The Atonement Blog

The Immeasurable Love of the Giver

dvan — Sat, 19 May 2012 23:22:30 +0000

As one of the special witnesses of Jesus and of the gospel restored to earth by God working through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I testify that the greatest gift of this or any other Christmas is the Atonement of Jesus as the Redeemer, the Son of God. Paul said this was a “free gift” (Rom. 5:15). It is a gift we cannot handle or touch, but we can feel the immeasurable love of the Giver.

Through this gift we can all find the pathway to eternal life. My testimony of this is sure, real, and absolute, as is my sacred testimony of Him. I invoke the blessings of God upon us all at this special Christmastime.

President James E. Faust

“A Christmas with No Presents,” Ensign, Dec 2001, 2–6

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The Necessity of a Savior

dvan — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:06:35 +0000

After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.

C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity, page 103

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There is Nothing More Fundamental to Religious Living than Joy

dvan — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:53:11 +0000

While teaching at BYU in 1978, Brother Dennis Rasmussen applied and was selected to study at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In the opening session, as he gave his name and university, Rabbi Muffs boomed, “You’re the Mormon! … Do you pay your tithing?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Do you pay it with a joyful heart?” “I believe,” the rabbi said, “that joy is the essence of religion. There is nothing more fundamental to religious living than joy. … I am working on a book about joy.”

Brother Rasmussen responded, “There’s a passage in the Book of Mormon … , ‘Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.’ ” (2 Ne. 2:25; compare Moses 5:10; Moses 6:48)

Rabbi Muffs was profoundly touched and exclaimed, “I’ve found the text I’ve searched for all my life … in the Book of Mormon.” Turning to Brother Rasmussen he said, “Say it again, but not so fast.” As he repeated the familiar words, the rabbi’s eyes glowed in appreciation of this great truth he understood but had not heard so succinctly expressed.

How important it is to know the purpose of our existence. Man is that he might have joy, and that joy will come to us as we keep God’s commandments!

Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen
“Eternal Laws of Happiness“, Ensign, Nov. 1995, 78, quoting Dennis Rasmussen, “An Elder among the Rabbis,” Brigham Young University Studies 21 (summer 1981): 344–45
(paragraph breaks inserted to enhance online readibility)

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The Righteous are Whoever are Repenting

dvan — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:34:17 +0000

[W]ho are the righteous and who are the wicked? We may think we have an easy answer to that one, but it is not the answer that the scriptures give us.

The righteous are whoever are repenting, and the wicked whoever are not repenting. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee” who gave thanks to God that he was not a crook or a lecher, that he fasted twice a week, paid a full tithe, and was very strict in his religious observances. All this was perfectly true. The other man was a tax collector and rather ashamed of some of the things he had done, and instead of thanking God by way of boasting, he only asked God to be merciful to him, a sinner (see Luke 18:10–13). The surprise is that the sinner was the righteous one—because he was repenting; the other one who “exalteth himself shall be abased”—because he was not repenting (Luke 18:14). None but the truly penitent are saved, and that is who the righteous are (see Alma 42:22–24).

Hugh Nibley
Scriptural Perspectives on How to Survive the Calamities of the Last Days
BYU Studies 25 (Winter 1985): 7-27

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Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours

dvan — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:17:04 +0000

I beheld round the throne holy angels and hosts,
And sanctified beings from worlds that have been,
In holiness worshipping God and the Lamb,
For ever and ever. Amen and amen.

And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.

And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav’n,
He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that [careen] in the heavens so broad.

Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers.

Joseph Smith, commenting on Doctrine and Covenants 76, including verses 21-24

“A Vision,” Millennial Star, Aug. 1843, 51

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Jesus is teaching us that we should look to God each day for the bread we require in that particular day

dvan — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:45:04 +0000

Asking for and receiving daily bread at God’s hand plays a vital part in learning to trust God and in enduring life’s challenges. . . . As we seek and receive divine bread daily, our faith and trust in God and His Son grow.

. . . .

Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread – the help and sustenance – we require in that particular day.

. . . .

