I have been asked to speak about Christ and His
atonement. I would like to start with this quote I found by President Monson. “We knew that our purpose was to gain a physical body, to overcome trials,
and to prove that we would keep the commandments of God. Our Father knew that
because of the nature of mortality, we would be tempted, would sin, and would
fall short. So that we might have every chance of success, He provided a
Savior, who would suffer and die for us.” That was from the Ensign of May 2010.
God has a perfect knowledge of everything. He knew when he sent us here that he
needed to send his son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins. We know we must try
our hardest to be like him, but none of us ever are. We make simple little
mistakes every single day, but lucky for us there is a way to make up for our
everyday imperfections. The only way this can happen is through Christ and his
unimaginable grace and mercy. If we go through the repentance process full
heartedly then we can become clean from our sins, big and small. Then the next
step is that we must obey the laws and principals of the gospel. God sends us
these laws and principals through our prophet, seer and revelator. That is why
listening to the prophet is so important.
The Atonement and repentance are some of the
many things that I have been able to really gain a testimony about over the
past year or so. Some of you may know that I have a very adorable little girl named
Nixxon. She is 7 months old and the highlight of my life, and I am raising her
right now as a single parent. Last year I found out I was going to be a Mom
right before my senior year of High school. This news was hard for me, because
not only was I going to have a baby but, that I was going to be doing it
without her father involved. But I knew I could not blame God, my parents, my
friends, the only person I had to blame was myself. My parents and church leaders had always
taught me right from wrong, and what God had expected from all of us. I knew
right from wrong but I simply had chosen to ignore what I had been taught and
not follow what I knew was right. I knew God had given these laws for reasons to
protect us. He was trying to protect me from many trials and tribulations that
come with teen pregnancy. I knew I had to take responsibility for my actions. I
soon after I started the repentance process. I knew I should study my
scriptures everyday. I found one in Luke chapter 15 verse 10, and it says “Likewise, I say unto you,
there is joy in the presence of the aangels of God over one bsinner that repenteth.” This scripture
was a comfort to me because I knew that angels were glad that I was repenting
and getting back onto the right path. I was also given a quote by a seminary
teacher that says “God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as he does about where you are
and with his help, where you are willing to go. “ this was found in a
talk given by Elder Holland. This quote is very powerful to me still today. I
have it hanging on a magnet board in my room to remind me that I may have
chosen a different path in life, but I can still get to the same place with the
Lords help. I could not have went through my pregnancy with out putting all my
faith in Christ. I knew if I kept my faith in the Lord and never gave up trying
to make things right, I knew that I could be forgiven and return to live with my Heavenly Father
one day.
Another part of the atonement is that
Christ suffered for our pains and afflictions, and overcame physical death so
we can be resurrected one day. This part of the atonement is something I am
very thankful for. This has been huge for me. I know that Christ has felt
everything we feel emotionally and physically. He was able to bare each pain we
have for each and every one of us. Being pregnant isn’t only physically painful
and uncomfortable but for me was very hard emotionally. Being and expecting
mother at 17 is hard enough, but when you are always dealing with rumors,
usually feeling lonely because your friends just aren’t there for you anymore,
and the hardest part was always feeling judged by so many people. I You never fully understand the struggles and heartache of someone until you
walk in there shoes. Christ was able to walk in my shoes and feel all that I
had to feel, and I found out how judgmental people can be. I still had to
attend half a year of high school until I could graduate. I never would have
understand how hard it is to stand out that much in a way that is not so great.
During that half a year of school I had to give up my drill team, which was my
whole life at the time. I decided to step down off the team because I knew I
didn’t deserve to stay on because I had broken a rule on a contract I signed
with the team. As soon as I was off the team I had no social life. I had to
walk down the halls each day looking like i had a basketball for a stomach. The
worst part of it was since I was doing this alone I had many rumors and
misconceptions about what was going on with me. Everyday I had someone tell me
a new rumor about me that was nothing near the truth. This was something that
was very hard on me, but I never let myself feel bad for myself because I knew Christ had suffered
these same pains. He knew what it was like to be talked about, abandoned, and
judged. I always knew that He would never speak harshly of me, he would always
be by my side when I was at my lowest point, and he knew the thoughts of my
heart and was never quick to judge me. He was always there to help. Because of
this experience I was able to first handed learn about Christ’s atonement and
why he went through it for us. I know that no matter our situations, Christ is
always going to be willing and able to help us out. He does it for every single
person simply because he has so much love for us. I am so thankful for the many
trials and tribulations I have had to face so I can have a better understanding
of the atonement, and why Christ suffered for our pains and sins. I know Christ
has a love for me and for everyone so he was able to suffer and atone for our
sins. I am so thankful for Christ’s sacrifices for me and for everything he did
and still continues to do for me.
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