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David A. Bednar
Ensign, April 2012.
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The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
The journey of mortality is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed. The Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and …
Source: www.churchofjesuschrist.org
Date Published: 10/4/2022
View: 4528
“In the Strength of the Lord” | David A. Bednar | BYU Speeches
In this verse King Benjamin teaches about the journey of mortality and about the role of the Atonement in successfully navigating that journey: “For the …
Source: speeches.byu.edu
Date Published: 6/25/2022
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The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality by Eva Brady – Prezi
And the Atonement proves help for us to overcome and avo bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of …
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The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
I devote this lengthy post to respond to the April 2012 Ensign article, The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality, by Elder Dav A. Bednar …
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Date Published: 7/6/2021
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BYU Speeches – Did you notice that Elder Bednar’s talk…
The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality – Ensign Apr. 2012. The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our …
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Bednar – The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
Ensign Article: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/04/the-atonement-and-the-journey-of-mortality?lang=eng Speech link “In the Strength of the …
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Grace in Elder Bednar’s talk, “The Atonement and the Journey …
This morning I’m looking at Elder Bednar’s talk “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” which was listed in the New Youth Curriculum …
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- Author: Salt Lake Valley Institute
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- Date Published: 2016. 6. 1.
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Why did the Savior need the powers of both mortality and immortality to complete the Atonement?
Why did the Savior need the powers of both mortality and immortality to complete the Atonement? (As students respond, make sure they understand the following truth: As the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ was able to perform the Atoning sacrifice, which required Him to endure more than a mortal …
What is the purpose of the Atonement?
atonement, the process by which people remove obstacles to their reconciliation with God. It is a recurring theme in the history of religion and theology. Rituals of expiation and satisfaction appear in most religions as the means by which religious people reestablish or strengthen their relation to the holy or divine.
Why do we need enabling power of the Atonement to handle the stresses of our lives?
The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
What is the lesson in Atonement?
The most essential theme of Atonement is the way an individual’s perspective inevitably shapes his or her reality. At various points throughout the novel, McEwan filters the narrative through a particular character’s point of view.
What does it mean to be the only begotten Son LDS?
Jesus was the only person to be born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal father, God the Father. That is why Jesus is called the Only Begotten Son of God. From His Father, He inherited divine powers (see John 10:17–18).
What is the condensation of God?
McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles elaborates, “’The condescension of God,’ of which the scriptures speak, means that the Immortal Father—the glorified, exalted, enthroned ruler of the universe—came down from his station of dominion and power to become the Father of a Son who would be born of Mary, …
Why did Jesus create the Atonement?
Christ Suffered and Died to Atone for Our Sins
The Savior atoned for our sins by suffering in Gethsemane and by giving His life on the cross. It is impossible for us to fully understand how He suffered for all of our sins.
What is the biblical meaning of Atonement?
1 : reparation for an offense or injury : satisfaction a story of sin and atonement He wanted to find a way to make atonement for his sins. 2 : the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.
What type of sacrifice was the Atonement?
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through his blood. You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
How does the Atonement blessed your life?
Through the Atonement we have the hope of eternal life with our Father in Heaven by our individual repentance and through His Atonement which can satisfy the demands of justice. The scale of these monumental achievements is unmatchable. The Savior’s Atonement is the single greatest event in the history of mankind.
How do we access the power of the Atonement in our lives?
- Believe in the Father and in the Son and all They have promised to do for us.
- Obey God’s commandments and partake of the sacrament regularly to build spiritual strength.
How has the Atonement blessed your life?
The Lord Himself summarizes these blessings of the atonement as “peace in this world and Eternal Life in the world to come”. (D&C 59:23.) That is, when we accept and act on the Savior’s invitation, He promises blessings now – in this life – and blessing later – in the eternities.
Is Briony innocent?
Briony’s false testimony against Robbie is innocent in the sense that she cannot fully comprehend the harm it will cause, but after she maligns him, she is fundamentally changed. She will never be able to retrieve the naïve perspective she held at the beginning of the book.
What does heat symbolize in Atonement?
The heat is a symbol of the power of human action. Writing – Briony uses writing not only as an escape from reality, but also to give her life meaning and purpose. At the beginning of Atonement, Briony writes the play, The Trials of Arabella, for her brother but also for herself to feel important.
The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
“The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, Apr. 2012, 40–47
The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
The grand objective of the Savior’s gospel was summarized succinctly by President David O. McKay (1873–1970): “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.”1 Thus, the journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—to have our fallen natures changed (see Mosiah 5:2).
The Book of Mormon is our handbook of instructions as we travel the pathway from bad to good to better and strive to have our hearts changed. King Benjamin teaches about the journey of mortality and the role of the Atonement in navigating successfully that journey: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added).
I draw your attention to two specific phrases. First—“putteth off the natural man.” The journey from bad to good is the process of putting off the natural man or the natural woman in each of us. In mortality we all are tempted by the flesh. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. But we can increase our capacity to overcome the desires of the flesh and temptations “through the atonement of Christ.” When we make mistakes, as we transgress and sin, we can repent and become clean through the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Second—“becometh a saint.” This phrase describes the continuation and second phase of life’s journey to make “good men better” or, in other words, to become more like a saint. This second part of the journey, this process of going from good to better, is a topic about which we do not study or teach frequently enough nor understand adequately.
I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.
Most of us know that when we do wrong things, we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives. The Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.
The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature.
I am not suggesting that the redeeming and enabling powers of the Atonement are separate and discrete. Rather, these two dimensions of the Atonement are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of mortality—both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both overcoming bad and becoming good—are accomplished through the power of the Atonement. Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient for us to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).
Grace and the Enabling Power of the Atonement In the Bible Dictionary we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote enabling power: “[Grace is] a word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. “It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.”2 Grace is the divine assistance or heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity. In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term “enabling power” whenever I encounter the word grace. Consider, for example, this verse with which we are all familiar: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). I believe we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert “enabling and strengthening power” each time we find the word grace in the scriptures.
Illustrations and Implications The journey of mortality is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed. The Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and prophets who knew, understood, and were transformed by the enabling power of the Atonement in making that journey. As we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways. Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. Recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their journey that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17; emphasis added). Do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? “Please get me out of this mess NOW!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement. I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands. The implication of this episode for each of us is straightforward. As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. We will become agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14). Consider the example in the Book of Mormon as Alma and his people are persecuted by Amulon. The voice of the Lord came to these good people in their affliction and indicated: “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs. … “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:14–15; emphasis added). What was changed in this episode? It was not the burden that changed; the challenges and difficulties of persecution were not immediately removed from the people. But Alma and his followers were strengthened, and their increased capacity and strength made the burdens they bore lighter. These good people were empowered through the Atonement to act as agents and impact their circumstances. And “in the strength of the Lord” Alma and his people were then directed to safety in the land of Zarahemla. You legitimately may be wondering, “What makes the episode with Alma and his people an example of the enabling power of the Atonement?” The answer is found in a comparison of Mosiah 3:19 and Mosiah 24:15. “And putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added). As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming. We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. Now compare these characteristics in Mosiah 3:19 with those used to describe Alma and his people: “And they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15; emphasis added). I find the parallels between the attributes described in these verses striking and an indication that Alma’s good people were becoming a better people through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Recall the story of Alma and Amulek contained in Alma 14. In this incident many faithful Saints had been put to death by fire, and these two servants of the Lord had been imprisoned and beaten. Consider this petition offered by Alma as he prayed in prison: “O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (Alma 14:26; emphasis added). Here again we see Alma’s understanding of and confidence in the enabling power of the Atonement reflected in his request. And note the result of this prayer: “And they [Alma and Amulek] broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. … “And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ” (Alma 14:26, 28; emphasis added). Once again the enabling power is evident as good people struggle against evil and strive to become even better and serve more effectively “in the strength of the Lord.” Another example from the Book of Mormon is instructive. In Alma 31, Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites, who, after building their Rameumptom, offer a prescribed and prideful prayer. Notice the plea for strength in Alma’s personal prayer: “O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people” (Alma 31:31; emphasis added). Alma also prays that his missionary companions will receive a similar blessing: “Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people” (Alma 31:33; emphasis added). Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed. He knew he was an agent of the Lord, and he prayed for the power to act and affect his situation. The key point of this example is contained in the final verse of Alma 31: “[The Lord] gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith” (verse 38; emphasis added). The afflictions were not removed. But Alma and his companions were strengthened and blessed through the enabling power of the Atonement to “suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” What a marvelous blessing. And what a lesson each of us should learn. Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in 1830 in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in 1851. In 1856 he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe snowstorms. After the rescue party had found the suffering Saints, provided what immediate comfort they could, and made arrangements for the sick and the feeble to be transported to Salt Lake City, Daniel and several other young men volunteered to remain with and safeguard the company’s possessions. The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were meager and rapidly expended. The following quote from Daniel Jones’s personal journal describes the events that followed. “Game soon became so scarce that we could kill nothing. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them. A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. … “Things looked dark, for nothing remained but the poor raw hides taken from starved cattle. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do. The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God. … Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it. After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it. This was considerable trouble, but we had little else to do and it was better than starving. “We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food. … On eating now all seemed to relish the feast. We were three days without eating before this second attempt was made. We enjoyed this sumptuous fare for about six weeks.”3 In those circumstances I probably would have prayed for something else to eat: “Heavenly Father, please send me a quail or a buffalo.” It likely would not have occurred to me to pray that my stomach would be strengthened and adapted to the food we had. What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances. Just as Alma and his people, Amulek, and Nephi were strengthened, Daniel W. Jones had the spiritual insight to know what to ask for in that prayer. The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own. Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease—in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air-conditioned cars and comfortable homes—we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the Atonement. Sister Bednar is a remarkably faithful and competent woman, and I have learned important lessons about the strengthening power from her quiet example. I watched her persevere through intense and continuous morning sickness—literally sick all day every day for eight months—during each of her three pregnancies. Together we prayed that she would be blessed, but that challenge was never removed. Instead, she was enabled to do physically what she could not do in her own power. Over the years I have also watched how she has been magnified to handle the mocking and scorn that come from a secular society when a Latter-day Saint woman heeds prophetic counsel and makes the family and the nurturing of children her highest priorities. I thank and pay tribute to Susan for helping me to learn such invaluable lessons.
