The Atonement

I feel that given the readings this week, I could not write about anything besides the Atonement of Jesus Christ, as spoken of by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There are so many different aspects of the Atonement - so many different things that we must come to an understanding about - but I wish to focus on just a few things that struck me as I learned about the Atonement this week.

The Lord's Will Versus Our Own

Christ's suffering in Gethsemane was so great that "he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44 - with Joseph Smith translation). I can not even begin to comprehend the amount of agony and anguish that had to be endured. And yet, Christ was willing to do this for us because He loved us. It was not without trial. The agony was so bad, in fact, that Christ cried to His Father in Heaven saying, "if thou be willing, remove this cup from me," however, knowing that His suffering must take place, added, "nevertheless not my will, but thine be done"

(Luke 22:42).

I don't know that there have ever been more humble words spoken. Christ was willing to fully submit His will to the Father's.

Are we this obedient and faithful? I know that I'm not, as much as I try to be.

Christ, in his selfless sacrifice for all of us, teaches us an important lesson about the will of God compared to our own. I do not believe that it is wrong for us to question the way things are or to want something different than what we have been given. In fact, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland even says, "When life is hard, remember - we are not the first to ask, 'Is there no other way?'" But, as Christ has shown us through His perfect example, sometimes the answer is that there is no other way. And when there isn't, we must endure our trials with faith, knowing that everything shall work out for our good (D&C 90:24).

How perfect an example Christ gave to us of fully submitting our will to the will of the Father.

He Understands

The biggest thing that I always take away from learning about the Atonement is what Christ actually felt and what He suffered for. He suffered for the sins of the world (meaning that He suffered for my sins, your sins, your ancestors sins, your children's sins... everybody's sins) so we all have the opportunity to repent and to eventually return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. This is the ultimate gift that Christ could have given us.

Another part of the Atonement, however, that I think we sometimes overlook is that Christ didn't just suffer for our sins (although if He had "just" done that, we would still be indebted to Him forever). In addition to feeling the pain and anguish from our sins, he felt all of the physical, mental, and emotional pain that we would ever feel.

Do you understand what that means? It means that Christ is the only one who understands exactly how we feel about everything all the time. When we have this knowledge - that Christ not only loves us more than we can comprehend (enough to suffer for our sins!) but understands us fully - then it's no wonder why we are told to come unto Christ. He truly is our Savior, our older brother, and I hope that all of us count Him as a friend.

No matter the hardship or trial that we are facing, Christ has been there. He has been pushed lower than we can ever imagine and He understands our hearts and desires and situation more perfectly that even we do.

My husband has a poem that he likes to work into any sacrament meeting talk he has ever given. He would be proud of me for using it here. When I think about how Christ understands us perfectly, I cannot help but think of this poem. While it is written about a missionary, I think that we can all relate to this poem to some extent. Have some tissues ready - it's a real tear-jerker.

He's Been There Before

The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet

I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?

It seems like just a second ago, I was able to shut my eyes

The morning activities follow with study, prayer and such

When it’s time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven’t accomplished much

“We have a super day planned,”

My comp. says with a grin

I lowly utter a faithless breath,

“Yeah, if anyone lets us in.”

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street

Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat

It’s 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through

My companion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate “air box”

We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete

The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It’s past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep

Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep

In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray

I need to talk to father, but I’m not sure what to say

“Oh, Father” I begin, “What happened to us today?

I thought we’d teach somebody, but everyone was away

My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;

If our area was any smaller, we’d have knocked the doors on every street”

“Why on missions are the days so much alike?

The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike

Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it’s very hard to see”

“Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn’t your protection enough?

People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack

I want to give them Book of Mormons, the weight of them hurts my back”

“And what about my family, They don’t have much to say

I’m sick of not hearing from home day after day after day

Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I’m sorry but that’s on my mind”

“My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?”

The way he rides his bicycle, I don’t think he can see

Now you have it, I can’t go on, I don’t know what to do

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you”

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed

I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead

Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I’m standing alone on the hill, The view is very nice

A man walks towards me and says, “My name is Jesus Christ”

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet

“Arise,” He states, “Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak”

My attention’s towards my Savior, total and complete

He says, “Your mission is similar of what happened to me

I understand how you feel, I know what you’re going through

In fact, it would be fair to say I’ve felt the same as you”

“I even know how you felt when no one listened to you

At times I felt not quite sure what else that I could do

I know you don’t like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet

Just remember the donkey I rode wasn’t equipped with 21 speeds”

“I understand you don’t like sweating, in fact it’s something you hate

I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, oh the agony was great!

I see you don’t like your companion, you’d rather have someone else

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth”

“It’s hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you

Much like when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack

I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back”

“Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day

I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way

It’s hard not to hear from home when your family’s not there to see

I lost communication on the cross and cried, “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

“We have a lot in common, but there’s a difference between us you see

I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me”

He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love

With tears in my eyes I watched as He ascended back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head

Listening I heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed

My companion let out a groan, “it’s 6:30 already, no way!”

I sat up and said, “Come on, I’ll even carry your scriptures today!”

No matter what we go through,

When we feel we can’t take more

Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,

He’s been there before!

By Elder Troy Whittle

Texas Houston Mission

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is so fundamental to the gospel that it requires all of us to have an understanding of it. No matter how much studying we do, I don't believe we will have a full understanding, at least, not in this life. However, through studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets and apostles, as well as regularly attending the temple, attending our church meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and striving to keep the spirit with us, we can come to a better understanding of the Atonement and work to implement it into our every day lives.

In Conclusion

I wanted to share this short video. It's a song that I often find running through my head during the day. The simplicity of it is something that allows even a young child to understand its meaning, which is part of the reason that I love it so much.

Resources:

He's Been There Before retrieved from http://www.mormonmissionprep.com/motivating-missionaries/poem-hes-been-there-before/

"Gethsemane" retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ_VlQ8M5EE