"59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;"
This might be off subject, but I do think it applies. This talks about Water, Spirit, and the Blood. The main thing here is the last verse, the difference between justified, and sanctified.
We are like white towels, that get dirt and stained from the things in our lives (whether they be sin, or weakness). Being "justified", or made just and right, is to get all of the dirt cleaned off, to throw it into the wash. The Atonement, through the spirit, cleans the dirt and grime off of us, it helps us overcome weakness and be stronger, but we aren't perfect yet. We may live with the painful memories of things we've done or that have been done to us, and we may have the stain still upon us. Like the towel, the dirt and the food and the grime may be gone, but the stain is still upon us. We are kind of a grey towel now, maybe with a red and a brown spot.
The blood of Christ, the full sanctifying power of the Atonement, is like bleach. It washes us and takes the stains out that we may be white. What a vivid image, washing in the red blood of Christ makes the white towels, well, white again. The Atonement not only helps us to have strength to live with the pain or the weakness (this is justification, as I said in the last paragraph), then it also helps us to become pure, and holy. To have strength to overcome and completely remove the stain of sin or the bad effects of weakness, though sometimes we have to what until after the end of our lives to become fully cleansed.
Another interesting linguistic note, "to sanctify" literally means "to make holy", and "to consecrate" literally means "to set aside for a holy purpose." If we "consecrate" our lives and our weaknesses and strengths unto the Lord, then he will "sanctify" us.
A few things popped into my head for this: 1. The parable of the dirty dishes. Once there were two men, each with grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates. These men both were frustrated and unhappy with their grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates. After some time of living a horrible, sad life with these plates, they each decided to clean them. Let's call them Fred and George. Fred took his plate and he decided that the best thing to do was to put his grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plate in the sink and soak it in soap and water for a few days or so. After letting the plate soak, Fred came back and was able to quite easily (but still with as much work as washing dishes takes) scrub clean the grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plate of his. This only took him a short time and he went on with this life, more content and happy that he rid himself of this filth. He lived happily ever after. The there's George... poor George. He either didn't know about this "soaking" idea, or knew about it and didn't want to try it. One day, he took his grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty old plate and stuck it in the sink. He spend the next three days slaving away at this plate. He scrubbed it, he spit on it, he yelled at it, tried everything and worked so tirelessly and eventually got the plate pretty clean. Although the plate was clean, George became a pessimistic, grumpy old man because of all that time he spent frustratedly scrubbing at the dish. I think by now you have guessed some of the symbols in this story but since this post is already so long, I will give you some of my insight- Soaking the dish represents the Atonement. A few lessons that Chris Will pointed out when he told us this story at devotional was that NONE OF US CAN DO IT ALONE. And if we try, life is too hard to handle. If, like Fred, we remember the sacrifice of our Savior, and do OUR part (wash the dish after its soaked), then the grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates in life will still have to be cleaned, but we can handle it better and continue to be happy. I also realized (by never washing my dishes at home) that dishes are SO MUCH easier and better to wash if you do it right as your done with the meal. Clean them/repent as soon as you can because if you don't, it just smells up your apartment and you have to do it later anyway. Now to tie in another topic real fast that the Prophet seems to be very concentrated on... If Fred had experienced this and knows full well that it works and always works, then he would tell everyone that he knows in any way or setting possible. No one wants to go through something like George did and become a grumpy old man/women. Everyone deserves Happiness/Clean dishes. o you is best be doing missionary work. -Amber Jean
2. I tried to post this THREE TIMES and Saten kept making me hit wrong buttons... here it is. Yesterday, my Relief Society Pres. mentioned that she has had her heart broken many times and has lots of boy problems. She said "How does Christ know how that feels? I mean, he's a boy and has never had boy problems..." She then went on to explain how she cannot and will not understand that with her mortal mind, but she has felt that it is real. He does understand and know and has felt those pains. Even in a problem such as dating that seems silly to some people, the Lord can and will help us if we "bear with patience our afflictions." Apply this to whatever you may, PLEASE. But I wrote next to this verse in my scriptures to apply it to my dating life. Or really... My not dating life. Alma 26:27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said; Go amongst they brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
“There will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy, and your heads hang down. Then, please remember, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the head of this church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose.”
