"The Atonement is not just for sinners"

-Elder Bruce C Hafen of the Seventy

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Alma 7:11-12. In Chapter 7, Alma is speaking to the people in Gideon. In verse 7 he teaches "there is one thing which is of more importance than they all - for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people. This was 83 years before the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.  Alma then teaches the people what the Savior will do while upon the earth:

Alma 7:11-13

11 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.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

In the margins next to this scripture I wrote...the Lord has 1st hand knowledge. How comforting to me to know that He has experienced what I am experiencing and He knows how to succor me and you. How comforting to know that the Atonement was not just for sin but that Jesus Christ suffered to save us from death too and to help us through the challenges of mortality.

"This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior's Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair. From the beginning, trust in such help was to give us both a reason and a way to improve, an incentive to lay down our burdens and take up our salvation". -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Do you agree with Alma that the coming of the Savior is the most important event of all time? I bear testimony that this truly is the most important event of all time. I am grateful for His willingness to come to earth and fulfill His part in the Father's plan. That He was willing to suffer in the garden and then lay down His life for us, making it possible for us to repent and return to our Father in Heaven. To be resurrected and live again. I am grateful for the knowledge of the Atonement and although I am just beginning to understand all it covers I am grateful that it is not just for sinners. That Jesus Christ is there for me during my challenges and will take those burdens from me if I will let Him. I pray everyday that I can repent and become more like Him. Of these things I testify.

The book shall be of great worth.

So much for posting from time to time, more like year to year. It's been quite a whirlwind since my last post. I will update everyone soon on all the changes. One change is that I have decided to go back to school and get by BSN. I am doing an online RN to BSN program through BYU-I. The biggest reason is to fulfill a lifelong goal of getting my bachelor's degree before all my kids get theirs - barely going to make it - probably will graduate with Corey instead of before - but counts!

One of the classes I am taking is the Book of Mormon. I love the Book of Mormon and am excited for the chance to read and study it again in depth. "The Book of Mormon is a sacred record of peoples in ancient America" and is another testament of Jesus Christ. Together, with the Bible, they testify to us of our Savior, His mission, His life and the way back to live with Him again.

This week while studying 2 Nephi 28 I was struck with verse 2: And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel. The book mentioned here is the Book of Mormon. In Chapter 2, Nephi, an ancient prophet, is prophesying of some of the challenging conditions in the latter days and warns of ways that Satan will try to distract us from righteousness. This is why the Book of Mormon is of such great worth , to help us know how to overcome the conditions of our time.

A modern day prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, taught how we can recognize the great worth of the Book of Mormon:

"Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations...

"If they saw our day and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, 'Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?'...

Throughout the entire book we find lessons on how to draw nearer to Christ, to overcome temptation, and to resist the power of Satan. President Ezra Taft Benson emphasized this by saying, 

"Is there not something deep in our hearts that longs to draw nearer to God, to be more like Him in our daily walk, to feel His presence with us constantly? If so, then the Book of Mormon will help us do so more than any other book.

"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives that moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the stait and narrow path. The scriptures are called 'the words of life', and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance."

I testify that the Book of Mormon is of great worth to us in our day. I know that these ancient prophets saw our day and know our struggles. If we will abide by it's precepts we can overcome these struggles. I know that if you study and pray to know these things for yourself, that the Holy Ghost will "manifest the truth of it unto you".