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February 28 (Plan of Salvation) and March 6 (The Atonement)

Yes, I've really fallen behind. Sorry.

But, well, these lessons all combine really, really well. Because, well, the Plan of Salvation won't work without the Atonement, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We chose to come to this mortal experience on Earth so that we can learn and develop those attributes and have these experiences that will help us learn, grow, and develop into our potential. We wanted to be able to become like our Heavenly Parents. We couldn't do it any other way.

We were sent here, as mortals, passing through a veil of forgetfulness which removed our memories of our heavenly home and all we knew there, so that we could be fully tested. We chose this. It will be worth it.

But, we knew that we would sin, that bad things would/could happen ... that there would be death, sadness, temptations to withstand, sin to repent of when we don't withstand these temptations, pain, sickness (physical, mental, and spiritual), loneliness, obstacles ... and these would come regardless of whether we asked for them or if they were trials selected just for us to help us grow and develop or if they were byproducts brought about by the choices of others ... since they would have their agency, too.

We have the gift of agency ... it's about the most important gift we've been given (our physical bodies are right up there, too).
To protect our agency, Heavenly Father prepared this wondrous plan to cover all eventualities and possibilities. It allows us all to use our agency -- to act/to choose, instead of being acted upon.

Elder David A. Bednar tells us, in his October 2006 Conference talk, And Nothing Shall Offend Them:

We get to choose how to react to situations. That's a huge gift.
We can CHOOSE to give in to temptation or to overcome it.

That is a HUGE gift.
Agency is vital.

So is the Atonement.

It's almost easier (at least for me. Maybe it's not the same for everyone else) to understand that because Jesus died on the cross, though he didn't have to -- he chose to do it for us -- and then rose from the grave as a glorious, resurrected being, we also ALL will be resurrected. Our bodies and spirits will be joined together as complete souls, never to be separated again. This is a gift that is certain. We will have perfected bodies ... and, I think, that we will have a more full appreciation of what a wonderful gift our bodies are.

But, in the simplest phrase, Jesus's death and resurrection = EVERYONE overcomes physical death.
No matter how righteous or sinful one may have chosen to be, everyone gets this blessing.
Heavenly Father and Jesus love us. They want good things for ALL their children (and remember, through His mission here on Earth, Jesus adopted all of us. We are His children, as well.)

But, as much as Jesus suffered as he was on the cross, he suffered even greater things as he prayed and suffered for us in Gethsemane's garden.

(Interesting fact: Gethsemane translates to "oil press." Olives are pressed/smashed to release their oil. Christ's experience, suffering under a crushing load of the effects of sin, of pain, of all the sickness of body and spirit, all emotion, ... EVERYTHING EVER FELT BY ANY MEMBER OF ALL HUMANKIND so that He would understand PERFECTLY how we feel at any time ... it's like oils being crushed. Oils are released from the fruit, rather like how Christ suffered so much that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Luke 22:43-44 tells us about that suffering AND that he suffered so that an angel was sent to strengthen him. King Benjamin [Mosiah 3:7] tells us that this was much more than any mortal being could bear.)

Remember how I keep mentioning that Jesus and Heavenly Father know us better than we know ourselves? That they understand us more than we understand ourselves? ... There's a reason for that. Because they've BEEN THROUGH ALL OF WHAT YOU OR I OR ANYONE has gone/is going/will go through.

It is an awe-inspiring and rather-unfathomable realization to reach. Jesus knows all our trials, all our pain and suffering, because he's FELT it, too. He's gone through it with you, for you ... because He LOVES you so, so very much. So much bigger and wider and deeper and larger than we even have words for. Because He KNOWS how important you are to Him and to your Heavenly Parents.

He was willing to pay any price for you.
Also, be aware that he was willing to pay any price for EVERY PERSON who was ever to be born or ever will be born. All people. Even the ones who don't seem to appreciate this huge gift. Even the ones who make it very difficult to love. Even the ones who choose, willingly, to hurt others ... because they, too, are our Heavenly Father and Mother's children. They love them, too.

This suffering that Christ underwent for us, as told in Doctrine and Covenants 19:16 and 18, was so that, IF WE CHOOSE TO REPENT, He will shoulder the whole load. He will take all our suffering, our pain, everything ... if we will just humble ourselves and choose to hand it over.

He is waiting, always at the ready, to accept our broken hearts and contrite spirits and give us wonderful things in return. He will alleviate (that means lighten) our pain and suffering. He will give us joy. He will enable us to bear our loads here.

