Four things that had to be overcome to bring to pass our immortality:
- Physical death
- Spiritual death
- Infirmities
- Imperfections
When we sin we are like a foolish man who jumped from an airplane. Nothing we do can prevent a crash landing. Only because the Savior gave us a parachute of the Atonement do we have a chance to pull the ripcord of repentance to activate the saving power of that Atonement.
If we feel the spirit we know that or sins have been forgiven or that the process of cleansing is taking place.
After repentance we can honestly say “I am not the man who committed those crimes because I have become a new man.”
What then is the Atonement of Jesus Christ? In one sense, it is a series of divine events that commenced in the Garden of Gethsemane, continued on the cross, and culminated with the Savior’s Resurrection from the tomb. It was motivated by an incomprehensible love for each of us. It required a being who was sinless; who had infinite power over the elements—even death; who possessed a boundless capacity to suffer the consequences of all our sins and ailments; and who, in fact, descended beneath it all. This was the mission of Jesus Christ—this was His Atonement.
What then was its purpose? It was to make it possible for us to return to God’s presence, become more like Him, and have a fulness of joy. This was done by overcoming four obstacles:
- Physical death
- Spiritual death caused by Adam and by our sins
- Our afflictions and infirmities
- Our weaknesses and imperfections
Nice and succinct.
Suppose for a moment a man contemplating an exhilarating free fall makes a rash decision and spontaneously jumps from a small plane. After doing so, he quickly realizes the foolishness of his actions. He wants to land safely, but there is an obstacle—the law of gravity. He moves his arms with astounding speed, hoping to fly, but to no avail. He positions his body to float or glide to slow the descent, but the law of gravity is unrelenting and unmerciful. He tries to reason with this basic law of nature: “It was a mistake. I will never do it again.” But his pleas fall on deaf ears. The law of gravity knows no compassion; it makes no exceptions. Fortuitously, though, the man suddenly feels something on his back. His friend in the plane, sensing the moment of foolishness, had placed a parachute there just before the jump. He finds the rip cord and pulls it. Relieved, he floats safely to the ground. We might ask, “Was the law of gravity violated, or did that parachute work within that law to provide a safe landing?”
When we sin, we are like the foolish man who jumped from the plane. No matter what we do on our own, only a crash-landing awaits us. We are subject to the law of justice, which, like the law of gravity, is exacting and unforgiving. We can be saved only because the Savior, through His Atonement, mercifully provides us with a spiritual parachute of sorts. If we have faith in Jesus Christ and repent (meaning we do our part and pull the rip cord), then the protective powers of the Savior are unleashed on our behalf and we can land spiritually unharmed.
Once again, very succinct. This is an extremely accurate metaphor. Pulling a rip cord won’t save us without a parachute. Likewise a parachute won’t save us if the rip cord isn’t pulled.
Truman G. Madsen made this comforting observation:
“If there are some of you who have been tricked into the conviction that you have gone too far, … that you have had the poison of sin which makes it impossible ever again to be what you could have been—then hear me.
“I bear testimony that you cannot sink farther than the light and sweeping intelligence of Jesus Christ can reach. I bear testimony that as long as there is one spark of the will to repent and to reach, he is there. He did not just descend to your condition; he descended below it, ‘that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth.’”
In order to exercise faith we must believe that we are not beyond the reach of God to rescue us.
Even though we may believe in Christ’s cleansing powers, the question often arises: “How do I know if I have been forgiven of my sins?” If we feel the Spirit, then that is our witness that we have been forgiven, or that the cleansing process is taking place. President Henry B. Eyring taught, “If you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost … , you may take it as evidence that the Atonement is working in your life.”
It is good to recognize that feeling the Holy Ghost indicates that the Atonement is working on us, not proof that we are already cleansed.
Moroni so taught: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, … that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” There seem at least two channels or means of availing ourselves of those enabling powers that can refine—even perfect—us.
First, the saving ordinances. The scriptures tell us, “In the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.”…
A second channel for these enabling powers is the gifts of the Spirit. Because of Christ’s Atonement, we are eligible to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and its accompanying spiritual gifts. These gifts are attributes of godliness; therefore, each time we acquire a gift of the Spirit, we become more like God. No doubt that is why the scriptures enjoin us on multiple occasions to seek these gifts.
That brings new meaning to “be perfected in Him.”
President George Q. Cannon taught: “No man ought to say, ‘Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.’ He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to … give gifts that will eradicate [our weaknesses]. … If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect.”
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