"It is my testimony that many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today. If we have sinned or made mistakes--if we have made choices that we now regret--there is the precious gift of Christ's Atonement through which we can be forgiven. We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent."
- Deiter F. Uchtdorf
So, I wrote a couple weeks ago about Grace. Well, I guess I’ll talk about the Atonement this time.
Recently, I met someone who is having a hard time with a sin; they know that the atonement covers this sin and that Christ paid the price for our sins. That is so, so very true in all aspects. We know from the scriptures that Christ came to the world to pay the price for our sins. He suffered for us that we might return to the presence of the Father. We know this to be true. However, do we know about the other power of the atonement? The power that we receive from his help? We know we can change. We know that we can do this because of his sacrifice for us. But do we comprehend how? We always have a little voice that goes off in our heads saying that we can’t change when we need to change. A little voice that says it is impossible, that you are out of the reach of help from the Lord. This is impossible. The atonement of Christ is INFINITE. We are always able to change.
So, now knowing that we can always change, can we do it on our own? The answer is a definite NO. Unfortunately it is NO; we need to rely on Christ to help us change. There comes a time in every phase of change where it seems like it can go no further. This is the breaking point, where we either go forward even though we have given it all we have, or we give up and return back to where we were. This is where we rely on the atonement. We begin to experience all kinds of new things that are hard, and we don’t have anyone to turn to. In these moments, we can rely on Christ. Not only did he suffer for our sins, but he took upon himself all our pains, afflictions, sicknesses, and everything. That means he knows how I feel about being rejected by people every day. Not just because he too was rejected, but because he knows EXACTLY how we feel. We all experience these moments differently. He knows EXACTLY how you feel, because he felt it too. Because he did the atonement, he can not only show you how to change, but he knows exactly because he has felt it too. ALL of it.
What does this mean for us? It means that when we feel like we are in the pit of despair and there is no one we can turn to, He is there for us, because He has felt it to. Remember this week that we can change, and that it is only through Him that we can do it.
I like to leave you with my testimony that God lives and speaks to us today through the means of a living prophet and through personal revelation. I know this because I have prayed about it and received my own personal witness. I encourage you all to seek for your own witness and try to strengthen it if you already have it. I know that we can change because I have experienced this power of the Atonement for myself, and because of this, I can teach it to people. I know this is the true church of God with no doubt in my mind. I know that God and Christ are with us in our trials because I have seen it.
I know this for myself because I have experienced it this week. Especially how he is always there for us to aid us. We have been without water for this week in my apartment building. We talked to the landlord, and it is supposedly us going to go on for another 2 weeks. I know that I have God aiding me and my companion in our trial because I don’t feel the pain of not being able to cook or clean or have many of the luxuries of life. It sure is difficult here in Chile, but I love it. I could never have traded this period of my life for anything else.
I love you all. Here in Chile, it is nothing but an adventure. Continue to strengthen your relationship with God; it will do nothing but help you because you will know that He is always with you.
To finish up, I have a favorite story about a man who was walking down the beach with Christ. After awhile, he looked back, and in areas on the sand (his life) the man saw only one pair of footprints. He turned and asked Christ, "Why did you abandon me in these points of my life? Why did you leave me all alone?" Christ turned to him and said simply with a smile, "My brother, those were the times in your life when I carried you."
Keep smiling, in this life, we are meant to have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)
Elder Gale
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