At some point in time, you’re going to lay down on your back when you’re all alone and look to the heavens for answers. I don’t care who you are or what you believe…you will have this experience at least one time in your life. Most often, this sort of moment is going to come in a time of distress or confusion. Maybe you’ve just lost a loved one or witnessed a tragedy. Maybe you’re fighting depression or a physical malady. Maybe you’re just downright tired, lonely, or scared and you’ve got nowhere else to turn. Regardless of what it is, there is something that you must know about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
1. It’s Never Too Late To Come Home
Troubled teens sometimes run away from home for the wrong reasons. When they realize what they’ve done, the only thing that prohibits them going back home is pride or the fear of facing their parents and not being received back.
The primary reason for Jesus Christ coming to earth was to help us home. Our Heavenly Father wants us back, and He sent Jesus Christ on a rescue mission to “seek that which was lost”. Many of us fail to see the familial love that exists between Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and each of us. Christ literally volunteered to go into a relentless storm of persecution and pain in order to find each and every one of us as we lay spiritually lifeless on life’s battlefields.
When he found us in our darkest abyss, He effectually nourished us back to spiritual consciousness and then tells us about our heavenly home and how much we’ve been missed. He grabs us calmly by our shirt with tears in his eyes and says, “Look! I’ve come a long way to get you. I’ve plead your cause and paid your debts. There is nothing that you have done that I have not paid for. Will you walk home with me? It’s not to late.”
2. Christ Knew Us Intimately Before We Came to This Earth
I have often wondered how Christ was able to go through with the Atonement. How was He able to endure this type of pain for people that he had never even met in the flesh. It all came to me on the night of my first child’s birth.
She was born during passover time in April. The delivery wasn’t going as planned. Her heart was beating very fast and then painfully slow. They determined the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and it was choking her out. My wife was in all kinds of pain. We had been up for 36 + hours and I am standing there almost helpless.
At one point in time…it was as if time stood still and for the first time in my life I truly comprehended the love of God. I stood there not knowing why I was visualizing the Garden of Gethsemane at the height of this emotional roller coaster but it was all I could see with my mind’s eyes. I looked at my wife in pain and all I could think of was that I would do anything to take her place and take her pain.
My mind flashed back to the Garden of Gethsemane (Gethsemane means “oil-press”). I visualized the Savior being “pressed”, enduring physical and spiritual torment beyond comprehension.
I looked back at my wife.
John 15:13 came to my mind.
Then 1 John 3:16 came next…
and there it was…I was given insight into “how” Christ could have done what He did for us.
Because of the love I felt for my wife and daughter, I would have done anything…even to enduring a long and tortuous death if necessary in order to save them. I would fight tooth and nails until my last breath to make sure they live on…and that…I realized is exactly what Christ did for us in the Garden and on the Cross. The love I felt for them, was the love He felt for me as He atoned for my sins. The very thought of my family suffering… caused a love to stir within me that can only be described as divine.
Because Christ knew all of us before we came to earth, He was able to draw upon the memories and the love He had for each and every one of us. The very thought of our suffering motivated Him to go through with it. He didn’t want to do it. In fact, He asked for that “bitter cup” to be removed from Him, but His familial love is what enabled Him to endure.
Now He asks us to cultivate that kind of love not only for our family members but for even our enemies.
3. We Have a Very Protective Older Brother
The origin of the word “Atonement” comes from the Aramaic word “kafata”. This word “kafata” was used to describe the “embrace” that took place between the great lords of the desert known anciently as sheiks and those that were fleeing from their enemies and seeking refuge or protection.
Imagine a man running for his life through the desert with his enemies chasing closely behind. They have swords and clubs ready to fall on this man. They will not show mercy. The man knows that if he can reach the tent of the great sheik, that he can gain his protection. As the man approaches the tent of the sheik, he runs to him and kneels before him and declares, “I am thy suppliant”. The sheik and the man embrace becoming “At-One”. The sheik places the hem of his robe around the man to declare him under his protection.
In effect, the sheik raises his arms to the man’s enemies and says “What!…bring it”. The man’s enemies turn and go about their way because they don’t want any trouble with the sheik.
When you have nowhere else to turn and your enemies are bearing down on you, the great Lord of lords is waiting for you to commit yourself to Him. He wants to be “at-one” with you through a divine “embrace” so that he can bestow His kingly protection over you.
4. It was the most “Unfair” thing to ever happen on this planet.
When you contemplate what happened to Christ, your life will not seem all that unfair. One of the most frustrating things in life is watching unfair things happen to yourself and to others. “I didn’t deserve this or that.” “Why did that happen to this person.” “Life is so unfair.”
Try this on for size…
A baby was born in a cave among animals and feces on the ground. Then He was hunted by a wicked king and soldiers. He moved from place to place to avoid certain death and settled in a city called Nazareth.
