Well hi there. I know, it’s been ages. I’m not really sure
why. Maybe I just haven’t really known what to write about, but I have my
institute class to thank for this one! Institute is legit now. I mean, it was
legit before, but I LOVE what they’ve done with the program. You don’t just
show up to class, put your name on the roll, take a nap, and get credit for it
anymore. You have to go to class, do all the reading, and take a test or write
a paper or something like that, and then you get credit. It gets you involved
and I learned so much more this semester than I have before.
Anyway, one of the essay questions for my class (Christ and
the Everlasting Gospel – amazing class all about the Savior and His eternal
ministry) asked, “Why do I need the Savior?” I thought this was a particularly appropriate
question as the Christmas season approaches and we’re reflecting on and
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I invite everyone to ponder this
question for yourself. Why do you need the Savior? Share your response in the comments if you want! Merry Christmas everyone!
Why do I need the
Savior?
I honestly feel like I could never do this question justice,
as my understanding of my need for the Savior has only just scratched the
surface, I’m sure. As incomplete as my understanding is, I do have a strong
testimony of the Savior’s essential role in our Heavenly Father’s plan for His
children. I know that without a Savior the plan would not have worked or been
possible. The only way for us to progress was to leave the presence of our
Heavenly Parents and learn by our own experience the good from the evil. The
only way for us to truly become like them and achieve immortality and eternal
life was to come to earth, receive a body, and as Paul says “walk by faith, not
by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). This ultimately meant we would make mistakes.
Sometimes we would not choose the right or be obedient, and according to the
laws of justice that disqualified us from returning to the presence of our
Heavenly Parents. Thus we were stuck. The only way to progress was to learn for
ourselves, which meant making mistakes, which meant we couldn’t return to our
heavenly home. A Mediator, a Redeemer, a Savior, someone who could satisfy the
demands of justice was absolutely essential (Alma 34:16; Mosiah 15:9).
I will forever be grateful to Adam and Eve for their courage
and faith to take the step into mortality. While they could have enjoyed the
peace and comfort of the Garden of Eden forever, they decided that having a
family, passing through trials and eventually death, and gaining knowledge and
experience were more important. After the fall Eve said, “Were it not for our
transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good
and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth
unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11).
And so we inherit the consequences that Adam and Eve faced.
We receive a fallen, mortal body, subject to pain, weakness, temptation, and
death. Yet we also inherit the same blessings as our first parents. We have the
opportunity to use our agency to learn for ourselves the difference between
good and evil, and how to control a physical body. We also have the gift of a
Savior who makes it possible to overcome the pain, weakness, temptation, and
death we all face. Because of the Savior’s “great and last sacrifice” all shall
rise from the dead and receive immortality (Alma 34:9-16; Alma 40:5). This is a
gift, free to all who come to the earth, that allows us to keep our bodies for
eternity, which bodies are necessary to become like our Heavenly Father. But
the Savior’s Atonement enables us to achieve much more than just immortality.
It provides the necessary opportunity and power to learn, progress, and exchange
our weaknesses for strengths. It allows us to “learn from [our] experience
without being condemned by it” (Bruce C. Hafen, The Atonement: All for All,
April 2004). It allows us to be cleansed for those mistakes that we have moved
forward from and done all we can to correct. It gives us the opportunity to
inherit eternal life.
My favorite talk on the Atonement is Brad Wilcox’s “His
Grace Is Sufficient”. Truly, no matter how good we are in this life, no matter
how righteous or obedient, we could never merit eternal life. It simply cannot
be earned by our good works alone. Only the grace of Christ allows us to
inherit eternal life. Yet, He still requires us to be righteous and obedient,
have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end,
meaning have faith, repent, take the Sacrament, receive and keep additional
ordinances and covenants, and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost for the
rest of our mortal lives and I’m sure on to eternity. Why put forth so much
effort, if in the end our effort doesn’t get us there anyway? Because eternal
life is about so much more than us having done something while in
mortality. It is entirely about us being something. Being
godlike. “The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we
die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the
Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be
transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can
dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing
will even want to.... The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go
home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there” (Brad Wilcox, His Grace
Is Sufficient, July 2011).
Why do I need the Savior? Because I want to go home and I
want to feel at home there. I want to be with my Heavenly Parents and my Savior
and I want to be like them. I want to be changed. I want to bring them joy and
experience that eternal joy as well. Without a Savior none of these dreams
would be realized. I have made my share of mistakes and experienced my share of
trials and disappointments, with many more to come I’m sure. Without a Savior I
would be lost, hopeless, and without motivation to become more than I am. But
because I have a Savior He has made those bitter moments sweet. He has helped
me to learn from mistakes and overcome weaknesses, turning them into strengths.
He has comforted me and lifted me out of sorrow to the sweet peace only
He can provide. He has given me hope, which hope maketh an anchor to my soul
(Ether 12:4). And He will continue helping me to become all that He knows I can
be.
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| Sketch by David Bowman. |