- Dieter F. Utchdorf
This quote was courtesy of my mission president Larry Gelwix.
Jesus' perfect empathy was ensured when, along with His Atonement for our sins, He took upon Himself our sicknesses, sorrows, griefs, and infirmities and came to know these "according to the flesh" (Alma 7:11-12). He did this in order that He might be filled with perfect, personal mercy and empathy and thereby know how to succor us in our infirmities. He thus fully comprehends human suffering. ("Enduring Well," Ensign, Apr. 1997, p. 7)
When Jesus took upon Himself the heavy, atoning yoke in order to redeem all mankind by paying the agonizing price for our sins, He thereby experienced what He Himself termed the "fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (D&C 76:107). The phrase itself makes the soul tremble. Jesus also volunteered to take upon Himself additional agony in order that He might experience and thus know certain things "according to the flesh," namely human sicknesses and infirmities and human griefs, including those not associated with sin (see Alma 7:11-12). Therefore, as a result of His great Atonement, Jesus was filled with unique empathy and with perfect mercy. ("Becoming a Disciple," Ensign, June 1996, p. 12)
Jesus thus not only satisfied the requirements of divine justice but also, particularly in His Gethsemane and Calvary ordeals, demonstrated and perfected His capacity to succor His people and his empathy for them. He came to know, personally and perfectly, "according to the flesh" how to help us become more like His fully comprehending Father: "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5). Jesus' daily mortal experiences and His ministry, to be sure, acquainted Him by observation with a sample of human sicknesses, grief, pains, sorrows, and infirmities which are "common to man' (1 Corinthians 10:13). But the agonies of the Atonement were infinite and first-hand! Since not all human sorrow and pain is connected to sin, the full intensiveness of the Atonement involved bearing our pains, infirmities, and sicknesses, as well as our sins. Whatever our sufferings, we can safely cast our care upon him; for he careth for [us]" (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus is a fully comprehending Christ. (From Not My Will, But Thine, p.51)
He experienced it all- and when we turn to him he can remove all our pain, suffering, and sickness from us.
"The Savior is the source of true peace. Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace." -Elder Quentin L. Cook
It gives me peace to know that I can never say that nobody knows what I am going through. The most important person knows exactly what I am going through and that is what really matters. I don't ever have to worry about being judged wrongly on the judgement day. He knows why I do what I do and feel the way I feel. Because he knows those things so perfectly he knows perfectly how to give me peace.
More stuff on the Atonement from LDS.org http://www.lds.org/topics/atonement-of-jesus-christ
As used in the scriptures, to atone is to suffer the penalty for sins, thereby removing the effects of sin from the repentant sinner and allowing him or her to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.
The only way for us to be saved is for someone else to rescue us. We need someone who can satisfy the demands of justice—standing in our place to assume the burden of the Fall and to pay the price for our sins. Jesus Christ has always been the only one capable of making such a sacrifice.
Although we are redeemed unconditionally from the universal effects of the Fall, we are accountable for our own sins. But we can be forgiven and cleansed from the stain of sin if we “apply the atoning blood of Christ” (Mosiah 4:2). We must exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm sorry I slacked off so much these past two weeks. These comments have been great and I appreciate everyones thoughts!
I have always had a hard time getting to a place where I feel fully connected to the Atonement. I know that the Savior died for my sins and that because of Him we will all be resurrected. I know that he not only died and suffered for my sins but also any other afflictions I have in my life. This time in my life I feel like I should be getter closer to the Savior in all that I do. I strive to do this daily, but sometimes it is quite hard to reconcile the unhappy things or things I don't want in my life and realize that the Lord has a plan for me and that Christ is here for all of it. I know everything will be amazing someday and that this life is about learning to be happy in spite of trial. I hope we can all keep hope and love in our hearts and make the best of what is given us and trust that He has a plan for each and every one of us.
Moses 6: 59-60
ReplyDelete"59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;"
This might be off subject, but I do think it applies. This talks about Water, Spirit, and the Blood. The main thing here is the last verse, the difference between justified, and sanctified.
