What the message of Jesus Christ means to me?

Like i previously mentioned, I had a commenter ask about what exactly the message of Jesus Christ is. That question has been so overwhelming because its so broad and beautiful, but I can tell you what it means to me.

The message of Jesus Christ can be summed somewhat summarized by the first 4 articles of faith Articles of Faith:

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The message of Jesus Christ is that there is a plan that was decreed long before the worlds were created where our Heavenly Father, presented a plan for all his children. This plan is known as the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness. Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the Father and Only Begotten was chosen to be our Savior and our Redeemer.

And now to quote from Preach My Gospel (Chapter 2, Lesson 2, The Plan of Salvation):

We will all suffer physical death, but Jesus Christ overcame the obstacle of physical death for us. When He died on the cross, His spirit became separated from His body. On the third day, His spirit and His body were reunited eternally, never to be separated again. He appeared to many people, showing them that He had an immortal body of flesh and bone. The reuniting of body and spirit is called resurrection and is a gift promised to each of us. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will all be resurrected regardless of whether we have done good or evil in this life. We will have a perfect, immortal body of flesh and bones that will never again be subject to disease, pain, or death. The resurrection makes it possible to return to God’s presence to be judged but does not guarantee that we will be able to live in His presence. To receive that blessing, we must also be cleansed from sin.

God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to overcome the obstacle of sin in addition to the obstacle of physical death. We are not responsible for the Fall of Adam and Eve, but we are responsible for our own sins. God cannot look on sin with any degree of allowance, and sin prevents us from living in His presence. Only through the Savior’s grace and mercy can we become clean from sin so that we can live with God again. This is possible through exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

To fulfill the plan of salvation, Christ paid the penalty for our sins. He alone was able to do that. He was called and prepared in pre-earth life. He was the literal Son of God in the flesh. He was sinless and completely obedient to His Father. Though tempted, He never gave in to temptation. When the Father asked His Beloved Son to pay the price of the world’s sins, Jesus was prepared and willing. The Atonement included His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering and death on the cross, and it ended with His Resurrection. Though He suffered beyond comprehension—so much so that He bled from every pore and asked whether it were possible that this burden be lifted from Him—He submitted to the Father’s will in a supreme expression of love for His Father and for us. This triumph of Jesus Christ over spiritual death by His suffering and over physical death by His Resurrection is called the Atonement.

Christ promises to forgive our sins on the condition that we accept Him by exercising faith in Him, repenting, receiving baptism by immersion, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and striving faithfully to keep His commandments to the end of our lives. Through continuing repentance, we may obtain forgiveness and be cleansed of our sins by the power of the Holy Ghost. We are relieved of the burden of guilt and shame, and through Jesus Christ we become worthy to return to the presence of God.

As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

In paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus did not, however, eliminate our personal responsibility. We must show that we accept Him and that we will follow His commandments. Only through the gift of the Atonement can we return to live with God.

I love that second to last paragraph when it states, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I think that is the central message. As children of a loving Heavenly Father, he wants us to know that there is a plan that not only helps us here in mortality but also in eternity. He wants us to know that he has provided a way for us to return back to him, back home. He wants us to know that this gift of the Atonement is here for each of us to utilize in our lives so that things can be made right. In the four gospel writings in the New Testament of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and in the writings of the prophets in the Book of Mormon who wrote of Christ appearing to the people in the Americas, I never cease to be amazed by just how many times Christ invites Come unto Me. (My favorite Come unto Christ scripture can be found here: 3 Nephi 9: 13-15)

And not just Come unto Me in your good times or in the times when life is good, but Come unto Me with your burdens, with your weakness, with the things that are hard, with the things you don't understand, with your pain, your sickness and your infirmity.

Christ invites us to Come to Him, to learn of Him, to be healed through His Atonement.

I love the way that Elder Jeffery R. Holland puts it:

It seems clear that the essence of our duty and the fundamental requirement of our mortal life is captured in these brief phrases from any number of scenes in the Savior’s mortal ministry. He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.”

My beloved friends, I know of no other way for us to succeed or to be safe amid life’s many pitfalls and problems. I know of no other way for us to carry our burdens or find what Jacob in the Book of Mormon called “that happiness which is prepared for the saints.”⁶

So how does one “come unto Christ” in response to this constant invitation? The scriptures give scores of examples and avenues. You are well acquainted with the most basic ones. The easiest and the earliest comes simply with the desire of our heart, the most basic form of faith that we know. “If ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma says, exercising just “a particle of faith,” giving even a small place for the promises of God to find a home—that is enough to begin.⁷ Just believing, just having a “molecule” of faith—simply hoping for things which are not yet seen in our lives, but which are nevertheless truly there to be bestowed⁸—that simple step, when focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, has ever been and always will be the first principle of His eternal gospel, the first step out of despair.

And so, the message of Jesus Christ means to me to come, come and learn of him, come and be healed by him. Come and learn of his commandments so your life can be filled with peace, joy and happiness. Come and learn that his gospel has been restored to the earth today, that there are prophets on the earth leading and guiding the Lord's true church and that God still speaks to man today.

I know that as we learn of Him in any small way and express our desire to learn more of Him that he will send the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to testify to our souls that He lives and that The Plan of Salvation is the Plan for all of our Heavenly Father's children. We can pray to know of these things for ourselves. That is how I have come to know what I know and for me, it has made all the difference.

Please see: http://mormon.org/beliefs/jesus-christ for further information
Please contact me with any further questions by leaving a comment or emailing me under the email in my profile.