The Lord’s invitation to seek our daily bread at our Heavenly Father’s hand, speaks of a loving God, aware of even the small, daily needs of His children and anxious to assist them, one by one.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
CES Fireside, January 9, 2011

(Link to CES broadcast fixed)

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The Only Being Through Whom They Can Obtain Salvation

dvan — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:25:30 +0000

It has been justly remarked this afternoon that “Jesus paid the debt; He atoned for the original sin; He came and suffered and died on the cross.” He is now King of kings and Lord of lords, and the time will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus is the Christ. That very character that was looked upon, not as the Savior, but as an outcast, who was crucified between two thieves and treated with scorn and derision, will be greeted by all men as the only Being through whom they can obtain salvation.

President Brigham Young

Journal of Discourses 13:59, July 18, 1869

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Maxwell – The Full Intensiveness of the Atonement

dvan — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:22:06 +0000

“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 Cor. 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 Pet. 5:7).”

Who could even begin to fathom the depths of the suffering and the depths of the pain that the Savior condescended to take upon himself so that he could meet the needs of his children and redeem them? No wonder it could be said, “The Son of Man hath descended below them all” (D&C 122:8).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

quoted by Elder Gerald N. Lund in Selected Writings of Gerald N. Lund, (1995, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah)

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The Gospel of Belonging – Hafen

dvan — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:59:40 +0000

On some days, our dealings with other people might prompt us to think that the greatest reward in the life after death should be that God, and everyone else, will just leave us alone, unencumbered by the needs and demands of others.

However, Jesus Christ came to accomplish the great at-one-ment, not the great alone-ment. He came to overcome our separation from God and from one another. He seeks to bring us to his Father, to himself, and to each other, at one, through the gift and power of his Atonement. Even though we do need some space for ourselves, something deep inside each of us instinctively responds to this gospel of belonging, drawing us to certain other people and to God.

. . . .

The good news is that the gospel of Jesus Christ answers the heart’s longing for fulness. The Father of our spirits knows where we belong-where our core being can say, “I was made for this.” To that end, God would have us fulfill our deepest eternal yearnings and know the meaning of our very existence.

We do not live by bread alone, and we were not made to be alone. “Happiness is the object and design of our existence,” wrote Joseph Smith. But the life of alienation and distance from God and from other people leads away from that object and design. The life of faith, hope, and charity-the life of the belonging heart-brings us to and keeps us within the arms of the Holy One of Israel. When in his presence, we will embrace not only him but also those we loved and served on earth. And in all these bonds of belonging is the fulness of our joy.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen and Marie K. Hafen
The Belonging Heart: The Atonement and Relationships with God and Family
Deseret Books (March 1994)

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Pride prefers cheap repentance, paid for with shallow sorrow

dvan — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:53:21 +0000

In this rigorous process [of repentance], so much clearly depends upon meekness. Pride keeps repentance from even starting or continuing. Some fail because they are more concerned with the preservation of their public image than with having Christ’s image in their countenances! (Alma 5:14.) Pride prefers cheap repentance, paid for with shallow sorrow. Unsurprisingly, seekers after cheap repentance also search for superficial forgiveness instead of real reconciliation. Thus, real repentance goes far beyond simply saying, “I’m sorry.”

In the anguishing process of repentance, we may sometimes feel God has deserted us. The reality is that our behavior has isolated us from Him. Thus, while we are turning away from evil but have not yet turned fully to God, we are especially vulnerable. Yet we must not give up, but, instead, reach out to God’s awaiting arm of mercy, which is outstretched “all the day long.” (Jacob 5:47; Jacob 6:4; 2 Ne. 28:32; Morm. 5:11.) Unlike us, God has no restrictive office hours.

No part of walking by faith is more difficult than walking the road of repentance. However, with “faith unto repentance,” we can push roadblocks out of the way, moving forward to beg God for mercy. (Alma 34:16.) True contrition brings full capitulation. One simply surrenders, caring only about what God thinks, not what “they” think, while meekly offering, “O God, … make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee.” (Alma 22:18.) Giving away all our sins is the only way we can come to know God.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell
Repentance, General Conference, October, 1991

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