Talk on the Atonement from March 14, 2021

A few years ago, when I was the Primary President in the Spencer 5th Ward, we taught the children a song that grew to be favorite with all of us, The song was "Gethsemane". Jesus climbed the hill, to the garden still, His steps were heavy and slow Love and a prayer took Him there to the place only he could go Gethsemane, Jesus loves me so he went willingly, to Gethsemane He felt all that was sad, wicked and bad, all the pain we would ever know while his friends were asleep He fought to keep, His promise made long ago Gethsemane, Jesus loves me So He went willingly, to Gethsemane The hardest thing that ever was done The greatest pain that ever was known The biggest battle that ever was won This was done by Jesus, the fight was won by Jesus Gethsemane, Jesus loves me So he gave His gift to me In Gethsemane Gethsemane, Jesus loves me So he gives His gift to me From Gethsemane I love this song and every time we sang it, it made me cry! This song says in a simple way, what the Atonement is. I'm so grateful for our Savior's love and His willingness to do this for us. In April of 2019, Tad Callister gave a Conference talk about the Atonement. He said, "The Atonement is a series of divine events that commenced in the Garden of Gethsemane, continued on the cross, and culminated with the Savior's Ressurection from the tomb. It was motivated by an incomprehensible love for each of us. It required a being who was sinless; who had infinite power over the elements-even death; who possessed a boundless capacity to suffer the consequences of all our sins and ailments; and who in fact, descended beneath it all. This was the Mission of Jesus Christ-this was His Atonement. He overcame it all for each of us, no matter what. It doesn't matter what we do, His sacrifice was made so each of us can return to His presence. We can be eternal families because He conquered it all; physical death, spiritual death, our afflictions and infirmities, and our weaknesses and imperfections." I know from my experiences, He did All the work for us, He loves us that much! None of us is perfect, and He understands this. I'm grateful for my testimony of this truthfulness, because I know we will be together again with our loved ones we've lost. The Great Plan of Happiness is a wonderful gift to each of us! I can't wait for the day when I will be reunited with our parents, and especially our daughter, Hanna, who had 18 years on this earth. Her health was always fragile and it was hard to lose her just before her 19th birthday. I know she's waiting for us, with a strong, healthy spirit. I love our Savior. In the book, "The Continuous Atonement" by Brad Wilcox, he tells the story of a young man from the BYU Ward he was Bishop of, and the struggles this young man had feeling he was unworthy. He had gone to the Bishop and repented of all the things he'd ever done wrong. Then he repeated his mistakes. He now felt he was unworthy and lost for good. He stopped going to church and avoided the Bishop. Brother Wilcox finally went to the young man's apartment and asked to come in so they could talk. The young man let him in, but said, "Like that will make any difference. Just face it, Bishop, the Church isn't true. No one can prove there is a God. It's all just a joke, so don't waste your time!" Letting the spirit guide, after wanting to lay into him, the Bishop was able to get the young man to open up. After his repentance, he repeated his mistakes. They continued to talk. The Bishop asked, "So the church is true and there is a God after all?" "Of course", was the response. "So you just need another chance?" "But that's the problem. D&C 58:43-By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-Behold he will confess them and Forsake them." I confessed; I didn't forsake. So I didn't really repent. It's over." The Bishop said, "Tell me about the Savior's grace, then." The young man said, "Oh, you know-2 Nephi 25:23. 'It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.' We do our best and then Christ Makes up the difference. But I did that, and it didn't work. I still went out and did the same old dumb thing. I blew it. Nothing changed." The bishop said, "Hold on, what do you mean Christ makes up the difference?" He responded, "Well, just that. You have to do your best, and once you have done your best, Christ makes up the difference." Bro. Wilcox then said, "Christ doesn't just make up the difference, He makes All the difference. He requires us to repent, but not as part of paying justice-Only as part of helping us to change." Christ makes all the difference, and that means all the time. The miracle of the Atonement is that He will forgive our sins. That includes not just multiple sins, but also multiple times we commit the same sin. There's always hope! That's what the Atonement provides-it is continuous! I'm so very thankful for all the wonderful things I've learned throughout my life, from the time of my Baptism at Eleven. We've experienced so much joy, but also sorrow, as it was intended. Our daughter, Hanna, was born prematurely in 1985. She spent 7 weeks in the hospital before coming home on oxygen. Her health was always tenuous. She had several surgeries during her life, she was Autistic and in Special Ed. There were many times when she got sick, we thought we'd lose her. Each of us learned so much love from her. When she died in 2002 during an MRI, we had in reality, been prepared by our Heavenly Father. We know that we will see her again. We know she's a perfect spirit who just needed to gain a body as part of the Plan. I'm so grateful for this knowledge. We were blessed to have her in our lives. I love Jesus Christ for all he did for us! I'm thankful for the Prophet Joseph Smith and the truths he brought back to the earth, even when persecuted. I love the Book of Mormon. Every time I read it, I learn more. I know President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God. He is the perfect leader for right now! I love this Gospel. One final quote. Neal A Maxwell said, "His relentless Redemptiveness exceeds my recurring wrongs." That is what the Atonement of Jesus Christ is all about.

