La Expiación

Two weeks!  I'm being set apart on Sunday, September 2nd at 8:00 P.M.  Next week is my "farewell" address- 8:30 A.M. at the Lawrenceville building.  I'm not making a big deal about it, I didn't make a Facebook event or anything like that, partly because everybody is at school or on a mission, and more so just because it really isn't about me.  I just am hoping to share what I've been blessed to learn through my experiences and just help others to push through the hard times and become more like our Savior.  But yup, time is a flying...

In the meantime, I had a pretty lazy Sunday, and in turn I didn't leave myself much time to think about and write a good post.  So here's a toss back- I just so happened to feel impressed to write a talk I was assigned to give word for word, more essay style rather than outline style like I've done in the past, and that's pretty handy when you have a lazy Sunday and would still like to post something.  Here it is, given on April 8th, 2012 in the Provo YSA 51st Ward of the Provo YSA 4th Stake:

Nearly two thousand years ago, the unthinkable happened when Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, rose from the dead.  No event in history has brought more hope into the world than did the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and so on this day, we celebrate His victory in overcoming death.

As is stated in 1^st Corinthians 15:22, “…in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”  The obvious implication this verse sets forth is that all will gain resurrection because Jesus was resurrected.

Of great significance is it that all are included in this promise- Christ does not exclude this blessing to anyone.  Helaman 14:17 explains that “the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.”  Out of all of the billions of people who have existed on this Earth, not one is excluded from the promise of being made alive, never to die again.  “…the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.”

Although the promise given to all to live again is wonderful, there is more to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His resurrection symbolizes His victory and success in the mission that our Father in Heaven gave to Him in the premortal existence.  In celebrating His raising from the dead, we should also celebrate the manner in which He lived His life.

In order to conquer death, Christ lived the perfect life.  He withstood temptations from the devil, constant persecution and all manner of pain and affliction, never faltering so that He could balance the scales of justice for you and me.

As President Monson explained in his conference address in October 1981, the teachings and example of Christ in His mortal ministry live on, just as He does.  We need to remember Him at all times and follow in His footsteps.

Our Savior’s determination to do the will of the Lord in all things is just another wonderful aspect of His life that led to His victory over the grave.  The ultimate example was in the garden of Gethsemane.  As He was experiencing “suffering [that] caused [Him], even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain,” He desired that this burden be lifted.  Superseding that desire, however, was His desire to do the will of the Lord, and so He persevered and “partook and finished [His] preparations unto the children of men.”

These preparations not only show His desire to do the will of His Father, but they show how much He loves us, giving us even more reason to celebrate Him on this Easter Sunday.

Elder James E. Talmage explained in Jesus the Christ that “In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world.”

In the 2005 October General Conference, Elder Merill J. Bateman gave a glimpse at this incomprehensible burden that Christ took upon Himself in the Atonement.  He said “Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt ‘our infirmities’, ‘[bore] our griefs, … carried our sorrows … [and] was bruised for our iniquities.’”  He continued: “The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us…. He learned about your weaknesses and mine. He experienced your pains and sufferings… He knows us. He understands the way in which we deal with temptations. He knows our weaknesses. But more than that, more than just knowing us, He knows how to help us…”

Jesus Christ took upon Himself all negative things in our lives.  Why?  Because He loves us.

Elder Holland helps us further get a taste of this love in his April 2009 address.  He explains that “It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish.”

President Monson said “At the last moment, the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things.”

He came to know us on the night, better than we know ourselves now.  He didn’t give up and because of that He knows exactly how we feel at all times, in all places, and if we learn how to utilize the Atonement properly in our lives, it can work wonders in helping us to live like Christ.  We all have hope, every single one of us, because of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

As we continue to celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of our Savior, let us also remember the life He lived, the sacrifices that He made and what that means for us.  Because of how He lived, we can live again.  Because of His choice to suffer for every single one of us, we can turn to Him in the every day and be comforted.  Because of Him, all have hope.  And “…because [He] walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.”

I’d like to close by quoting a song that puts things into perspective.

How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?
He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.
How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?
He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.
How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?
Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.
What does he ask? Live like his Son.

I know that He lives and loves us, and because of this love, we all have hope of improving ourselves and being truly happy in this life and in the life to come.  This is my testimony.  This is why I've chosen to serve.  I hope YOU know how truly valuable you are to Him.