Alma 7:11 - 12

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

1 Nephi 19:9

And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they ^aspit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving ^bkindness and his ^clong-suffering towards the children of men.

Alma 38:9

And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is ^ano other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the ^blight of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and ^crighteousness.

April: Through Jesus Christ, We Can be Cleansed of Sin

April is the time when we all celebrate Easter, a time to remember Jesus Christ's atonement for us. The atonement of Jesus Christ includes his suffering in Gethsemane, his death on the cross, and his triumphant resurrection. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be saved from physical and spiritual death, and we can be cleansed from sin.

During our life on earth, we will all make mistakes. This is inevitable. However, these mistakes need to be recompensed somehow, as the scriptures teach us that "no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God" (see 1 Nephi 10:21 ) If the Saviour did not perform the atonement for us, we would still have had to make up for our mistakes, and we would never have been able to return to our Heavenly Father's presence. The Saviour had agreed from the beginning to take upon himself our sins, so that we will have the opportunity to repent of our sins and become clean again.

However, just because the Saviour took upon himself our sins, that does not mean that we no longer have any responsibilities. The Saviour has bought us with a price, and we must show our gratitude to him by believing in him and keeping his commandments, repenting when we have done something wrong, following in his footsteps by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and staying true and faithful to the end of our lives.

In the next few months we will be learning more about Christ's gospel, and how Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End are so important for us in this life.

For more information on how Christ's atonement cleanses us from sin, please click here.

June: The Spirit World

For the past few months, we have looked at the Plan of Salvation. We have learned about a bit about our premortal life, how the earth was created, the truths about The Fall, the purpose behind our mortal existence, and how the Atonement of Jesus Christ blesses our lives. I now move on to discussing the next part of the Plan of Salvation, and that is, what happens to us after we leave mortality.

Death is something which we all must face. It is an unquestionable fact of life, and it is an essential element in Heavenly Father's plan for us. "... (D)eath is part of the process by which we are transformed from mortality to immortality" (Preach My Gospel, pp. 52). When we die, our spirit becomes separated from our physical body, and goes to a place which is called the Spirit World. The Spirit World is a place where we wait until we have the opportunity to be resurrected. This is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, because the Atonement helps us to overcome physical death and receive a resurrected body.



In the Spirit World, our thoughts, intentions, passions and desires do not change. If we have chosen to do good in our mortal lives, we will live in a state of happiness in the Spirit World. If we have chosen to do evil in or mortal lives, we will live in a state of misery.

Those who have died without having had the chance to hear about the Gospel will have the chance to hear it in the Spirit World. They will have the opportunity to accept or reject what is being taught to them, just as we have the opportunity to accept or reject the Gospel here on earth.

For a more detailed description about the Spirit World, please click here to learn what President Brigham Young has to say on the topic.

I Feel My Savior's Love

Did Jesus Really Live Again?

To Think about Jesus

An Apostle's Testimony

Taken from MormonMessages

He Lives: Testimonies of Jesus Christ

Taken from MormonMessages

April: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

In February's posts, we discussed our earth life,
and how we are subject to physical death and spiritual death. We learned that without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we would never be able to overcome the effects of physical and spiritual death. Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to overcome sin and death and be able to return to live in our Heavenly Father's presence.

At the beginning of our discussion of the plan of salvation, we learned that Jesus Christ is central to Heavenly Father's plan. Heavenly Father knew that we would be subject to physical and spiritual death - physical death, because of our mortal bodies and spiritual death, because he knew we would make mistakes along our pathway in life. Jesus Christ was chosen before the foundation of the world to be our Savior and Redeemer. Apart from organizing his church, his central mission was to teach us by example how Heavenly Father wants us to live, and to lay down his life for us in order to help us overcome physical and spiritual death. This act of love, in which he willingly suffered and died for our sins, is called the Atonement.

The Atonement helps us overcome physical death, in that after three days after he was crucified, Jesus Christ arose from the tomb. Because he was the literal only-begotten Son of our Heavenly Father, he had the power to overcome physical death and become resurrected. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will all have the opportunity to become resurrected one day (see 1 Corinthians 15:20 - 22 ).

The Atonement helps us to overcome spiritual death, in that Jesus Christ took upon himself all of our sins, pains, sicknesses and afflictions upon himself when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Luke 22:39 - 44 and Alma 7:9 - 12 ). Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to repent of our wrong doings and start afresh.Through the Atonement, "all that is unfair about life can be made right" (Preach My Gospel, pp. 52). When we follow Jesus Christ, keep his commandments and repent when we do something wrong, the effects of the Atonement will help us overcome spiritual death.

Last week we had Easter, the time of the year where we have the opportunity to reflect upon the atonement, and what his sacrifice means to us. I bear you my testimony that without the precious gift of the atonement, all of us would have been lost. It is through Jesus Christ that I have the opportunity to repent of my mistakes and start again. I am grateful that our Savior loved us so much and that he was obedient enough to go ahead with what he had to go through. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. And I leave this with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Alma 42:2 - 10

.... After the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken - yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree of life -

Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit -

And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.

For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated.

