jesus Christ.
We learn about His birth in Bethlehem.
His miracles.
His compassion.
His teachings.
His suffering in Gethsemane.
His Crucifixion.
And His glorious Resurrection.
Then we open the Book of Mormon and discover another people who knew of Jesus Christ.
Prophets who testified of His coming centuries before His birth.
Families who struggled to trust His promises.
People who experienced the power of His gospel to change their lives.
And finally, the resurrected Savior Himself appearing among them.
Two witnesses helping us come to know the same Lord.
But there's something I think is even more remarkable.
Sometimes one witness helps us understand something the other witness has been teaching all along.
The Savior Who Knows His Sheep
In John 10, Jesus Christ describes Himself as the Good Shepherd.
He says:
"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."
—John 10:14
I love that description.
The Savior knows His sheep.
He recognizes them.
He cares about them.
And He wants them to recognize His voice.
Then, a few verses later, He says something interesting:
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice."
—John 10:16
Imagine being one of the people listening to Jesus in Jerusalem.
Who were these other sheep?
Where were they?
What did the Savior mean when He said they would hear His voice?
Now let's open the Book of Mormon.
In 3 Nephi 15:21–24, Jesus Christ is teaching the Nephites after His Resurrection.
And He explains that they are among the other sheep He had spoken of in Jerusalem.
Think about how meaningful that is.
The very Savior who walked the roads of Galilee, healed the sick, and taught the people in Jerusalem appeared to another group of His children on the other side of the world.
He hadn't forgotten them.
He knew where they were.
He knew their history.
He knew their needs.
And He wanted them to hear His voice.
Now read John 10:16 again.
Doesn't that verse feel a little different?
The Book of Mormon helps us better understand something Jesus taught in the Bible.
And together, they reveal something beautiful about His character.
Jesus Christ knows His people wherever they are, and He wants every one of them to hear His voice.
Now think about what that means for you.
The Savior knows where you are too.
He knows the challenges you're facing.
The questions you have.
The things you're excited about.
The worries you don't always share with other people.
And He wants you to come to know Him.
What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?
Let me give you another example of how these two witnesses work together.
In John 3, a man named Nicodemus comes to Jesus.
Nicodemus is trying to understand the Savior and His teachings.
During their conversation, Jesus tells him:
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
—John 3:3
Nicodemus is confused.
How can someone be born again?
Jesus explains the importance of being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5).
Now turn to Mosiah 5.
King Benjamin has been teaching his people about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and the importance of making and keeping covenants with God.
And something remarkable happens.
The people describe the influence of the Holy Ghost upon them:
"The Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent ... has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts."
—Mosiah 5:2
They explain that they no longer have a desire to do evil, but to do good continually.
Think about the connection.
Jesus tells Nicodemus about the need to be born again through the Spirit.
King Benjamin's people describe what it feels like when the Spirit begins changing their hearts.
The Bible teaches the doctrine.
The Book of Mormon gives us another powerful witness of people experiencing that change.
And together, they help us better understand what Jesus Christ wants to do within us.
He wants us to become new creatures through His redeeming power.
He wants us to develop new desires.
Greater love.
Stronger faith.
A deeper willingness to follow Him.
And the more we come to know Him, the more we begin to understand why His teachings are worth following.
Why Are God's Words So Powerful?
There's another scripture I want you to consider.
It's found in Alma 31.
Alma is deeply concerned about a group of people called the Zoramites.
They're turning away from God, developing destructive beliefs, and creating serious problems that threaten the spiritual and temporal welfare of others.
Alma wants to help them change.
But there's something interesting about the approach he chooses.
He believes that preaching the word of God will have a greater influence upon them than trying to force them to change.
Listen to Alma 31:5:
"The preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else."
Think about that.
Alma believed God's word could accomplish something that force and pressure couldn't.
Why?
Consider something you've probably experienced.
Maybe you've been told to do something you didn't particularly want to do.
Clean your room.
Finish an assignment.
Put away your phone.
Help with a chore.
And perhaps you did it because someone was watching, or because you didn't want to get into trouble.
But what happened when the pressure was removed?
If you didn't understand or care about the reason behind what you were doing, you might have gone right back to your old habits.
Now imagine something different.
Imagine that you began to understand why something was important.
You recognized how it could bless your life or help someone you cared about.
And eventually, you wanted to make that choice because you believed it was right.
Something had changed inside you.
That's the kind of influence Alma understood the word of God could have.
The scriptures teach us correct principles.
They introduce us to the Savior.
They help us understand His character and His purposes.
And through the Holy Ghost, those teachings can become part of what we believe, value, and desire.
God's word has power because it helps bring us to Jesus Christ, who has the power to change our hearts.
When the Word Brings Life
Now I want you to notice something else about Ezekiel 37.
Before the Lord teaches Ezekiel about the two sticks, He gives him another extraordinary vision.
Ezekiel sees a valley filled with dry bones.
Not bodies that have recently died.
Bones.
Dry, scattered remains of people whose lives have long since ended.
The Lord asks Ezekiel whether those bones can live.
And then He tells him:
"O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."
—Ezekiel 37:4
As Ezekiel speaks the Lord's word, the bones begin coming together.
Then the Lord gives them breath, and they live.
The vision represents the Lord's power to restore and gather Israel, but I also love what it teaches about the life-giving power of God's word and Spirit.
Think about the way the scriptures can influence our lives.
Sometimes we feel spiritually strong.
We recognize God's goodness.
We enjoy praying.
We look forward to studying.