Lesson 7: Jesus Christ—God’s Only Begotten Son in the Flesh
Begin class by showing the video “The Nativity” (2:59). (Download and preview the video before class.)
After the video, ask:
What aspects of the Savior’s birth are important to you and why?
Tell students that in this lesson they will discuss an aspect of Jesus Christ’s birth that is critical to our understanding of the Savior’s ability to fulfill His role in the Father’s plan.
Invite a student to read Matthew 1:18–19 aloud, and ask the class to visualize the situation these verses describe. (Note: Visualizing is a scripture study skill that can help make a scripture account more vivid and real.) Then ask students how they might feel if they found themselves in a situation similar to Joseph’s. Ask students to read Matthew 1:20–24 silently and identify why Joseph decided not to “put [Mary] away privily” (verse 19), meaning to privately have his betrothal to Mary annulled. (Note: Defining difficult words and phrases helps students understand the scriptures. For these verses, you might use the following explanations: (1) the name Jesus [Yeshua in Aramaic] means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah saves”; (2) the scripture referred to in Matthew 1:22–23 is Isaiah 7:14; and (3) the name Emmanuel means “God with us.”)
Invite a student to read Luke 1:26–30 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what this passage teaches about Mary. Ask students to explain what they find. Then ask a student to read Luke 1:31–35 aloud while the class follows along. Ask:
How do these verses confirm who the Father of Jesus is?
Draw the following diagram on the board:
Image Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Course (Religion 250)
Ask a member of the class the following questions:
What is a physical trait you inherited from your father? What is a physical trait you inherited from your mother?
Add the student’s response to the diagram on the board (see the accompanying example):
Image Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Course (Religion 250)
Erase the previous diagram and draw the following on the board:
Image Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Course (Religion 250)
Display the following statement by Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ask a student to read it aloud:
Image Talmage, James E. “That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; … In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate—after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents—one immortal and glorified—God, the other human—woman” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 81).
What important traits did the Savior inherit from each of His parents?
As students respond, list on the board under “Mary” the traits Jesus Christ inherited from His mother (such as mortality—the ability to suffer pain and to die physically). List under “Heavenly Father” the traits Jesus inherited from His Father (such as the powers of Godhood—immortality or the power to live forever; see John 10:17–18).
Then invite a student to read Mosiah 3:7–8 aloud. Ask:
Why did the Savior need the powers of both mortality and immortality to complete the Atonement? (As students respond, make sure they understand the following truth: As the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ was able to perform the Atoning sacrifice, which required Him to endure more than a mortal person could, and thereby fulfill His role in the Father’s plan. In addition, because Jesus had power over death, He had the capacity to rise from the dead. Make sure students understand that if Jesus Christ had been born of two mortal parents, He could not have overcome death or endured the infinite pain and suffering of the Atonement. If He were born of two immortal parents, He would not have been subject to physical suffering and death.)
To further emphasize this critical doctrine, provide each student with a copy of the following statement by Elder Robert E. Wells of the Seventy, and give them time to read and ponder it:
Image Wells, Robert E. “The divine Sonship of Jesus Christ … is central to understanding the entire plan of salvation. He is the First Begotten Son of the Father in the premortal existence and the Only Begotten Son of the Father on earth. God the Eternal Father is the literal parent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and of His other spirit children. … “The ‘divine Sonship’ also refers to the designation ‘Only Begotten Son in the flesh.’ … This title signifies that Jesus’ physical body was the offspring of a mortal mother and of an immortal Eternal Father, which verity is crucial to the Atonement, a supreme act that could not have been accomplished by an ordinary man. Christ had power to lay down His life and power to take it again because He had inherited immortality from His Heavenly Father. From Mary, His mother, Christ inherited mortality, or the power to die. “This infinite atonement of Christ and Christ’s divine Sonship go together hand in hand to form the single most important doctrine of all Christianity” (“Our Message to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 65).
Conclude this portion of the lesson by asking the following questions:
atonement | Definition, Christianity, Judaism, & Facts
atonement , the process by which people remove obstacles to their reconciliation with God. It is a recurring theme in the history of religion and theology. Rituals of expiation and satisfaction appear in most religions as the means by which religious people reestablish or strengthen their relation to the holy or divine. Atonement is often attached to sacrifice , both of which often connect ritual cleanness with moral purity and religious acceptability.
In Christianity
The term atonement developed in the English language in the 16th century by the combination of “at onement,” meaning to “set at one” or “to reconcile.” It was used in the various English translations of the Bible, including the King James Version (1611), to convey the idea of reconciliation and expiation, and it has been a favourite way for Christians to speak about the saving significance attributed to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Various theories of the meaning of the Atonement of Christ have arisen: satisfaction for the sins of the world; redemption from the Devil or from the wrath of God; a saving example of true, suffering love; the prime illustration of divine mercy; and a divine victory over the forces of evil. In Christian orthodoxy there is no remission of sin without “the shedding of [Christ’s] blood” (Hebrews 9:26).
In his epochal work Cur Deus homo? (“Why Did God Become Man?”), St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033/34–1109) formulated the most trenchant theory of the Atonement of Christ, which is also referred to as the “satisfaction theory of redemption.” Anselm held that Jesus’ death on the cross was absolutely necessary because there was no other rationally intelligible way in which sinful humankind could have been reconciled with God. If God in his mercy had simply forgiven humans for their sin, God’s moral order would have been repudiated. God’s righteousness, offended by human sin, demanded satisfaction: that satisfaction could be rendered only by someone who was both God—because God could overcome sin by sinlessness—and human—because humans were those who were guilty of sin. Anselm’s theory was also significant for presenting a comprehensive system that focused on the interrelationship between God, Jesus, and humankind. With some relatively minor alterations, Anselm’s doctrine of the Atonement passed over into the theology of the Latin church, forming the basis of both Roman Catholic and orthodox Protestant ideas of the work of Christ.
The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
“The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, Apr. 2012, 40–47
The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
The grand objective of the Savior’s gospel was summarized succinctly by President David O. McKay (1873–1970): “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.”1 Thus, the journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—to have our fallen natures changed (see Mosiah 5:2).
The Book of Mormon is our handbook of instructions as we travel the pathway from bad to good to better and strive to have our hearts changed. King Benjamin teaches about the journey of mortality and the role of the Atonement in navigating successfully that journey: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added).