At about age 30, He started going around helping people. He preached the gospel, performed miracles, and never sinned. He had more love in His heart than any person that ever lived. He went into a garden and bled from every pour for the sins of mankind.
He was spit upon and betrayed by one of his best friends. The people he went about serving allowed a known criminal (Bar-Abbas, Son of the Father) to go free instead of Him. Then he was scourged with a whip lashed with bones and other sharp objects. Most people died from scourging alone. Instead of lash marks and cuts being made, chunks of His back were ripped from His frame.
Then He carried a heavy cross to a hill outside the city by the road so that everyone could see Him hang there as they passed by. He watched his mom and his friends as metal stakes were driven though his wrists, His palms, and His feet. He was raised up on the cross between two criminals and to cap it off…His Father left Him all alone.
You’re right…life is not fair…but Christ is not asking you to go through anything that he didn’t go through already…which brings us to our next point.
5. There is Nothing You Could Go Through That He Hasn’t Gone Through
Christ didn’t only just suffer for your sins. He suffered for every physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain you have ever experienced. You cannot ever say “nobody knows how it feels” because someone does. The “thorns in the flesh”, mental illnesses, physical handicaps, betrayal, and every anguish imaginable…He has gone through it…so let Him carry some of your burdens.
You need to know that someone has your back. There is someone out there that loves you more than you love yourself. He’s your oldest brother and he’s been through it all. He’s sacrificed everything for you in order to help you through the unfair things that happen to you throughout your life. He is protective of you and longs for your embrace. He wants to become “At-One” with you and share the load because you guys were so close before you came to this earth…and now He’s asking you to get on the path that leads back home.
This is beautiful. This is true. I am so grateful I know these things 🙂
Why would God tell Joseph Smith JR the Creeds were an
abomination and professors were corrupt and the then give Joseph Smith the Book
of Mormon which agreed with these Creeds and professors?
Pearl of Great Price
, Joseph Smith History
19 I was answered
that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who
addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of
men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”
Here are Joseph Smith statements against the Creeds and the
Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith: Many men say there is one God; the Father, the
son and the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say this is a
strange God
anyhow—three in one, and one in three! It is a curious
organization. . . . All
are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism.
It would make the
biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big
God—he would be a
giant or a monster.“
(History of the Church * Volume 6 Page 476 * 1844
“God himself was
once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits
enthroned in yonder
heavens. That is the great secret… …I am going to tell you
how God came to be
God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all
eternity. I will
refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may
see. … It is the
first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the
character of God and
to know…that he was once a man like us…. Here, then, is
eternal life – to
know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn
how to be Gods
yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as
all Gods have done
before you… (“King Follett Discourse,” Journal of
Discourses 6:3-4, also in
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 345-346, and History
of the Church, vol.
6, 305-307,)”
“I have always declared God to be a distinct personage,
Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the
Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute
three distinct personages and three Gods,” (Teachings of Prophet Joseph
Smith, p. 370)
Why does the Book of Mormon agree completely with the 4th
and 5th century creeds and completely disagree with the
teachings of Joseph Smith?
“I have always declared God to be a distinct personage,
Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the
Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute
three distinct personages and three Gods,” (Teachings of Prophet Joseph
Smith, p. 370)
2 Nephi 31:
21 And now, behold,
my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name
given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now,
behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.
Amen.
Alma 11:
44 Now, this
restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both
male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so
much as a hair of their heads be lost; but everything shall be restored to its
perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be
arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy
Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works,
whether they be good or whether they be evil.
Mormon 7:
7 And he hath brought
to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before
him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God
in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the
Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a
state of happiness which hath no end.
The Testimony of
Three Witnesses
And the honor be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
Martin Harris
Doctrine and
Covenants 20 :
28 Which Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen.
2 Nephi 26:12 And as
I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ,
it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ,
the Eternal God;
3 Nephi 11:17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High
God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
Moroni 7:22 For
behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting , behold,
he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest
concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good
thing.
2 Nephi 27:23
For behold, I am god;
and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same
yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it
be according to their faith.
2 Nephi 29:9
And I do this that I
may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that
I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have
spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is
not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that
time henceforth and forever.
Moroni 8:18 For I
know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is
unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.
Mormon 9:9 For do we
not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever , and in him there
is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
Mormon 9:19
And if there were
miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an
unchanging Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would
cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.”
Hebrews 12: 8 Jesus
Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
2 Nephi 19:9 And I do
this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and
forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And
because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak
another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of
man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
Moroni 7:22
For behold, God
knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent
angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the
coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.
Mosiah 3:5 For
behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord
Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity,
shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a
tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles,
such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind
to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of
diseases.
3 Nephi 19:
18 And behold, they
began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their
God.
Mosiah 5:15
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding
in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you
may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal
life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created
all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.
