As a young man, I felt a stirring within myself, a call from somewhere else. In response to this call, I withdrew from the world for a time and sought solitude to be instructed by my father and to prepare for this great work. From my father, I learned that I was to be a light to the people of this world, to show them the way. I, the only begotten son, had been sent to earth by my father to be a savior unto my people. With this unworldly preparation, I was ready at the age of 30 to assume my mission on earth.
My Celestial and royal heritage provided me with special powers and abilities with which I performed miraculous feats. I had power over the elements, I could move among crowds unnoticed, I even found power over death and returned life to my friends. But aside from providing physical salvation to my people, I sought to save them from themselves as well, righting wrongs, standing for and sharing eternal principles of truth and good, and instilling in others a desire to rise above themselves and above the natural evils so abundant in the world.
Contrary to popular belief, one cannot forget that I was human. I lived a normal life. I had a worldly profession, one in which I excelled. There were those of my peers who saw me as no more than an ordinary man and failed to recognize my true nature.
My personal character remained unblemished. I refused to compromise my morals and my standards. I always spoke the truth. But I did not go without temptation. My arch-nemesis, a devil, offered me power and kingdoms of this world. Just as my father had refused to yield to the wiles of similar devils, I held fast to my principles and lived what I taught. And ultimately, this refusal to yield to my nemesis and condescend to the world around me set the stage for great personal suffering in both body and spirit.
Ultimately, there was nothing of this earth that could hold power over me. In my moment of greatest anguish, the earth shook with great quakes. There were those who thought I was dead, and yet I lived and returned to my divine mission of salvation.
When my work on earth was finished for a time, I left to return to my father. Ascending into the heavens, my friends looked on in gratitude and awe. But the promise was given that I would never leave them alone. In a time of great need and turmoil, I would return. And as I left, I held the greatest hope that those principles and truths that I stood for and taught through word and deed would take root among my people, that they would be able to govern themselves and individually assume the role of savior among their fellow men.
In my absence, there are those who anxiously await my return, holding to my example as a light in their lives. And there are also those who are hurt by my absence and accuse me of fleeing them in their need and being a phony. There are those who question, ‘Why does the world need a Savior?’ But I will return, in great power and glory. And every human being, even my great nemesis and other devils, will recognize me for who I am, will acknowledge my great power, and will know that I am their great savior.
WHO AM I?
If you answered Jesus Christ, you are wrong. Last Saturday night, I was watching a movie about this man, whose autobiography I’ve provided here. His name is Superman, or Clark Kent or Kal-El if you prefer.
Lara Lor-Van (Superman’s mother, Krypton):
“He won’t be one of them… He will be odd, different… isolated, alone.”
“He will not be alone. He will never be alone…”
“You will travel far, my little Kal-El, but we will never leave you. The richness of our lives will be yours. All that I have, all that I’ve learned, everything that I feel, all this and more I bequeath to you my son.
“You will be different. Sometimes, you will feel like an outcast, but you will never be alone. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father and the father the son.”
Jonathan Kent (consoling a troubled, misfit Clark):
“When the world finds out what you can do, it’s going to change everything—our beliefs, our notions of what it means to be human, everything… you just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark; because, whoever that man is—good character or bad—he’s going to change the world… You’re the answer, son…”
(Clark): “I don’t want to be.”
(Jonathan): “And I don’t blame you, son. It would be a huge burden for anyone to bear. But you’re not just anyone, Clark. And I have to believe that you were sent here for a reason. All these changes that you’re going through, one day you’re going to think of them as a blessing. And when that day comes, you’re going to have to make a choice—a choice of whether to stand proud in front of the human race or not.”
(Clark): “Can’t I just keep pretending that I’m your son?”
(Jonathan): “You are my son. But somewhere out there, you have another father, too, who gave you another name. And he sent you here for a reason, Clark. And even if it takes you the rest of your life, you owe it to yourself to find out what that reason is.”
Jor-El (Fortress of Solitude):
“You have great powers, only some of which you have as yet discovered.”
“You’re as much a child of Earth now as you are of Krypton. You can embody the best of both worlds… The symbol of the house of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief the potential of every person to be a force for good. That’s what you can bring them.” 