I draw your attention to two specific phrases. First—“putteth off the natural man.” The journey from bad to good is the process of putting off the natural man or the natural woman in each of us. In mortality we all are tempted by the flesh. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. But we can increase our capacity to overcome the desires of the flesh and temptations “through the atonement of Christ.” When we make mistakes, as we transgress and sin, we can repent and become clean through the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Second—“becometh a saint.” This phrase describes the continuation and second phase of life’s journey to make “good men better” or, in other words, to become more like a saint. This second part of the journey, this process of going from good to better, is a topic about which we do not study or teach frequently enough nor understand adequately.
I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.
Most of us know that when we do wrong things, we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives. The Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.
The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature.
I am not suggesting that the redeeming and enabling powers of the Atonement are separate and discrete. Rather, these two dimensions of the Atonement are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of mortality—both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both overcoming bad and becoming good—are accomplished through the power of the Atonement. Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient for us to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).
Grace and the Enabling Power of the Atonement In the Bible Dictionary we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote enabling power: “[Grace is] a word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. “It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.”2 Grace is the divine assistance or heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity. In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term “enabling power” whenever I encounter the word grace. Consider, for example, this verse with which we are all familiar: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). I believe we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert “enabling and strengthening power” each time we find the word grace in the scriptures.
Illustrations and Implications The journey of mortality is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed. The Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and prophets who knew, understood, and were transformed by the enabling power of the Atonement in making that journey. As we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways. Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. Recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their journey that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17; emphasis added). Do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? “Please get me out of this mess NOW!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement. I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands. The implication of this episode for each of us is straightforward. As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. We will become agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14). Consider the example in the Book of Mormon as Alma and his people are persecuted by Amulon. The voice of the Lord came to these good people in their affliction and indicated: “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs. … “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:14–15; emphasis added). What was changed in this episode? It was not the burden that changed; the challenges and difficulties of persecution were not immediately removed from the people. But Alma and his followers were strengthened, and their increased capacity and strength made the burdens they bore lighter. These good people were empowered through the Atonement to act as agents and impact their circumstances. And “in the strength of the Lord” Alma and his people were then directed to safety in the land of Zarahemla. You legitimately may be wondering, “What makes the episode with Alma and his people an example of the enabling power of the Atonement?” The answer is found in a comparison of Mosiah 3:19 and Mosiah 24:15. “And putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added). As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming. We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. Now compare these characteristics in Mosiah 3:19 with those used to describe Alma and his people: “And they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15; emphasis added). I find the parallels between the attributes described in these verses striking and an indication that Alma’s good people were becoming a better people through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Recall the story of Alma and Amulek contained in Alma 14. In this incident many faithful Saints had been put to death by fire, and these two servants of the Lord had been imprisoned and beaten. Consider this petition offered by Alma as he prayed in prison: “O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (Alma 14:26; emphasis added). Here again we see Alma’s understanding of and confidence in the enabling power of the Atonement reflected in his request. And note the result of this prayer: “And they [Alma and Amulek] broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. … “And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ” (Alma 14:26, 28; emphasis added). Once again the enabling power is evident as good people struggle against evil and strive to become even better and serve more effectively “in the strength of the Lord.” Another example from the Book of Mormon is instructive. In Alma 31, Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites, who, after building their Rameumptom, offer a prescribed and prideful prayer. Notice the plea for strength in Alma’s personal prayer: “O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people” (Alma 31:31; emphasis added). Alma also prays that his missionary companions will receive a similar blessing: “Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people” (Alma 31:33; emphasis added). Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed. He knew he was an agent of the Lord, and he prayed for the power to act and affect his situation. The key point of this example is contained in the final verse of Alma 31: “[The Lord] gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith” (verse 38; emphasis added). The afflictions were not removed. But Alma and his companions were strengthened and blessed through the enabling power of the Atonement to “suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” What a marvelous blessing. And what a lesson each of us should learn. Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in 1830 in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in 1851. In 1856 he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe snowstorms. After the rescue party had found the suffering Saints, provided what immediate comfort they could, and made arrangements for the sick and the feeble to be transported to Salt Lake City, Daniel and several other young men volunteered to remain with and safeguard the company’s possessions. The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were meager and rapidly expended. The following quote from Daniel Jones’s personal journal describes the events that followed. “Game soon became so scarce that we could kill nothing. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them. A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. … “Things looked dark, for nothing remained but the poor raw hides taken from starved cattle. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do. The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God. … Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it. After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it. This was considerable trouble, but we had little else to do and it was better than starving. “We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food. … On eating now all seemed to relish the feast. We were three days without eating before this second attempt was made. We enjoyed this sumptuous fare for about six weeks.”3 In those circumstances I probably would have prayed for something else to eat: “Heavenly Father, please send me a quail or a buffalo.” It likely would not have occurred to me to pray that my stomach would be strengthened and adapted to the food we had. What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances. Just as Alma and his people, Amulek, and Nephi were strengthened, Daniel W. Jones had the spiritual insight to know what to ask for in that prayer. The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own. Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease—in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air-conditioned cars and comfortable homes—we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the Atonement. Sister Bednar is a remarkably faithful and competent woman, and I have learned important lessons about the strengthening power from her quiet example. I watched her persevere through intense and continuous morning sickness—literally sick all day every day for eight months—during each of her three pregnancies. Together we prayed that she would be blessed, but that challenge was never removed. Instead, she was enabled to do physically what she could not do in her own power. Over the years I have also watched how she has been magnified to handle the mocking and scorn that come from a secular society when a Latter-day Saint woman heeds prophetic counsel and makes the family and the nurturing of children her highest priorities. I thank and pay tribute to Susan for helping me to learn such invaluable lessons.
Atonement Themes
The most important plot developments in the work stem from actions or experiences that can never be erased or counteracted. Once Briony testifies against Robbie, she takes on a responsibility for Robbie’s fate that she will never be able to shed, and she loses an innocence that she will never be able to regain. No matter what she does to atone for her misdeed, she will not be able to replace the future—love with…
“In the Strength of the Lord”
As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed.
Good morning, brothers and sisters. It is for me a blessing and a remarkable responsibility to stand before you today. I appreciate the invitation from Elder Bateman to speak with you.
As I entered the Marriott Center this morning, my mind was flooded with wonderful memories. I have been in this arena many, many times. I was a freshman at BYU in 1970 when the construction work on this building was started. I vividly remember sitting way up there on September 11, 1973, and listening to the teachings and testimony of President Harold B. Lee. I had returned from my mission to southern Germany just three weeks earlier, and the message he presented that day was entitled “Be Loyal to the Royal Within You.” I hope I shall never forget what I felt and heard and learned that day. His teachings have positively influenced me for the last 28 years.
I remember sitting right over there in 1973 when President Spencer W. Kimball, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, delivered a powerful and extremely direct message about the importance of eternal marriage (“Marriage Is Honorable,” 30 September 1973). I also remember how squirmy I and the young woman with whom I attended that fireside were—on our first date. (For those of you who may be wondering, the young woman with whom I attended that fireside then is not Sister Bednar now.) And I remember sitting right over there in 1977 as a married student walking and wrestling with a young son. I sat right up there in 2000 when that same son graduated from BYU with his baccalaureate degree. I recall with great fondness numerous other occasions in this building when I have listened to inspired leaders and learned from great teachers.
It frankly never occurred to me that someday I might be invited to stand at this pulpit and speak to a group like you. It is clear to me that I likely will never be asked to do so again. Thus I have been most prayerful and serious about preparing my presentation for today. Assuming that I would never again stand at this pulpit to teach and testify, I have considered what might be the most important message I could share with you. My objective this morning is to describe and discuss both the redeeming and enabling powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I hope to place particular emphasis upon the enabling power of the Atonement. I yearn and invite and pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be with me and with you as we visit together for these few minutes about this sacred subject.
The Journey of Life
The framework for my message today is a statement by President David O. McKay. He summarized the overarching purpose of the gospel of the Savior in these terms: “The purpose of the gospel is . . . to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature” (from the film Every Member a Missionary, as acknowledged by Franklin D. Richards, CR, October 1965, 136–37; see also Brigham Young, JD 8:130 [22 July 1860]).
Thus the journey of a lifetime is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—and to have our fallen natures changed.
May I suggest that the Book of Mormon is our handbook of instructions as we travel the pathway from bad to good to better and to have our hearts changed. If you have your scriptures with you this morning, please turn with me to Mosiah 3:19. In this verse King Benjamin teaches about the journey of mortality and about the role of the Atonement in successfully navigating that journey: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (emphasis added).
