The Atonement a Personal Testimony

Since it is Easter weekend and because of my studies of Ether Chapters 1 - 15 the Atonement has really been on my mind.  I find myself being a little frustrated that non-Latter Day Saints do not fully understand the Atonement.  So I want to first start off by sharing what the Atonement is - I found this quote in the LDS Youth Curriculum "Come Follow Me" it says;  "The Atonement is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to help us overcome sin, adversity, and death. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, took upon Himself death, and was resurrected. The Atonement is the supreme expression of the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”  then I found that Jesus' Atonement was not complete until he was resurrected from the grave in the Guide to the Scriptures entry on Atonement "Jesus’ Atonement was not complete until he was resurrected from the grave. “His atonement included his suffering for the sins of mankind in the Garden of Gethsemane, the shedding of his blood, and his death and subsequent resurrection from the grave (Isa. 53:3–12; Mosiah 3:5–11; Alma 7:10–13).”

There is one more piece that I feel needs to be shared that I just recently learned during my scripture studies.  It is that Jesus Christ was capable of sinning.  It could not have been a true Atonement if he did not have free will.  I know yours going to say that yeah but he was Heavenly Father's son and they spoke directly to each other.  Yes, that is true but Jesus Christ had the free will to choose, he was tempted by Satan and he always turned away from him.  He could have chosen to run away and hide but he went of his own free will and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was put on trial and found guilty when he had done nothing wrong, he willing endured all the pain and cruelty inflicted upon him, more pain then anyone else could ever endure.  And finally, he was nailed, nailed not tied to the cross and suffered more cruelty and ridicule and finally he died.  He did all of this of his free will, because he loved us all so much and knew that it was the only way that we could return to live with him and Heavenly Father when we are done in this live.  

So you ask what does this mean to me personally?  Because the Atonement is a very personal thing!  It means that I too can be made perfect!  With Jesus Christ and the Atonement as my direct link to Heavenly Father, I can do it! If I truly believe that Jesus Christ is who he says he is and did what I have described above.  I can use my direct link, striving each day to do the best that I can, trying to do a little better each day.  Be quick to recognize my mistakes and sins and repent and try to not repeat that mistake.  With Jesus Christ making up the difference I too can be perfect!  This is the good news for everyone!! We are all at different places in this process and no matter where we are, if we are doing these things, Jesus Christ will do the rest!

Words can not do justice to the gratitude that I feel to Heavenly Father and the Savior, Jesus Christ for making this possible.  He knows my every sin and weakness and He who was guiltless but died like the guilty will find me guiltless because of this most precious gift! There is no better news then this!

May the blessings of the Atonement touch your life and bring you grace and peace!

Jesus taught Become as I Am

Jesus taught us by first asking us - What manner of man should you be?  Then he answered this question by saying that we should be like him.  So how do we become like him?

Dallin H. Oaks, in his October 2000 conference address titled “The Challenge to Become” said, “This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”

We must be converted to the gospel.  The Savior taught that there is a difference in a testimony and being converted.  A testimony is what we know in our hearts to be true.  To be converted is an action, we must do and become.  When we enter the waters of baptism and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost we are taking the first steps to being converted – this is the do and the become is that we are taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ and try to do our best to follow his examples and be like him.  When we take the sacrament we are doing but we must be worthy to take the sacrament. 

Becoming like the Savior is a lifelong process.  We must become humble, pure and clean like a little child.  We must turn away from the worldly things and seek the things of the spirit.  The best place to do this is in our families.  We cannot become like Jesus Christ without our family.  We cannot become an eternal being without our family.  We must do it together.  It is with our family that we will face our greatest challenges and experience our greatest joys in this life.  It is with our family that we will experience charity, the true love of Christ.  It is through enduring well that together we become converted.

Further into Elder Oaks conference address he explains:  “We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching about the importance of charity (see 1 Cor. 13). The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion. Charity is something one becomes. Thus, as Moroni declared, “except men shall have charity they cannot inherit” the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father (Ether 12:34; emphasis added).”

We must never give up and quite trying, there is always hope.  The Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ provides away for all of us.  If we are striving to do what is right, we must continue to focus on what we are doing and not be judgmental of others.  If we are making some choices that aren’t so good it is never too late to turn your heart to the Savior and accept the Atonement, because it is for each of us.  If we strive to show charity in all that we do, we will truly be someone who is doing to become.

Following the Savior’s Example

We often hear “What would Jesus do?” But do we really understand the question?

Jesus Christ taught and set examples of attributes and in 3 Nephi 12:48 he tell us “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”  What does this mean?  Do we have to be perfect in this lifetime?  I sure hope not or I am in real trouble.  I think this means that we need to do our best to follow the example that he has set.

President Howard W. Hunter said “I would invite all members of the Church to live with ever more attention to the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially the love and hope and compassion He displayed.”

Jesus Christ was our exemplar and now we must try to be an exemplar to the rest of the world.  President Hunter also teaches that Jesus was capable of sin but he knew the plan of salvation and he did not succumb to Satan and his temptations. He goes on to explain that this had to be so or there would have been no real test and no true victory.  

