December 18--2 Nephi 15-19
December 25--No Class
Infinite Atonement
“The Atonement is infinite for at least the following eight reasons:
Elder Maxwell has suggested, it is “infinite in the divineness of the one sacrificed.”
It is infinite in power. The Savior went from grace to grace until he “received all power, both in heaven and on earth.”
The Atonement is infinite in time. It applies retroactively and prospectively through time immemorial.
It is infinite in coverage. It applies to all God’s creations and all forms of life.
It is infinite in depth. It is infinite not only in who it covers, but in what it covers. (sins, pain, suffering, etc)
It is infinite in the degree of suffering endured by the Redeemer.
It is infinite in love.
It is infinite in the blessings it bestows. The blessing of the Atonement extend far beyond its well-known triumph over physical and spiritual death. Some of these blessing overlap; some complement and supplement each other; but in the aggregate the effect of this event so blesses our lives in a multiplicity of ways, both known and yet to be discovered, that it might appropriately be said to be infinite in its blessing nature.”
Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, pg. 64-5
Mercy and Grace
“Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.”
Robert Millet
Judgement
“In judgment we will find that we are in a sacred, safe space where love and understanding prevail, allowing us to come to self-knowledge and self-understanding, perhaps for the first time. We cannot overstate the significance of this shift from accusatory judgment and evaluation to judgment as an awakening of self. The clichéd model of judgment portrays us standing before a selection committee to see if we pass muster before the infliction of a penalty or reward. Jacob, however, draws us in a very different direction, emphasizing that we shall come to “a perfect knowledge” of ourselves. Self-knowledge is the precursor to healing and to wholeness. Judgment is the prelude to progress.”
“Before we are able to progress further in the eternal worlds, we come to a recognition of our divided self and are guided gently to bring the apparent and the authentic selves into harmony. At that point, we are prepared to move forward. Paul teaches such a version of judgment, when he writes to the Corinthians that “being judged, we are corrected by the Lord, that we not be condemned.” Judgment prevents condemnation, it does not precede it. Judgment is an assist in recognizing our true condition in order that we may improve it, not suffer from it. This moment of coming to oneself, Jacob describes as coming to a “perfect [complete] knowledge” of ourselves.
As most of us are too harsh on ourselves, this will be a step toward greater peace, self-acceptance, and love of self. That is why, said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “that Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love—a day when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will be made right.”
Givens, Fiona and Teryl. The Christ Who Heals: How God Restored The Truth That Saves Us (Kindle Locations 2349-2355). Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
Hope for the Future
“To know and trust that God remembers his promises and has the integrity to keep them is a key principle in the doctrine of hope. We can have a calm assurance that all gospel covenants and their respective promises are reliable. Our trust in God produces a sure hope that every inspired promise uttered in a priesthood blessing, every inspired promise made by an authorized servant of the Lord, every inspired promise made in a patriarchal blessing—in short, every promise sanctioned by the Holy Ghost—is to be trusted.
Surely, part of the mortal test is to see if we will retain hope in the promises of the Lord when we cannot see how they will be fulfilled. After all, it is one thing to rejoice in a promised blessing when it is given, and it is quite another thing to patiently wait for its fulfillment when the circumstances of life create seemingly insurmountable barriers to its realization.
Mortality is laced with confusing ironies, interspersed with unsettling paradoxes and occasioned by perplexing experiences that can test our trust in the Lord’s promised blessings. The test of trust may come to the righteous sister who longs for an eternal companion, only to find as the years turn into decades that an eternal companion has become as elusive as water in the Sahara desert. Personalized testing may come to the young man who was promised in his patriarchal blessing that as a missionary he would bring many souls to the waters of baptism, and yet, as his mission draws to a close, he has not participated in a single convert baptism.
Hope, born of unwavering trust in God’s promises, allows a disciple to transcend the ironies, paradoxes, and perplexities of mortality. Trust in God’s promises fosters hope, not because of what we know, but because we know that he knows!”
“Knowing that God has not forsaken us, is merciful, and has the integrity to keep his promises is foundation to the doctrine of hope. These attributes clearly indicate that the Lord is willing to help and redeem us. But this knowledge alone is insufficient to produce a firm and unwavering hope. Something is missing.”
“Our hope in Christ is fostered as we more fully comprehend the character of Christ. In part, this means understanding his character as the perfect embodiment of mercy, integrity, and power. Any one of these attributes, viewed in isolation, may be impressive, but when they are woven together into the tapestry of his complete character, they become inspiring. For example, an all-powerful Christ is simply terrifying if he is not also filled with mercy. A merciful Christ is less than inspiring if he is too weak to save us. Moreover, a Christ who embodies power and mercy, but lacks total integrity may leave us anxious and wondering—will he keep his promises?
We can have hope in Christ because of our complete confidence in the character of Christ. For example, those who trust in Christ can wait on him. The capacity to wait on the Lord is an outgrowth of hope. However, the fruits of hope extend beyond patience. Hope in Christ endows us with a capacity to be optimistic and buoyant in the face of all our mortal challenges. It is striking that throughout this sermon, Jacob, a man who was intimately acquainted with the vicissitudes of life, freely drew upon language indicative of hope. Quoting Isaiah, Jacob reminded his downhearted people that the “Lord shall comfort Zion” and in a future day, “joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody (2 Nephi 8:3). Moreover, the Lord will redeem his people and they shall “come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall fall away” (2 Nephi 8:11). In light of these prophetic utterances, Jacob implored his brethren, “Rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children” (2 Nephi 9:3).
Allan D. Rau, "Cheer Up Your Hearts: Jacob's Message of Hope in Christ," Religious Educator 14 no. 3 (2013): 49–63. “Cheer Up Your Hearts”: Jacob’s Message of Hope in Christ
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