I want to stop at this point and draw our attention to two specific phrases. First, consider “and putteth off the natural man.” Let me suggest to you that President McKay was fundamentally talking about putting off the natural man when he said, “The purpose of the gospel is . . . to make bad men good.” Now I do not believe the word bad in this statement by President McKay connotes only wicked, awful, horrible, or inherently evil. Rather, I think he was suggesting that the journey from bad to good is the process of putting off the natural man or the natural woman in each of us. In mortality we all are tempted by the flesh. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. And we can increase our capacity to overcome the desires of the flesh and temptations, as described in this verse, “through the atonement of Christ.” When we make mistakes—as we transgress and sin—we are able to overcome such weakness through the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As we frequently sing in preparation to partake of the emblems of the sacrament, “His precious blood he freely spilt; His life he freely gave, A sinless sacrifice for guilt, A dying world to save” (“How Great the Wisdom and the Love,” Hymns, 1985, no. 195).
Now, please notice the next line in Mosiah 3:19: “and becometh a saint.” May I suggest this phrase describes the continuation and second phase of life’s journey as outlined by President McKay. “The purpose of the gospel is . . . to make bad men good”—or, in other words, put off the natural man—“and good men better”—or, in other words, become more like a saint. Brothers and sisters, I believe this second part of the journey—this process of going from good to better—is a topic about which we do not study or teach frequently enough nor understand adequately.
If I were to emphasize one overarching point this morning, it would be this: I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us “get it” concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.
Brothers and sisters, the gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. There is help from the Savior for the entire journey of life—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature.
I am not trying to suggest that the redeeming and enabling powers of the Atonement are separate and discrete. Rather, these two dimensions of the Atonement are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of life—both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both overcoming bad and becoming good—are accomplished through the power of the Atonement. Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, and effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).
Grace and the Enabling Power of the Atonement
I now want to describe in greater detail the enabling power of the Atonement. Brothers and sisters, please notice the use of the word grace in the verse from 2 Nephi to which we just referred. In the Bible Dictionary in our scriptures we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote enabling power. On page 697, under the word grace, we read:
“A word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ (emphasis added).
“It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life.”
Please note these next sentences:
“It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts” (emphasis added).
That is, grace represents that divine assistance or heavenly help each of us will desperately need to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
In my personal scripture study I often insert the term enabling power whenever I encounter the word grace. Consider, for example, this verse with which we are all familiar: “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).
Let’s review this verse one more time: “For we know that it is by grace [the enabling and strengthening power of the Atonement of Christ] that we are saved, after all we can do.”
I believe we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert enabling and strengthening power each time we find the word grace in the scriptures.
Illustrations and Implications
The journey of a lifetime, as described by President McKay, is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed. And the Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and prophets who knew and understood and were transformed by the enabling power of the Atonement in making that journey. May I suggest, brothers and sisters, that as we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways.
Nephi is an example of one who knew and understood and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. In 1 Nephi 7 we recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their trip that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Now please note Nephi’s prayer in verse 17: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (emphasis added).
Brothers and sisters, do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? My prayer would have included a request for something bad to happen to my brothers and ended with the phrase “wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren” or, in other words, “Please get me out of this mess, now!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray, as I probably would have prayed, to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And may I suggest that he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew and understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior.
I personally do not believe the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect that he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands.
Brothers and sisters, the implication of this episode for each of us is quite straightforward. As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. We will become agents who “act” rather than objects that are “acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:14).
Consider the example in Mosiah 24 as Alma and his people are being persecuted by Amulon. As recorded in verse 14, the voice of the Lord came to these good people in their affliction and indicated: “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs.”
Now if I had been one of Alma’s people and received that particular assurance, my response likely would have been, “I thank thee, and please hurry!” But notice in verse 15 the process the Lord used to lighten the burden: “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (emphasis added).
Brothers and sisters, what was changed in this episode? It was not the burden that changed; the challenges and difficulties of persecution were not immediately removed from the people. But Alma and his followers were strengthened, and their increased capacity and strength made the burdens they bore lighter. These good people were empowered through the Atonement to act as agents and impact their circumstances—“in the strength of the Lord.” Alma and his people were then directed to safety in the land of Zarahemla.
Now some of you may legitimately be wondering, “Brother Bednar, what makes you think the episode with Alma and his people is an example of the enabling power of the Atonement?” I believe the answer to your question is found in a comparison of Mosiah 3:19 and Mosiah 24:15. Let’s resume reading in Mosiah 3:19 where we previously had stopped: “and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (emphasis added).
As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming. We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. Now compare these characteristics in Mosiah 3:19 with those used to describe Alma and his people in the latter part of verse 15 in Mosiah 24: “and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (emphasis added).
I find the parallels between the attributes described in these verses striking and an indication that Alma’s good people were becoming a better people through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ the Lord.
We are all familiar with the story of Alma and Amulek contained in Alma 14. In this episode many faithful Saints had been put to death by fire, and these two servants of the Lord had been imprisoned and beaten. Please consider this petition contained in verse 26 offered by Alma as he prayed in prison: “O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (emphasis added).
Here again we see reflected in his request Alma’s understanding of and confidence in the enabling power of the Atonement. Now note the result of this prayer, as described in the latter part of verse 26 and in verse 28:
“And they [Alma and Amulek] broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. . . .
“And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ” (emphasis added).
Once again the enabling power is evident as good people struggle against evil and strive to become even better and serve more effectively “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17).
Let me present one final example from the Book of Mormon. In Alma 31, Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites. You will recall that in this chapter we learn about Rameumptom and the prescribed and prideful prayer offered by the Zoramites. Please notice the plea for strength in Alma’s personal prayer, as described in verse 31: “O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people” (emphasis added).
In verse 33 Alma also prays that his missionary companions will receive a similar blessing: “Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people” (emphasis added).
Again we observe that Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed. He knew he was an agent of the Lord, and he prayed for the power to act and affect his situation.
The key point of this example is contained in the final verse, Alma 31:38: “Yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith” (emphasis added).
No, the afflictions were not removed. But Alma and his companions were strengthened and blessed through the enabling power of the Atonement to “suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” What a marvelous blessing. And what a lesson each of us should learn.
Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in 1830 in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in 1851. In 1856 he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe storms. After the rescue party found the suffering Saints, provided what immediate comfort they could, and made arrangements for the sick and the feeble to be transported to Salt Lake City, Daniel and several other young men volunteered to remain with and safeguard the company’s possessions. The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were, to say the least, meager and were rapidly expended. I will now quote from Daniel Jones’ personal journal and his description of the events that followed:
“Game soon became so scarce that we could kill nothing. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them. A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. Many were so turned against the stuff that it made them sick to think of it. . . .
“Things looked dark, for nothing remained but the poor raw hides taken from starved cattle. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do. The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God. We had cooked the hide, after soaking and scraping the hair off until it was soft and then ate it, glue and all. This made it rather inclined to stay with us longer than we desired. Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it. After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it. This was considerable trouble, but we had little else to do and it was better than starving” (Daniel W. Jones,Forty Years Among the Indians [Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1890], 81).
All that I have read thus far is a preparation for the next line from Daniel W. Jones’ journal. It illustrates how those pioneer Saints may have known something about the enabling power of the Atonement that we, in our prosperity and ease, are not as quick to understand: “We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food” (Jones, Forty Years, 81; emphasis added). My dear brothers and sisters, I know what I would have prayed for in those circumstances. I would have prayed for something else to eat. “Heavenly Father, please send me a quail or a buffalo.” It never would have occurred to me to pray that my stomach would be strengthened and adapted to what we already had. What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances. Just as Nephi, Amulek, and Alma and his people were strengthened, Daniel W. Jones had the spiritual insight to know what to ask for in that prayer. “We hadn’t the faith to ask him to bless the raw-hide, for it was ‘hard stock.’ On eating now all seemed to relish the feast. We were three days without eating before this second attempt was made. We enjoyed this sumptuous fare for about six weeks” (Jones, Forty Years, 81–82).
The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own. Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease—in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air-conditioned cars and comfortable homes—I wonder if we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the Atonement.
