The Atonement

"I have been commanded of Him... notwithstanding my weakness... for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey." - 2 Nephi 33:11&15

"There is no use in making excuses as to inability, etc... do the very best you can and depend upon the Lord." - Lorenzo Snow

We are imperfect.  We all have flaws and follies.  We are prone to weakness, inability, even failure.  But there is One who is perfect.  Flawless.  Who has all wisdom and understanding.  Powerful, strong and mighty.  And He wants to make us more.  It is He who commands us.  He who has a plan for us.  And it is He who, despite our weaknesses and inability, will help us to become more than we can ever imagine.  Do more than we ever thought possible.  Achieve things that we never could on our own.  If we will but obey and depend upon Him.

I've been thinking a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ lately.  Which is a very good thing.  And I love a verse found in the Book of Mormon.  Jacob 4:12, "...for why not speak of the Atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him...?"  Why should we not think about and talk about Jesus Christ and His Atonement and strive each day to gain greater knowledge about Him by striving to become more like Him through His Atonement.

Today has been a super spiritual day for me.  Heavenly Father has taught me so much today and I am so grateful for it.  Not necessarily new things, but He has at least reminded me of many things and helped e to understand better.  Especially in regard to the Atonement.  I feel that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is something that we will never fully comprehend no matter how hard we try.  But like the question Jacob poses, "Why not try?"  Would we not all be better off if we sought each day to understand, even in just the tiniest way, the Atonement of Jesus Christ a little better.

Today as I listened to speakers, music and the Spirit during Church I was led to reflect on Christ's perfect submission to the will of the Father.  To me that is what the Atonement ultimately is.  Perfect and willing submission of one's self, one's will, to the Father.  Perfect and willing obedience to all the Father asks and wants.  As Abinadi puts it, "the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." (Mosiah 15:7) and as Christ, himself, perfectly teaches us, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done." (Luke 22:42).

I love the vision that King Benjamin gives us in the Book of Mosiah when he says, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever; unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)

"Becoming a saint" requires us to put the Atonement into action.  And the way we do that is by submitting ourselves to the Father.  To have the courage to say, "This is hard, nevertheless, Thy will Heavenly Father, not mine, be done."  To allow our will, our desires and natural man tendencies, to be swallowed up in the will of the Father.  To put what He wants way above what we want until eventually we can align our will with His and we are strong enough to want exactly what He wants.

But that feat seems rather impossible.  And I suggest that, in fact, it is. IF we try to do it alone.  But there is one who is standing, waiting, pleading with us to come unto Him so that He may help us.  He is our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  The only one who has ever successfully aligned His will perfectly with the will of the Father.  And He wants to help us succeed and He will as we accept His invitation and come unto Him.

I've always loved the words from the Hymn, "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul".  And three guys in my ward, Aaron Moss, Casey Call and Mike Brown, sang it today in Sacrament meeting.  And once again, the words hit me with such power.  The lyrics read:

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,
Whose mighty hand hath made me whole, 
Whose wondrous power hath raised me up
and filled with sweet my bitter cup!
What tongue my gratitude can tell,
O gracious God of Israel.

Never can I repay thee, Lord,
But I can love thee. Thy pure word,
Hath it not been my one delight,
My joy by day, my dream by night?
Then let my lips proclaim it still,
And all my life reflect Thy will.

O'errule mine acts to serve thine ends.
Change frowning foes to smiling friends.
Chasten my soul till I may be
In perfect harmony with Thee.
Make me more worthy of Thy love,
And fit me for the life above.

I've bolded some of the lines that especially stuck out to me today.  The Savior has the power to redeem us and raise us up.  To make us more.  To bring us from the darkness back into the light.  We never can repay Him for what He has done and sacrificed for us, but we can love Him and strive to live so that our lives reflect His.  So that we do His will.  We can pray to be obedient, to allow Him to use us for His divine purposes.  To serve His glorious ends.  We can be grateful for the trials that refine us and realize that chastening sanctifies our souls to be in harmony with Him.  How can we expect to become like Him if we don't endure a part of His same suffering?  We cannot be worthy of His love or glory if we are not tested and tried.

But despite our own weaknesses, our own carnal desires, our flaws and follies, our trials and hardships, the Savior stands ever ready and willing to come to our aid and assist us.  To heal us in any and every way. Alma 31:38 tells us that "[we will] suffer no manner of afflictions, save [they will be] swallowed up in the joy of Christ".  If we will seek to develop an attitude like Nephi or President Snow and say, "I know I have been commanded to do this, so despite my inadequacies or my doubts or my own desires, I will depend upon the Lord and I will obey" then this promise is for us.  Christ will be there and He will bless us with peace and joy.  He is the Prince of Peace.  He is our Deliverer.  He is our All.

Now, I'm not saying that Nephi or President Snow was perfect.  They just understood the enabling power of Christ's Atonement.  To take us from the place we are in now and make us more.  To raise us up, to make us more like Him.  I know that the power of the Atonement is real and I know that it is for each and every one of us.  I know that in our darkest times if we will pray as the Savior did in the Garden of Gethsemane, we will see the Lord's will and better understand that we must sometimes pass through sorrow in order to know and understand the good.

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things;" (Alma 26:12)  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13).  I know these things to be true if we will but rely upon the Lord.  Depend upon Him.  Follow Him.  Obey with exactness.  Come unto Him through our dependence on and obedience to Him.  As we do so, the journey of this mortal life becomes one that we can enjoy, not just endure.  The Atonement is what allows us to live, learn, love and laugh :)  how very grateful I am for my Savior Jesus Christ and for His supreme sacrifice and expression of love.  I love Him and I will strive each day to become more like Him.