Like you, I love the scriptures! In the book of Jeremiah we find a scripture that is very dear to my heart. Jeremiah lived in a difficult time and place, but the Lord allowed him to foresee “a time of hope during the latter-day gathering of Israel”—our day. Jeremiah prophesied:
“After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. …
“… They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33–34)
We are the people Jeremiah saw. Have we invited the Lord to write the law, or doctrine, in our hearts? Do we believe that the forgiveness available through the Atonement that Jeremiah refers to applies to us personally?
(emphasis added)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said of the pioneers: “they did it because the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ was in their soul, it was in the marrow of their bones.
…
If we can keep that in our families and in the Church, maybe a lot of other things start to take care of themselves. Maybe a lot of other less-needed things sort of fall out of the wagon. I’m told those handcarts could only hold so much. Just as our ancestors had to choose what they took, maybe the 21st century will drive us to decide, ‘What can we put on this handcart?’ It’s the substance of our soul; it’s the stuff right down in the marrow of our bones.” (emphasis added)
What are the essential things to move the work forward?
- Understand the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ
- Strengthen families and homes
- Work together in unity with others
She sums it up as “atonement, covenants, and unity.”
Three principles of the Atonement that, if written in our hearts, will increase our faith in Jesus Christ:
- All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.(Preach My Gospel p. 52)
- There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.(David A. Bednar, Ensign April 2012 pp. 40-47)
- The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father’s love for His children.(Dallin H. Oaks, Love and Law, Ensign November 2009 p. 26)
There is a way to know when we have learned a doctrine or principle of the gospel. It is when we are able to teach the doctrine or principle in a way that a child can understand it.
This is how we should all feel about the Atonement:
That supreme act of love ought to send each of us to our knees in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for loving us enough that He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer for our sins, our heartaches, and all that seems unfair in our own individual lives.
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