Day 28: Jesus Christ

I am grateful for my Savior. The greatest part about the Savior is the Atonement. He died for you and for me so that we can repent and live with our Father in Heaven again. I don't think I will ever truly understand the Atonement, but I am beyond grateful for a Heavenly Father who was willing to sacrifice His Son so that we could be made perfect through Him. For without Him, we would be nothing.

My Savior has done so much for me I could never repay Him for the enormous amount of blessings He has poured upon me. I can't thank him enough. I was reading my patriarchal blessing a few weeks ago and part of it stresses the importance of KNOWING Him and to "study and ponder about His life". I feel like I haven't done that enough and I need to do better.

Last Sunday was combined Priesthood/Relief Society and my Bishop gave a great lesson. He talked about sacrificing for others especially with the callings we have in the ward and how every single calling is important and that his calling wasn't any better than any of ours. He stressed the importance of helping each other and bringing in the lost sheep and had one of the Elders Quorum Presidents and the Executive Secretary give their thoughts on sacrifice.

One taught from Matthew in the New Testament (Matthew 13: 1-9):

1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the ^asea side.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon ^astony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among ^athorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and ^abrought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Which seed are you?

He asked this question and I've thought a lot about it this week.

The word SACRIFICE has many definitions. I looked up the definition of sacrifice and I thought this one said it best:

"To sacrifice is to give up something valuable or precious, often with the intent of accomplishing a greater purpose or goal. Sacrifice has always been a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a reminder of the great atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all who have lived or will live on earth. Before the ministry of Christ, animal sacrifices were offered for this purpose. After the Atonement of Christ, followers of Jesus Christ—by His direction—began to offer instead a “broken heart and contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:20), a willingness to repent of sins and a desire to follow Jesus Christ and align one's life with His commandments." (www.lds.org)

My own definition of sacrifice is to give up something for the benefit of others, which is exactly what Jesus Christ did. He gave up His life so that we could essentially be freed from the bonds of sin. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest eternal sacrifice known to mankind.

Last December, the Provo Tabernacle caught on fire. There was severe damage and I'm not sure the building is repairable. The above picture was recovered from the fire. I absolutely love this picture and wish I could hang it in my house. The entire picture was burnt except for the body of Christ. Coincidence? I think not.

The Savior is the Son of God and He lives. He has felt anything and everything that I, and you, have gone through and will go through. He is willing to help you and I no matter what our circumstances may be. That is the beauty of the Atonement. IT WORKS! I'm eternally grateful for Him and for the selfless act which He fulfilled in the Garden of Gethsemane thousands of years ago.