My wife and I moved from San Diego, CA to Omaha, NE about 5 months ago. As you can imagine that was quite the change for us because of the difference in the weather. However, one of the nice things about being in Omaha is that we had a front-row seat to the most spectacular change in nature as the cold, dark winter was chased away by the beautiful songbirds and the awe-inspiring blossoming trees. I especially loved seeing the dormant trees come to life as their branches filled with blossoms—my wife and I would excitedly point them out to each other as we drove around town. Spring is a time of rebirth and of hope for a brighter future.
Just as spring gives us joy as we partake in this season of hope and rebirth, the Atonement gives us hope and an opportunity to start anew as we repent of our sins. We all left the presence of our Heavenly Father to come to Earth in order to learn and to overcome. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes along the way—we all fall short of perfection (see Alma 34:9). Seeing as how God “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31), this means that when we make mistakes, no matter how big or small, we all separate ourselves from the goodness and perfection of our Heavenly Father. However, our loving and kind Father in Heaven knew this would happen and He provided a way for us to overcome these setbacks. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). Heavenly Father sent His Son to suffer so that we can all have the opportunity to return to live with Them once more.
We use the word “Atonement” to signify all that our Savior did for us: from the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, to His death on the cross of Calvary, and even including the resurrection from the tomb. Because of the gift of the Atonement, every human being will enjoy the gift of resurrection, in other words, we will all be able to live in immortality after this life. Also because of this precious gift, we have the opportunity to repent of our sins and we can, if we choose, enjoy the gift of Eternal Life, which is life with God, living as He lives. The Atonement offers us hope and a promise of rebirth in these two distinct ways: through the universal gift of resurrection and through the conditional gift of Eternal Life if we choose to follow our Savior and do the things He asks us to do, including repenting of all our sins.
The Gift of Resurrection
In this marvelous Easter season, we have the opportunity to reflect upon the gift of resurrection. The very blossoming trees remind us that what once was dead will live again. Our Savior did in actuality suffer death, as all of us do, when He lived upon the earth. Just as real as His life is, so is the reality of His resurrection. Jesus did, in all reality, rise from the dead as a perfect, immortal being. The scriptures are replete with testimony of this fact.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Job gives us a powerful testimony of the resurrection. Job suffered the most of any living person I know. He lost friends and family, and even his health. However, in his suffering, he taught us the importance of the gift of resurrection. He began by asking, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14) and then he taught about the surety of a resurrection, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26). Even before the glorious birth of our Savior, Job had a surety and a witness of the resurrection and he shared that testimony with us.
Additional testimony of the reality of Christ’s resurrection is found in the angels who rolled away the stone of His tomb. When the women who so dearly loved our Savior returned on the third day after His death to properly care for His body, they found the tomb empty and marveled at these words of the angelic sentinels, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:5-6). What a remarkable testimony!
There is one other testimony of this reality that I would like to share. That is the testimony of our beloved prophet, Joseph Smith. Early in the spring of 1820, this young boy went into the grove of trees to pray. He also witnessed and testified of our living Savior, “When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air, One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith-History 1:17). Joseph Smith received the blessing of being able to speak with the resurrected Lord! Later in life, Joseph gave this testimony, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (D&C 76:22). Our Savior does live and because He lives we can rejoice in the gift of the resurrection.
Because Jesus rose from the dead and broke the bands of death, we rejoice in a multitude of blessings. We are reassured that even though we may lose loved ones and friends while we travel this mortal sphere that we will be reunited with them once again. In this way, the resurrection of our Savior assures us of the promise of eternal families—that we can be together forever. We know that we will all have the opportunity to live forever and that we will be brought back to the presence of our Eternal Father (if we chose to, we can even remain there). We have the promise and peace of knowing, even as we age and suffer in this life, that when we are resurrected we will never again suffer disease, pain, or death. When we are resurrected we will receive a perfect body (see Alma 11:42-45). Ultimately, the gift of the resurrection not only enables us to find joy in this life but it also gives our lives purpose as we become aware of a life after death. Our Savior obviously loved each of us very much in order to provide this gift and purpose to our existence.
