How Is Jesus Christ the Chief Cornerstone of His Church?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to the book Ephesians in a lesson titled “For the Perfecting of the Saints.” The prelude to the lesson included this question: “Do you see any connections between the messages in general conference and Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians?” The lesson was then introduced in the following paragraph. 

When the gospel began to spread in Ephesus, it caused “no small stir” (Acts 19:23) among the Ephesians. Local craftsmen who produced shrines to a pagan goddess saw Christianity as a threat to their livelihood, and soon “they were full of wrath, … and the whole city was filled with confusion” (see Acts 19:27-29). Imagine being a new convert to the gospel in such a setting. Many Ephesians did accept and live the gospel amid this “uproar” (Acts 19:40), and Paul assured them that “Christ … is our peace” (Ephesians 2:13-14). These words, along with his invitation to “let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away” (Ephesians 4:31), seem as timely and comforting now as they were then. For the Ephesians, as for each of us, the strength to face adversity comes “in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (see Ephesians 6:10-13).

Among the numerous principles found in Ephesians, I chose one found in Ephesians 2:19-22; 3:1-7; and 4:11-16: “The Church is founded on apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:19-22 tells us the following:

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

These verses tell us that the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ is made of prophets and apostles and that Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone. What is a corner stone? The Come Follow Me manual for Sunday School defined the chief corner stone as follows: 

The chief corner stone is the first stone placed in a foundation. It serves as a reference point for the measurement and placement of the other stones, which must be aligned with the chief cornerstone. Because it bears the weight of the rest of the building, the chief cornerstone must be solid, stable, and reliable (see “The Cornerstone,” Ensign, Jan. 2016, 74-75).

I found more about corner stones at this site. Besides being the first stone placed in a foundation, it is also placed at a corner to connect and unite two walls. It is also one of the largest and most solid stones available – in other words the best stone available. It will bear much of the weight of the building. 

Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone of the Church of Jesus Christ, and the rest of the foundation is made of apostles and prophets. This means that Jesus Christ directs the work of His Church, which is then carried out by His prophets and apostles.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught the following about how Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone. 

A cornerstone:

Is the first. Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of all the Father’s children (see Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:6; D&C 93:21),  the first to be resurrected (see 1 Corinthians 15:20), the one who was to “go to prepare a place for [us]” in His Father’s house (John 14:2), the “Beloved and Chosen from the beginning” (Moses 4:2), and “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Unites. Jesus Christ “inviteth … all to come unto him” (2 Nephi 26:33). The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to repent, become sanctified through the Holy Ghost, and be reunited with Heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul showed that Jesus Christ, as the cornerstone, was the connecting point for the two “walls” of the Church in that day: the Apostles of the New Testament and the prophets of the Old Testament, perhaps illustrating the mix of Gentile and Jewish converts (see Ephesians 2:20). The prophets and apostles of today, along with those of old, help unite us in Christ—in His doctrine, His service, and His Church.

Aligns. Jesus Christ “marked the path and led the way, and ev’ry point defines” (“How Great the Wisdom and the Love,” Hymns, no. 195). He is our guide and our lawgiver, the one whose commandments we obey and whose words we heed.

Strengthens. Jesus Christ has taken upon Himself our sins so that we can be forgiven if we will repent. In this way, He strengthens us by removing the ill effects of sin. In addition, “the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity” (David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, Apr. 2012, 42–43).