springdellgirl: Email from Elder Johnson #19

2-1-21

The Atonement❤

Made by Kameron

This email is gonna be a bit different than the last couple. A bit more serious. This last week has been something of a learning experience for me as my study of the Atonement of Jesus Christ continues and I wanted to share with you all what I've learned. It's long I know, haha, but please read it. It's worth it. I promise. I love you all so much and I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father. God is real. His grace is sufficient. You are never too far gone to be forgiven. He's waiting for you. Give yourself to Him.

What I've learned is this; the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ redeems, but it also enables. We were given a talk from the Atonement packet to study in our district called, "In the Strength of the Lord" by: David A. Bednar. Take some time to read it cause its meta. But what I wanted to pull out was this quote, "It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us."

It is really easy to get discouraged with the idea of perfection. It seems so far away from us and therefore makes it out of our reach, unattainable and discourages us from even trying. Do not let this be a discouragment because it isn't. Heavenly Father knows that we can't reach it on our own. That is the purpose of the Atonement. This definition of perfection isn't never doing wrong; it's the process of being redeemed and then striving each and every day to try harder. To be a little better than we were yesterday and when we fall to ask for forgiveness and to keep stepping forward time after time in faith because of the enabling power of the Atonement. The redeeming and enabling power of the Atonement are two things that work in harmony rather then separate.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson says, "To have effect, the gift must be accepted: “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift (D&C 88:33).

Thus it is not that we earn these gifts but rather that we choose to seek and accept justification and sanctification. Since the Savior paid for our sins and satisfied justice for us, we become debtors to Him rather than to justice. We must therefore meet the stipulations He has established for forgiveness and cleansing."

Because of the redemption of the Atonement we are relieved of the debt to justice and we are in debt to Him. So how do we fulfill this debt? Diligence, obedience, and love. This is where the enabling power comes in. He wants to live through us, direct us, and empower us to give us all the tools to stay on the straight and narrow path because we know that, "Everyone in the Church who is on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling and desiring to do what is right, though far from perfect in this life; if they pass out of this life while they are on the straight and narrow, they are going to go on to eternal reward in their Father’s kingdom...Now is the time and the day of your salvation, so if you’re working zealously in this life—though you haven’t fully overcome the world and you haven’t done all you hoped you might do—you’re still going to be saved."

This life isn't easy, it isn't picture perfect, and isn't every fairytale that we read about as kids. It's hard. It sucks. It feels like we freakin own the struggle bus, not just riding it. There's hills to climb one right after another. Trial after trial and we just get weighed down with high expectations, anxiety, stress, depression and we feel like we can't take any more. But we can, because we are never given something that we can't handle.

There are a lot of reasons why things are so hard but I want to point out two. The first one is this quote from Elder Jeffery R. Holland, "Missionary work (or life) is not easy, because Salvation is not a cheap experience." Let that sink for a bit. Think about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. And the sacrifice Heavenly Father made to give us his only begotten son to save us. Reason number two, because we can learn from it all and it will be for our good.

To quote parts of D&C 122:7&9, when Joseph Smith was going through hell, and he turns to God and asks why him, why now, why all of this. Questions I'm sure all of us have asked ourselves at times in our lives and this was a part of the answer that he received, "...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever." He was told that all these things give us experience, opportunities to learn and grow more then we ever could before. It will all be for our good. God will be with us forever and ever.

Though we may never reach true perfection in this life, we owe Him to dang well try our best. As President Richardson has told us in a zone conference, "Give the Lord your all, whether that be 5%, 50%, or 100% give him all you have and leave nothing on the table." At the end of each day of our lives, and at that time when our final day has run its course, we can say we have given Him our all.

As Enos said,

"And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world. And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father."

So we push ourselves every day, refocus on why we are here at this time, and what we want to learn from it in the end. Our Savior has the tools and He wants to give them to us and all we have to do is ask for them and the windows of heaven will open and pour out upon us. That through Him we can be empowered to do more then we ever thought possible. To endure hard things, to be a greater version of ourselves, and to be converted.

Because of that enabling and empowering part of the Atonement we will achieve great things, personally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, or socially. As a friend, family, counselor, church leader, co-worker, and disiple of Jesus Christ. We will have the capacity to lift where we stand. To be diligent and obedient to the things that have been asked of us and to be loving to the sons and daughters of God all around us. To be empowered in our work of the gathering of Israel. Letting God Prevail in us and being instruments in his hands.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is all encompassing. That because of him we are redeemed, but that through him we can be empowered, and endure to the end so that we can comfortably say, we left it all on the table.

Friends and family. Be empowered. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable and brave that discomfort. Endure it well. For all these things shall be for OUR good, and give us the tools to be unwavering in our faith in Christ. For not our will but His be done.

I love you all. I know the capacity you all have to be a force for good in this world. To do a great and marvelous work for your God and our God. He has a plan for you. And He is counting on you to do it. So act like it.

1. Elder Gardner