If Jesus did not have this ability he would not have had is free agency. 

Jesus Christ focused his life on service to others in doing this he taught us – diligence, obedience, humility, patience, knowledge, virtue, charity, hope, gratitude and faith.  Now while I know that I cannot heal the sick as he did, raise someone from the dead, or feed the many with only a few loaves of bread and fish.  I can take care of someone who is ill or suffering. I can comfort and morn with those who have lost a loved one.  I can donate and collect food for the food bank and other organizations who feed the many.

I can teach the children, I love the paintings and sketches of the Savior hold and teaching the children.  I can always feel his love for them.  In 3 Nephi 17:11 “… he commanded that their little children should be brought.”  The scriptures go onto say that the things that he taught them were so great and marvelous and that no one could conceive the joy which filled their souls and then he took the little children one by one and blessed them and the angels descended out of heaven and encircled the little one and they ministered unto them.  We must teach our children from the time they are very young.  Jesus set this example.  But we must remember that we must teach by example not just by what we say.  Words without action are just words!

President Hunter also teaches “Christ’s supreme sacrifice can find full fruition in our lives only as we accept the invitation to follow him [see D&C 100:2]. This call is not irrelevant, unrealistic, or impossible. To follow an individual means to watch him or listen to him closely; to accept his authority, to take him as a leader, and to obey him; to support and advocate his ideas; and to take him as a model. Each of us can accept this challenge. Peter said, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). Just as teachings that do not conform to Christ’s doctrine are false, so a life that does not conform to Christ’s example is misdirected, and may not achieve its high potential destiny.”

Can we become like the Savior all at once?  Of course not, be we can decide today that we will work to become more like the Savior each day.  This four weeks, I am working on my attribute of gratitude.  I have been working on this attribute for three weeks now and I have definitely noticed a change in my prayers and my thoughts.  I notice more and more how it is easier to work on one attribute at a time and really make it a part of my life and then how the one I have already worked on becomes stronger also.  I have one more week to work on gratitude and I can already see how thinking with a more grateful outlook has made changes in my day and the way I see the world around me.

Storehouse of Faith

What would I do if the government made it illegal for me to go to my church?  Do I have enough faith to remain strong for a long period of time?  Do I have the conviction to go and visit my brothers and sisters and have small gatherings in my home, knowing that I might be arrested if I do these things?  Would I be strong enough in my faith that I could with stand the questioning of my friends and others?  When people tell me that my beliefs are wrong could I defend what I know is true?

This very thing happened in Ghana in 1989.  The Saints there tell the story of their 18 months while the church doors remained locked and guarded.  Several of them were arrested and held in jail for several days because they admitted and were proud to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  They remained strong, supported each other, this trying time seemed to bring out the best in them.  How is this possible?  Wouldn’t their lives have been so much easier if they just turned their backs on the church?

Like so many things in the history of the Book of Mormon and the church, we will have trials but I think the difference is what we have done before those trials.  Have we built up our “Storehouse of Faith”? So then the question becomes do I have enough faith to joyfully endure to the end?

In 1997, Elder Neal A. Maxwell “For I Will Lead You Along” talks about how as the church grows and strengthens, so will Satan’s power.  He then goes on the say “Happily, even though the world worsens around us, there will be many, many fine and wonderful men and women of all races and creeds—and of no religious creeds at all—who will continue to lead decent and useful lives. Besides, as Mormon said, scriptural commentary on declining conditions is not communicated “to weigh thee down,” but, instead, to help us live so that Christ may “lift thee up” Moroni. 9:25

He continues by saying that what he is saying should not be an alarm, but he is saying this so that we “might be noticing and preparing. Prophecies are given, in part, that we “might know and remember” that these things “had been made known … beforehand, to the intent that [we] might believe”  Helaman 16:5. Today’s inattentive people will be like an earlier, desensitized people who “began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished, … and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen”  3 Nephi 2:1”

In his October 2004 Conference Address “Where Do I Make My Stand?” President Faust asked, “So where should each of us make our stand?”  He goes on to explain that “As we demonstrate our devotion to God by our daily acts of righteousness, He can know where we stand.”

In Helaman 3:35 we read how the believing and humble part of the Nephites fasted and prayed often and that they grew “stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in their faith of Christ,” this filled their souls with joy and purified their hearts and they yielded “their hearts to God”.  This is how we will build up our “Storehouse of Faith”.  It is hard to be humble, Satan and the natural man have different ideas, but our spirits can be so much stronger if we too yield our hearts to God. 

So, is my storehouse full enough?  Well, I think that it takes a lifetime to fill our storehouse. That’s why we are here, right? But am I doing the best that I can?  I try each day to do a little better than the last. Through this great Pathway program that I am privileged to be a part of this year I am focusing on specific Christ-like attributes that are helping me make changes in my life for the better.  The last four weeks I worked on faith and saw how my faith and knowledge have grown.  I still have a long way to go but I am more aware of what I need to do, now onto the next Christ-like attribute!!

