The Atonement of the Bridegroom1 A Love Story: Intimate, Personal, Eternal:

C. Michael Stewart

My dear brothers and sisters, I stand before you today having first received mine errand from the Lord.2 The subject given me is, in my estimate, of the most sacred and holy nature, therefore, if you will receive by the Spirit and I speak by the Spirit we shall all be edified together.3 The topic which I have been assigned today is the Plan of Salvation, though the Atonement of Jesus Christ shall be my focus. Since the Atonement is as individual as it is infinite, I would like to speak to the one. When I was asked to speak on this topic, I went home and prayed about it. When I woke up on Monday morning, I had a rough title in my mind. When I went to bed and woke up on Tuesday morning, I had the impression that I needed to focus, not only on the Atonement, but I needed to show how it is as individual as it is infinite. By Wednesday I had the impression that there was at least one person who needed to hear this talk; therefore, while I speak to the one I pray that the rest of us will receive by the Spirit and will gain a deeper, more personal, relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Having said this, how do we know that the Atonement is an individual experience? May I quote from the book of Third Nephi? And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets that should come.4 Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, said, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.5

Ephesians 5:22-33 Jacob 1:17-18; D+C 1:38 D+C 50:22 3 Nephi 11:13-15 Isaiah 1:18

The Atonement All for One and One for All:

Too often we tend to look at the Atonement as being something which happened en masse. We tend to mistakenly believe Christs sufferings in Gethsemane, and again on Golgotha, were, somehow, a grand conglomerate of agony; that He could not have seen, known, and suffered for each of us on an individual level6 is it not written, By His stripes we are healed?7 Often, due to such a misunderstanding, we come to believe, erroneously, at least, two falsehoods: 1) God is not a personal God, therefore, He is not aware of me; and, 2) If God is not aware of me, it does not matter what I do Christ suffered for all sin, regardless of my part, so let me have my fun. I have come before you today to correct that belief. As the great Christian apologist C.S. Lewis has said, He has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man *or woman+ in the world.8 When we fail to realize, or to understand, our implicit part in the agony suffered by Christ, we fail to understand our need to repent, and, then, we fail to repent (or to fully do so). Repentance, in the words of Elder Jeffery R. Holland is, perhaps the most hopeful and encouraging word in the Christian vocabulary.9 Repentance, also, is beyond merely losing the desire for sin; repentance is being born again10; becoming, in the words of Paul, a new creature in Christ.11 Repentance is becoming, more and more, like Christ.12 Repentance enables us to access the cleansing, purifying, and sanctifying effects of the Atonement.13

Mosiah 15:10; cf. Alma 7:11-13 Isaiah 54:5; Mosiah 14:4 C.S. Lewis, Quotable Lewis, pg. 248 Jeffery R. Holland, Broken Things to Mend, April 2006 John 3:3-7 2 Corinthians 5:17

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12

Personal conversation with Jeremy Scott Peters, an observation made; Neal A. Maxwell, Consecrate Thy Performance, April 2002
13

See Bible Dictionary, Repentance; Moses 6:60

I have come before you today to testify that I do know, of myself, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that God is aware of us; and that He is, in very deed, an exceedingly personal God.14 Additionally, I testify that our Savior Jesus Christ did, in a manner and in a way which we cannot comprehend with our finite minds15, suffer for each of us, on the individual plane. How personal is our God? He, who notices the fall of a sparrow, notices the fall of a single hair from off of our head; and if a sparrow, or a particle of hair, is noticed and counted by God16, how, then can we say that He does not notice us; that He is not aware of us? I testify that He is aware of us! He who knows how many handfuls of water it takes to fill the oceans, and how many hand spans there are between the stars;17 He who has numbered the stars and given them their names,18 knows our lives personally, intimately, and perfectly! He knows our names not just the name we are called when we are in trouble,19 but He knows our nicknames,20 and He knows the names that we call ourselves.21 The same God who spoke to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations;22 is the same God who spoke to the Prophet Joseph Smith, calling him by name,23 in a grove of trees, on a bright spring day in 1820. And, lest we should presume that He only knows the prophets by name, I testify to you that, on that darkest day of my life, He felt to snatch me out of the pits of darkness, from the hands of death, and, calling me by name, said, Yes Chris, there is a God. Yes, He truly is a personal God. I testify that *our] walls are continually before *Him+24 He knows how far to push us. He is the Master Violinist He does not break the strings, nor does He bend the bow. And, as Elder Maxwell