My Testimony

It’s about time I put down my testimony of the last year and what’s been going on with me spiritually. My testimony has grown daily from the day of my baptism on October 17, 1964, when I was 11 years old. A little bit about myself, I was born in 1952 along with my twin sister in Santa Monica, California. We have an older sister and brother, and then a younger brother. We lived in Long Beach, California until December of 1962, when we moved to Phoenix, Arizona. We know that we were supposed to move there so that our family would find the Church. We had been Presbyterian since before we were born. Our dad, who was divorced from our mom, went boating on Lake Havasu, and the boat he was on flipped, sending him to the bottom. He was able to save himself, but his cigarettes were left on the bottom, which he felt was a sign, that he needed to find a Church that taught people to abstain from smoking. So, he found the Ward missionaries, Nephi Allen and Charles Alexander. He took the lessons and was baptized, then asked them to teach us. He wanted us to receive the same blessings. We were taught the lessons, and when our mom was convinced, she immediately wanted to know if her ancestors lived for naught, so the missionaries taught us about work for the dead! We were all converted right then. We were all baptized on our older brother’s 16th Birthday. It was a momentous day for us! We got involved in the Ward and felt right at home there, our mom teaching in Primary! We loved the Gospel! Then in 1968, we moved back to Santa Monica to be near our maternal Grandmother, after our step-grandfather died. I loved my years there as a teenager. I met my future husband in Jr. High and introduced him to the Gospel. He was finally able to be baptized when he was 18, against his parents wishes, but it was what he wanted. We were married in the LA Temple in 1973 and have been blessed with 7 children. We moved to Utah in 1978, then bought our home in Magna in 1980. About a year ago, we started to consider the need to move because of the house’s split entry. We didn’t really get serious until about 6 months ago, when our daughter, Shannon, who has never married, suggested we buy a house together. Wow, did things really start to happen quickly, once we made that decision! We prayed about the decision and we both felt good about it, so we started to get things going. We found our Real Estate Agent, Becky Nay, because of our longtime friendship. After meeting with her, we started looking. We saw a few homes we liked, but were too late to bid or got outbid. Then our niece stepped in and asked to buy our house to flip. We prayed about that decision and felt good about it, so we let everyone know. Then we looked at this house in Herriman, felt it was right and won the bid. A week or so later, Becky let us know how crazy things got right after we bought the house, and we know everything worked out because it was meant to be! We are grateful for this Ward and can’t wait to get to know you all better. We love the gospel and know it’s true. I love the Gospel, I love my Savior and I know the Book of Mormon is true. I’m grateful to have it to learn more about the truths of the Gospel and our Savior’s love for us. I’m very grateful for the Atonement and the wonderful gift it is. Without it, we would be lost.