Day 58- Atonement Insight

Integrity and Honesty

"Becoming people of integrity and honesty does not occur quickly or all at once, nor is it merely a matter of greater personal discipline. It is a change of disposition, a change of heart. And this gradual change of heart is one that the Lord accomplishes within us, through the power of His Spirit, in a line-upon-line fashion. . . .

"Remember that becoming people of integrity and honesty is not simply a matter of more personal determination, more grit, and more willpower; rather, it is accomplished through the enabling power of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"I believe the best test of our integrity and honesty is when we personally enforce in our own lives that which ultimately cannot be enforced."

David A. Bednar, "Be Honest," New Era, Oct. 2005, 9

Our desire to have more honesty and integrity is linked to the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. It may only become part of our disposition through the power of Jesus Christ.

Day 57- Atonement Insight

Elder Holland stated, "Indeed the Atonement of the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh is the crucial foundation upon which all Christian doctrine rests and the greatest expression of divine love this world has ever been given. Its importance in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be overstated. Every other principle, commandment, and virtue of the restored gospel draws its significance from this pivotal event." I was thinking about how every covenant we make with God is tied to the atonement. For example, we partake of the bread and water each Sunday which represent the body and blood of Christ. The symbolism directs us to the remembrance of the atonement on a weekly basis.

Day 56- Atonement Insight

Day 55- Atonement Insight

Elder Holland states, "Of course neither the unconditional nor the conditional blessings of the Atonement are available except through the grace of Christ. Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones are not fully merited either. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, one can receive additional privileges; but they are still given freely, not technically earned. The Book of Mormon declares emphatically 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." It is only through the grace of Christ that we can merit the conditional and unconditional blessings of the atonement.

Day 54- Atonement Insight

President Holland stated, "This infinite Atonement of Christ was possible because (1) He was the only sinless man ever to live on this earth and therefore was not subject to the spiritual death resulting from sin, (2) He was the Only Begotten of the Father and therefore possessed the attributes of godhood that gave Him power over physical death, and (3) He was apparently the only one sufficiently humble and willing in the premortal council to be foreordained to that service."

Day 53- Atonement Insight

"So as I conceive it, we must stand adamant for the doctrine of the atonement of Jesus the Christ, for the divinity of his conception, for his sinless life, and for, shall I say, the divinity of his death, his voluntary surrender of life. He was not killed, he gave up his life. It is our mission, perhaps the most fundamental purpose of our work, to bear constant testimony of Jesus the Christ. We must never permit to enter into our thoughts and certainly not into our teachings, the idea that he was merely a great teacher, a great philosopher, the builder of a great system of ethics. It is our duty, day after day, year in and year out, always to declare that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ who brought redemption to the world and to all the inhabitants thereof"
--Clark, in Conference Report, Oct. 1955, 23

Day 52- Atonement Insight

John Welch stated "In explaining the atonement of Jesus Christ, King Benjamin pointedly states that in addition to atoning for the fall of Adam, “his blood atoneth for the sins of those . . . who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned” (Mosiah 3:11). Moreover, Mosiah 3 recognizes two types of ignorant sins: (1) some people live and die unaware of the will of God concerning them (3:11) as revealed in the written law of Moses (3:14) and thereby transgress the law, while (2) other people presumably know the law of God in some form but still commit sins accidentally or in ignorance of the law’s true meaning or application." If one does sin ignorantly or dies not knowing the will of God, the atonement will satisfy the law of mercy and justice. In addition, there is much work to do in the temples and on the other side of the veil."

Day 51- Atonement Insight

President Holland stated "The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that all things “which pertain to our religion are only appendages” to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In like manner and for the same reasons, every truth that a missionary or member teaches is only an appendage to the central message of all time—that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Holy Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; that He alone burst the bands of death and triumphed over the captivity of hell; that no one of us could ever have those same blessings without His intervention in our behalf; and that there never shall be any “other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, [except] in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”

^{Jeffrey R. Holland, "Missionary Work and the Atonement", Ensign, Mar. 2001, 8}

Day 50- Atonement Insight

3 Nephi 3-11

3Yea, blessed are the ^apoor in spirit who ^bcome unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4And again, blessed are all they that ^amourn, for they shall be^bcomforted.

5And blessed are the ^ameek, for they shall inherit the ^bearth.

6And blessed are all they who do ^ahunger and ^bthirst after^crighteousness, for they shall be ^dfilled with the Holy Ghost.

7And blessed are the ^amerciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8And blessed are all the ^apure in heart, for they shall ^bsee God.

9And blessed are all the ^apeacemakers, for they shall be called the ^bchildren of God.

10And blessed are all they who are ^apersecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11And blessed are ye when men shall ^arevile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;

The lesson today in Sunday School was on the beatitudes. I never realized how the third verse of 2nd Nephi discusses humility and the fourth discusses repentance with reference to the atonement. The beatitudes are an autobiography of Jesus Christ and attitudes of an exalted celestial mindset. They teach us about attitudes and characteristics that are needed to be fit for the celestial kingdom.

Day 49- Atonement Insight

Colossians 3:1-2

1 If ye then be ^arisen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2Set your ^aaffection on ^bthings ^cabove, not on things on the^dearth.

Day 48- Atonement Insight

Truman Madsen said "To receive him fully is to receive the fullness of his atonement. Think about it—the at-one-ment that Jesus Christ wrought by the shedding of his own blood. The atonement was, and is, to enable us to overcome through his grace and healing power three things: Ignorance, sin, and death. Hence I often say the temple is a matter of life and death." The temple is a matter of live and death as we help our ancestors overcome spiritual and physical death. We help unlock the doors to eternity."

Day 47- Atonement Insight

Hymns Capture the Sacrifice and Atonement of the Savior

"How incomplete and empty sacrament meetings would be without hymns of worship. Sacred among all hymns are those that capture the sacrifice and the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement.

"My earliest memories of the healing power of the Savior are associated with sacrament hymns. This sentence is real to me: 'I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me' ("I Stand All Amazed," Hymns, no. 193).

"My understanding of the doctrines of the Atonement is connected to the hymns."

Jay E. Jensen, "The Nourishing Power of Hymns," Ensign, May 2007, 12

The other day, I was thinking of the power of the sacrament hymns and their reference to the atonement. I gain a deeper appreciation each Sunday as I partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants with God. The covenants are only possible through Him, by Him, and of Him.

Day 46- Atonement Insight

Strengthen Your Understanding of the Atonement

“There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives.”

Richard G. Scott, “He Lives! All Glory to His Name!” Ensign, May 2010, 77

Topics: Atonement

Day 45- Atonement Insight

Moses' brazen serpent is referring to the atonement. It is symbolic of the Savior being lifted up on the cross. If we look to Him, we can live both spiritually and physically through His marvelous atonement. 2 Nephi 33: 19 states"Behold, he was spoken of by ^aMoses; yea, and behold a ^btypewas ^craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would ^aheal them.

21O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in ^aunbelief, and be^bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

22If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and ^abegin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to^batone for their sins; and that he shall ^crise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the ^dresurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be ^ejudged at the last and judgment day, according to their ^fworks."