“Follow Me”
Matthew 4:18–22
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:
“They were fishermen before they heard the call. Casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee, Peter and Andrew stopped as Jesus of Nazareth approached, looked into their eyes, and spoke the simple words, ‘Follow me.’ Matthew writes that the two fishermen ‘straightway left their nets, and followed him.’
“Then the Son of Man approached two other fishermen who were in a ship with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called to them, ‘and [James and John] immediately left the ship and their father, and followed [the Lord]’ [see Matthew 4:18–22].
“Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to have lived in the days of the Savior? If you had been there, would you have heeded His call ‘Follow me’?
“Perhaps a more realistic question might be, ‘If the Savior were to call you today, would you be just as willing to leave your nets and follow Him?’ I am confident that many would.
“But for some, it may not be such an easy decision. Some have discovered that nets, by their very nature, are sometimes not so easy to leave.
“Nets come in many sizes and shapes. The nets that Peter, Andrew, James, and John left were tangible objects—tools that helped them earn a living.
“We sometimes think of these four men as modest fishermen who did not sacrifice much when they left their nets to follow the Savior. To the contrary, as Elder James E. Talmage, in Jesus the Christ, points out, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were partners in a prosperous business. They ‘owned their boats and gave employment to other men.’ According to Elder Talmage, Simon Peter ‘was well to do in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to follow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter’s sacrifice of temporal possessions was . . . great’ [Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. (1916), 218]. . . .
“It is impossible to list the many nets that can ensnare us and keep us from following the Savior. But if we are sincere in our desire to follow Him, we must straightway leave the world’s entangling nets and follow Him.”
(“Follow Me,” Ensign, May 2002, 15.)