14

Isaiah 44:2, 24 John Taylor, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, Chap. 6 Matthew 10:29-31; Luke 12:6-7 Isaiah 40:12 Psalms 147:4; cf. Revelation 8:11 Jeremiah 3:12; Acts 9:4 Matthew 16:17-18; Mark 3:17; Isaiah 29:1-2, 7 Acts 13:9; Paul in Guide to the Scriptures; cf. Russell M. Nelson, Thus Shall My Church Be Called, April 1990 Jeremiah 1:5 JS-H 1:17 Isaiah 49:16 (13-16)

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has said, He knows how many miles we have to go before we can sleep!25 He knows the temptations and trials which do so easily beset us. And He knows how to succor His people!26 Elder Merrill J. Bateman once said, For many years I thought of the Saviors experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt our infirmities (Heb. 4:15), *bore+ our griefs, carried our sorrows *and+ was bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:45). The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us. The Pearl of Great Price teaches that Moses was shown all the inhabitants of the earth, which were numberless as the sand upon the sea shore (Moses 1:28). If Moses beheld every soul, then it seems reasonable that the Creator of the universe has the power to become intimately acquainted with each of us. He learned about your weaknesses and mine. He experienced your pains and sufferings. He experienced mine. I testify that He knows us. He understands the way in which we deal with temptations. He knows our weaknesses. But more than that, more than just knowing us, He knows how to help us if we come to Him in faith.27 He did not send us here to walk alone; nor did He send us here to fail but we have been sent here to succeed; and to succeed gloriously!28 And He does not leave us to figure these things out on our own for He has given us a cloud of witnesses!29 He has provided for us prophets, apostles, priests, teachers, evangelists (missionaries), etc.30 He has provided for us temples to assist in the work of salvation (as well as for our further instruction in all godliness);31 and He has most importantly of all

25

Neal A. Maxwell, Remember How Merciful the Lord Hath Been, April 2004

26

Alma 7:11-12; cf. Matthew 6:28-30 (19-34) here Christ is speaking to covenant members of His church (see vs. 32)
27

Merrill J. Bateman, A Pattern for All, October 2005; cf. Bateman, M., Power to Heal from Within, April 1995 The Saviors Atonement in the garden and on the cross is intimate as well as infinite. Infinite in that it spans the eternities; intimate in that the Savior felt each persons pains, sufferings, and sicknesses.
28

Neal A. Maxwell, Encircled About in the Arms of His Love, October 2002; Jon M. Huntsman, God Did Not Put Us Here To Fail, BYU Speeches, Nov. 10, 2009
29

Hebrews 12:1 Eph. 4:11; A of F 1:6 D+C 138:48

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sent us His Son, even Jesus Christ to atone for our sins, our weaknesses, and to set right that which is made wrong, either by our actions, or by the choices of others.32 Elder Melvin J. Ballard stated this concerning the great and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, bearing forth a powerful witness: In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men.33

Repentance: A Hopeful Word34 - A Personal Choice35:

To understand the nature and purpose of repentance, it is necessary for us to differentiate between sin and weakness we will recall that God gave us weakness that we may be humble.36 Sin is
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True to the Faith, Justice

33

Melvin J. Ballard, quoted in Bryant S. Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard, pp. 15455
34

Jeffery R. Holland, Broken Things to Mend, April 2006

35

Neal A. Maxwell, Repentance, October 1991 For some months, Ive tried to emphasize repentance, one of the most vital and merciful doctrines of the kingdom. It is too little understood, too little applied by us all, as if it were merely a word on a bumper sticker. Since we have been told clearly by Jesus what manner of men and women we ought to becomeeven as He is (see 3 Ne. 27:27)how can we do so, except each of us employs repentance as the regular means of personal progression? Personal repentance is part of taking up the cross daily. (See Luke 9:23.) Without it, clearly there could be no perfecting of the Saints. (Eph. 4:12.)
36

Ether 12:27

defined as rebellion - Any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.37 Sin, then, is deliberate, faithless, and willful. As Paul defined it, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.38 Why did he define it so? Because faith believes39, even while in the darkness40; faith brings a man to hope.41 Doubt, on the other hand, does not. Doubt closes the mind, shrivels the heart, and tightens the fist.42 Doubt takes us away from God and His merciful arm. If we doubt, God cannot help us.43 While some doubt can be good,44 we must be careful that we do not place our mortal time frames45 nor our mortal understanding upon God for, as He has said, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.46 He knows the times and the seasons,47 and He knows the best way in which to bless us;48 the best way to lead us along.49

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Dictionary.com; Sin Romans 14:23 Hebrews 11:1; Alma 32:21; Alma 36:26 Hebrews 11:17-19; cf. Lead Kindly Light LDS Hymns #97 Moroni 7:40-43 (40-48)

