He is Risen: The Light and the Life of the World

This week in my personal scripture study, I was contemplating the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ when I remembered a scripture from Abinidi's sermon.  He stated:

"And if Christ had not come into the world (speaking of things to come as though they had already come) there could have been no redemption.  And if Christ had not risen from the dead or have broken the bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that death shall have no sting, there could have been no resurrection."

"But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.  He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, and shall never be darkened, and also a life that is endless, that there can be no more death." (Mosiah 16:6-9).

I love this scripture and the power it brings.  Because of Christ's Atonement, I know that I can be reunited with the ones I love and live with them again after I die.  Because of what He did for me, there is hope for a better future, and I can rise up and become better.  If we turn to Christ, there is no loss; no struggle; no suffering that we have to endure that will not be made up.

I invite you to ponder Christ's sacrifice and triumph not only this Easter but throughout the week.  Remember when you are going through your difficult trials that as difficult as they seem right now; as painful or strenuous or hopeless as they may seem, if we turn to Christ, everything will work out for our good, and no loss can be permanent.


References:

• https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/jesus-christ-39623?lang=eng

"His Judgments are Just: Accepting Christ's Mercy

Yesterday during my scripture study, I was studying the account in the Book of Mormon where the prophet Abinidi prophesies of the sufferings, death, and ultimate triumph of Christ over death, and then invites those who threaten to kill him to return to Christ and receive His mercy.  As I read, Mosiah 16:1 stood out to me.  In it, Abinidi declared:

"The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that His judgments are just."

As I read, I imagined what it would be like to be there when Christ comes again; to kneel at his feet; to feel the Savior's embrace, and to have all people come to know the Savior.

I was especially struck by how Abinidi prophesies that after the people "see the salvation of the Lord", they will all declare that "God's judgments are just."  I realized that one reason why God can be perfectly just, as well as merciful, is because of Jesus Christ and the salvation he brought through His Atonement.  We all suffer pain and heartache in this life.  People are unkind and often cruel.  In addition, many suffer from natural disasters, the loss of loved ones, abuse, physical or mental illness, or other difficult circumstances.  To some, even to me sometimes, it can seem that life is very unfair.

However, because Jesus Christ suffered, died, and triumphed over death, he understands us perfectly and can help us to rise above every challenge or obstacle.  We don't need to "weep", "wail", or languish in self-pity;  through Jesus Christ, no matter what our struggle, whether a difficult exam or an excruciating trial, we can have faith that when we see all that Christ has done for us and all that he can yet do for us, we can find strength and with joy can one day say, "his judgments are just."

"Follow thou Me"

This week, I have been reading in the Gospel of John in my New Testament Class.  One of the insights that stuck out to me was when Jesus was talking with Peter after His Resurrection.  He asks Peter three times: "Lovest thou me?", and after Peter responds in the affirmative, Jesus says, "Feed My Sheep", inviting Him to care for his brothers and sisters and bring them unto Christ. (John 21:15-17).

Less well known is the conversation that takes place afterward.  Jesus prophesies of Peter's coming martyrdom, and tells Peter: "Follow me."  In this way, Peter is given a glimpse of the sacrifices he would make for Christ and what Christ expected of him.  However, at that moment, Peter notices John, and remembering the love that Christ had shown John, asked Jesus: "Lord, and what shall this man do?" (vs. 21) In other words, Peter was essentially trying to compare his work, calling, and responsibility with John's.

Jesus responds with a gentle rebuke: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." (vs. 22).

Although we often focus on this scripture as a witness of John the Revelator's ongoing mission on earth, in context, it also can teach us about how we should respond to callings and responsibilities in the church.

So often, it is easy to compare our callings, our blessings, or our opportunities with those of others.  We ask, "But what about them?"  We look to those who have more prominent callings such as "Elder's Quorum President", "Relief Society President", or "Zone Leader".  I know that many times, I have compared my calling or my present life experiences with those of others, but the more I do that, I just become resentful and feel self-pity.

It seems like Peter may have felt this way.  Because Peter knew John's close relationship with the Master, and especially if he had somehow heard about John's future transfiguration, it would be easy to feel less important or to want to compare his blessings or role with John's.   However, in this scripture, Jesus invites Peter to turn from others and look to Him.  It didn't matter to Peter what John's role would be.  He was just expected to follow Christ.

Similarly, it doesn't matter what blessings that others are receiving.  The gospel is between us and Him, and if we are doing all we can to follow Him, that is all that He expects of us.   We each have a role to play in Christ's work, and our joy and growth will come from our efforts to do what he has asked of us and to appreciate the opportunities that he has given us, not from how our efforts or blessings compare with other people.  Just as Jesus redirected Peter's focus towards Himself, as we let go of our need to compare ourselves with others and look to Christ for direction and strength, He can make us the people that he wants us to be.

