The prophet Nephi wrote of his people: "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 27:26).

As it was with the Nephites, so it is with covenant people of God in all ages, including this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. The doctrine of Christ pervades our worship services, writing and discourse. The Sunday School gospel doctrine course for adults and older youth this year focuses on the life and teachings of the Savior as contained in the New Testament.

But even in other years, when we study in turn the Old Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants/Church history, Christ is the central focus. He is Jehovah of the Old Testament, who led the children of Israel from bondage, gave them their laws and revealed Himself to their prophets and patriarchs. He led the Nephites across a centuries-long panorama, appearing personally to a multitude in His glorified and resurrected state. And He restored His gospel in its fullness and purity in latter days, giving divine revelation for the re-establishment and administration of His church and kingdom.

Thus it is puzzling that criticisms surface from time to time to the effect that Latter-day Saints neglect the teaching or mention of Jesus Christ in their worship services. Some time ago an anonymous contributor to an Internet message board complained that in LDS general conference sermons there are more frequent references to Joseph Smith than to Jesus. Of course, this assertion is easily testable, as the transcribed proceedings of each general conference are available — and searchable — at the Church's website, www.lds.org.

An examination of the most recent general conference, held in April of this year, showed that occurrences of the name Christ in the conference sermons far outnumbered occurrences of the name Joseph Smith. To avoid skewing the results, instances were excluded whenever a talk was, according to custom, closed in the name of Jesus Christ or whenever the name appeared as part of the formal title The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even with those exclusions, 136 occurrences of the name Christ were counted, contrasted with only 28 occurrences of the name of Joseph Smith. If other names for Christ had been included in the count — such as Savior, Redeemer, Lord, Master, Jehovah, the count surely would have been significantly higher.

Dramatic as it is, this does not give the full picture. When one considers that Christ underpins all the doctrines and teachings of Mormonism, one could posit that we spend virtually all our time at Church talking of Christ. This is expressed well in an editorial printed in Elder's Journal, a publication edited by the Prophet Joseph Smith: "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it. But in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of spiritual gifts according to the will of God, the restoration of the house of Israel, and the final triumph of truth" (quoted in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, pp. 49-50).

The misperception that Latter-day Saints neglect Christ in public worship and discourse may be in part due to some observers' failure to understand, recognize or acknowledge that the Savior's mission and message is integral to all our teachings and liturgy. For example, the well-known hymn "Praise to the Man" is a stirring tribute to the Prophet Joseph Smith. But the text by William W. Phelps is written in the context of Joseph's relationship to and divine commission from Jesus Christ. This is clearly expressed in the first two lines:

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!

Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.

Perhaps we as faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ can do more to clearly convey the understanding to all observers that our Lord and Savior is at the center of all we say and do as a body of believers.

One member was eager to do so after being assigned recently to speak in sacrament meeting on this year's Pioneer Day, July 24, on the subject "Our Pioneer Heritage." After only a moment's reflection, it occurred to him how explicitly this topic could be tied to Jesus Christ and His gospel. The Mormon pioneers of 1847 and thereafter were motivated by factors other than land, wealth, adventure — incentives that typically drove other westwarding settlers. Rather, the Mormons were energized by their faith in Christ.

The assigned sacrament meeting speaker reflected that Jesus Christ guided the pioneers in their wilderness trek just as Jesus Christ (Jehovah) led ancient Israel in their exodus from Egypt; that the pioneers held fast to their faith, endured oppression and remained a cohesive body that ultimately flourished in their wilderness settlement, all because Joseph Smith "communed with Jehovah" and was anointed by Jesus, who blessed him "to open the last dispensation." It occurred to the speaker as he began preparing for his talk that our pioneer heritage today is to perpetuate this unflagging faith in and devotion to Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth, as we are still a covenant people with the responsibility to invite all to come unto Christ preparatory to His return to the earth in glory. That would be the speaker's message to the sacrament meeting congregation on Pioneer Day.

May we as Latter-day Saints continue to talk of Christ and make Him the center of our worship and discourse.