The Atonement is for Me!!

Today I have been asked to speak on the atonement. I think this time of year is so much fun as we set goals and think about how we want to improve ourselves. It is so fitting that we celebrate the birth of Christ in December at the end of the year and then right following we celebrate a new year in January. That is exactly what Christ’s life is all about, that we are able to become new as we strive to be like him.

As I talk about the atonement today, I would like to answer four simple questions about the atonement.

 The first question is:

Why do we need the atonement?

The answer to this question starts at the very beginning when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden Fruit in the garden of Eden. Because they took of the fruit they became mortal and had to experience all that comes with mortality such as death, sin, and tribulation. This was all part of the great plan of Happiness and because of the fall we were all able to come to earth to experience these things as well. 2 Nephi 2:25 says “Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they may have joy.  But wait: Adam’s fall brought death, sin, and trials, so how does that bring us joy? Eve is definitely one of my hero and she explains it perfectly in Moses 5:11 “And Eve, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” Eve knew that to experience true joy, have knowledge, and ultimately become like her father in heaven she had to live through mortality and the most joyful part of the plan is that we were given our Savior Jesus Christ to overcome spiritual and temporal death and succor us as we experience hardships and trials. Because of the Savior we can have it all. We are given help as we experience trials in this life, we know there is life after death, and we can ultimately become like our father in heaven and be with our family’s forever because we can repent and be made clean. Christ’s life and the power of his infinite atonement is so complete and perfect. It is what brings true joy.

The Second question is:

Who is the atonement for?

To answer this question, I want to share two quotes. The first is from the talk “Repentance is always positive by Stephen W. Owen. It says

 “We often associate repentance with grievous sins that require “a mighty change.” But repentance is for everyone—those who are wandering in “forbidden paths and [are] lost” as well as those who “have gotten into [the] strait and narrow path” and now need to “press forward.”Repentance both puts us on the right path and keeps us on the right path. It is for those who are just beginning to believe, those who have believed all along, and those who need to begin again to believe. As Elder David A. Bednar taught: “Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and … striving to become better.”

The second quote is from the talk The Laborers in the Vineyard by Elder Holland. It says:

“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.”

The atonement is for everyone! Again, this shows how complete the atonement is. We can be forgiven of all our sins, big or small. As long as we are striving to do our best and continually repent, we will be forgiven or our sins.

The third question I have is:

 What can the atonement do for us? 

Christ’s life was totally for us. Christ came to earth and was a perfect being. During his ministry he taught us how to live. Then near the end of his life he suffered for us in the Garden of Gethsemane. He suffered the pains of our sins as well as all our infirmities. Alma 7:11 says 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.

Now why did he do this? Listen to the next scripture: v. 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.

He did it so that he could succor us or strengthen us. 

As I was getting ready to give birth to my first baby girl, I found the scripture Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Not really knowing what to expect with the whole giving birth thing I decided this was a great scripture to "ponderize". The birth went very well and soon after we took our beautiful baby home and everything felt perfect. Not too many days after we took her home though she started to give us a run for our money. Oaklee had Jaundice so we had to go to the doctors office to pick up billi lights to put her in at home. While we were at the doctors to pick up the lights Oaklee choked on some milk while I was feeding her and she turned blue. Chad yelled at the nurses and they rushed in to help us. Oaklee’s color returned and she was fine… but I wasn’t!! I totally lost it and because of that, the doctor said he would admit us into the hospital to give her the bili light treatment there and to help us watch her so that she didn’t choke again. That was a long night in the hospital and as a new mom, I was pretty upset. I repeated my scripture over and over aging “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” all night long and that really comforted me. 

One evening about two weeks later, I noticed that Oaklee was looking a little blue again. She would look a little blue and then gain her color back and this happened a few times. We took her to the ER and found ourselves admitted into the hospital again for a few days.  Oaklee was having episodes where her oxygen levels were dropping. The doctors did so many tests to try and figure out what was wrong. The episodes stopped and the doctors decided that she was had an apnea episode  because her body temperature got too low and we were sent home. One of my doctors in the hospital talked to me a lot about how to prevent sids which was super scary and made me nervous to go home. I was especially feeling anxious for that first night at home by ourselves. That night I was overwhelmed with a calming feeling that everything was going to be okay. I really felt the succoring power of Christ’s atonement.   

Two weeks went by and everything was normal until one afternoon Oaklee went blue again and we were admitted to the hospital a third time.  At this point I didn’t know if I could take anymore. I felt inadequate and worried that I wasn’t strong enough to take care of this baby. I was scared. After a lot of prayer I knew that I was fit to be Oaklee’s mother and that I wasn’t alone because “I can do all things through christ which strengtheneth me.” 

Being back in the hospital again also meant that Oaklee was misdiagnosed so once again, we didn’t know what was wrong. Finally one of the doctors noticed that when Oaklee’s oxygen levels dropped she was rocking her hand back and forth and that these episodes were actually seizures. They also found that Oaklee’s corpus callosum in her brain is smaller than normal and underdeveloped. Luckily most people with an underdeveloped corpus callosum don’t even know their brain isn’t “normal” but there were still possibilities that it could affect her development. 

During the next few weeks we met with a neurologist a had a lot of questions and I remember our neurologist saying that he couldn’t tell the future. I remember specifically thinking that ultimately I did know Oaklee’s future! Whether Oaklee had developmental problems and seizures the rest of her life in this life or not:one day her brain and body would be whole because of our savior Jesus Christ, and that is the future for all of us!! 

For us our story has a happy ending. With medication, Oaklee never had a seizure again and when she turned one we were able to wean her off the medication. Her brain is functioning properly and she is a smart, spunky girl. 

Sometimes in this life our stories don’t have happy endings but this life is not the end. Revelation 21: 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And John 16:33 says These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

My fourth question is:

How can we use the atonement in our lives?

When I was in institute several years ago, Elder Bednar came and spoke. His message was very simple to us. He said to just strive to be a good boy or girl. If we are doing our best to live the gospel and do a little better than we did before and repent daily, then we are using the power of the atonement in our lives. This is such a great message because satan likes to trick us into becoming discouraged about our weaknesses when in reality God shows us our weaknesses so that we can strengthen them with the help of our savior. I think the trick is to try and change in a joyful way and be positive with ourselves and others!

When going through a trial some of things that help me are by praying, journaling, giving service, finding answers in the scriptures, and going to the temple!

I know that the lord is always with us if we invite him into our lives, and strive to be a little better each day. I know the book or Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith really saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I also know that our new prophet Russell M. Nelson is our prophet today! I love my family and know that because of Christ and my temple covenants, I can be with them forever.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.