I invite each of you (as well as myself) to study the talks from General Conference when they come out and ponder on how you can better look to Christ and fulfill His role for you.  I know that as we do so, He can help us to strengthen our relationships with Him and to know what He wants us to do.

Have a great week!

Saved through Jesus Christ

This has been an amazing week for me and there is so much I could talk about.  This week, we have been studying the Atonement of Jesus Christ, from the Garden of Gethsemane to the crucifixion.  Although there are so many aspects I could discuss, I have chosen a couple that stood out to me the most.

First, in my New Testament Class, my professor was discussing the Atonement of Christ when he made an interesting statement: "The Atonement doesn't save us."

What he meant by that is that often when Latter-day Saints discuss Jesus Christ's suffering, death, and Resurrection, they talk about how we should "turn unto the Atonement", or that "the Atonement can save us", or that "the "Atonement" can make us clean from sin, as if "The Atonement" is some divine entity or force that makes life better and that forgives us of our sins.

However, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is rooted and fundamentally focused on Christ and His mission.  Without Him, there would be no atoning sacrifice.  It is He, both a mortal and the sinless Son of God, who chose to suffer in our place.  It is He who descended from heaven to suffer for our sins, all the guilt that we have or will suffer for our sins, all our embarrassment or shame, as well as all of our hunger, our fatigue and exhaustion, our betrayal, and our anguish (Alma 7:11-12; Mosiah 3).  It is He who died and who rose from the dead, making it possible for all who die to rise from the dead and return to the presence of God.

He suffered it ALL, and He overcame it all.  Because of that, He knows us and understands us.  It is He from whom we seek relief and forgiveness of our sins, for he that has suffered for our sins knows how best to help us to overcome them and become better.  It is He that forgives us and offers us mercy, which he has power to do because of His Atoning Sacrifice.  He who has suffered all that seems unjust or unkind in our lives knows how best to help us to rise above these trials and injustices and not be limited by them.  He knows, He understands, He has power to save us, and He wants to save us.

I know that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and that He has power to forgive me of my sins, that He has power to help me through my trials, and that He knows me and can help me through whatever I may go through.  I have felt His love personally in my life and have seen His hand in helping me to rise above darkness, sin, depression, and anxiety,  and to move forward with hope and peace.  I can't describe all that He has done for me to help me, my family, and my friends through difficult trials, despite that I continually don't live up to His expectations,

I have experienced His love in my life, and know that He can do the same for you; and for anyone who turns to Him in faith, ready to trust in Him and accept His sacrifice.

Whenever we fall, we can know that we do not rely on an arbitrary "grace" or a formulaic and abstract "Atonement"; we rely on the merits, mercy, and grace of the living and loving Christ (2 Ne. 2:7), who still knows us and who, because of what He suffered for us, has power to help us wherever we are at.  This can motivate us to better turn to the Savior, to feel more gratitude to Him for His infinite gift of love that He continues to offer us, and to share that love with those around us.

What Can the Ten Commandments Teach Us About Jesus Christ?

This week, as I was reading in the Book of Mosiah, I came across a passage where Abinidi is reciting the Ten Commandments to the wicked priests of Noah.  Usually, it is easy to skim over this passage. After all, many of us know the Ten Commandments by heart and assume that we know all that we need to about them.  However, as I was reading, something stuck out at me that I hadn't recognized before.

We often start reciting the 10 Commandments with the verse, "Thou shalt not have any gods before me" (Mosiah 12:35, see also Exodus 20:2),  yet in both Exodus 20 and in this recitation by Abinidi, the Lord actually starts by declaring who he is and his relationship with His people.  He states:

"I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. " (Mosiah 12: 34; see also Exodus 20:1).

Now, why would the Lord start his instructions with this?

The more I thought about it, I realized that while most of the commandments teach us what God wants us to do, this sentence teaches why we keep God's commandments and provides the motivation to do so.  We keep the commandments because we have a God and a Savior who delivered us.  That same Jehovah, the Lord who delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and led them to the promised land, is also Jesus Christ, who suffered and died from our sins, delivering us from sin and death and enabling us to overcome our trials and reach our full potentials.  He is still here for us, and like then, He still wants to deliver us from our bondage, whether through sin or through the struggles of life.

As we remember Christ and all that He has done for us, and as we come to understand who He is and His Great Atoning Sacrifice, our desire to follow Him increases.  The more that we remember what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have done for us and strive to recognize their hand helping us day by day, the more we want to follow Him and do the things that He has asked us to do.  We want to follow Him and put Him first in our lives, not merely because he will punish us if we don't, but to show our gratitude for all that He has already done for us.   Moreover, as we turn to the Lord, showing Him our love and striving to keep His commandments, the Lord promises to show us "mercy" (Mosiah 13:14) and to help us to draw closer to Him.

