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I heard the following quote a long time ago, and I just remembered it while reading one of the other threads. I have tried to receate it exactly as I first heard it, since every single word appears to have been chosen with care. I am interested in what each of you thinks: Quote:The question is not, “What would Jesus do?” but rather, “What does God want me to do?”
I liked it the first time I heard it. Me being the jerk that I am thought that it would work only if people knew Christ and could emmulate Him accurately. After some thought, I decided that people who emmulated who they thought Christ was although in a terribly flawed way and never “knew Him,” would still be making a huge positive influence on the world. Christ is everything good, and this world needs more good. What does God want me to “do”? Do any of us actally know that answer? I don’t, at least I wouldn’t want to assume, except be loving and don’t judge.
What I like about it is the message that God cares about my personal journey, instead of teaching me there is only 1 way to do things and I must do things that way. I like viewing Christ’s example for me.
Maybe it is not one or the other, but first WWJD, and THEN what does God want me to do. Maybe both need to be sought, and maybe in that order.
I like it. I actually had a similar thought recently in reading some posts. There are things that are attributed to Christ, both words and deeds, that may or may not have been real. From either a literal or mythical construct, Christ’s life and teachings do contain some tricky parts, not quite contradictory but not quite consistent either. So, while I understand the good intention of following Christ by the WWJD mantra, I feel strongly and deeply that discovering and embracing the way that God communicates with us individually is much more important than trying to divine what Jesus would do when faced with that nasty decision of caffeine-free Coke or caffeine-free Pepsi.
😈 Growing up in the church with convert parents who had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, I loved reading the stories of Jesus as a child. I remember singing the primary song, “Tell, me the stories of Jesus, I love to hear…” I fell in love with Jesus as a little girl; how he healed the blind, and comforted people. At, 12 when I thought boys were so mean, I cried one night wishing I could marry Jesus, but knew I could never be that worthy. After I got married, I had the mother in law from hell. The only thing that got me through it was remembering a teaching of Christ to love your enemies and do good unto those who persecute you. One Christmas home evening, I asked each family member to share how their life would be different if Christ had never been born or how Christ has made a difference in their lives. I know I would not be as nice of a person without His influence in my life. I would have responded with my carnal, get even nature much more. Christ always made me feel each person had great value. In many societies of the world, the individual has little worth and is expendable. Only how you can be of value to the government or group goal matters. I like the idea of both questions. (WWJD and WWJHMD). Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment. We know what He said. So, mostly I ask myself, “What would be the most loving thing to do in this particular case?” Sometimes, I do not want to do the most loving thing and just be selfish. In the long run though, I know that would not give me real happiness.
WWJD = Who Wants Jelly Donuts? ME! ME! ME!
I love it too! (Okay, maybe it’s group think… 
We are each very unique beings. The DNA proves that. I have four very unique children, and I wouldn’t think to try to homogenize them to my way of living. So I view their relationship with God the same way — different than mine. I can revel in their joy even if I don’t understand it. I think that is nirvana — when we can sincerely love another that we do not understand, and don’t feel the need to change them.
Thanks, everyone. I probably should have titled this post “WWJD is Not the Ultimate Question”. I also think it’s interesting that in the last General Conference, there were more talks on personal revelation than there were on obedience.
Yeah, I always thought the WWJD phrase was a bit weird, but I always figured it was because I am just too literal-minded. What would God (or Jesus) want ME to do is always how I formulated it to myself, so I like seeing it here too–after all, Jesus could do a LOT of things I can’t do, so there’s no way I could actually do exactly what he would do in my situation. I understand the sentiment behind it, but I think the wording is too loaded for me. It’s kind of along the same lines as “Would you do/wear/say/eat that if Jesus/President Monson were here?” Well no, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. As an 18 year old, I wouldn’t even hold hands with my boyfriend if my parents were in the room, but I certainly did not think we were doing something immoral or inappropriate. Old Timer wrote:
I heard the following quote a long time ago, and I just remembered it while reading one of the other threads. I have tried to receate it exactly as I first heard it, since every single word appears to have been chosen with care. I am interested in what each of you thinks:Quote:The question is not, “What would Jesus do?” but rather, “What does God want me to do?”
To me the questions have a primary divergence which goes as follows:
“What would Jesus Do?” –
My answer: “I don’t know – I have some theories based on what he is believed to have said/done which may or may not be useful and may or may not be used to define my choices.”
“What does God want me to Do?”
My answer: “Assuming God exists and has given the direction(s) I perceive, these are the area we are working on together and the choices I make to get there”
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