Rebecca gave a talk a few weeks ago in her ward on the atonement. I asked her to forward it to me and I wanted to post it because it had some really great things to think about. I am so grateful for my testimony in the gospel and I am grateful for little promptings and reminding and talks that help me.
Brother Sweat gave me two questions to consider and my focus today is on the first question
which was: What can you share that will help ward members better access the power of the
atonement and His love in our lives?
First, in order to better access the power of the Atonement, I think it helps to seek to understand
it. I don’t think we’ll achieve complete understanding of it in this life. But what we can learn is
worthwhile.
After all as Elder Tad Callister describes,
“The doctrine of the Atonement is the most supernal, mind-expanding, passionate doctrine this
world or universe will ever know. It is this doctrine that gives life and breath and substance to
every gospel principle and ordinance. It is the spiritual reservoir that feeds the streams of faith,
provides the cleansing powers to the waters of baptism, and supplies the healing balm to the
wounded soul. It is the focal point of the sacrament, temple, and other gospel ordinances. It is
the rock foundation upon which all hope in this life and eternity is predicated.”
In my preparation for this talk, I came across an article written by Gerald Lund entitled “What the
Atoning Sacrifice Meant for Jesus” that articulated some ideas that expanded my own
understanding of the atonement . So I’d like to share.
Lund explains that essentially, for Christ, the Atonement was an act of tremendous
condescension as he willingly underwent the transformation from godhood to manhood.
Before the angel shows Nephi in vision that Christ would come into the world, he says “Knowest
thou the condescension of God?”
As Lund states, “The miracles of creation are omnipresent and stunning in their wonder. And all
of this was done under the power and direction of the Son of God. That was the station and
status of the premortal Jesus. And He left all of that glory and power and perfection and took
upon Himself the body of a mortal, subject to pain and weariness, hunger and thirst, blisters and
boils and viruses—and death.”
And then, in His mortal state, Christ’s own agency always came second to the desires of His
Father. He even did this in Gethsemane, when Christ bore the weight of the sins of all who had
ever or would ever live, suffering more deeply than any human being ever could.
Lund says that in this moment, Mark writes that Christ used the Aramaic word “Abba,” which is
the familiar term for Father, meaning the equivalent of “Papa or Daddy” in begging that the cup
be removed from him. Can you imagine Christ pleading, “Please, papa, don’t make me do this.”
And yet, He still submits saying, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39) Christ’s entire
life and mission are an act of submission to the will of the Father.
Lund also points out that as part of Christ’s condescension in mortal existence, He lives an
ultimately lonely existence except for the constant presence of His Father. Even his closest
friends, the apostles, often misunderstand his identity and mission. But Christ often remarks in
the text of the New Testament that His Father is with Him or in Him. Again we remember that in
John 8:29, he said, “He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do
always those things that please him.” And yet, the one person that was his constant companion
and the only one who truly understood him, abandoned him in his hour of greatest need.
On the cross, in anguish and apparent surprise Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). I can only imagine his sense of ultimate loneliness and
even betrayal in that moment.
Of this, James E. Talmage wrote:
“What mind of man can fathom the significance of that awful cry? It seems, that in addition to
the fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had recurred, intensified
beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most
terrible reality. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness,
the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the
Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.”
Finally, Lund points out that in His condescension, Christ allows death to claim him. But as
John’s gospel notes, after Christ is dead but still on the cross, and the Roman soldiers pierce
His side, both blood and water come out of Jesus’ body. For those familiar with medicine,
apparently this implies that Christ’s death was caused by the rupture of his heart. And as James
Talmage wrote, “Great mental stress, poignant emotion either of grief or joy, and intense
spiritual struggle are among the recognized causes of heart rupture.”
And so, the Creator of the world condescended to become a man, and as a man He submitted
to the will of the Father in all things— even in the most difficult task possible. He was then
mocked and ridiculed, beaten and bruised, and abandoned by the Father, his best friend, in His
hour of greatest need. And then finally He allowed His own sorrow for the sins of the world to
break His heart while He hung on the cross. And it was finished.
We may not understand how this act satisfied the demands of justice for the sins of the world—
how it allows us to be healed, forgiven, perfected, and resurrected, but we know it does. Now I’d
like to delve a little more into these fruits of the Atonement.
First, we know that it is though the Atonement that we are justified, redeemed or forgiven for our
sins. To me, one of the most amazing things about this is that the scriptures tell us that
“whosever repenteth” can receive forgiveness (Alma 12:33–34). The condition for forgiveness is
not the degree of sin, but our own change of heart. Even the “most lost of all mankind” (Alma
24:11) has access to the redeeming powers of the Atonement.
I have experienced this aspect of the Atonement many times in my life. There have been times
when I’ve been burdened by an undeniable feeling of guilt for my actions, and have felt those
feelings replaced by the sweet peace of being washed clean through this miraculous power of
the Atonement.
I recently read for the second time the book Breaking Night which tells the autobiographical
story of a girl who was raised by drug addicted parents in New York. In high school, she drops
out of school and becomes homeless. And then, when she is seventeen, she finds a school for
kids like her that will forget her previous scholastic record. Though still homeless, she is able to
take all the courses necessary to receive a high school diploma. During this time, she says it is
the thought of her empty report card— a clean slate—waiitng to be filled with any letter grade
she can achieve, that motivates her day in and day out to persevere. For her, the idea of a clean
slate allows her to achieve the highest grades despite her past and current circumstances.
When she applies to college, she is even accepted into Harvard. For us, a clean slate is a reality
every time we take the sacrament with broken hearts. And this idea of a clean slate can have
just as much motivating impact in our own lives as it had in hers.