We are like white towels, that get dirt and stained from the things in our lives (whether they be sin, or weakness). Being "justified", or made just and right, is to get all of the dirt cleaned off, to throw it into the wash. The Atonement, through the spirit, cleans the dirt and grime off of us, it helps us overcome weakness and be stronger, but we aren't perfect yet. We may live with the painful memories of things we've done or that have been done to us, and we may have the stain still upon us. Like the towel, the dirt and the food and the grime may be gone, but the stain is still upon us. We are kind of a grey towel now, maybe with a red and a brown spot.
The blood of Christ, the full sanctifying power of the Atonement, is like bleach. It washes us and takes the stains out that we may be white. What a vivid image, washing in the red blood of Christ makes the white towels, well, white again. The Atonement not only helps us to have strength to live with the pain or the weakness (this is justification, as I said in the last paragraph), then it also helps us to become pure, and holy. To have strength to overcome and completely remove the stain of sin or the bad effects of weakness, though sometimes we have to what until after the end of our lives to become fully cleansed.
Another interesting linguistic note, "to sanctify" literally means "to make holy", and "to consecrate" literally means "to set aside for a holy purpose." If we "consecrate" our lives and our weaknesses and strengths unto the Lord, then he will "sanctify" us.
A few things popped into my head for this:
ReplyDelete1. The parable of the dirty dishes. Once there were two men, each with grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates. These men both were frustrated and unhappy with their grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates. After some time of living a horrible, sad life with these plates, they each decided to clean them. Let's call them Fred and George. Fred took his plate and he decided that the best thing to do was to put his grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plate in the sink and soak it in soap and water for a few days or so. After letting the plate soak, Fred came back and was able to quite easily (but still with as much work as washing dishes takes) scrub clean the grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plate of his. This only took him a short time and he went on with this life, more content and happy that he rid himself of this filth. He lived happily ever after. The there's George... poor George. He either didn't know about this "soaking" idea, or knew about it and didn't want to try it. One day, he took his grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty old plate and stuck it in the sink. He spend the next three days slaving away at this plate. He scrubbed it, he spit on it, he yelled at it, tried everything and worked so tirelessly and eventually got the plate pretty clean. Although the plate was clean, George became a pessimistic, grumpy old man because of all that time he spent frustratedly scrubbing at the dish.
I think by now you have guessed some of the symbols in this story but since this post is already so long, I will give you some of my insight-
Soaking the dish represents the Atonement. A few lessons that Chris Will pointed out when he told us this story at devotional was that NONE OF US CAN DO IT ALONE. And if we try, life is too hard to handle. If, like Fred, we remember the sacrifice of our Savior, and do OUR part (wash the dish after its soaked), then the grimy, smelly, sticky, icky, crusty, moldy, dirty plates in life will still have to be cleaned, but we can handle it better and continue to be happy. I also realized (by never washing my dishes at home) that dishes are SO MUCH easier and better to wash if you do it right as your done with the meal. Clean them/repent as soon as you can because if you don't, it just smells up your apartment and you have to do it later anyway. Now to tie in another topic real fast that the Prophet seems to be very concentrated on... If Fred had experienced this and knows full well that it works and always works, then he would tell everyone that he knows in any way or setting possible. No one wants to go through something like George did and become a grumpy old man/women. Everyone deserves Happiness/Clean dishes. o you is best be doing missionary work.
-Amber Jean
I love this story :D Thank you Amber!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete2. I tried to post this THREE TIMES and Saten kept making me hit wrong buttons... here it is.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, my Relief Society Pres. mentioned that she has had her heart broken many times and has lots of boy problems. She said "How does Christ know how that feels? I mean, he's a boy and has never had boy problems..." She then went on to explain how she cannot and will not understand that with her mortal mind, but she has felt that it is real. He does understand and know and has felt those pains. Even in a problem such as dating that seems silly to some people, the Lord can and will help us if we "bear with patience our afflictions."
Apply this to whatever you may, PLEASE. But I wrote next to this verse in my scriptures to apply it to my dating life. Or really... My not dating life.
Alma 26:27
Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said; Go amongst they brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
ReplyDelete“There will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy, and your heads hang down. Then, please remember, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the head of this church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose.”