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Neal A. Maxwell, Repentance, October 1991 Sin, on the other hand, brings sameness; it shrinks us to addictive appetites and insubordinate impulses. For a brief surging, selfish moment, sin may create the illusion of individuality, but only as in the grunting, galloping Gadarene swine! (See Matt. 8:2832.); cf. Kevin W. Pearson, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, April 2009
43

Moroni 10:24; Mormon 1:14; cf. Mormon 9:21, 25; D+C 6:36; Matthew, 13:58; Mark 9:24; Hebrews 3:19; William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, - Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt; Kevin W. Pearson, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, April 2009 The simple fact is we all need to constantly build faith and overcome sources of destructive disbel ief. The Saviors teaching comparing faith to a grain of mustard seed recognizes this reality (see Matthew 13:31 32). Consider it this way: our net usable faith is what we have left to exercise after we subtract our sources of doubt and disbelief. You might ask yourself this question: Is my own net faith positive or negative? If your faith exceeds your doubt and disbelief, the answer is likely positive. If you allow doubt and disbelief to control you, the answer might be negative.
44

See, for example, a blog post by Rachel Held Evans, Good Doubt vs. Bad Doubt, http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/doubt-indicators, access date 01/27/14
45

JST, Matthew 3:24; Isaiah 30:18; cf. Mosiah 21:34; Jeremiah 14:22; Neal A. Maxwell, The Holy Ghost: Glorifying Christ, Ensign July 2002; Robert D. Hales, Waiting Upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done, October 2011
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Isaiah 55:8-9; LeGrand Richards, Value of the Holy Scriptures, April 1976 Daniel 2:21; Acts 1:7; cf. D+C 88:44; Ecclesiates 3:1 1 Nephi 17:35; Psalms 5:12, 115:13; cf. Psalms 103:1 (1-6); 2 Nephi 1:7; Alma 45:16 D+C 112:10; Abraham 1:18

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Weaknesses, mortal failings, misunderstandings, and culturally unacceptable behaviors (such as picking your nose), on the other hand, are not sin.50 Humans err it is a part of our fallen nature.51 Even so, without chastisement and castigation,52 weakness most certainly can lead into sin. How? When we allow the weakness to remain, when we excuse ourselves for our faults and do nothing to rectify them, when we have a misunderstanding and refuse to apologize or to accept an apology (or to allow the other to have the opportunity to apologize), when we know that a certain action is unacceptable yet continue to do so - demanding our rights while ignoring our responsibilities, etc.; these offend the Spirit of God53 and He is inclined to mourn afar off.54 Weakness is something Paul understood quite well.55 Overcoming, even weakness, requires grace56 the enabling power of Jesus Christ.57 Overcoming the effects of the Fall requires repentance; 58 and repentance is a choice.59 Why is repentance necessary? Why must we progress and overcome all desire for sin, and, even, weakness? Why did Christ say, What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.60 Again, why did He say, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is

50

Guide to the Scriptures, LDS.org, Weakness The condition of being mortal and lacking ability, strength, or skill. Weakness is a state of being. All people are weak, and it is only by Gods grace that they receive power to do righteous acts (Jacob 4:67). This weakness is manifest in part in the individual weaknesses or frailties that each person has.
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1 Nephi 19:6; Jacob 4:7; Mormon 9:31; D+C 38:14; cf. 2 Nephi 4:17-19 (16-35) Proverbs 1:17; Hebrews 12:6; Revelation 3:19; cf. Job 37:12-13; Proverb 5:23; Proverbs 13:18

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Melvin J. Ballard, Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood, pg. 224 The Holy Ghost is the most sensitive spirit I know anything about.
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Exodus 33:7 (1-7) 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 Ether 12:27; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Bible Dictionary, Grace Alma 22:14-16

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2 Nephi 2:26-27; D. Todd Christofferson, You Are Free, Ensign March 2013; cf. Christofferson, D., Allegiance to God, BYU Speeches October 19, 1999 Our choice in this life is not whether we will or will not be subject to any power. Our choice is to which authority we will yield obedience: Gods or Satans If it is not one, it is necessarily the other.
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3 Nephi 27:27; cf. 3 Nephi 12:48

perfect?61 Because, in the words of Elder Richard G. Scott, *The Lord+ knows what it takes to become like Him.62 If we wish to reenter His presence63 to come home64 we must have taken His name upon ourselves completely, fully, and perfectly.65 And taking His name upon us involves more than a simple oath66, or even the formality of entering into a covenant67 (though oaths and covenants are necessary).68 Taking His name upon ourselves means becoming even as He is69 love70, truth71, light72, intelligence73, beauty74, etc.75
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Matthew 5:48 Richard G. Scott, Personal Strength Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, October 2013

