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.