Isaiah, whom my Institute teacher, Brother Dale Kirby called a "poet-prophet," stated it beautifully when he preached in Isaiah 61:3:

When we are mourning (wearing ashes and sackcloth was, in Biblical times, an outward show of grief), Christ will give us BEAUTY -- he'll put the colors back into our world.

He will, when we mourn/are sad, give us the ability to have JOY ... not just in the life to come, but NOW. Because, as President Uchtdorf told us in the October 2015 General Women's Meeting (part of General Conference, "Now is a part of eternity."

When we are heavy in spirit or unable to physically handle what's on our plate, He will enable us to have gratitude, faith, and perseverance enough that we can praise Him and His infinite goodness, that we will glorify our Heavenly Parents, their plan, and their love for us.

As I've typed this, one of the hymns has been echoing in my head ... because music is a wonderful teaching tool.

So I will close with the lyrics to How Firm a Foundation:

2. In ev'ry condition--in sickness, in health,In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

6. E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

Take strength and courage from how much you are loved, valued, and looked after through the Atonement of Christ (as well as all the other many, many blessings with which God blesses you on a daily basis). Know that you are precious in His sight. No matter how things may go, you Heavenly Parents and Saviour want you back. They will always love you perfectly.

Take that strength and courage ... and go be awesome.
Sister Cox

Posted by Allanna at 8:18 AM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Agency, The Atonement, The Plan of Salvation


Notes from the Stake Broadcast: Addendum! (Ask and it shall be granted)

Remember how I griped a few weeks ago that I didn't remember verbatim the excellent response Sister Redlund gives when asked a question about the church, the Word of Wisdom, Adam-ondi-ahman, etc?

Well, from my lips to the Lord's ears, as they say.

I was looking on Facebook this morning. I had a notification from one of the bloggers that I follow.

HE had shared, minutes ago, a Facebook post that Elder Renlund had posted this month.

If you can't read it or if the link is broken, here's the story that Elder Renlund tells:

My wife and I once visited a university in Athens, Greece. As part of that visit, we were taken on a sightseeing tour. While we were actually inside the Parthenon, our hostess, a graduate student in archaeology, said, “Next, I would like to take you to my favorite coffee house in all of Athens.”

My wife said that we would love to go with her, but she said, “Please don’t be offended if we don’t drink the coffee.”

Our hostess asked, “You don’t drink coffee?”

“No,” we answered.

“Why not?” she asked.

As I was formulating a response, my wife said, “The short answer is this: In 1820, a young man by the name of Joseph Smith went into a grove in upstate New York to pray. He wanted to know which church he should join. There he saw God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Joseph was told he should join none of the churches. But he was told that through him, the Church Jesus had established while He was on the earth would be restored. The restoration would be through a process of revelation. And it is through revelation that we know that we shouldn’t drink coffee. My husband will now explain it to you further.”

How do we really explain ourselves? How do we explain anything that we do or believe if we do not go back to the Sacred Grove and establish the principle of revelation, that God reveals His will to prophets in this day and age? We obey because we have understood through the Holy Ghost something of eternal import. The reason you and I observe the Word of Wisdom, obey the law of chastity, and keep other commandments is because of revelation.

But I really wanted to share this with you. It's a wonderful way to assist you in explaining WHY we do things. We take things on faith because we believe in modern-day revelation. We can receive this revelation through prophets, who speak to the whole church and the world. We can receive revelation through more local leaders -- like Stake President Carlile (for the whole Stake) or from Bishop Madsen (for our ward). Your teachers receive revelation for teaching their classes. You can receive revelation for yourself and whoever you have stewardship over (like when you Home or Visit Teach). Your parents can receive revelation for helping to lead your family, just as you will be able to receive revelation for leading YOUR family.

When people ask why we make and keep covenants, why we don't drink/smoke/support certain socially-accepted behaviors, Sister Renlund's quote is a wonderful starting point for explaining WHY. And, when you have an idea of how to respond in advance, you can be empowered ... so you will be prepared to respond with courage and compassion and respect to those who ask questions. (And, when you treat others with that same love and respect that Heavenly Father and Jesus have for us, you're opening up the possibility for a wonderful missionary experience ... as long as we can keep the Holy Ghost with us, to help influence us and speak the truth.)

But I wanted to be sure to let you know/read the quote.

Be awesome!

I think I will add this page to my playbook for answering gospel questions...
Posted by Bro Simon Says on Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Posted by Allanna at 7:44 AM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Advice, Revelation, Stand as a Witness