The greatest lessons I have learned about the enabling power have come from the quiet example of my wife in our own home. I watched her persevere through intense and continuous morning sickness and vomiting during each of her three pregnancies. She literally was sick all day every day for eight months with each pregnancy. That challenge was never removed from her. But together we prayed that she would be strengthened, and she indeed was blessed through the enabling power of the Atonement to do physically what in her own power she could not do. Sister Bednar is a remarkably capable and competent woman, and over the years I have seen how she has been magnified to handle the mocking and scorn that come from a secular society when a Latter-day Saint woman heeds prophetic counsel and makes the family and home and the nurturing of children her highest priorities. In today’s world a righteous woman and mother in Zion will need both priesthood support and the enabling power of the Atonement. I thank and pay tribute to Susan for helping me to learn such invaluable lessons.
In Alma 7 we learn how and why the Savior is able to provide the enabling power, beginning with verse 11: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (emphasis added).
Thus the Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distress that so frequently beset us. Additional detail is described in verse 12:
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose 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 succor his people according to their infirmities” (emphasis added).
There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, and succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying only upon our own power.
Perhaps now we can more fully understand and appreciate the lesson of Matthew 11:28–30:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I express my appreciation for the infinite and eternal sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Atonement is not only for people who have done bad things and are trying to be good. It is for good people who are trying to become better and serve faithfully and who yearn for an ongoing and mighty change of heart. Indeed, “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) we can do and overcome all things.
Brothers and sisters, I know the Savior lives. I have experienced both His redeeming and enabling power, and I witness that these powers are real and available to each of us. I know He directs the affairs of this Church. I know apostles and prophets authoritatively act for and in behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. These things I know to be true and so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
“The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, Apr. 2012, 40–47
The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
The grand objective of the Savior’s gospel was summarized succinctly by President David O. McKay (1873–1970): “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.”1 Thus, the journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—to have our fallen natures changed (see Mosiah 5:2).
The Book of Mormon is our handbook of instructions as we travel the pathway from bad to good to better and strive to have our hearts changed. King Benjamin teaches about the journey of mortality and the role of the Atonement in navigating successfully that journey: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added).
I draw your attention to two specific phrases. First—“putteth off the natural man.” The journey from bad to good is the process of putting off the natural man or the natural woman in each of us. In mortality we all are tempted by the flesh. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. But we can increase our capacity to overcome the desires of the flesh and temptations “through the atonement of Christ.” When we make mistakes, as we transgress and sin, we can repent and become clean through the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Second—“becometh a saint.” This phrase describes the continuation and second phase of life’s journey to make “good men better” or, in other words, to become more like a saint. This second part of the journey, this process of going from good to better, is a topic about which we do not study or teach frequently enough nor understand adequately.
I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.
Most of us know that when we do wrong things, we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives. The Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.
The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature.
I am not suggesting that the redeeming and enabling powers of the Atonement are separate and discrete. Rather, these two dimensions of the Atonement are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of mortality—both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both overcoming bad and becoming good—are accomplished through the power of the Atonement. Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient for us to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).
Grace and the Enabling Power of the Atonement In the Bible Dictionary we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote enabling power: “[Grace is] a word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. “It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.”2 Grace is the divine assistance or heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity. In my personal scripture study, I often insert the term “enabling power” whenever I encounter the word grace. Consider, for example, this verse with which we are all familiar: “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). I believe we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert “enabling and strengthening power” each time we find the word grace in the scriptures.
Illustrations and Implications The journey of mortality is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed. The Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and prophets who knew, understood, and were transformed by the enabling power of the Atonement in making that journey. As we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways. Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. Recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their journey that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17; emphasis added). Do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? “Please get me out of this mess NOW!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement. I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands. The implication of this episode for each of us is straightforward. As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. We will become agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14). Consider the example in the Book of Mormon as Alma and his people are persecuted by Amulon. The voice of the Lord came to these good people in their affliction and indicated: “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs. … “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:14–15; emphasis added). What was changed in this episode? It was not the burden that changed; the challenges and difficulties of persecution were not immediately removed from the people. But Alma and his followers were strengthened, and their increased capacity and strength made the burdens they bore lighter. These good people were empowered through the Atonement to act as agents and impact their circumstances. And “in the strength of the Lord” Alma and his people were then directed to safety in the land of Zarahemla. You legitimately may be wondering, “What makes the episode with Alma and his people an example of the enabling power of the Atonement?” The answer is found in a comparison of Mosiah 3:19 and Mosiah 24:15. “And putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added). As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming. We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. Now compare these characteristics in Mosiah 3:19 with those used to describe Alma and his people: “And they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15; emphasis added). I find the parallels between the attributes described in these verses striking and an indication that Alma’s good people were becoming a better people through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Recall the story of Alma and Amulek contained in Alma 14. In this incident many faithful Saints had been put to death by fire, and these two servants of the Lord had been imprisoned and beaten. Consider this petition offered by Alma as he prayed in prison: “O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (Alma 14:26; emphasis added). Here again we see Alma’s understanding of and confidence in the enabling power of the Atonement reflected in his request. And note the result of this prayer: “And they [Alma and Amulek] broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. … “And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ” (Alma 14:26, 28; emphasis added). Once again the enabling power is evident as good people struggle against evil and strive to become even better and serve more effectively “in the strength of the Lord.” Another example from the Book of Mormon is instructive. In Alma 31, Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites, who, after building their Rameumptom, offer a prescribed and prideful prayer. Notice the plea for strength in Alma’s personal prayer: “O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people” (Alma 31:31; emphasis added). Alma also prays that his missionary companions will receive a similar blessing: “Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people” (Alma 31:33; emphasis added). Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed. He knew he was an agent of the Lord, and he prayed for the power to act and affect his situation. The key point of this example is contained in the final verse of Alma 31: “[The Lord] gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith” (verse 38; emphasis added). The afflictions were not removed. But Alma and his companions were strengthened and blessed through the enabling power of the Atonement to “suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” What a marvelous blessing. And what a lesson each of us should learn. Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in 1830 in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in 1851. In 1856 he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe snowstorms. After the rescue party had found the suffering Saints, provided what immediate comfort they could, and made arrangements for the sick and the feeble to be transported to Salt Lake City, Daniel and several other young men volunteered to remain with and safeguard the company’s possessions. The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were meager and rapidly expended. The following quote from Daniel Jones’s personal journal describes the events that followed. “Game soon became so scarce that we could kill nothing. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them. A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. … “Things looked dark, for nothing remained but the poor raw hides taken from starved cattle. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do. The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God. … Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it. After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it. This was considerable trouble, but we had little else to do and it was better than starving. “We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food. … On eating now all seemed to relish the feast. We were three days without eating before this second attempt was made. We enjoyed this sumptuous fare for about six weeks.”3 In those circumstances I probably would have prayed for something else to eat: “Heavenly Father, please send me a quail or a buffalo.” It likely would not have occurred to me to pray that my stomach would be strengthened and adapted to the food we had. What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances. Just as Alma and his people, Amulek, and Nephi were strengthened, Daniel W. Jones had the spiritual insight to know what to ask for in that prayer. The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own. Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease—in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air-conditioned cars and comfortable homes—we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the Atonement. Sister Bednar is a remarkably faithful and competent woman, and I have learned important lessons about the strengthening power from her quiet example. I watched her persevere through intense and continuous morning sickness—literally sick all day every day for eight months—during each of her three pregnancies. Together we prayed that she would be blessed, but that challenge was never removed. Instead, she was enabled to do physically what she could not do in her own power. Over the years I have also watched how she has been magnified to handle the mocking and scorn that come from a secular society when a Latter-day Saint woman heeds prophetic counsel and makes the family and the nurturing of children her highest priorities. I thank and pay tribute to Susan for helping me to learn such invaluable lessons.
The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality
I devote this lengthy post to respond to the April 2012 Ensign article, The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality, by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This Ensign article is illustrative of the interpretive trouble we in the restored church of Christ continue to have with regard to 2 Nephi 25:23, the most misinterpreted passage in the canon of the Restoration. If we can somehow escape our faulty, near universal misunderstanding of this verse, then perhaps we can dismantle and destroy the array of perplexing, legalistic pop culture passing itself off as legitimate doctrine.
The wholesale misappropriation of 2 Nephi 25:23 is likely the primary source of the exegetical ills arising from the flawed notion of salvation by incremental self-improvement, a theme that Elder Bednar either knowingly or inadvertently advances in his article. Although he ostensibly confines the substance of his message to the “journey of mortality,” much of his reasoning and argument spills over into the arena of salvation itself.