Beyond forgiveness of sin, through the Atonement we can also be sanctified or perfected. How
does this work? According to Elder Callister, “Because of the Atonement, we are cleansed in the
waters of baptism. Because of that cleansing, we are eligible to receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost; and with that gift, we are entitled to the gifts of the Spirit (that is, knowledge, patience,
love, and so forth), each of which is an attribute of godliness. The Bible Dictionary points out
that, “It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement
of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works
that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means.” So it is through
both the Holy Ghost and the Grace of God that we can be perfected.
Also, through the atonement, we can be healed. In Alma 7: 12 it says, “He will take upon Him
their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may
know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” The Lord
has “descended below all things” (D&C 88:6). This scripture offers us two balms: the first is
Christ’s empathy. We can find comfort in the assurance that we aren’t alone, that there is no
pain or affliction He doesn’t understand. The second balm is that Christ knows how to heal us.
Often He administers that healing through other people. At baptism, the covenant we make is to
“mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.” In this
covenant, Christ requires us to join him in showing empathy to those struggling. His empathy is
perfectly genuine, and as we become sanctified and develop this attribute of Christ, we can help
Him succor His people.
In his 2001 speech at BYU entitled “In the Strength of the Lord,” Elder Bednar taught us about
what he called the “enabling and strengthening power of the atonement.” What he is describing
is an aspect of both the sanctifying power and the healing power of the atonement that we’ve
discussed.
Elder Bednar says, “As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the
Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances
rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. The Atonement is not only for people
who have done bad things and are trying to be good. It is for good people who are trying to
become better and serve faithfully and who yearn for an ongoing and mighty change of heart.
Indeed, “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) we can do and overcome all things.”
And so we see, that through the Atonement, we have the power to change— from sinner to
spotless, from spotless to saint, from hurt and broken to healed, from physically dead to
resurrected, and eventually from saint to god.
Now I’d like to pass on a few ideas on how to access these amazing fruits of the Atonement in
our lives. There is nothing we can do to repay such a gift. The least we can do is to remember
Him who gave it and accept the gift by accessing its benefits.
Elder Eyring has said, “You can invite the Holy Ghost’s companionship in your life. And you can
know when he is there, and when he withdraws. And when he is your companion, you can have
confidence that the Atonement is working in your life.” Elder Eyring also has said, “The words of
confirmation into the Church are an invitation: ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’ And that choice must be
made not once, but every day, every hour, every minute.”
In his article “The Atonement and the Holy Ghost in the Work within Souls,” David Wetzel
expands upon this relationship. He says, “Knowing that when we receive the Holy Ghost we
also receive the effects of the Atonement inspires us to make that choice more consistently.”
The most obvious way to invite the Holy Ghost into our lives is to participate in the sacrament,
and keep those covenants As Wetzel says, “We not only commemorate the Atonement through
the sacrament but also gain access to the powers of the Atonement. The sacrament gives us
access to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and therefore the constant inner
miracle of the Atonement.”
Elder Christofferson offered another suggestion to access the Atonement in his article entitled
“The Atonement and Resurrection.” In this article, he posits that it is Christ’s submission to the
will of the Father that gives him the power to enact the Atonement. He goes on to say, “I wonder
if we, in order … to reap the full benefits of His Atonement, must similarly devote ourselves to
the will and glory of the Father and the Son. Is it not logical that you and I, to be able to receive
what He offers, would have to do as He did and make our greatest ambition to do the will of God
and our greatest desire to glorify Him?”
Elder Christofferson quotes D&C 138:12–14 wherein the righteous who welcome Christ in the
Spirit World are described as those “who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great
sacrifice of the Son of God.” The sacrifice we are asked to make is that of a broken heart and
contrite spirit, (3 Ne 9:12.) just as Christ offered his broken heart on the cross.
Elder Christofferson continues by encouraging us, “While we may not immediately attain to the
Savior’s perfect example of always doing those things that please the Father and always living
our lives in a way to glorify Him, we can progress as the Savior Himself did, from grace to grace,
until we obtain a fulness.”
Finally, he quotes Brigham Young as saying,
“Something rises up within me, at times[,] that . . . draws a dividing line between my interest and
the interest of my Father in heaven; something that makes my interest and the interest of my
Father in heaven not precisely one. . . .
We should feel and understand, as far as possible, as far as fallen nature will let us, as far as
we can get faith and knowledge to understand ourselves, that the interest of that God whom we
serve is our interest, and that we have no other, neither in time nor in eternity”
To more fully access the Atonement in our lives, I encourage us to ponder and learn what we
can to understand it, to keep the covenants we make each week when we participate in the
sacrament, to invite the Spirit into our lives daily, and to submit to the will of our Heavenly
Father. And we need to ask.
We need to ask for forgiveness, for help in becoming better, and for healing. We need to
remember how far reaching the Atonement is, covering the breadth of sin and of Godly
attributes we can be endowed with, and the whole array of affliction it can heal.
Last year, there were three memories of small, seemingly inconsequential events from over a
decade ago that kept popping into mind. They were unpleasant, embarrassing memories. I
couldn’t understand why I had developed this mental habit of recalling them. But finally I
became fed up with it, and I decided I needed help to stop fixating on these memories. I turned
to the healing power of the Atonement and prayed for help. Miraculously, a few small things
happened that helped me stop fixating on these memories. This is a small example, but to me, it
made a big difference.
I invite you to consider what it is you would like to change— whether it be something you want
to resolve, improve, heal, or overcome. Look beyond the obvious. And then ask for help,
through the power of the Atonement, to find that forgiveness, healing, strength, or virtue that you
need. I testify that as you offer your own broken heart and continuously invite the Holy Ghost
into your life, and then ask in faith for help, the power of the Atonement will flow into your life.