Gratitude for Trials

This week we have studied the Alma 43-63 – Also known as the “War Chapters” these are some of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon.  They remind me of so many important things.  Captain Mormoni covering his army with armor “the Armor of God” is the lesson we learn from this and how each piece of armor has a doctrinal meaning or link.  The Stripling Warriors, how they were so pure in purpose and heart that not one of them fell in battle.  Helaman and his great love and service for his people.  But through all of this we see huge life changing or taking trails that they each had to overcome.  So it has really made me think about how important our trials are to our growth in this life and in our eternal growth. 

President Monson, talked about trails in his October 2013 conference address titled: “I Will Not Fail Thee, Nor Forsake Thee”.  He begins by talking about the loss of his dear sweet wife.  Then he relates it to all the difficulties we face in life.  He says that we are tempted to ask “Why me?” He says that “At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness. We feel encompassed by the disappointment of shattered dreams and the despair of vanished hopes.”  When this happens we often cannot see the growth we are gaining or the love of our Heavenly Father, we feel abandoned and broken and alone.  So do we give up or press forward? 

President Monson goes on to say, “Whenever we are inclined to feel burdened down with the blows of life, let us remember that others have passed the same way, have endured, and then have overcome.”

When I am struggling with some of these feelings, it helps me to remember that the scriptures are filled with the stories of those who have endured so much.  I often reflect on the life that Jesus Christ lived and the atonement that he made for each of us.  When I think of the atonement, I am reminded that I am never alone and there is someone who completely understands what I am going through at that very moment.   In also helps, to get on my knees and talk with Heavenly Father, during these times I know that I really "pour my heart out" to him but I am also really working on remembering to thank Him for all that he has done for and given me.

Close to the end of his talk President Monson give this counsel, “Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.”

I love this statement! It is some much of what I have been feeling this week. We all have trails and at times we do not see how we will make it through them, but (and here is how this ties in with faith) if we put our faith in our Heavenly Father and put one foot in front of the other, doing what must be done and knowing that he will carry us through this, we will make it through whatever we have to, we will become stronger in faith, in knowledge, in spirit and we will be better for it! And yes, most of all we will be grateful for the opportunity to grow and become better!

Three Christ-like Attributes - First Faith

This semester in my Book of Mormon class we get to choose three Christ-like attributes to work on.  One attribute every four weeks.  This first four weeks I have chosen to work on Faith.  Since this week’s reading was Alma 30 – 35 there were many examples of faith and also those that tried to lead the people away from their faith. 

There are two that really stand out to me.

First, there was Korihor in Alma chapter 31.  Korihor was very prideful, vain and conceited and Satan had great influence on him.  He taught that each person should lean on their own understanding, that there was no God, there was no penalty for sin and there was no Christ.  He taught the people that they were servants to a God that did not exist. When Alma testifies that Christ will come and that all things are of God, Korihor demands a sign that God is real, Alma tells him that is not what faith is, if we had proof we wouldn’t need to have faith.  Korihor is struck dumb because he refuses to acknowledge God and it is better that he should be silent so that he cannot continue to lead more people astray.  Satan deserts him (because Satan does not support his children) and he becomes a beggar and is soon killed. 

In April 1997 General Conference, President Eyring said: "Korihor was arguing, as men and women have falsely argued from the beginning of time, that to take counsel from the servants of God is to surrender God-given rights of independence  But the argument is false because it misrepresents reality.  When we reject the counsel which come from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love."  In other words if we do not serve God we are serving Satan.

Second, is Alma’s teaching on faith.  In Alma 32, Alma teaches us about how to gain and grow our faith.  He teaches that we must plant a seed within our hearts and do so willingly.  Then we must understand that faith is not a perfect knowledge of things; but a hope for things that we cannot see, but are true.  In President Uchtdorf’s talk “What is Truth” he tells us the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

President Uchtdorf also says we will know the truth by the Holy Ghost who will testify to us of truth, if we are worthy of his companionship.  Alma goes on to teach that we must exercise our faith and work to gain it.  He says that we will then see that the seed is good because we have nourished it with good.  If we continue to have faith and act upon it our faith continues to grow.  Alma teaches that our faith is light and because of our diligence and faith and patience the Word of God is nourishing our seed and it will take root and grow into a true that will produce fruit that is white and sweet and pure above all other fruits and we will be filled and not hunger or thirst.

So what do these two teaching have to do with each other and my attribute of faith?  The first shows to me how easily people can be lead astray.  How when we let the things of the world influence us we hurt and start to destroy our seeds of faith.  The world is full of hate and unkindness and it is easy to fall for the things we hear every day.  When a Presidential hopeful singles out a group of people who are mostly peace loving, kind people, but because of a few among them who have chosen a different way, they are shunned.  I really wonder what our world is coming to.  I try each day to teach my children correct gospel principles to combat the things of the world.  Often it seems like an uphill battle but Alma’s teachings give me hope.  I know the seeds are planted and taking root.  I just need to help to keep nourishing them.  And then I need to exercise faith and know that Heavenly Father has a plan and his plan is perfect!