One key to correctly comprehending Nephi’s words in 2 Nephi 25:23 is to discern that they are equivalent to Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8-9. Because we wrest Nephi, we inevitably dismiss, ignore, and banish Paul, and that blunder knocks down the first domino of a series of errors that results in our present struggles with the doctrine of grace.
Elder Bednar, recalling a statement from a former president (David O. McKay) of the restored church of Christ, writes that the “grand objective of the Savior’s gospel” in the “journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—to have our fallen natures changed (see Mosiah 5:2).”
There are two significant missteps here.
The first is the pragmatic notion that we have the gospel to move us from “bad to good to better.”
Those who come to Christ indeed proceed from “bad to good to better” on the relative scale of fallen mortality, but I do not need the gospel to enjoy that progression. I can do the same by actively participating in any number of Godless secular organizations that temporally serve humanity. The problem is that merely moving from “bad to good to better” does not necessarily bring me to Jesus.
The purpose of the gospel is to bring us to Christ, who alone has the power to transform us from fallen to saved (perfect). Bad, good, and better are still fallen (and imperfect).
The gospel, the “conditions of repentance” to which Alma refers, the set of attainable principles and ordinances Christ mercifully extends to us, is the critical additional step undertaken by the Savior to seal the efficacy of his divine atonement that forever pacifies the holy, consuming, perfect justice of heaven (Alma 42:13).
Christ offers us his gospel, and we are free to choose to come to him in this attainable path, if that is what we want.
I understand that the focus of Elder Bednar’s article is the relationship between the atonement and our “journey of mortality.” I also understand that President McKay is speaking more or less colloquially. But to implicitly refer to the gospel of Christ as a self-improvement program is like appraising the resurrection as a life-enhancing outpatient procedure.
The second is the upside-down notion that the “mighty change of heart,” archetypally experienced by the people of King Benjamin, is the desired end of our mortal spiritual walk (“The journey of mortality is to go from bad to good to better and to have our very natures changed”), where in fact being born again marks the beginning of that journey.
Being born again is our first inward spiritual step, initiated by our desire and faith to find and know God, which step results in our first personal, intimate experience with the power of the divine that transcends the natural world. Being born again is the type and shadow of the celestial resurrection, by which we rise in glory and become like Christ.
If you doubt the placement of being born again in the spiritual sequence of events that marks our mortal and postmortem pre-resurrection lives, then consider that every born-again experience (the mighty change of heart) in the Book of Mormon occurs as a first step of inward spiritual discipleship, not the end result of that undertaking.
Most non-Mormon Christians, unlike most Latter-day Saints, understand the implications of their fallen condition, and the miraculous born-again experience that commences their spiritual walk with the Lord in this life.
Elder Bednar writes:
I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.
Our problem as Latter-day Saints is that we do not understand the nature of the “redeeming and cleansing power” of the atonement because we overemphasize its “strengthening and enabling power.” In fact, we substitute the latter for the former, such that we have come to believe that we pull ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps (with the help of Jesus), and emerge at the end of this process of will and effort worthy to reside in heaven.
We view the “redeeming and cleaning power” of the atonement as nothing more than forgiveness, and fail to grasp that we will ultimately dwell as men and women “made perfect”(D&C 76:69) in the full presence of Almighty God as a direct result of that same “redeeming and cleansing power.”
Although there is no question that the “strengthening and enabling power” of Christ helps us as we pursue him in the testing period of our days of probation, the “redeeming and cleansing power” of his atonement is what exclusively raises us up in the celestial resurrection, the highest realization of the blessings of the Lord’s atonement, to a state of infinite holiness and perfection, a divine gift for which we mercifully qualify under the attainable standards of the gospel.
We have nothing to do with the provenance of the celestial resurrection (or any other resurrection) and its conferral of eternal life.
We are not responsible for it.
We do not provide it for ourselves.
We do not make ourselves worthy of it.
We do not incrementally and methodically achieve it.
We are the recipients of the gift of resurrection, the very delivery mechanism of our eternal inheritance, which blessed condition hopefully resides at the desirable extreme of a spectrum of salvation (see D&C 76) singularly provided by Christ.
We endure the consequences of the Fall to be free. The great opportunity of this life is to freely choose to come to Christ. As we do so, we embark on the quest to be better, but neither our enduring choice for Christ nor our quest to be better is the cause of our ultimate ascension to heaven.
Elder Bednar writes:
Most of us know that when we do wrong things, we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives.
Do we overcome the effects of sin?
Does our inherent goodness overpower and neutralize the effects of sin, and remedy our innate imperfection?
Do we conquer the Fall, death, and hell, and raise ourselves up to glory in the vastness of eternity?
Does Jesus help us do these things? Do we do these things with his help?
Moreover, do we have the power as fallen, mortal beings to completely avoid doing “wrong things”?
Elder Bednar writes:
Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully.
In the absolute sense, are we not all sinners (Romans 3:23)? Are we not all disobedient (Romans 5:19)? Are we not all unworthy (Mosiah 4:11)? Are we not all beggars (Mosiah 4:19)?
Do followers of Christ ever fail to realize that the atonement is for them?
Do followers of Christ who come to him under the attainable standards of salvation, and strive to find and tread the strait and narrow path of the gospel ever fail to grasp the overriding relevance of the atonement with regard to their ultimate sanctification and elevation to heaven?
Who believes that the atonement does not apply to them like it applies to sinners?
During the earthly ministry of Christ in the Old World, those who trust in their own obedience, and see themselves as “obedient, worthy, and conscientious and … striving to become better and serve more faithfully” have no real need for Jesus.
Is Elder Bednar acknowledging that today there are members of the restored church of Christ who do not believe they need the atonement as much as the so-called sinners need it?
What would ever give members of the restored church of Christ that mistaken idea?
What manner of teaching of an out-of-context notion of personal righteousness whose efficacy opens the very gates of heaven would communicate to faithful members of the restored church of Christ the idea that we do not need the atonement of Jesus as much as the sinners need it?
Perhaps we can put this question to the “good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious … who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully” until they are personally prepared and enabled to dwell in the full presence of a just, holy, perfect God.
Moreover, perhaps we should place a reservation for dinner at Simon’s house (Luke 7:36-43), go on an excursion to see the Pharisee and the publican in the temple (Luke 18:9-14), and find time to have a pleasant sit-down with the “ninety and nine just persons” (Luke 15:7). Perhaps these experiences will also help all of us “good” members of the church “know and understand” that the atonement “is also for saints.”
I have a different set of questions.
Do we understand the consequences of the Fall?
Do we comprehend the infinite gap between the righteousness of fallen, mortal beings and the consuming holiness of heaven?
Or are we more preoccupied with our own laundry list of personal shortcomings and other failings that we believe we can rectify (with the help of Jesus) so that we then become worthy to stand with confidence in the presence of Almighty God?
Elder Bednar writes that “both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint … are accomplished through the power of the Atonement.”
He adds:
Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient for us to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).
In this take on the gospel, we marshal our “willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting” in our effort to become saints, to “triumphantly complete this mortal journey,” and we also “rely upon ‘the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah’” via the enabling power of his atonement to complete our quest.
Elder Bednar, who quotes Lehi in the Book of Mormon, essentially equates the triumphant completion of our mortal journey with our subsequent suitability and fitness for heaven.
Here is Lehi’s original teaching:
… [T]here is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah … (2 Nephi 2:8).
According to Lehi, do we fallen, mortal beings successfully gain entrance to the “presence of God” because of the fortuitous tandem of our “willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting” and the “merits … mercy … and grace of the Holy Messiah”?
Here is an expanded excerpt of Jacob’s original teaching.
… [T]here is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved (2 Nephi 2:8-9).
Where are our efforts, aided by the enabling power of the atonement, in these verses?
Do we “dwell in the [full] presence of God” as a direct result of what we do?
Does Jesus help us do that?
Do we “bring to pass the resurrection of the dead”?
Does Jesus help us do that?
Do we “make intercession” for ourselves?
Does Jesus help us do that?
What is it, exactly, that we do?
Our role is to “believe” in the one who does these things, so that we receive a fullness of the blessings that are directly the result of his “merits … mercy … and grace.”
Elder Bednar presumably focuses on the narrow band of our belief during our mortal lives in the overall plan of salvation, and how we can solidify, strengthen, and bolster our faith in the Son of God, but inadvertently introduces our efforts and alleged goodness into the area of the plan of salvation restricted to the Savior.
In other words, we do not do what Jesus does.