The Gift of Eternal Life
The second great gift that comes from the Atonement is the promise of Eternal Life if we chose to qualify for this gift—and then we receive it through the grace of our Redeemer. There is only one way for us to live again with the kind of life that God has and enjoys and that is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There is no other way—if we want to enjoy the blessings of Eternal Life, if we want to obtain all the promises of our Heavenly Father that we can enjoy everything that He has, we must do it through the gift and grace of our Savior (see also 2 Nephi 2:8 and Mosiah 3:17). His suffering was for all of us. He provides a way for all of us to rise again and be judged (see 3 Nephi 27:14-15). My question to you today is: do you believe Him?
If you are suffering under heavy burdens, His Atonement covers that. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Do you believe Him? He can take your burdens and make them light. He can help you in your darkest hour. He offers peace and rest from the challenges of this life that seem, at times, too heavy to bear.
If you are suffering from the temptations of a natural man, His Atonement covers that. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19). Temptations are difficult to bear—which is why they are called temptations. All of us suffer from temptations of the natural man. Some of you in the audience today may be struggling with some very real and very difficult temptations. Some of you may be trying to overcome some sort of addiction or something that you know is against the teachings of our Savior. In any case, I would ask again, do you believe Him that He can help you to put these things behind you?
If you are struggling with some weakness, His Atonement covers that too. “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). As a new parent I have had to come to terms with all of my weaknesses. It seems to me that family life is the crucible whereby the Lord helps us to recognize our dependence upon him, especially as we come up against the same weaknesses over and over again. As the days are long and the nights are short, I marvel at the ability of our Savior, time and time again, to give me the strength to complete my tasks and to be a good father, husband, and employee. We have been given weaknesses to help us turn to the Lord, and though we may get frustrated or tired of seeing the same weaknesses influence our lives over and over again, we can turn to our Redeemer for the love and support—and the strength—that we need. His Atonement covers all of our weaknesses, do you believe Him?
If you feel lost, if you feel broken, if you feel sick, or pained, or afflicted in any way, shape, or form, the Atonement covers that. “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick” (Ezekiel 34:16 see also verses 11-15). No matter what we are dealing with, no matter what back-breaking, heart-softening, life-altering, or difficult-to-bear trial that brings us to our very knees at times, His Atonement covers that. “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11). Our Lord, and Savior, wants us to have an abundant life and His Atonement enables us to achieve peace, happiness, and prosperity in this life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 see also John 10:11). He suffered the agony of Gethsemane and the sorrow of Calvary in order to lift us above the mundane and to give us hope of a new life. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18). He is able to take care of us no matter our difficulties or challenges. He knows what we are going through and has invited us to come unto Him for comfort, for solace, for peace, for healing, and for life eternal. Do you believe Him?
If you are suffering from the effects of sin, no matter what kind of sin or how often you have sinned in the past, His Atonement especially covers that. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith he Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). No matter what you have done, if you come unto Him, you can be forgiven—that is the great promise of the Atonement, “[T]he blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). He didn’t say only some sins. He didn’t say only my sins or the bishop’s sins or the prophet’s sins. He said all sins—which includes yours. Do you believe Him?
The Atonement is for all of us, every last one of us. “[H]e inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him” (2 Nephi 26:33). Even if you have been rebellious in the past or have chosen not to partake of the goodness of the Atonement, He invites you to come now and partake (see 2 Nephi 28:32). Choose to follow Him and to let His Atonement saturate your life. He can care for you, no matter what is ailing you and He will help you to do and become better.
I close with the words of one of His special witnesses in these latter days. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the quorum of the 12 Apostles, said just last week in our General Conference, “I do not know who…may need to hear the message of forgiveness…but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines…there is nothing…that you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” April 2012 General Conference).
I know our Savior provided us the precious gifts of the resurrection and eternal life and I am very grateful for this chance to reflect upon these things!
Finding the Best in Life 