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Ether 3:13 the fullness of the Atonement, literally, at-one-meant, is the literal returning of the soul into the presence of God. The greatest gift a man (or woman) can receive in this life is that of re-entering in to Gods presence while in the flesh. See 1 Nephi 15:36; 2 Nephi 32:5-6; cf. D+C 6:13, 14:7
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Abraham 3:26 Mosiah 5:8-9; Mosiah 18:10 (8-11); 3 Nephi 27:27; Moroni 10:32

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Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert IV What astonishes the western reader is the miraculous effect of Nephi's oath on Zoram, who upon hearing a few conventional words promptly becomes tractable, while as for the brothers, as soon as Zoram "made an oath unto us . . . that he would tarry with us from that time forth . . . our fears did cease concerning him" (1 Nephi 4:35, 37). The reaction of both parties makes sense when one realizes that the oath is the one thing that is most sacred and inviolable among the desert people: "Hardly will an Arab break this oath, even if his life be in jeopardy," 43 for "there is nothing stronger, and nothing more sacred than the oath among the nomads," and even among the city Arabs, if it be exacted under special conditions. 44 But not every oath will do: to be most binding and solemn an oath should be by the life of something, even if it be but a blade of grass; the only oath more awful than "by my life" or (less commonly) "by the life of my head," is the wa hayat Allah, "by the life of God," or "as the Lord liveth," the Arabic equivalent of the ancient Hebrew hai Elohim. 45 Today it is glibly employed by the city riffraff, but anciently it was an awful thing, as it still is among the desert people: "I confirmed my answer in the Beduin wise," says Doughty. "By his life . . . he said, . . . 'Well, swear by the life of Ullah (God)!' . . . I answered, . . . and thus even the nomads use, in a greater occasion, but they say, By the life of thee, in a little matter." 46 So we see that the one and only way that Nephi could have pacified the struggling Zoram in an instant was to utter the one oath that no man would dream of breaking, the most solemn of all oaths to the Semite: "as the Lord liveth, and as I live" (1 Nephi 4:32).
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Ecclesiastes 5:1, 4-6 (4-8); Mosiah 18:13; cf. Genesis 15 extant Robert J. Matthews, Our Covenants with the Lord, Ensign December 1980

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Amulek teaches us that we must not pray, alone, rather we must act in the stead of Christ: Alma 34:17-32; cf. Isaiah 58; Matthew 25:40 (31-46).
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Moroni 7:47; 1 John 4 extant Ether 3:12; D+C 88:6-7; cf. D+C 66:12 (84:102); john 5:19, 8:28, 17:21 John 14:6

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Therefore, it seems that the Third Commandment Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain76 indicates more than a mere formal statement, such as using His name as an epithet, or swearing by His name (making an oath) and not acting upon it. When we are baptized we promise through our formal entrance into a covenant with Him to take His name upon ourselves,77 and when we take the sacrament, whereby we indicate our willingness to take His name upon ourselves and to always remember Him78 (His sacrifice as well as His example).79 When we go to the temple and receive our own endowments, we more completely and fully take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.80 Therefore, when we take His name upon *ourselves+ we are indicating our willingness to do as He would do to bear one anothers burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of
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Abraham 3:19

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Psalms 149:4; Isaiah 4:2, 52:7, 61:3; D+C 82:14; cf. Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. But this is regarding His physical, mortal form; not the perfected - 1 Chronicles 16:29: Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
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Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, October 2000 From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughtswhat we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. A parable illustrates this understanding. A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to his child: All that I have I desire to give younot only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours. This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained. We qualify for eternal life through a process of conversion. As used here, this word of many meanings signifies not just a convincing but a profound change of nature. Jesus used this meaning when He taught His chief Apostle the difference between a testimony and a conversion. Jesus asked His disciples, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? (Matt. 16:13). Next He asked, But whom say ye that I am?
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Exodus 20:7 Mosiah 18:10; cf. Mosiah 5:8 D+C 20:75-79 (cf. Moroni 4-5); Joseph Fielding Smith, Teaching of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 6 David A. Bednar, Honorably Hold A Name And Standing, April 2009