It is no coincidence that Jacob teaches the resurrection immediately after he acknowledges that we come into the presence of God only “through the merits … mercy … and grace of the Holy Messiah,” for the very mechanism our Lord employs to raise us up to eternal glory is the power of his redeeming and sanctifying resurrection.
We have no direct role in these things.
Our role as fallen, mortal beings is to make use of our agency acquired by the Fall–to choose to believe in Christ, and to demonstrate the genuineness of our belief by coming to him in the attainable path of his gospel.
Jesus empowers our agency with meaning in the sense that he accepts us when we come to him, despite the fact that we are fallen, imperfect beings.
But only Jesus has the power to save.
We rightly turn to Jesus for help to be better than we are on the scale of fallen mortality, but the purpose of our relative improvement is to establish the authenticity of our choice for Christ, not to perfect ourselves with his help.
Burt Reynolds, in his memorable role as God walking incognito among mortals, has this revealing exchange while enticing a serial killer on the street to play a game of three-card Monte (Improbable, Episode 13, Season 9 of The X-Files):
God: Now, two clowns and a man with a crown. Wanna try your luck? King runs but he can’t hide. How can you lose? Kid stuff. (Bueno, the serial killer, mistakenly chooses the Joker, and then God reveals the King.) God: There goes the neighborhood, but Mr. Money [the King] is right next door. You know, there’s a secret to this game, Bueno, and I’m gonna tell you what the secret is. Choose better. Bueno: You got something to say to me? You say it. God: Son, I just did.
Our choices, however good we may believe they are, and however much the Lord may help us make them, do not save us from the Fall, overcome physical death, conquer sin, or redeem our souls and elevate us to heaven.
Jesus is the only one who can do these things, and he must do them for us. He is divine. We are fallen.
Our choices bring us to Christ, or take us away from him.
What we do is choose to come to him, which is hard enough already without the additional burdens of self-serve sanctification and personally procured perfection. In the plan of salvation, the purpose of our ability to choose—to choose better—is to bring us to Christ.
Elder Bednar equates grace with “enabling power,” and he refers to the Bible Dictionary to support this view.
Unfortunately, the entry for grace in the Bible Dictionary is utterly lacking in agreement to the totality of the message of salvation in the canon of the Restoration. I cannot overstate the violence this entry does to the doctrine of redeeming grace in both the Book of Mormon and the New Testament.
According to Elder Bednar’s selection from the Bible Dictionary, this is how we obtain eternal life:
It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.
The Bible Dictionary entry for grace also asserts the following:
Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23) (Bible Dictionary entry for grace).
We exercise “faith,” undergo “repentance of [our] sins,” and, given our “weaknesses and shortcomings” and “the fall of Adam,” receive “strength and assistance to do good works that [we] otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to [our] own means.” Our “own best efforts” and “total effort,” combined with the “enabling power” of the atonement, allow us to secure for ourselves “eternal life.”
In other words, we rise to it (with the help of Jesus).
We achieve eternal life—apparently synonymous with having “our fallen natures changed,” which makes us saints—by the force of our own will and effort, magnified by the “enabling power” of the atonement of Christ. In this way we overcome the “fall of Adam,” and become righteous enough to dwell in the presence of God.
Can you see the glaring discrepancy between the Bible Dictionary’s explanation of cause and Lehi’s explanation of cause with regard to salvation?
Lehi teaches that “there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah …” (2 Nephi 2:8).
The Bible Dictionary explains that the grace of Jesus kicks in only after we expend our “best efforts,” and, like a hit of supercharged spiritual steroid, propels us to the finish line of holiness and perfection, the blessed point at which we “lay hold on eternal life and exaltation.”
Moreover, the Bible Dictionary explains that the grace of Jesus “cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient.” What this means is that what we do is the same thing that grace does, and what grace does is the same that we do. Working in concert, our efforts and the grace of Christ allow us to “lay hold on eternal life and exaltation.”
The relative proportions may be different from individual to individual, but the underlying substance of our “total effort” and the Lord’s “grace” is comprised of the same stuff.
What is so remarkable about the contrast here is that Lehi argues that the grace of Jesus is the only force that can bring us to holiness and perfection, and that the grace of Jesus that powers our salvation must function entirely independent and apart from the totality of our fallen efforts precisely because they are fallen. The grace of Jesus is the only thing that can “suffice.”
How can we imagine that the Lord, who “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31), is able to overlook the flaws in anything and everything we fallen mortals do, regardless of how much help we receive?
Given that everything we do fails to measure up to the perfect standards of heaven, how can we be saved directly by anything we do?
The Bible Dictionary insists that eternal life is the result of some kind of cooperative, collaborate effort between fallen, mortal beings (who just need a little help now and then to overcome their “weaknesses and shortcomings” and the “fall of Adam”) and a divine God, and that anything short of our “best efforts” and “total effort” disqualifies us from securing for ourselves eternal life.
And, in case you have not noticed, the Bible Dictionary entry for grace puts Nephi (2 Nephi 25:23) in conflict with his own father, Lehi (2 Nephi 2:8).
Lehi teaches that “the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4).
Salvation is not in any way the result of our “own best efforts” and “total effort,” or our “willpower, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting.”
Lehi teaches that we “are free according to the flesh,” that we “are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men …” (2 Nephi 2:27).
How do we select that most blessed of options?
Nephi provides one answer.
We must “believe in Christ, and … be reconciled to God” (2 Nephi 25:23). This is the only alternative we have as fallen, mortal beings if we want eternal life. Nephi assures us that we are saved by grace—“we know that it is by grace that we are saved” (2 Nephi 25:23)—after we choose to “believe in Christ” and come to him in the attainable path of his gospel (2 Nephi 33:9), which is, in fact, “all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23) as fallen, mortal beings. We must come to Christ because we can only be “reconciled to God” (2 Nephi 25:23) through his Son.
Lehi, Nephi, and even the difficult-to-understand Paul are preaching the same gospel, and the same independent, infinite redeeming grace of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Perhaps Nephi has now assumed the difficult-to-understand moniker from Paul, whom we apparently either censor or ignore outright with regard to the saving doctrine of grace.
Elder Bednar writes:
Grace is the divine assistance or heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
The troubling implication of this statement, fully supported by the Bible Dictionary entry for grace, is that by force of our own will and effort and goodness, enabled, empowered, and enhanced by the divine help of Jesus, we become righteous and holy enough to dwell in heaven.
Where is the sense of proportion?
Where is the distinction between the fallen and the divine?
Where is the recognition of the infinite discontinuity between the relative goodness of fallen, mortal beings and the absolute goodness of heaven?
We qualify for the “celestial kingdom” (the celestial heaven) under the attainable standards of the gospel. We possess the innate ability through the gift of agency to choose Christ sufficiently well to qualify to receive the transforming gift of celestial resurrection, the mechanism by which we become like him. The Savior generously persuades, encourages, and helps us as we tread the attainable path of his gospel.
But we do not directly qualify through our own will and effort for the celestial heaven. We do not push forward, press on, and achieve until we are fit for residence in the celestial heaven.
This life is about choice, not perfection. Betterment is a natural consequence of our choice for Christ, but that improvement can never break free from its fallen, imperfect moorings. That improvement cannot bridge the infinite expanse separating divine perfection from the righteousness of fallen, mortal beings, regardless of how much “divine assistance” we receive from the Lord.
No matter how good we think we are, we yet remain fallen, mortal beings, and Jesus yet remains divine and holy. Only he can cross the divide between him and us. This is why he must condescend to us and procure the means for our salvation, because we cannot directly ascend to him in the heavenly realms.
We can only come to him.
Can you hear the severe but gentle reply of Jesus (once again subtly referring to himself in the third person) to the rich young man?
Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God …” (Matthew 19:17).
Can you hear the precious words of Mormon preserved for us by his son, Moroni?
… [I]n Christ there should come every good thing. … … [A]ll things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them (Mormon 8:22, 24)
Elder Bednar writes that we better understand the atonement if we “insert ‘enabling and strengthening power’ each time we find the word grace in the scriptures.”
I understand the atonement better if I remember that the word grace, where used in reference to eternal life (or any degree of salvation), refers to Christ’s supernatural, one-sided transfer of the blessings of his atonement to us in the perfect day of salvation. Redeeming grace does not help us do anything, but does something to us.
