Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Fall and the Atonement

Please note that these talks are my own work. Feel free to use the references in them and to learn from them. I kindly ask that you do not quote anything I say here as I am, by no means, an authority on the subject. Thank you.


Life is often full of trials and tribulations. Even the best hours of our lives can suddenly be halted by sudden difficulties. We have learned a lot about why trials are important in our lives. If these trials did not happen, we would not have as great opportunities to come to know the Savior, and to appreciate the Atoning Sacrifice He offered.


Abinadi was one who suffered much tribulation. He was mocked, persecuted, hunted, exiled, imprisoned, tried in the courts of wicked King Noah, falsely accused on personal grudges by the king and his priests, and finally martyred by fire. Yet up until his last breath, his testimony of the Savior’s Atonement was undeniable.


When Abinadi was brought before the priests to be tried, he was asked, “What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth...? (Mosiah 12:20-21)” This scripture the priests referenced was written by Isaiah himself, and is today recorded in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 52, of the King James Version of the Holy Bible.


Abinadi, appalled that the priests didn’t know the meaning of the scripture, proceeded to answer by teaching about the Atonement and the Resurrection. After citing the ten commandments, he quoted the next chapter of Isaiah: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.


“Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.


“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed…


“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth…


“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.


“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:3-5,7,11-12)”


Nearly 150 years before Christ was born, a prophet in the American Continent had come to know the Savior, and to feel the effects of the Atonement in his life. Because of that knowledge, he was able to testify with “power and authority.”


It is important that we all understand the Plan of Salvation and the Savior’s role in that plan. Perhaps those priests did not understand the Atonement because they did not understand the plan. The Plan of Salvation began to be carried out when Adam and Eve began walking in the Garden of Eden. Then came what for centuries was considered a disaster. Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and were thus exiled from the garden into a fallen state in the Telestial World.


The Fall is a critical part of the Atonement, for if there was no Fall, there would be no need for an Atonement, and thus no possibility of salvation nor Exaltation, “and all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. (2 Nephi 2:22)”


The prophet Jacob, son of Lehi, helps us to understand the need for an Atonement after the fall:


“For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.


“Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption… (2 Nephi 9:6-9)”


It is important to understand, however, that although the Atonement has been offered in our behalf, we are not free of pain. The difference, rather, comes in the righteous acts we do. Jacob explains this difference. Note in his teaching that all will feel pain, but only the righteous will receive more. He taught,


“...Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9:14)”


Lehi teaches this true nature of the fall when he says, “Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)” Adam himself knew that joy. Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Quorum of the Seventy said, speaking of Adam’s fall, “Adam and Eve learned constantly from their often harsh experience…Yet because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t just erase their choices and return them to an Eden of innocence.That would be a story with no plot and no character growth. His plan is developmental—line upon line, step by step, grace for grace. (Ensign, May 2004, p. 97)”


The Atonement is a powerful blessing in every individual’s life. It has the power to heal, to strengthen, and to teach. It is not meant to be a free ride to heaven, for that would give us nothing in the end. Rather, it brings us closer to God by teaching us to be like him. Again, Elder Bruce C. Hafen described the Atonement simply:


“…our Father’s plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet. We require mortality’s discipline and refinement as the ‘next step in [our] development’ toward becoming like our Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He extends both during and ‘after all we can do.’”


I testify that Jesus Christ, in performing His part of the great Plan presented by our Father in Heaven, suffered pain and agony in Gethsemane, in behalf of all of our sins. This He did so that we can learn and grow in this life and become more like God Himself. Even more importantly, I testify that He lives, and sits at the right hand of God. As we travel through the trials of mortality, I pray that we may come to know the Savior by trusting His holy hand, which is there to guide us through tribulation, and thus join Him in partaking of Eternal Life. This is my testimony that I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Faith - written Sep 3, 2009

Please note that these talks are my own work. Feel free to use the references in them and to learn from them. I kindly ask that you do not quote anything I say here as I am, by no means, an authority on the subject. Thank you.


Perhaps one of the most well-known scriptures concerning faith was written as an Apostle of the Lord wrote an epistle to the Hebrews after Christ’s resurrection: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Often, when it is asked for the definition of faith, this is the scripture quoted. Yet, that may not entirely answer the question. In other words, what does it mean to be the “substance of things hoped for?


