The Atonement of Jesus Christ
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| Photo from LDS.org |
I started my study with the Section on the Atonement from my study guide. Then I read parts of Chapter 33-35, that include The Garden, The trials, the scourging, the cr
ucifixion and the resurrection. I then listened to the audiobook for Robert L. Millet's book The Atoning One. This book was wonderful! It was so enlightening. I recommend it to everyone that wants to study the Atonement a little more in depth leading up to Easter on April 1st. Preparing the lesson was amazing for me. I actually went through 4 plans for my lesson. I planned it out, had a great idea, and felt the need to adjust, repeated 3 times... The last change came at 10pm Saturday night. I grabbed my computer and quickly typed it all out.
I am so GLAD that I listened to that subtle prompting that night and wrote out those notes. It was the most amazing start to my lesson and worked perfectly.
Here is how I started my lesson:
I want you all to imagine that you see your very dearest friend, kneeling on the ground about 30 feet in front of you. You can see she is in excruciating pain, in agony. When you ask what is wrong, she says this is something she has to suffer through, it is going to hurt, but she has to do it. What would you do?
Would you:
Go help her
Go help her
Ask what you can do
Call for help
give her a hug
hold her hand.
Stay with your friend and cry with her
Why would you do that? What is it about your friend that makes you want to help? What is it that makes you stay there kneeling next to her, helping her to get through the pain?
LOVE
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the supreme act of LOVE of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for all of us and EACH of us. Because of His Love for us, Heavenly Father sent His son Jesus Christ to Earth, to live and then suffer and die for each of us. Because of Love, He watched from above, as His son knelt, because of love, in a garden suffering for the sins of all mankind. Because of Love, He watched as Jesus Christ, who because of love, was scourged with a multi-thonged whip of leather straps with sharp bone and metal. Because of Love, Heavenly Father watched as His Son Jesus Christ was nailed onto a cross and hung there to die. And it was because of love, that Heavenly Father withdrew His spirit from His Son, in His moments of greatest need, as He hung dying on the cross, so that He could truly feel all the pains of sin, including the withdrawal of the spirit that results from sin. Because of Love Jesus Christ gave ALL, and Because of Love, He rose again.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is that act that shows us the most truest form of love. They both LOVED each of us, individually, so much that they were willing to go through all of it, A Father watching His son quite literally carrying the weight of the world and not being able to shoulder the weight with him. And a Son, A Brother, who loved us so much, that he was willing to carry the weight of the world, the weight of my sins, my griefs, my sorrows, so as it says in D&C 19, 16-18 says:
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
I then went through a quick what is the atonement:
Atone:
Reconcile, or restore to harmony.
Quote 1:
Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. We can ultimately dwell in His presence forever, having been “made perfect through Jesus”…The Atonement is the supreme expression of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. It is also the greatest expression of the Savior’s love for the Father and for us.
Then I talked about why we need an Atonement. It is important to understand why we need something before we understand the depth of the event that took place.
As descendants of Adam and Eve, all people inherit the effects of the Fall. We all experience spiritual death, being separated from the presence of God, and we are all subject to temporal death, which is the death of the physical body…We are subject to opposition and temptation…We distance ourselves from God and come short of His glory.
The only way for us to be saved is for someone else to rescue us. We need someone who can satisfy the demands of justice—standing in our place to assume the burden of the Fall and to pay the price for our sins. Jesus Christ has always been the only one capable of making such a sacrifice.
So Christ lived His life, an absolute perfect life. He then willingly suffered in Gethsemane, through Trials and scourging, and finally on the Cross of Calvary.
I then turned on the a piece of music that really stirred my sole. It is the song Gethsemane from Rob Gardner's Lamb of God. As the instrumental portion played, I read the first section below. Press play below and then listen to the spoken word and read this section along with it. The quote below is from the talk The Purifying Power of Gethsemane from April 1985 by Bruce R. McConkie. (one of the most powerful talks on the atonement. If you haven't heard it before, I will link it at the bottom. Truly amazing, given 11 days before he died).
Gethsemane:
We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane.
We know he sweat great gouts of blood from every pore as he drained the dregs of that bitter cup his Father had given him.
We know he suffered, both body and spirit, more than it is possible for man to suffer, except it be unto death.
We know that in some way, incomprehensible to us, his suffering satisfied the demands of justice, ransomed penitent souls from the pains and penalties of sin, and made mercy available to those who believe in his holy name.
We know that he lay prostrate upon the ground as the pains and agonies of an infinite burden caused him to tremble and would that he might not drink the bitter cup.
We know that an angel came from the courts of glory to strengthen him in his ordeal, and we suppose it was mighty Michael, who foremost fell that mortal man might be.
As near as we can judge, these infinite agonies—this suffering beyond compare—continued for some three or four hours.
We know he sweat great gouts of blood from every pore as he drained the dregs of that bitter cup his Father had given him.
