Great gifts

This book and bookmark were gifts from Nate, Nichelle and Janae. Nate and Nichelle gave me the book for my birthday, Janae the bookmark for Christmas. See how well they compliment each other. It has given me joy just to look at the two together on my chair side reading table. But, the greater joy came as I bookmarked my way through this book one early morning section at a time followed by a thirty minute pondering swim. I received so many insights into the life and mission of Jesus Christ in a simple and clear way.

I especially pondered my way through Chapter 15, "The Cleansing and Healing Power of the Atonement." In a more informal way, David J. Ridges relates his real life experience as a bishop and stake president in helping others apply correctly the cleansing and healing power of the Atonement. He discusses additional thoughts on the Atonement of which I will share a few:

***"Is it true that once you been forgiven, you will no longer remember the sin?"

Brother Ridges relates the story of Alma the Younger in Alma 36 to explain that a memory of the sin will still be with us, but the pain and torment upon such memory will be gone. It is the Lord who will remember our sins "no more."

***Often times those who had had their blessings restored would come to him distressed because "I thought I was doing so well, but now I see so many things in my life that need fixing. I didn't even notice them before, but now they are everywhere! It has become very discouraging." Brother Ridges answer was "Great!" Then he would go on to explain that the Holy Ghost was now gently pointing out things they had failed to notice before.

1 Nephi 8:20 "And I also beheld a ^astrait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a ^bworld."

He points out the strait and narrow are basically the same thing. Years ago a colleague had explained that the phrase "strait and narrow path" means, in effect, a "narrow and narrowing path." He continued to explain "that the path leading back to God is narrow, requiring specific righteous choices and obedience in order to remain firmly on it. As we progress and draw closer to God, we tend to make the path along which we are walking toward Him narrower and narrower. In other words, we watch our words and thought and deeds more carefully, trying to be more Christlike. We don't allow ourselves to do things that are 'on the edge' or questionable, nearly as much as we used to. As we tighten our obedience to God's commandments and to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we receive more light and knowledge from above, which serve to illuminate our path more brightly. Thus, things in our lives show up that we hadn't even noticed before. Rather than being discouraged by this, we can look upon it as a sign that we are making significant progress toward returning home to our Father in Heaven."

***Brother Ridges states, "It was my observation as a bishop and stake president that sometimes, members who had been involved in grievous sin did not feel worthy to feel so good, after they had gone through the requirements of repentance and had been cleansed by the Atonement. Perhaps it is one of Satan's effective tools to press the false notion upon such individuals that it is not fair to those who have not committed serious sin that they should join them in feeling worthy and whole." He goes on to say that it is a vital part of the repentance process to accept the miracle of forgiveness from the Savior when He offers it. The devil would want us to feel otherwise. We can look to Enos to explain how this is done in Enos 4-8.

4 And my soul ^ahungered; and I ^bkneeled down before my Maker, and I ^ccried unto him in mighty ^dprayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

5 And there came a ^avoice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are ^bforgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that God ^acould not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?

8 And he said unto me: ^aBecause of thy ^bfaith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee ^cwhole.

***Sometimes we become discouraged by overemphasizing one word in this verse:

2 Nephi 25:23 For we labor diligently to write, to ^apersuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by ^bgrace that we are saved, after all we can ^cdo.

Brother Ridges states, "If we place undo emphasis on all, it can lead us to believe that we must be a 'walking nervous breakdown' in order to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. However, if we emphasize we, it provides a healthy balance between what we can sincerely do with honest hearts, and the grace or help of the Savior that ultimately cleanses us from sin and enables us to return to the presence of the Father. Occasionally we meet members of the Church who get so caught up in trying to be perfect that they are forever serious, sad, and often depressed. They worry so much about their faults and imperfections that they fail to enjoy the journey. The Atonement, properly understood and accessed, enables us to find much happiness and enjoyment along the road through life, in spite of trials and tribulations along the way. The Prophet Joseph Smith reminded us that we are not expected to attain perfection during this life. In fact, he taught that it would be a great while after we die before we finish qualifying for exaltation."

***"What must we do to enable the Savior to make us clean?"

We must follow the "principle of improvement." When we "do not improve" is when we find ourselves in trouble. Sincere continual improvement enables the Savior to make us clean through the Atonement. Elder Marvin J. Ashton stated in General Conference of April 1989:

"The speed with which we head along the strait and narrow path isn't as important as the direction in which we are traveling."

Brother Ridges states:

"If we get mixed up in our thinking between "spotless" and "perfect" and decide that we have to be perfect, it can lead to much discouragement and can lead some members to the point where they quit trying to live the gospel. With the help of the Savior and the Atonement, we can all get to the point where we can be made clean, or spotless, and thus qualify to enter back into the presence of God. Christ was the only one who was perfect during mortality, and perfection will come along in due time for us after we have passed through the veil."

I testify to you that the Atonement is real and can cleanse and heal us; both those who have fallen short and those who have experienced great pain and distress through the actions of others. It is a gift of love, the greatest gift.