"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.