2 Nephi 11:6-7. “And my soul delighteth in proving unto
my people that save Christ should come all men must perish. For if there be no
Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have
been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the
fulness of his own time.”
An abridgment taken
from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were
scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they
were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the
house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and
that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off
forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the
Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there
are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of
God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.
Translated by Joseph
Smith, Jun.
Mosiah 4: 9 Believe
in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and
in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in
earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can
comprehend.
Mormons follow a different Christ then Christians…
The traditional Christ
of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I
speak as been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. He
together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820,
and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the matters of God
than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages.” (Church News,
June 20, 1998, p70)
Mormons also follow a different Jesus than Book of Mormon
http://youtu.be/tkMY88DZcGU
If the bible contains this language and doesn’t teach that Jesus and His Father are the same being then what makes you think that these statements teach this? Not one of these quoted statements teaches that they are literally the same being.
If you mean One Godhead or GOD
God- Godhead- Substance- Essence- Being [ all Synonyms ]
Then main line Christianity believes there ONE BEING just not same person
Ron, this incredible message of truth is so beautiful and timely. Virginia & SoundOn got it, and you with all of these very well done references totally missed it. Why?
Since the scriptures are not meant for any private interpretation unless you are a holy man moved upon by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1: 20-21), someone like Elder Holland is so critical in these latter days. IF you truly desire or WANT to really know, please listen to him with real intent, a sincere heart and an open mind, and you will feel the Spirit of God with you.
I included this very moving talk you can add to all of your references by this modern day Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He is more than just a great man, he is a modern day Apostle. Listen to his talk titled, “The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent.” And speaking of the Trinity, I included an excerpt from this talk about the Trinity. “Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].” The Harper’s Bible Dictionary is a Non-LDS source, by the way. Maybe you can share a biblical reference to the Trinity. The talk will move you. You will feel it. And again Ron, ask your Heavenly Father if his words are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost will tell you the truth. You can personally experience all 3 members of the Godhead of in your life.
Elder Holland Video Clip: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng#watch=video Given at October 2007 General Conference.
Thanks, Ron, for taking a bunch of random quotes out of context, and using them to create strife, hurt feelings, and contention in the name of the Prince of Peace.
I guess you’re right- you do follow a different Jesus than the rest of us.
Merry Christmas
Do you think Greg’s are random quotes too ?
Gregs post make me feel good–by their fruits you know if it is from God. I really like Grg, if you don’t why read him? Are you trying to prove to yourself you are right
The Church of Jesus
Christ of latter-day Saints does not view the atonement of Christ in the
biblical and historical Christian manner. Instead of the atonement occurring on
the cross, Mormonism teaches that the atonement occurred primarily in the
Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus shed His blood. Please consider the following
quotes from a BYU professor and the Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie.
•BYU professor Robert J. Matthews, who on page 282 of his
book, A Bible! A Bible!, wrote, “It was in Gethsemane, on the slopes of
the Mount of Olives, that Jesus made his perfect atonement by the shedding of
his blood-more so than on the cross.”
•Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, stated, “Where and
under what circumstances was the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God made? Was
it on the Cross of Calvary or in the Garden of Gethsemane? It is to the Cross
of Christ that most Christians look when centering their attention upon the
infinite and eternal atonement. And certainly the sacrifice of our Lord was
completed when he was lifted up by men; also, that part of his life and
suffering is more dramatic and, perhaps, more soul stirring. But in reality the
pain and suffering, the triumph and grandeur, of the atonement took place
primarily in Gethsemane,” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol. 1, p.
774,
1 Nephi 11:33
And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and
slain for the sins of the world.
Did Jesus say take up the garden and follow me ?
Ron Den Boer, why do you persist in stalking Greg Trimble’s articles and posting your anti-Mormon tripe? Stalking is a type of mental disorder, and your obsession is scary to those of us watching it. Freedom of religion is a basic right still recognized in the U.S., and if you so vehemently disagree with the LDS church, then why can’t you find one that you do agree with to post positive messages on? Too much negativity is a bad thing Ron, and your anti-Mormon obsession is only bringing you and everyone else down. You continually pose questions, but are only interested in baiting those who respond and often respond back with insults and worse (as you’ve done with me many times). This is dishonest and clearly shows your agenda, which is to discredit and slander the church and harass it’s members. Harassment and bullying are your trademarks. I hope others recognize your comments for the religious bigotry that they are, and choose not to respond to you. I’ve seen too many get upset at the nasty things you often say. Sad to see someone that delights in making others miserable.
May I please post #3? in my own blog? I really would like to add it to my thoughts. It is a piece of my path I am currently walking on.
For sure! Go for it! 🙂
Thanks Virginia!
The atonement started in the garden and was sealed on the cross; it was an ordinance that only the Saviour could perform for us.
Love this . . . so glad I found this today . . .