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.