But behold, it was appointed unto man to die - therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth - and man became lost forever, yeah, they became fallen man.

And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will.

Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.

Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from spiritual death.

Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devillish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state.

2 Nephi 2:26 - 29

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.

February: Our Life on Earth

"Our life on earth is an opportunity and a blessing" (Preach My Gospel, pp. 50).It is a time where we can learn and grow and prepare ourselves to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. We have our agency, the gift that our Heavenly Father has given us to be able to choose right from wrong. This gift helps us to learn and progress. Using our agency to make good choices helps us draw us closer to our Heavenly Father and helps us become more like him. When we use our agency to make bad choices, we distance ourselves from Heavenly Father and from our divine potential to become like him.

The purpose of our life on earth is to experience joy and happiness. We learn from the Book of Mormon that "men are, that they might have joy"(2 Nephi 2:25). We experience joy and happiness when we follow the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us.

Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, there are two obstacles in our lives that prevent us from returning to live with Heavenly father and becoming like him:

Mortality (Physical Death)
" In mortality we live in a condition where we are subject to both physical and spiritual death. God has a perfect, glorified, immortal body of flesh and bones. To become like God and return to His presence, we too must have a perfect, immortal body of flesh and bones. However, because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, every person on earth has an imperfect, mortal body and will eventually die. If not for the Savior Jesus Christ, death would end all hope for a future existence with Heavenly Father..." (Preach My Gospel, pp. 50)

Sin and Transgression (Spiritual Death):
"... While we are in mortality, we have experiences that bring us happiness. We also have experiences that bring us pain and sorrow, some of which is caused by the sinful acts of others. These experiences provide us opportunities to learn and to grow, to distinguish good from evil, and to make choices. God influences us to do good; Satan tempts us to commit sin. As with physical death, we cannot overcome the effects of sin by ourselves. We are helpless without the Atonement of Jesus Christ." (Preach My Gospel, pp.50)

The reader will notice that in both cases, these two obstacles can only be overcome through the atonement of Jesus Christ. He was the only perfect person who has lived and ever will live on the earth, and therefore the only person able to lay down his life to atone for our mistakes and our sins. He was the first person to be resurrected after being laid in the tomb for three days. Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, so shall we overcome physical death by being resurrected one day. Because Jesus Christ took it upon himself to atone for our sins, we have the opportunity and possibility to repent and overcome spiritual death.

A further explanation about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it blesses our lives will be given in next month's posts...

Consequences of the Fall

The Fall of Adam and Eve brought two kinds of death into the world: Physical Death and Spiritual Death. These two kinds of death are obstacles that prevent us from becoming like our Heavenly Father.

Physical Death is when our spirit bodies are separated from our physical bodies. Our spirits go to the Spirit World until our resurrection and final judgement.

Spiritual Death is where we are cut off from God's presence. When we sin, we distance ourselves further away from our Heavenly Father, because "no unclean thing" can dwell in his presence ( 1 Nephi 10:21 ). Only through believing in Jesus Christ, accepting his atonement and repententing from our sins are we able to overcome Spiritual Death.

Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to overcome the consequences of the Fall. He took upon himself our sins ( Luke 22 ), so that we could avoid spiritual death, as long as we accept him as his Savior and keep his commandments. He was the first of all mankind to be resurrected ( Luke 24:36 - 39 ). He overcame physical death, so that we too would have the chance to be resurrected and overcome physical death.

To learn more about the Fall, its consequences, and how the Atonement reverses those consequences, please click here.

This Is the Christ

There Is a Green Hill Far Away

April Theme: The Savior and His Life.

During this Easter time, we celebrate the life of Him who gave us the possibility of obtaining eternal life: the life of Jesus Christ. He was the Son of God, sent to earth to show us the way we should live to return back to our Heavenly Father:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son... that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16 – 17)



“... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6)



He taught us His Gospel, performed miracles and established His church through proper authority:

“And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6:13)



“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease...

… These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel...

… Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give...” (Matthew 10:1, 5 – 6, 8)



“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16)



The most important miracle he performed for us all was the Atonement. "The Atonement included his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as His suffering and death on the cross" (Preach My Gospel, pp. 32):

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt...

… O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matthew 26:39, 42)



On the third day, he arose from the tomb, a resurrected being, “the first that should rise from the dead” (Acts 26:23):

“And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

But they were terrified and afrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? Why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:36 – 39)



Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, all mankind may be saved and have the chance of returning back to live with God.

He Sent His Son

Image taken from http://www.lds.org/hf/art/display/1,16842,4218-1-2-12,00.html



I thank my sister so much for showing me how to use Windows Movie Maker!!!! :-D


For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
- John 3:16

Little Jesus

LITTLE JESUS

Words: Marilyn Curtis White, b. 1941 Music: Mark Newell, b. 1961, and Charlene Anderson Newell, b. 1938


Fariest little Jesus child
Came to earth so meek and mild,
Came to earth to show the way.
Praise we sing on Christmas Day!

Fairest little Jesus child,
From the heavens angels smiled.
We a gift before thee lay.
Praise we sing on Christmas Day!