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God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life.81 When we do not, we are, quite literally, taking His name in vain; for in taking His name upon us, we covenant to do no dishonor to His name.82 We promise to do nothing that would sully nor besmirch His name.83 For, by so doing, we provide a bad example, and, thereby, lead others away84 from the only path to salvation which is in Christ Jesus.85 We become the tares, not the wheat, and, as tares, we shall be hewn down and cast into the fire if we do not repent.86 President George Q. Cannon wrote: How many of you are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow? How many of you, when you bow before your Heavenly Father in your family circle or in your secret places contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you? How many of you ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to manifest Himself to you through these powers and these gifts? Or do you go along day by day like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, without exercising any faith whatever; content to be baptized and be members of the Church, and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have done this? If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the Gospel. They are intended for this purpose. No man ought to say, Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature. He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth,
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Mosiah 18:8-9 Malachi 2:4-6

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Harold B. Lee, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee When we pass through the portals of death Hes going to say to us, Now you took upon yourselves my name. What have you done with my name? Have you ever brought disgrace to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a member of my church? Imagine a frown, imagine He shakes His head and turns and walks away. But imagine when we meet Him that a smile lights up His face. He puts out His beckoning arms to us, and says to us, My son, my daughter, youve been faithful on earth. Youve kept the faith. Youve finished your work. Theres now a crown prepared for such as you in my kingdom. [See 2 Timothy 4:78.+ I cant think of any ecstasy in all the world that will transcend that kind of a reception into the presence of the Almighty, in that world to come.; cf. Mervyn B. Arnold, What Have You Done With My Name?, October 2010
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Alma 39:11; Ezekiel 34 extant; cf. Malachi 2:7-8 Mosiah 5:8; Acts 4:12; Moses 6:52 Matthew 13:24-30

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notwithstanding their many weaknesses, because God has promised to give the gifts that are necessary for their perfection.87 Finally, as we progress along the path marked out by the atoning sacrifice, we will discover, as we lose even the very desire to sin88, that we require revelation, not only in order to know how to progress in this ever darkening world,89 but what we can do in order to help those we love (and our love will increase90 as we draw closer to the source of all Love91) to feel the peace, joy, and purity of heart which we feel.92 We will discover, for ourselves, the meaning of Lehis dream when, immediately after tasting the fruit, he cast his eyes about in search for his family.93 And we will understand the words of Christ when He said, in the Great Intercessory Prayer, And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.94 Remember, repentance, like conversion, is a process;95 and processes require time.96 As Elder Neal A. Maxwell once observed, Repentance is a rescuing, not a dour doctrine. It is available to the

87

George Q. Cannon, In Millennial Star, Apr. 1894, pp. 26061; quoted in Section 46 Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 98102
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Mosiah 5:2 (2-5)

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We are required to obey Gods word and revealed will, to sacrifice, to serve, to be chaste, and to consecrate all that we have all that we are to the building up of Gods kingdom and we are to do this in a world that is increasing in immoral and unethical behavior: The new morality preached from the medias pulpit is nothing more than the old immorality. *+It turns virtue into vice and vice into virtue. M. Russell Ballard, Let Our Voices Be Heard, October 2003
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Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 174 Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.
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D+C 50:24 D+C 121:45 (34-46) 1 Nephi 8:11-12 John 17:19; cf. Hebrews 5:1 (1-3); Alma 36:26

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Larry Tippets, Cleansing the Inner Vessel: The Process of Repentance, Ensign October 1992; cf. Gospel Principles, Chapter 19: Repentance; F. Burton Howard, Repentance, April 1991
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Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 2, pg. 8 We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker, and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment.

gross sinner as well as to the already-good individual striving for incremental improvement. Repentance requires both turning away from evil and turning to God. To close, I would like to share with you a poem I wrote a number of years ago. This poem was inspired by a passage in Isaiah 49 which many of you are familiar with; as I read, when I state man place your own gender; when I state my name, place there-in your own. This is the poem:

As I Dreamt: As I went to sleep last night, I saw the Saviors face So full of love and mercys light; His heart was full of grace As I walked on towards Him, I thought, Does He know my name? Does He really care for me, A ____ so full of shame? _______ He called as I walked on, I had my head hung low. His words reached and pierced my ears With power I did not know You know my name! I exclaimed, My heart so full of psalms How could I forget, Came His reply Its graven on my palms.

There fore, I ask again, how intimate how personal is the Atonement of Jesus Christ? I end where I began: Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes;

cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.97 And I, with the Prophet Mormon, Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved. And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?98 To the cloud of witnesses concerning the individual and intimate nature of the sacred atonement of Jesus Christ, I add my own testimony: I know that Christ lives! I know that He loves us; and that He died for us individually One for all and all for one. In His name, even Jesus Christ the Crucified, I bear my own personal witness. May God bless you all - individually. Amen.

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Isaiah 1:16-18 (16-20) Moroni 7:33-37

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