Dear Sisters and Elders –
In the scriptures, there are many examples of those who were completely devoted to Christ. They put Him and His gospel above their personal needs, fears, and situations.
In the scriptures, there are many examples of those who were completely devoted to Christ. They put Him and His gospel above their personal needs, fears, and situations.
When offered his life to retract his testimony of Christ, Abinadi asserted: “I will not recall the words…for they are true…I will suffer unto death, and I will not recall my words” (Mosiah 17:9-10).
After losing family, friends, wealth, and health, Job proclaimed: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).
With a decree of death over her people, Esther risked her life to petition the king. She explained: “I go in unto the king…and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).
When their brethren came against them to war, and in order to keep their covenant with God, the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, “would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword…” (Alma 24:23).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were commanded to worship a golden idol or be burned. They refused to worship an idol and declared: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3: 17-18).
What allowed these individuals to remain so devoted to Jesus Christ in the face of personal loss? Elder Quentin explained that real conversion to Jesus Christ comes when we “make the Savior's Atonement the foundation of our faith and lives” (General Conference, Oct. 2012).
Let me recommend several ways that we can make the Savior’s Atonement the foundation of our faith and lives:
1. Study the Atonement Each Day
As we study the Atonement of Jesus Christ each day from the scriptures, we come to appreciate the essential role of His Atonement in our lives and the great sacrifice that Heaven Father and Christ made on our behalf. To start, I would recommend reading the Book of Mormon chapters suggested in Preach My Gospel (pp. 47-48), the New Testament, and Jesus The Christ.
2. Use the Atonement Each Day
Perhaps nothing brings a closer personal connection to Jesus Christ and His Atonement than repentance. “[Repentance] denotes a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world” (Bible Dictionary). As we repent each day of offenses to God, we align ourselves closer to Him and gain increased appreciation of His divinity and for the peace His Atonement provides to us.
We can also reach out to gain strength from the Atonement in times of personal weakness. “The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity” (David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Liahona, April 2012). As we plead with the Lord for added strength each day, we begin to recognize the added capacity and power we receive from Christ and His Atonement and our gratitude for Him grows.
If you become discouraged, remember back to times in your life when you experienced the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Record these personal experiences so that you can refer to them in future times of need.
3. Share the Atonement Each Day
As the Atonement becomes a more integral part of our lives, we seek to share it with others. Howard W. Hunter explained: “Any time we experience the blessings of the Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of others [and a] desire to share the gospel (“The Atonement and Missionary Work,” seminar for new mission presidents, June 1994).”
Alma the Younger is a great example of this process: “From that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors” (Alma 36:24-25).
Sharing the Atonement is at the core of what we do as missionaries. Take every chance to testify of Jesus Christ and of His Atonement—in personal contacting, in lessons with investigators, in testimony meeting, during companion study, in your letters home, etc. As you do, your conversion to Christ and His gospel will grow.
I invite each of us to prayerfully consider practical ways that we can increase our commitment to Jesus Christ by connecting with His Atonement every day. As we do, He will endow us with greater power to do His work, we will become more like Him, and we will find increasing joy in sharing his gospel.
I sure love you and appreciate your examples of devotion to the Savior.
President Pingree
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| Melbourne and Traditions Sisters |
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| Missionaries serving in Montgomery and Conroe |
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| MLC |
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| MLC |
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| Picking up nine more cars in Pearland |
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| ASL Missionaries |