In Moroni 7:
41, it reads “And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that
ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his
resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in
him according to the promise.” I like how this scripture says that we shall
have hope through the atonement.
Sometimes we only think of the atonement as a way to overcome death and
sin and we forget that it is the ultimate source of relief from our
infirmities, our sorrows, our struggles. As the Savior carries us through our
hardest trials we can be filled with hope.
In Elder Oaks talk, strengthened by
the Atonement, in the October 2015 general conference, he says, “in mortality
we have the certainty of death and the burden of sin. The Atonement of Jesus
Christ offsets these two certainties of mortal life. But apart from death and
sin, we have many other challenges as we struggle through mortality. Because of
that same Atonement, our Savior can provide us the strength we need to overcome
these mortal challenges.” Now,
I’m assuming we’ve all felt weak and completely alone, I definitely have. I
find it comforting to know that I can turn to God with anything. I also find it
comforting that He will always love me, no matter how much I mess up.
My mother left the church several
years ago. She’s still a fantastic lady and a wonderful mother, but she has
made several choices that I know Heavenly Father doesn’t approve of. I know
that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, she can choose to let Christ back
into her life and be forgiven. Like my mom, those who have strayed from the
path can return as they make changes in their lives. I really enjoy these thoughts from Brad
Wilcox in his talk His Grace is Sufficient about how the atonement can help us
change.
In the past
I had a picture in my mind of what the final judgment would be like, and it
went something like this: Jesus standing there with a clipboard and Brad
standing on the other side of the room nervously looking at Jesus.
Jesus checks
His clipboard and says, “Oh, shoot, Brad. You missed it by two points.”
Brad begs
Jesus, “Please, check the essay question one more time! There have to be two
points you can squeeze out of that essay.” That’s how I always saw it.
But the
older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption,
the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the
unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, “Let me stay.” No, he will probably be
saying, “Get me out of here!” Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if
anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus
begging the unrepentant sinner, “Please, choose to stay. Please, use my
Atonement—not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you want to
stay.” The Savior
loves each of us, he wants us to change and he wants each of us to return to
him. Lehi bears a powerful testimony of
the atonement and the love of the savior for us to his sons in 2 Nephi
2:6-8.
“Wherefore,
“redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and
truth.
Behold, he
offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to
answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a
contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
Wherefore,
how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the
earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence
of god, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy
Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again
by the power of the spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the
dead, being the first that should rise.”
I know that this church is true, and I know that
Jesus Christ died for us so we could live with him again. I’m thankful I had
this opportunity to speak today, in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
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