Continuing in this chapter, Paul recounts a number of historical events that were performed by faith. Abel was able to offer “a more excellent sacrifice,” (11:4); Enoch and his city were translated (11:5); Noah “prepared an ark to the saving of his house,” (11:7); Sara, the wife of Abraham, “received strength to conceive seed,” (11:11); and “by faith Moses…was hid,” and “when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (11:23-25)


With each action of faith, Paul also notes a particular reward to that faith. For Abel’s sacrifice, “he obtained witness that he was righteous.” Enoch was translated, “for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Noah prepared an ark, “by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Sara bore a child “because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Moses rejoined with the Israelites because he esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Every action of faith is accompanied by testimony. In some cases, the use of faith helps to gain a testimony, and in others, testimony becomes the source of faith.


Paul was not the only to notice the correspondence of faith and testimony. Jacob wrote on the Gold Plates that “we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.” (Jacob 4:6) Faith gives the power to gain testimony, and testimony gives the power to gain faith. This faith can be used to perform miracles and command the elements around us.


So therefore, faith is the substance of hope, or the source of testimony, as well as the ability to act in God’s name. Having this hope, how do we strengthen it? It involves testimony, and a will to act. What is it we are to act on? Each act of faith mentioned by Paul was performed through a covenant. Simply put, the Lord gives a commandment, and the receiver receives a blessing.


Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of these covenants in the April 2009 General Conference. He said, “The new and everlasting covenant is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrines and commandments of the gospel constitute the substance of an everlasting covenant between God and man that is newly restored in each dispensation.” (Ensign, May 2009) The commandments are part of a covenant between man and God. Walking in obedience to these commandments brings about the fulness of blessings of the gospel into our lives.


In connection with these covenants, Elder Christofferson spoke of three ways that covenants help us endure through life. The first and second we already mentioned: 1) receiving blessings by walking in obedience to the commandments of the gospel, and 2) the covenants themselves produce more faith to continue to obey. The third is most vital to our salvation. As we accept and live covenants, we are endowed with “the power of godliness.” (D&C 84:20) When we are endowed from on high, this power comes in the influence of the Holy Ghost, and without his influence in our lives, miracles could not happen, for miracles are performed as our will is joined with the will of the Father, manifest by the same Holy Ghost. Thus, the covenants themselves give a power to perform miracles as Jacob and his people did.


Yet we are still weak. We make mistakes, and life presents us with unexpected surprises. Remember, as Jacob put it, these weaknesses exist “that we may know that it is by his grace…that we have power to do these things.” (Jacob 4:7) Many think of faith as a water bottle—we fill it while times are good, and when challenges come, we use that faith to get through. That notion, however, is not true. These moments are also times to grow in faith. Jacob continues,


“For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?


“Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.” (Jacob 4:9-10)


This gospel is true. The Plan of Salvation is a plan inspired by God himself. We are blessed with the ability to have faith and to perform miracles. Yet the grandest of miracles include those of the Creation, the Atonement, and the Resurrection. No miracle will ever be as grand as the climax events of this plan. So why shouldn’t we take comfort in our Father who has power to perform even the simplest of miracles? After all, He accepted Abel’s sacrifice. He saved Noah and his family. He allowed Sara to bear a child, even in her own age. He helped Moses to accomplish the impossible task of delivering Israel from Egypt’s hand. If He can accept their faith, then He can accept ours. He can heal our hearts; He can forgive us; and He can help us through our weaknesses.


As we accept the Lord’s hand in our lives, then we shall have that greatest of blessings imaginable. As stated in the Joseph Smith Translation,


“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

“God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)


It is my testimony that through our faith, anything is possible. It is my testimony that through faith, we can become better persons, and become an influence of good in others’ lives. He lives. Through His Infinite Gift, we have the hope needed to live in His presence, in this life as well as the life to come. Faith is the substance, or manifestation, of that hope, through which the Lord can perform miracles in and around us. I bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Weekly Talks

I seem to remember hearing an apostle (I remember Elder Boyd K. Packer) saying in a CES training session that one way to learn the gospel well is to write a talk every week. I looked for a reference for that, but couldn't find one. If anyone else has heard that, or better yet, knows where I can find the reference, that would be wonderful.

All the same, I never forgot that. I have always wanted to do that, but never could bring myself to such a commitment. I finally decided that I'm ready to try doing just that. I haven't quite succeeded in writing one talk weekly. However, I have written two during the past month (I started a third, but it didn't turn out like I had hoped). It has really improved my study time. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming to know the Savior by finding the words to teach the doctrines He has taught through His holy prophets.

As soon as I post this, I will post my two talks that I have written. I hope that everyone who reads them will feel the Holy Ghost testify of the truth of the Gospel. It is true. There is no possible way that it can't be true.