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.

I Feel My Savior's Love

Did Jesus Really Live Again?

To Think about Jesus

The Atonement of Jesus Christ pt. 2

I have decided to extend last months theme to this month, seeing as I have not had much time to post lately. This month I will be concentrating more on the church music that teaches us about the Savior and his atonement. Posts for this month will be purely videos and scriptures to do with the Savior....

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.

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.

Genesis 1:31

And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good...

3 Nephi 9:15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are...

October: Plan of Salvation - The Creation

Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the Earth. This earth has been created for us so that we can gain knowledge and experience.

When we came to earth, we obtained a physical body. We have the opportunity to make choices - good or bad.

This wonderful gift that we have is called Agency.

We have been given this gift, so we can learn and grow and be tested.

For more information about what role our Agency plays in Heavenly Father's plan for us, please Click here.

I Lived in Heaven (Better Version)

Here is the better version I just uploaded:

"I Will Send the First"

The following scripture gives us more detail about our pre-mortal life. It is found in The Pearl of Great Price.

Abraham 3:22 - 28
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou was chosen before thou wast born.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

Like Abraham, the "noble and great ones" that this scripture refers to are us. We lived as spirit children with our Heavenly Father. He saw the potential that each of us has to become like him one day. He gathered us all together, and explained that we would be sent to earth to be tried and tested, so that we would be able to progress and realize our full potential.

The man who first responded to our Heavenly Father's question of "whom shall I send" was Jesus Christ. He supported Heavenly Father's plan for us and proposed that everyone should have the right to choose whether to follow Heavenly Father's plan or not. The second person who responded was Lucifer, or Satan, who at that time also lived with us. He argued that peoples' right to choose should be taken away from us. The following scripture in Moses 4:1 - 4 explains this a bit further:

Moses 4:1 - 4
And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou has commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying - Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me - Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to decieve and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

In our pre-mortal life, we were given the opportunity to exercise our agency. We were given the choice to either accept the plan that our Heavenly Father had for us, and to choose Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, or choose not to follow the plan and follow Satan. Those who chose to follow Jesus Christ kept their "first estate", as Abraham puts it, and were allowed to come to this world to gain a physical body and take part in Heavenly Father's plan. Those who chose to follow Satan did not keep their "first estate", and were cast out along with Satan.

Knowing that we have chosen to follow Heavenly Father's plan in our pre-mortal life gives us the courage to continue to follow the plan, for if we had not used our agency wisely, we would not have had the opportunity to come to this earth and experience mortality.

A further exaplanation of Agency and the role it plays in Heavenly Father's Plan will be given in next month's posts.

I Lived in Heaven

(Sorry that the last 30 seconds or so got chopped out somehow. I will upload a better version and put it up later....)

I LIVED IN HEAVEN
Words and Music by Janeen Jacobs Brady, b. 1934

I lived in heaven a long time ago, it is true;
Lived there and loved there with people I know. So did you.
Then Heavenly Father presented a beautiful plan,
All about earth adn eternal salvation for man.

Father said he needed someone who had enough love
To give his life so we all could return there above.
There was another who sought for the honor divine.
Jesus said, "Father, send me, and the glory be thine".

Jesus was chosen, and the Messiah he came,
Conquering evil and death through his glorious name,
Giving us hope of a wonderful life yet to be -
Home in that heaven where father is waiting for me.

September: The Plan of Salvation - Our Pre-mortal Life.

Many people wonder, "Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?" The plan of salvation gives us the answers to these questions.
-Preach My Gospel, pp. 48

Our lives did not begin when we were born. Before we were born, we lived with our Heavenly Father as his spirit children. Heavenly Father wanted to give us the opportunity to learn and progress, so that we could one day become like him. However, this opportunity for us to learn and progress could not be done while we were with him. We needed to have the opportunity to gain a physical body, just like Heavenly Father has, and be given opportunities to choose to follow him and keep his commandments.

Heavenly Father gathered all of his children together, and proposed a plan, where we would come to this earth and gain a physical body, and be given the chance to prove if we will be true and faithful. Knowing all too well that we would stumble along the way, he chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Redeemer. Jesus Christ is central to Heavenly Father's plan. Only through his Atonement do we have the opportunity to repent of our mistakes, so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

We chose to follow Christ and Heavenly Father's plan, and so we prepared ourselves to come to the earth and gain a physical body.

When we are born, we do not remember our pre-mortal life. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. A knowledge and testimony of our pre-mortal life and of Heavenly Father's plan is only gained when we study the words of the living prophets and apostles, and by studying and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To learn more about Heavenly Father's Plan for us and about our pre-mortal life, please click here.