This aspect of grace is nowhere to be found in the Bible Dictionary entry for grace, and is likewise absent in Latter-day Saint discourse and thought on the subject, which omission and absence are stunning and baffling because the grace of 2 Nephi 2:8, 2 Nephi 10:24, 2 Nephi 25:23, and Ephesians 2:8-9 is redeeming grace, not enabling grace.
Our devotion to the pragmatic, practical elements of the gospel of Jesus seems to overshadow the metaphysical and transcendent redemptive power of the atonement.
Elder Bednar recalls the story of how Nephi finds deliverance from his older brothers’ attempts to hurt and kill him (1 Nephi 7:15-18).
Elder Bednar writes:
It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement. I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands.
The account of Nephi bursting the bands of his captivity at the hands of his wicked older brothers is wonderfully illustrative of how God blesses us through his Son to help us overcome the exigencies, challenges, and trials of mortal life.
The problem is that Elder Bednar, like virtually all his contemporaries in the governing quorums of the restored church of Christ, uses this example (and similar examples) in the scriptures to blur the line between the way God works with us as fallen, mortal beings, and the way God raises us up to salvation.
In matters of salvation, we do not possess or wield the power to “change [our] circumstances.” We are fallen, mortal beings. Our only option is to come to Christ to “have [our] circumstances changed.” Only he can “change [our] circumstances.”
Nephi indeed prays: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17).
Nephi offers this prayer for help to overcome a situation that threatens his life.
Here is another heartfelt prayer that Nephi offers up to his Redeemer:
Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? … … O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road! O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! … O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. … I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen (2 Nephi 4:30-35).
Nephi’s approach here is rather different from the one he takes with regard to the problem of the confining bands.
Does Nephi ask for help to directly realize his own salvation, or does he recognize that “the rock of [his] salvation” is the Lord?
Does Nephi ask for help to redeem his own soul, or does he plead, “O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?”
Does Nephi ask for help to improve and refine his own righteousness, or does he plead, “O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me …”?
Does Nephi ask for help to strengthen his own righteousness, or does he plead, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness”?
Does Nephi ask for help to reinforce the “arm of flesh,” the same “arm of flesh” he uses to gain his release from the imprisoning bands of his brothers, or does he “trust in [the Lord] forever,” acknowledge that “cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh,” and recognize that “cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm”?
Does Nephi ask for help to enhance the efficacy of his own righteousness in acquiring eternal life, or does he “cry unto … the rock of [his] righteousness,” the Lord God of Israel, who will be Christ?
Nephi knows how to distinguish the enabling power of the Savior from his redeeming power.
Do we?
Nephi knows that Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
Nephi knows that, in matters of salvation, he must “[rely] alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of [our] faith” (Moroni 6:4).
Nephi knows how he is saved.
Our salvation is not a direct function of so-called enabling grace.
The story of Nephi’s release from his bands is an utterly inadequate metaphor to describe our rescue from the Fall, death, and hell, and our ascension to heaven—our ultimate sanctification, redemption, and perfection via the celestial resurrection—which must come under the purview of redeeming grace.
Elder Bednar writes:
As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. We will become agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14).
Whether or not we “understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives” per Elder Bednar’s interpretation of the same, we are already “agents who act” because the “Messiah” comes to “redeem the children of men from the fall” (2 Nephi 2:26). The Fall allows us to “[know] good from evil,” (2 Nephi 2:26), and Christ’s redemption of us from the Fall (redeeming grace) makes us “free forever … to act for [ourselves] 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” (2 Nephi 2:26).
We are “agents who act” because of our agency, obtained from the Fall, but made meaningful because of our redemption from the Fall by Christ (redeeming grace).
In matters of salvation, we, like Nephi, can only pray for our “circumstances to be changed” by our Redeemer, for we cannot change them ourselves.
The whole point of our life here is to have the chance, far from the indisputable influence of God, to freely choose Christ. If we do that, he will indeed “change our circumstances” in the endless happiness and glory of eternity.
We do not undertake the journey of life to perfect ourselves, but to freely choose.
The other accounts Elder Bednar relates are similar to the story of Nephi’s deliverance from the evil designs of his older brothers, and are relevant to our struggles on the landscape of fallen, mortal life.
And the other accounts Elder Bednar relates are entirely irrelevant to the procurement of our own salvation.
Nephi receives power to break his own bands, but only Jesus has power to break the “bands of death,” take “upon himself [our] iniquity and [our] transgressions, having redeemed [us], and satisfied the demands of justice” (Mosiah 15:9), and raise us to “dwell with God” and “have eternal life through Christ …” (Mosiah 15:23).
Elder Bednar concludes his piece in the Ensign as follows:
I know the Savior lives. I have experienced both His redeeming and enabling power, and I testify that these powers are real and available to each of us. Indeed, “in the strength of the Lord” we can do and overcome all things as we press forward on our journey of morality.
I have no doubt the Lord helps us to be better than we are as we go about our lives here and in the pre-resurrection spirit world.
But there is one venue in which the Lord does not help us do anything. This venue is our own salvation. In matters of salvation, the Lord does everything. He is the singular cause of our salvation. He is the exclusive source of our salvation. He is our salvation.
The Lord is my light and my salvation … (Psalms 27:1).
We may overcome bands that bind us.
We may overcome great challenges and trials.
We may overcome gravity, the bonds of the atom, and a whole host of remarkable obstacles.
But—
We do not and cannot overcome the Fall (2 Nephi 2:26).
We do not and cannot overcome physical death (Alma 11:42).
We do not and cannot overcome spiritual death (2 Nephi 9:10).
We do not and cannot procure for ourselves eternal life (Mosiah 16:13, John 3:16-17).
We do not and cannot overcome the world (John 16:33).
And—
We must know the limits of so-called enabling grace, and distinguish it from the infinite range of redeeming grace.
We will only experience the fullness of the Lord’s redeeming grace in the celestial resurrection, the time when “[our] redemption shall be perfected …” (D&C 45:46). Until then, we are to “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).
To quote the final, soteriologically profound words of Clint Eastwood’s memorable character, Inspector Harry Callahan, from the 1973 film Magnum Force:
A man’s got to know his limitations.
We Latter-day Saints must recognize our own.
For a more comprehensive discussion of the redeeming grace of Jesus, see the book Redeeming Grace in the Canon of the Restoration (Amazon CreateSpace and Kindle).
Grace in Elder Bednar’s talk, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality”
(This morning I’m looking at Elder Bednar’s talk “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” which was listed in the New Youth Curriculum for March 2013.)
Talking about Grace as an “enabling power” is actually more confusing to me than using the word Grace. I realize some people who have been in the Church longer than me have a different connotation of the word Grace than I do, so I think I that for many thinking of it as an enabling power is helpful to undo that connotation. Since Elder Bednar used that phrase often in his talk, it was a bit distracting for me. But I think I like what he is saying about the “good to better” route – I think he is trying to explain consecration without ever saying that word. 🙂
In addition, I thought this was some nice scriptural work:
You legitimately may be wondering, “What makes the episode with Alma and his people an example of the enabling power of the Atonement?” The answer is found in a comparison of Mosiah 3:19 and Mosiah 24:15. “And putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19; emphasis added). As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming. We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. Now compare these characteristics in Mosiah 3:19 with those used to describe Alma and his people: “And they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15; emphasis added). I find the parallels between the attributes described in these verses striking and an indication that Alma’s good people were becoming a better people through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ the Lord.
I like the clear similarities between these too verses! And I think I’m catching on to what he means by praying to be able to change circumstances, instead of praying for our circumstances to be changed.
When I talk about that idea I use different words, so I’m still realizing we’re probably talking about the same thing. I like to go to 2 Nephi 1-3, where Lehi tells Jacob that God will “consecrate thine afflictions.” I like the wording there, of taking something bad and making it sacred. It also reminds me of the talk “Come What May and Love it.” I like thinking that no matter what happens to us, God can use it for good. You can’t throw anything at Him that He can’t hit. 🙂 And so I think Elder Bednar is talking about much the same thing. No matter what happens to us, God can help us work with the situation so that good can come of it. And of course, Elder Bednar uses the idea of “acting” instead of being “acted upon.” He uses that language with learning too. It’s a nice way to put it, though not my normal way of talking, like I was saying.
Some initial thoughts. Now to get the kids some breakfast.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Doctrinal Mastery
The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality: The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity. The grand objective of the Savior’s gospel was summarized succinctly by President David O. McKay (1873–1970): “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.”1 Thus, the journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty cha
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