We feel close to the Savior.
But there may be other seasons when things feel different.
Perhaps you've been discouraged.
Maybe you have questions you haven't found answers to yet.
Perhaps your testimony doesn't feel as strong as it once did.
Or maybe you've been so distracted by everything else in your life that you haven't made much time for Heavenly Father.
And you begin feeling spiritually distant.
I love the image of God speaking life into that valley.
The same Lord who could bring those dry bones together can help renew our spiritual lives.
And He has given us His word to help us hear His voice again.
In Jacob 2:8, Jacob describes the pleasing word of God as something that can heal the wounded soul.
What a beautiful promise.
Sometimes the scriptures answer a question.
Sometimes they help us recognize a mistake we need to correct.
Sometimes they give us courage to do something difficult.
And sometimes they simply remind us that Heavenly Father knows us and hasn't forgotten us.
I've come to appreciate that reading the scriptures can become a remarkably personal experience when we approach them wanting to know the Savior.
Instead of asking only, How many verses do I need to read today?
We can begin asking:
What does this teach me about Jesus Christ?
What can I learn about His love?
What does He want me to understand about myself?
How could knowing Him change what I do today?
And those questions can transform the way we study.
Because we're reading to develop a relationship.
Scripture
Ezekiel 37:17 — "Join them one to another into one stick."
Ezekiel 37:19 — "And they shall be one in mine hand."
John 10:14–16 — Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep.
3 Nephi 15:21–24 — The resurrected Savior identifies the Nephites as other sheep.
John 3:3–5 — The Savior teaches about being born again.
Mosiah 5:2 — The Spirit brings a mighty change of heart.
Alma 31:5 — God's word has a powerful effect upon people's minds.
Jacob 2:8 — The word of God heals wounded souls.
Reflection
Why do you think Heavenly Father has given us both the Bible and the Book of Mormon?
What does John 10:16 mean to you after reading 3 Nephi 15:21–24?
How does the experience of King Benjamin's people help you understand the Savior's teaching about being born again?
Why do you think Alma believed the word of God could influence people more powerfully than force?
Have you ever read a scripture that seemed especially meaningful because of something you were experiencing?
What's the difference between reading the scriptures to complete an assignment and reading them to know Jesus Christ?
What characteristic of the Savior would you like to understand better?
Today's Challenge
Get to know Jesus Christ through two witnesses.
For the next three days, try a different approach to scripture study.
1. Choose one characteristic of Jesus Christ.
Maybe His compassion.
His courage.
His patience.
His forgiveness.
His love for people who feel forgotten.
Or His power to heal and change us.
Choose something you genuinely want to understand better.
2. Find two witnesses.
Find one passage in the Bible and another in the Book of Mormon that help you understand that characteristic.
For example:
John 10 and 3 Nephi 15 teach us that Jesus Christ knows His sheep.
John 3 and Mosiah 5 help us understand His power to bring spiritual rebirth.
Luke 22 and 3 Nephi 18 teach us about remembering Him through the sacrament.
Read both passages and consider what each contributes to your understanding.
3. Look for one way to become more like Him.
After studying, write down something you learned about the Savior.
Then ask:
How could I reflect that same characteristic in my own life?
Maybe you could show greater kindness.
Forgive someone.
Reach out to a friend.
Be more patient with a family member.
Or do something you know is right, even when it's difficult.
At the end of the three days, consider whether studying to know the Savior has changed the way you feel about the scriptures.
Christ-Centered Thought
I want you to imagine something that happened nearly two thousand years ago.
The resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to a group of people gathered near the temple in the land of Bountiful.
These were people who had spent generations hearing prophecies about His coming.
They had been taught about His birth.
His ministry.
His Atonement.
And His Resurrection.
But now the Savior Himself stood before them.
In 3 Nephi 11:10–11, He introduced Himself:
"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world."
Imagine hearing those words.
The One whom the prophets had testified of was standing before them.
Then something beautiful happened.
He invited the people to come forward and feel the wounds in His hands, feet, and side.
He wanted them to know for themselves that He was the resurrected Lord (3 Nephi 11:13–17).
Think about that invitation.
He didn't want their faith to depend forever on what someone else had experienced.
He invited them to come to Him personally.
And while we may not have the same experience those Nephites had, the Savior continues inviting us to come to Him and develop our own relationship with Him.
That's one reason I love the Bible and Book of Mormon.
They're filled with witnesses of people who came to know Jesus Christ.
People who heard His voice.
People who experienced His forgiveness.
People who saw His miracles.
People whose lives were changed through His power.
And their testimonies have been preserved so that we can come to know Him too.
The Jesus Christ who loved the people of Jerusalem is the same Savior who appeared to the Nephites.
He is the same Lord who spoke to Ezekiel.
And He is the same Savior who knows and loves you today.
You may be growing up in a different place, speaking a different language, facing challenges those ancient disciples never experienced.
But His character hasn't changed.
His love hasn't diminished.
His power to forgive, guide, strengthen, and redeem is just as real.
And He's given you the scriptures to help you discover that for yourself.
So the next time you open your Bible or Book of Mormon, remember what you're holding.
These aren't simply records of people who knew God long ago.
They're witnesses inviting you to know Him now.
Read them together.
Look for His character.
Listen for His voice.
And as you come to know Him, let His words influence who you're becoming.
Because the Savior who brought life to Ezekiel's valley of dry bones can bring greater spiritual life into your heart.
Two witnesses. One Savior. And an invitation for you to come to know Him yourself.
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