We know he suffered, both body and spirit, more than it is possible for man to suffer, except it be unto death.
We know that in some way, incomprehensible to us, his suffering satisfied the demands of justice, ransomed penitent souls from the pains and penalties of sin, and made mercy available to those who believe in his holy name.
We know that he lay prostrate upon the ground as the pains and agonies of an infinite burden caused him to tremble and would that he might not drink the bitter cup.
We know that an angel came from the courts of glory to strengthen him in his ordeal, and we suppose it was mighty Michael, who foremost fell that mortal man might be.
As near as we can judge, these infinite agonies—this suffering beyond compare—continued for some three or four hours.
We then went on to talk about the Trial, Scourging. Again, quoted form Bruce R. McConkie's talk.
Trial/Scourging:
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| Photo from LDS.org |
With reeds of wrath they rained blows upon his back. Blood ran down his face as a crown of thorns pierced his trembling brow.
But above it all he was scourged, scourged with forty stripes save one, scourged with a multithonged whip into whose leather strands sharp bones and cutting metals were woven.
Many died from scourging alone, but he rose from the sufferings of the scourge that he might die an ignominious death upon the cruel cross of Calvary.
Then he carried his own cross until he collapsed from the weight and pain and mounting agony of it all.
Again, quoting form Bruce R. McConkie's talk, we went on to talk about Calvary and the Crucifixion.
Calvary:
With great mallets they drove spikes of iron through his feet and hands and wrists. Truly he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
Then the cross was raised that all might see and gape and curse and deride. This they did, with evil venom, for three hours from 9:00 A.M. to noon.
Then the heavens grew black. Darkness covered the land for the space of three hours, as it did among the Nephites. There was a mighty storm, as though the very God of Nature was in agony.
And truly he was, for while he was hanging on the cross for another three hours, from noon to 3:00 P.M., all the infinite agonies and merciless pains of Gethsemane recurred.
And, finally, when the atoning agonies had taken their toll—when the victory had been won, when the Son of God had fulfilled the will of his Father in all things—then he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and he voluntarily gave up the ghost.
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| Photo from LDS.org |
Calvary:
With great mallets they drove spikes of iron through his feet and hands and wrists. Truly he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
Then the cross was raised that all might see and gape and curse and deride. This they did, with evil venom, for three hours from 9:00 A.M. to noon.
Then the heavens grew black. Darkness covered the land for the space of three hours, as it did among the Nephites. There was a mighty storm, as though the very God of Nature was in agony.
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| Photo from LDS.org |
And, finally, when the atoning agonies had taken their toll—when the victory had been won, when the Son of God had fulfilled the will of his Father in all things—then he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and he voluntarily gave up the ghost.
And finally, quoted form Bruce R. McConkie's talk one more time, we spoke of Christ's resurrection and appearance to Mary and others.
Garden of the Empty Tomb:
Garden of the Empty Tomb:
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| Photo from LDS.org |
He then received all power in heaven and on earth, obtained eternal exaltation, appeared unto Mary Magdalene and many others, and ascended into heaven, there to sit down on the right hand of God the Father Almighty and to reign forever in eternal glory.
His rising from death on the third day crowned the Atonement. Again, in some way incomprehensible to us, the effects of his resurrection pass upon all men so that all shall rise from the grave.
Then we finished with this video from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, taken from LDS.org.
I learned so much from preparing this lesson. As I sat in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, I prayed for confirmation that what I learned for myself and studied and prepared to teach these youth was true. I knew it was true, but I wanted to feel it all over again. I loved the feeling that I got from the Holy Ghost during those few minutes. It is amazing to me that we have the power of personal revelation in our own lives. We have 2 way communication with our Heavenly Father and opportunities to get answers to our prayers. I closed my lesson by bearing my testimony to them.
I know that Jesus Christ lived for us. I know that He suffered in Gethsemane for all of us and for each of us. I know he suffered through trials and scourging, and I know He was crucified for us and for me. I know that He lives again. And I know that He and our Heavenly Father did all of it out of Love for each of us. The most true and pure Love, something we cannot even fathom. It is incomprehensible to all of us what Christ suffered through. But I am eternally grateful to Him and my Heavenly Father for doing it for me.
The Purifying Power of Gethsamane - Bruce R. McConkie (text of talk, video below)
Robert L. Millet - The Atoning One
Lamb of God by Rob Gardner If you want to really reflect on the final week of Christ's Life, this music is a sure win. Beautiful depiction of the Life of Christ, some of my very favorites: Make Me Whole, Here Is Hope, Gloria and Sometime We'll Understand. Really, beautiful. Justin and Jaicie both participated in a performance of it in Oklahoma City and I feel in love with the music.
There are endless talks about the atonement. I compiled a study guide and gave it to each of the young women and challenged them to use the 4 weeks before Easter to learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is a link to that document if you'd like to join in!
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