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broken things to mend, elder jeffery r. holland
the atonement can secure your peace and happiness, elder richard g. scott
where is the pavilion, president henry b. eyring
missionary work and the atonement, elder jeffery r. holland
the atonement can clean, reclaim and sanctify our lives, elder shayne m. bowen
*mormon message

winning the hearts

institute night! you know what that means...lots of things rolling around in this head of mine.

favorite quote: "to state it again, even thought the scriptures contain no words to answer our specific personal question, a prayerful study of the scriptures will help us obtain such answers. This is because scripture study will  make us susceptible to the inspiration of the holy ghost." --dallin h. oaks, studying the scriptures, byu-hawaii campus, march 14, 1986, p. 19

favorite scripture/new theme of my life: alma 17: 29. i had a special love for alma 17 ever since my mission and the morning we sat in front of the huge painting of 'go ye therefore' in the main hall of the mtc. but the end of alma 17 just always seemed violent, cutting off arms and all...well i'm giving ammon's story another look. :) j/k. ammon, who is the servant of king lamoni sees the lamanites scatter his flocks. his fellow servants say, ah the king will slay us and they start to cry. and what does ammon do? his heart swells for joy. he saw not a tragic event but a glorious opportunity to win the hearts of his fellow servants in hopes he can lead them to believe him. he saw opportunity.

there are many attributes i could delve into here, but here is just one that strikes me particularly hard. he isn't concerned about his own heart, he is seeking to win hearts, the hearts of others.

a few months ago, getting myself to church was really hard. not to say that i didn't go or that i didn't want to go, but i guess i lost perspective because all i could see was me. i felt lonely, and alone. i felt like i could go through the whole day and no one would necessarily sit by me or talk to me or even really notice if i was there or not and at that, really care.

i give you that example because i think its the opposite of this "winning hearts" concept. someone who wants to win the hearts of others is not interested in the welfare of their own heart, they are seeking to others hearts. its being concerned for someone else, saying hello, caring more about making others feel loved, appreciated, noticed and cared for. the miracle is...your heart benefits as well.

there are many other stories that could be told, other parallels that can be drawn; and this is just my beginning. hello new theme: "win the hearts"

I delight in Sundays.

I think having to work every other Sunday with this first externship of mine has made me appreciate the Sundays I do have off much more! This Sunday brought a lot of learning and pondering. Yesterday, I studied 2 Nephi 9: 1-12 and had an increasing realization of how much I need the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I hope that I always have an increasing realization of how much I need the Atonement--I think it is a good thing!

During my studies I was drawn to was a footnote in Revelations 12:7, 11 in the New Testament. In Revelation, we learn about the council and consequent war in heaven resulting in Satan and 1/3 of the hosts of heaven being cast out of the presence of God, never to return. Whenever I think about that battle, I wonder what I was like then. Have you ever wondered which aspects of your personality and character defined you the most as a pre-mortal spirit vs. your personality and character development here in mortality?

Point of this story is, in verse 11 in the Book of Revelations chapter 12, John the Revelator tells us of the 2 ways that we essentially won the war: 1) by the blood of the Lamb (Christ) and 2) by the word of their (or our) testimonies. My next two thoughts were: testimonies of what? And Christ hadn't shed any blood yet.

You see, I have always considered myself to be a blessed soul to be able to live on the earth at a time after Jesus Christ had lived on the earth and suffered the Atonement for all mankind...including those who lived before his time and after his time, something we often describe with the term "infinite atonement."

Anyway, I always thought it would have been more difficult for me to accept the reality of the Atonement had it not happened yet. But after reading the scripture in Revelation in conjunction with Jacob's words in 2 Nephi 9, I thought to myself: "As a pre-mortal spirit, I must have had a testimony of the infinite sacrifice and Atonement that Christ would suffer for me and for all mankind." Essentially, even though The Atonement of Jesus Christ had not yet occurred, we already had a testimony of that magnificent event that would come.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have a testimony then and now. To know for myself, the dealings of Christ with His people on the earth and to know of His continuous, infinite and eternal atonement.

My all time favorite quote relating to the Atonement is from Preach My Gospel and says,

Everything that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that is true.

I delight in the Book of Mormon.

Every 6 months I get really anxious for General Conference. This weekend, it came and went, but I'll watch, read, listen, and ponder on it for at least the next 6 months.

One theme I really pulled out of conference this time around was the importance of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon really is the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I can't remember who said it at the moment, but something was said to the effect that the Book of Mormon has the power to heal emotional and even physical problems. Ah, Elder Scott. I should have known. Elder Scott talked at length about the spiritual power available to us if we commit scriptures to memory. He discussed how the scriptures are good friends--available to us at any time, full of the best counsel, and if we memorize them, the Holy Ghost can them bring them to our minds in those moments of need.

As I listened to Elder Scott refer to the scriptures as friends, my mind flashed back to an experience I had as a missionary. Once, while I was serving in New Brunswick, Canada, Elder Jay Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy was assigned to speak at our Stake Conference. New Brunswick and part of Maine are all one stake so traveling to meet together was a big deal. Elder Jensen taught the missionaries about how the scriptures are his dear friends and how as he studied them, he felt he was in the presence of friends.

As I reflected on both Elder Jensen and Elder Scott's words, I wondered what my scriptures would say about me. I realized that what my scriptures used to say about me and what they currently say about me are probably two very different things. The conclusion I came away with is this: you've got to give it to receive it. Just like any good friendship 2 things have to be happening: 1) You have to put in the time for that friendship to grow and become better and closer and 2) Friendships either grow deeper or they don't. You have to put in the time to reap the rewards of scripture reading in life. And so, the first commitment I make to myself, that I share with all of you is that my scriptures and I are going to become better friends over the next six months.