- Dieter F. Utchdorf
This quote was courtesy of my mission president Larry Gelwix.
I love you guys! How did my kids get so smart?
ReplyDeleteThis is a link to a great article on the Atonement.
ReplyDeletehttp://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Quotes/Atonement%20Page/What%20Christ%20Suffered.html
Below is an excerpt from this page:
Jesus' perfect empathy was ensured when, along with His Atonement for our sins, He took upon Himself our sicknesses, sorrows, griefs, and infirmities and came to know these "according to the flesh" (Alma 7:11-12). He did this in order that He might be filled with perfect, personal mercy and empathy and thereby know how to succor us in our infirmities. He thus fully comprehends human suffering. ("Enduring Well," Ensign, Apr. 1997, p. 7)
When Jesus took upon Himself the heavy, atoning yoke in order to redeem all mankind by paying the agonizing price for our sins, He thereby experienced what He Himself termed the "fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (D&C 76:107). The phrase itself makes the soul tremble. Jesus also volunteered to take upon Himself additional agony in order that He might experience and thus know certain things "according to the flesh," namely human sicknesses and infirmities and human griefs, including those not associated with sin (see Alma 7:11-12). Therefore, as a result of His great Atonement, Jesus was filled with unique empathy and with perfect mercy. ("Becoming a Disciple," Ensign, June 1996, p. 12)
Jesus thus not only satisfied the requirements of divine justice but also, particularly in His Gethsemane and Calvary ordeals, demonstrated and perfected His capacity to succor His people and his empathy for them. He came to know, personally and perfectly, "according to the flesh" how to help us become more like His fully comprehending Father: "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5). Jesus' daily mortal experiences and His ministry, to be sure, acquainted Him by observation with a sample of human sicknesses, grief, pains, sorrows, and infirmities which are "common to man' (1 Corinthians 10:13). But the agonies of the Atonement were infinite and first-hand! Since not all human sorrow and pain is connected to sin, the full intensiveness of the Atonement involved bearing our pains, infirmities, and sicknesses, as well as our sins. Whatever our sufferings, we can safely cast our care upon him; for he careth for [us]" (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus is a fully comprehending Christ. (From Not My Will, But Thine, p.51)
He experienced it all- and when we turn to him he can remove all our pain, suffering, and sickness from us.
EMPATHY
ReplyDelete"The Savior is the source of true peace. Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace." -Elder Quentin L. Cook
ReplyDeleteIt gives me peace to know that I can never say that nobody knows what I am going through. The most important person knows exactly what I am going through and that is what really matters. I don't ever have to worry about being judged wrongly on the judgement day. He knows why I do what I do and feel the way I feel. Because he knows those things so perfectly he knows perfectly how to give me peace.
yes Amber- He has perfect Empathy!
ReplyDeleteMore stuff on the Atonement from LDS.org
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lds.org/topics/atonement-of-jesus-christ
As used in the scriptures, to atone is to suffer the penalty for sins, thereby removing the effects of sin from the repentant sinner and allowing him or her to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.
The only way for us to be saved is for someone else to rescue us. We need someone who can satisfy the demands of justice—standing in our place to assume the burden of the Fall and to pay the price for our sins. Jesus Christ has always been the only one capable of making such a sacrifice.
Although we are redeemed unconditionally from the universal effects of the Fall, we are accountable for our own sins. But we can be forgiven and cleansed from the stain of sin if we “apply the atoning blood of Christ” (Mosiah 4:2). We must exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm sorry I slacked off so much these past two weeks. These comments have been great and I appreciate everyones thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI have always had a hard time getting to a place where I feel fully connected to the Atonement. I know that the Savior died for my sins and that because of Him we will all be resurrected. I know that he not only died and suffered for my sins but also any other afflictions I have in my life. This time in my life I feel like I should be getter closer to the Savior in all that I do. I strive to do this daily, but sometimes it is quite hard to reconcile the unhappy things or things I don't want in my life and realize that the Lord has a plan for me and that Christ is here for all of it. I know everything will be amazing someday and that this life is about learning to be happy in spite of trial. I hope we can all keep hope and love in our hearts and make the best of what is given us and trust that He has a plan for each and every one of us.