When I was growing up I was afraid that God did not love me. I grew up in a different faith, and the little knowledge I had about the atonement made me think that God will never forgive my faults. When I embraced the gospel, I was 10 years old, I knew that God loved me. I knew He cares for me, I knew that Jesus was kind and merciful. The church and the knowledge I have acquired in my life have filled my heart with hope. His atonement has given me the opportunity to repent and be forgiven of my sins, I still can not understand the infinite act of love from Jesus but all I know that He died for me so I have to opportunity to go back to live with Him some day. His act of love is a sign of the greatest love of all.
“I marvel to think that the Son of God would condescend to save us, as imperfect, impure, mistake-prone, and ungrateful as we often are. I have tried to understand the Savior’s Atonement with my finite mind, and the only explanation I can come up with is this: God loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly. I cannot even begin to estimate “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height … [of] the love of Christ.”
"Sin is the willful transgression of divine law. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the gift of God to His children to correct and overcome the consequences of sin. God loves all of His children, and He will never cease to love and to hope for us. The plan of our Heavenly Father is clear, and His promises are great: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world … might be saved. (John 3:17)"
Pte. Dieter E. Uhtdor, "The Gift of Grace"
"It is a fundamental truth that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed. We can become virtuous and pure. However, sometimes our poor choices leave us with long-term consequences. One of the vital steps to complete repentance is to bear the short- and long-term consequences of our past sins.Their past choices had exposed these Ammonite fathers to a carnal appetite that could again become a point of vulnerability that Satan would attempt to exploit."
Elder Richard G. Scott, "Personal Strength through the Atonement of Jesus Christ"
"Many of us have allowed weakness to develop in our character. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we,like the Ammonites, can build spiritual fortifications between ourselves and any past mistakes that Satan attempts to exploit. The spiritual protections built around the Ammonite fathers blessed and strengthened themselves, their families, their country,and future generations. The same can be true with us."
Elder Richard G. Scott, "Personal Strength through the Atonement of Jesus Christ"
A powerful expression of that love is what the scriptures often call the grace of God—the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which we grow from the flawed and limited beings we are now into exalted beings of “truth and light, until [we are] glorified in truth and [know] all things."
Pte. Dieter E. Uhtdor, "The Gift of Grace"
"The Atonement of Jesus Christ was an indispensable part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for His Son’s earthly mission and for our salvation. How grateful we should be that our Heavenly Father did not intercede but rather withheld His fatherly instinct to rescue His Beloved Son. Because of His eternal love for you and for me, He allowed Jesus to complete His foreordained mission to become our Redeemer. The gift of resurrection and immortality is given freely through the loving grace of Jesus Christ to all people of all ages, regardless of their good or evil acts. And to those who choose to love the Lord and who show their love and faith in Him by keeping His commandments and qualifying for the full blessings of the Atonement, He offers the additional promise of exaltation and eternal life, which is the blessing of living in the presence of God and His Beloved Son forever."
Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and The Value of One Soul
"Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; he tries to blur our vision and lead us away from the path of repentance and forgiveness. God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. But if we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process. Alma testified that after he cried out to Jesus for mercy, he could still remember his sins, but the memory of his sins no longer distressed and tortured him, because he knew he had been forgiven. (see Alma 36:17–19)"
Pte. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Point of Safe Return"
"There is no greater expression of love than the heroic Atonement performed by the Son of God. Were it not for the plan of our Heavenly Father, established before the world began, in a very real sense, all mankind—past, present, and future—would have been left without the hope of eternal progression. As a result of Adam’s transgression, mortals were separated from God (see Rom. 6:23) and would be forever unless a way was found to break the bands of death. This would not be easy, for it required the vicarious sacrifice of one who was sinless and who could therefore take upon Himself the sins of all mankind."
Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and The Value of One Soul
“Even
so, everyone has gifts; everyone has talents; everyone can contribute to the
unfolding of the divine plan in each generation. Much that is good, much that
is essential—even sometimes all that is necessary for now—can be achieved in
less than ideal circumstances. So many of you are doing your very best. And
when you who bear the heaviest burdens of mortality stand up in defense of
God’s plan to exalt His children, we are all ready to march. With confidence we
testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has anticipated and, in the end,
will compensate all deprivation and loss for those who turn to Him. No one is
predestined to receive less than all that the Father has for His children.”
Elder Todd D. Christofferson, "Why Marriage, Why Family"
Elder Todd D. Christofferson, "Why Marriage, Why Family"
"The Redeemer can
settle your individual account with justice and grant forgiveness through the
merciful path of repentance. Full repentance is absolutely
essential for the Atonement to work its complete miracle in your life. By
understanding the Atonement, you will see that God is not a jealous being who
delights in persecuting those who misstep. He is an absolutely perfect,
compassionate, understanding, patient, and forgiving Father. He is willing to
entreat, counsel, strengthen, lift, and fortify. He so loves each of us that He
was willing to have His perfect, sinless, absolutely obedient, totally
righteous Son experience indescribable agony and pain and give Himself in
sacrifice for all. Through that atonement we can live in a
world where absolute justice reigns in its sphere so the world will have order.
But that justice is tempered through mercy attainable by obedience to the
teachings of Jesus Christ."
Elder
Richard G. Scott, "Finding Forgiveness"
“Only the life, teachings, and particularly the atonement of
Jesus Christ can release us from this otherwise impossible predicament. Each of
us has made mistakes, large or small, which if unresolved will keep us from the
presence of God. For this reason, the atonement of Jesus Christ is the single
most significant event that ever has or ever will occur. This selfless act of
infinite consequence, performed by a single glorified personage, has eternal
impact in the life of every son and daughter of our Father in Heaven—without
exception. It shatters the bonds of
death. It justifies our finally being judged by the Master. It can prevent an eternity under the control
of the devil. It opens the gates to
exaltation and eternal life for all who qualify for forgiveness through
repentance and obedience. “
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