Last Sunday, my companion, Sister
Christensen and I went over to our bishop’s house to have dinner and a lesson.
During this lesson, we talked a lot about the Atonement (the act where Christ
stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins as well as taking upon
himself all the pains that we go through). Sister Christensen and I mentioned
how sometimes we feel, as a lot of people do, that this act, although vital to
understand, will never fully be comprehended in this life with just our finite
brains. Although this is true, our wonderful bishop made a profound statement.
He went on to tell us that YES, our minds CAN indeed understand the Atonement.
It's when people get scared that others say they won't understand it, that they
don't study it. Although you can go deep within the concept of what he
literally bore upon himself, I have learned that the Atonement is in fact a
very simple act we can all understand. Faith. If you have the slightest bit of
faith in Jesus Christ, you understand it enough for now. And when our faith
increases, so does the understanding of the Atonement. Then will your desire to
share that knowledge increase as well.
Begin today! Don't let others tell you what you can and can't study/understand/do/become. Gospel related, sports related, or life related...be in control of yourself. Don't make excuses. You don't quit after messing up a drill once do you? No! You keep doing the same thing over and over until you master it. Same with studying gospel topics.
My invitation to you is very simple. Whether you've been studying the Atonement your whole life, never heard of the word, or somewhere in between...pick up from where you are and STUDY THE ATONEMENT. My personal advice to you-click on this website...lds.org...and type it in the search bar. That way you can hear what prophets and apostles have to say about the topic. Just one option :)
I cannot tell you how grateful I am for getting to share about this topic every day for over a year now. It is literally the greatest expression of love that both our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ could give me, you, and the world. I love the fact that because of Jesus Christ, I don't have to be stressed out about being a perfectionist. Just the little steps I do take is enough for him. Progression is all he is looking for.
Always remember that!
-Sister Duncan
Begin today! Don't let others tell you what you can and can't study/understand/do/become. Gospel related, sports related, or life related...be in control of yourself. Don't make excuses. You don't quit after messing up a drill once do you? No! You keep doing the same thing over and over until you master it. Same with studying gospel topics.
My invitation to you is very simple. Whether you've been studying the Atonement your whole life, never heard of the word, or somewhere in between...pick up from where you are and STUDY THE ATONEMENT. My personal advice to you-click on this website...lds.org...and type it in the search bar. That way you can hear what prophets and apostles have to say about the topic. Just one option :)
I cannot tell you how grateful I am for getting to share about this topic every day for over a year now. It is literally the greatest expression of love that both our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ could give me, you, and the world. I love the fact that because of Jesus Christ, I don't have to be stressed out about being a perfectionist. Just the little steps I do take is enough for him. Progression is all he is looking for.
Always remember that!
-Sister Duncan