This passage motivates me to remember all that Jesus Christ has done in my life and to strive to do the things that He has asked me to do.  As we take time each day and each week to remember Him in our lives and strive to turn to Him and do His will, I know that He can strengthen us and help us to accomplish all that He asks of us.

We Are All Lost Sheep: Coming Home and then Seeking the Lost

In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, Jesus is talking with a group of “publicans (tax collectors) and sinners” when he is approached by a group of Pharisees.  The group of people question him, essentially asking him why he chose to spend his time with those that they deemed “sinners”. who ask him why he eats and spends time with publicans and sinners.   As a result of this question, Jesus gives the exquisite parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.  

One thing that continued to strike me is the devotion and time that those that are seeking give to reclaim those that have been lost.  The shepherd “leave[s] the ninety and nine and goes into the wilderness”, leaving behind comforts to find the sheep who had wandered off.  The widow who loses a piece of silver (a day’s wage) searches all over her house until she finds it, and then she rejoices when she discovers it.  Finally, the father doesn’t go to find his son, because he knows that his son won’t come home if he goes to get him, but he is constantly watching and waiting.  When the son finally “came to himself” (vs 17), the father “saw him afar off, and ran to him, and embraced him, and kissed him” (vs. 20).  

These parables help me to better understand the love of the Savior for us whenever we become lost.  Whether we have strayed from the principles we know are right by accident, whether we have been neglected or offended by others and have lost hope, or whether we have willfully chosen to rebel against what we know is right, the Savior is always there, waiting for us to come home.  He is watching for us and will do all that we will let him to help us to return to his presence, live like him, and to feel of his love.  He is absolutely focused on our well-being.

In addition, I feel that these parables can help motivate us to have greater compassion for those who aren’t active in their faith or who aren’t living the way we think they should and to do all that we can to help them.  It is easy for us to judge others or to criticize or avoid those who don’t share our beliefs or standards.  It is also easy to forget or to neglect those who have gone astray, who aren’t attending church every week, or who may be struggling.  However, we are all in some way lost, and we all need the good shepherd.  Knowing this can motivate us to love others more, to be better friends, better home and visiting teachers, better missionaries, and better disciples of Christ; to go out of our way to love and help others as the Father and our Good Shepherd have loved us.

Walking on Water: Overcoming Doubt and Fear through Jesus Christ

In the Book of Matthew, it recounts the story of Jesus walking on water.  Jesus’s disciples were headed across the Sea of Galilee when they encountered a fierce wind that kept them paddling without progress for most of the night.  Suddenly, they saw a figure walking on water towards them.  Surprisingly, after the mysterious being identified himself as Jesus, Peter made the remarkable claim: “ Lord, if it be thou, bid thee come unto thee on the water.  And Jesus saith unto Him, “Come.”" (Matt. 14: 28-29).  

Most Latter-day Saints and other students of the Bible are probably familiar with how Peter actually was able to walk on water for a time. Think about that for a moment! Peter, this bold fisherman, who knew well enough that people don’t normally float in water, and who was now facing massive wind-driven waves in his path, actually had the faith and trust in Christ to walk on water.  He was committed to follow the Savior, even to the point that he did what for most people would be impossible.  Then, just as he was making progress, "he saw the wind boisterous” and “he was afraid, and beginning to sink” (Matthew 14:24-30).

I feel like many modern-disciples of Christ are similar to Peter in a way.  Those who have experienced a “mighty change in [our] hearts” (Alma 5 and have felt of the Savior’s love and forgiveness have felt strong desires to do the Lord’s will and have even seen him do things with us and make changes with us that we didn’t know were possible.  I know that I have felt this way multiple times in my life.  We want to follow the Savior and feel like we can accomplish the impossible.  However, in the midst of our trials, just as we are starting to change and to make progress, many of us let ourselves become distracted and let doubts and fears keep us from trusting in the Savior?  We may feel inadequate, afraid of what other people will think of us, or discouraged with our progress.  We may have fear or even question if God really loves us or if He will keep His promises with us.  As President Hinckley commented, we can also feel “fear of the future” “fear of loneliness”, or any number of things that make us forget our commitments with God.

However, no matter our fears, I know that as we turn to the Lord and call for him for mercy and strength, he will reach out for us.  Just as Jesus “immediately… stretched forth his hand, and caught [Peter] as he was drowning and called to Him (vs. 31), I know that he can catch us and help us to overcome our fears.  As we look to the Savior and trust in Him, no matter what our fears, he can help us to rise up and continue to reach our “impossible” goals.