“It is now time for you to rejoin your new world and to serve its collective humanity. Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El—they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you—my only son."
“You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.”
Jor-El (to General Zod): "My son is twice the man you were. And he will finish what we started. I can promise you that.”
Lex Luthor:
“Gods are selfish beings who fly around in little red capes and don't share their power with mankind!”
“Crystals, they're amazing aren't they? They inherit the traits of the minerals around them, kind of like a son inheriting the traits of his father!”
Lois Lane (accusing Superman of abandoning his friends):
“How could you leave us like that? I moved on. So did the rest of us… The world doesn't need a savior, and neither do I.”
(Superman): “I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior. But every day I hear people crying for one.”
Jor-El (overlooking a planet in turmoil):
“We wanted you to learn what it meant to be human first so that one day, when the time was right, you could be the bridge between two peoples... Look. You can save all of them.”
Superman: “I’ll surrender. But only if you guarantee Lois’ freedom.”
Lois Lane (to Superman in custody):
“Why are you surrendering to Zod?”
(Superman): “I’m surrendering to mankind. There’s a difference.”
(Lois): “You let them handcuff you.”
(Superman): “It wouldn’t be much of a surrender if I resisted. And if it makes them feel more secure, then all the better for it.”
Superman (to military general):
“Let’s put our cards on the table, General. You’re scared of me because you can’t control me. You don’t. And you never will. But that doesn’t mean that I’m your enemy.”
Lois Lane (from the comic books): "Oh Lord! It's empty! His tomb is empty!"
Superman (to Lois):
"Thank you for believing in me."
(Lois): “It didn’t make much difference in the end.”
(Superman): “It did to me.”
(Lois): “Will we be seeing you around?”
(Superman): “I’m always around.”
I could go on about the position of Superman’s body before he “dies” or a stabbing through his side, but instead of trying to convince you of how Superman is like Christ, I want to share why I feel that Christ is like Superman.
In the New Testament, we read about a prison keeper who asks Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Elsewhere, we read, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” and “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” These scriptures are often used to teach this notion that our salvation is a special gift called grace. It is by grace that we are saved, not by any action of ourselves. In other words, we cannot save ourselves.
But in that same New Testament, we also read: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only,” and “faith without works is dead”. We are also told “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works,” and “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Here is the seemingly contradictory notion that it is our works that justify our return back to our Heavenly Father’s presence. It is not enough to say Lord, I believe. “Not every man who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” We must do something more. We must become something more. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
So how can this one book, our Bible, take such seemingly opposing sides on such a critical issue as our salvation? How can so many different sects understand the same passage of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible? Much of Christendom is torn over this very issue of faith and salvation. Some will say, ‘Do what you want, eat, drink, and be merry, just confess your faith and gratitude for your Superman and you will be saved.” Others will say, “You cannot be saved unless you knock on doors and pass out seventy times seven hundred magazines, sell five thousand cupcakes at the bake sale to earn money for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, take meals to forty new mothers, clothe forty naked beggars, comfort forty widows and fatherless children, and read from the scriptures and pray for a minimum of two hours each day--if you miss one day, you can repent by spending five hours the next."
Even in the LDS church, we sometimes put up our fists over this issue. At BYU, I studied the New Testament for two semesters, and, ironically, I studied the first half including the Gospels and the life of Jesus Christ with a professor who championed grace whole-heartedly, but every single lecture during my second semester, which covered the Acts of the apostles and the epistles, was concluded with a firm testimony of faith and works. For some in the church grace is a taboo word. They claim that that is why Amazing Grace is no longer in our hymnbook and why the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings an altered version of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing where the words ‘Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter bind my wand’ring heart to thee’ have been changed to ‘Let thy goodness like a fetter…’
I appeal to the words of a theologian, one who is probably the most quoted non-general-authority in our church. C.S. Lewis said,
“Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary.”So like C.S. Lewis, I will not try to take an authoritative stance here, but I do wish to share my opinion, returning to an earlier scripture from Ephesians that says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” through being the key word here. True faith is accompanied by good works. Faith without works is not truly faith, it is dead. We must walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
By parable, Christ spoke of two men: first a Publican, a lower class, unpopular tax collector who was a sinner, knew of his uncleanliness before God, and turned to heaven, saying, ‘Help me, a sinner. I’ve been wrong. I know I am wicked, and I need your help to change.’ The second example was that of a Pharisee, one of the governing body, one who had a great knowledge of the religious laws and rites, one who constantly tried to be good, who was active in his faith, he followed the letter of the law to a tee, attended all of his meetings, held a current temple recommend, was probably a spiritual Eagle scout, and included in his prayers, ‘Thank you, Heavenly Father, that I’m not as wicked as others. I thank thee for saving me for this chosen day, because I was so righteous in the pre-existence. I know the church is true, so I sacrifice by paying twelve percent in tithes tithing, and I keep a great food storage for my eleven and a half children and…’
Who, Christ asks, is more justified of the two? We know how He felt about Pharisees. And without looking up the answer, we can probably make a good guess.
So what does all of this have anything to do with Superman?
We all, and I mean every single one of us, are in need of saving. We all need a superhero to jump in front of the train that is speeding toward us, to snatch us from a collapsing building that we should not have entered to begin with, to keep the arch-villains in our lives at bay, to put out the fires we accidentally started, to turn back the raging elements and natural disasters we have no control over, and to fly so fast around the planet so as to turn back time and give us a second chance. Whatever your situation in life, there will come a time where you will cry out for a savior, even if you don’t feel a need for him now. And like Superman, the true Hero of Heroes is always around.There are no such things as spiritual merit badges. You cannot save yourself. The addict, the slave to alcohol, nicotine, pornography, or food, might have the will power to say no. He might seek therapy or help from the world and find a way to keep his weaknesses at bay. But true change comes only in and through the atonement of our Lord and Savior.
As Ezra Taft Benson said, “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums... Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”The true power for change, for salvation comes from a much higher source, a more lofty perspective. Christ, will change your very nature and will make a true masterpiece. This is true for both the Publican and the Pharisee. Both need shaping, both need the Touch of the Master’s Hand. One might be a little more humble. One might be a little more proactive in his religion.
In the Book of Mormon, we read that ‘It is by grace that ye are saved, after all that you can do.’ What is all that we can do? Suppose we thought about heaven as did the people of Babel and, instead of building a tower, erected a giant ladder to climb, the rungs representing our works, our deeds, and those steps necessary for our salvation as taught in the scriptures such as faith, repentance, and baptism. I might be on rung ten while you are one hundred feet higher than me. Is all that I can do different than all that you can do? I tend to believe that it is.
I believe that Jesus Christ, our elder brother, knows us individually and will make that determination Himself. Suppose that you have climbed as high as the lower stratosphere and you look up and see the last rung ten feet above you. Where is heaven? Symbolically speaking, heaven is as far away as the outer regions of uncharted space. In other words, you can climb twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for one hundred straight years, you can set a world record in climbing speed, you might even reach the last rung of that ladder, and mathematically you are no closer to heaven than you were when you began. You have covered such a little portion of that infinite distance that you might as well have stayed on the ground.
So why climb? Because Christ asked us to do all that we can do. Our own effort is essential. And my own effort should not be compared to or judged by your own effort. The climb is an individual one, not a contest. But when all is said and done, we did not climb our own way to heaven. Sitting at the top of the ladder, we can only be saved by grace, by our Superman, by the hero who swoops down and carries us in his arms the rest of the way, red cape flapping in the wind, a blazing ‘S’ engraven on his chest. ‘S’ for Savior. Superman, Kal-El, Clark Kent, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, Jehovah, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Messiah, Savior. Whatever name you call him, he is the Hero of Heroes, the King of Kings.
It is by grace that ye are saved. Don’t fool yourself. You cannot do it alone. If you allow him and let his light shine through you, he will carry you home. But you must take that first step, and the second, and the third… he expects your effort, if only to inspire and help others to follow along after you.
So the next time you see a picture of Superman and think of him as a type of Christ, take a minute and think of how Christ is a type of Superman, a true hero, the Hero of Heroes that will help you achieve your greatest ambitions and become the son or daughter that your Heavenly Father intended.
God Bless!
